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Prof. Emmanuel Roucounas

Mr. Emmanuel Roucounas
Professor of International Law
University of Athens
Member of the Academy of Athens

Biography Biography in PDF

International Law
Implementation and Compliance
Successive, Parallel and Contradictory Commitments
in International Law
This lecture focuses on the regulatory function of Article 30 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. An explanation of terms is provided as well as a discussion of interpretation and application by international courts and tribunals. The lecture also covers the relationship between treaty law and custom, degrees of normativity and non-legally binding commitments.

Video | Audio
(6/3/2008, 63 minutes)
International Law
Implementation and Compliance
Successive, Parallel and Contradictory Commitments in International Law
Outline PDF document (12.6 KB)
A. Legal Instruments

Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field, Geneva, 6 July 1906.

Hague Conventions of  1907 (Text of the Conventions available on the website of Yale Law School’s Avalon Project).

Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field, Geneva, 27 July 1929.

Covenant of the League of Nations, League of Nations,Paris, 28 April 1919, Official Journal, 1st year, No. 1, February 1920, p. 3 (Text of the Covenant available on the website of Yale Law School’s Avalon Project).

Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva, 27 July 1929.

Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice, San Francisco, 26 June 1945.

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva, 12 August 1949, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, p. 31.

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, Geneva, 12 August 1949, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, p. 85.

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, p. 135.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, p. 287.

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Rome, 4 November 1950, United Nations, Treaty Seriesvol. 213, p. 221.

Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Rome, 25 March 1957.

Convention on the High Seas, Geneva, 29 April 1958, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 450, p. 11.

Convention on the Continental Shelf, Geneva, 29 April 1958, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 499, p. 311.

Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, Geneva, 29 April 1958, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 516, p. 205.

Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas, Geneva, 29 April 1958, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 559, p. 285.

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Vienna, 24 April 1963, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 596, p. 261.

African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Algiers, 15 September 1968.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Vienna, 23 May 1969, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1155, p. 331.

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, London, 13 November 1972.

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I), Geneva, 8 June 1977, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1125, p. 3.

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II), Geneva, 8 June 1977, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1125, p. 609.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations, Vienna, 21 March 1986.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 10 December 1982, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1833, p.3.

Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972, London, 7 November 1996.

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with Respect to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention of Human Rights and Biomedicine, Oviedo, 4 April 1997.

General Assembly resolution 51/229 of 21 May 1997 (Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses).

Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with Respect to the Application of Biology and Medicine on the Prohibition of Cloning, Paris,12 January 1998.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Rome, 17 July 1998, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, p. 3.

African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Maputo, 11 July 2003.

Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, Paris, 20 October 2005.


B. Jurisprudence

Permanent Court of International Justice, Mavrommatis Jerusalem Concessions, Judgment of 26 March 195, Series A, No. 5, p. 6.

Permanent Court of Arbitration, Island of Palmas Case (Netherlands, U.S.A.), Arbitral Award of 4 April 1928, Reports of International Arbitral Awards, vol. 2, p. 829.

International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1971, p. 16.

International Court of Justice, Western Sahara, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1975, p. 12.

International Court of Justice, Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1978, p. 3.

International Court of Justice, United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1980, p. 3.

International Court of Justice, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judgment of 27 June 1986, I.C.J. Reports 1986, p. 14.

International Court of Justice, East Timor (Portugal v. Australia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1995, p. 90.

International Court of Justice, Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 66.

International Court of Justice, Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226.

European Court of Human Rights, Akdivar and Others v. Turkey, no. 21893/93, Judgment of 16 September 1996 (Grand Chamber).

International Court of Justice, Gabčikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1997, p. 7.

International Court of Justice, Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. United States of America), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1998, p. 115.

International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Tadic, Judgment of 15 July 1999, Appeals Chamber, IT-94-1-A.

Arbitral Tribunal, Southern Bluefin Tuna Case (Australia and New Zealand v. Japan), Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility, 4 August 2000, reproduced in Reports of International Arbitral Awards, vol. XXIII, pp. 1-57.

International Court of Justice, Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain (Qatar v. Bahrain), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 40.

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, The Mox Plant Case (Ireland v. United Kingdom), Decision of 3 December 2001, International Legal Materials 2001, vol. 40, p. 36.

International Court of Justice, Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2003, p. 161.

European Court of Human Rights, M.C. v. Bulgaria, no. 39272/98, Judgment of 4 December 2003.

International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2004, p. 136.

International Court of Justice, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2005, p. 168.

Permanent Court of Arbitration, Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in proceedings between Barbados and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Decision of 11 April 2006.

International Court of Justice, Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2007, p. 43.


C. Documents

Declaration of Principles issued by the President of the United State and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (“The Atlantic Charter”), 14 August 1941.

The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Helsinki, 1 August 1975, International Legal Materials, vol. 14, 1975, p. 1292.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Document of the Stockholm Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in Europe, Stockholm, 19 September 1986.

Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests, Annex 3 to the Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992.

Institute of International Law, Problems Arising from a Succession of Codification
Conventions on a Particular Subject, Lisbon, 1 September 1995.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Case 10.970: Raquel Martín de Mejía (Peru), Report No. 5/96 of 1 March 1996.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Case No. 11.137: La Tablada (Argentina), Report No. 55/97 of 30 October 1997.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Draft Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2001.

Report of the Study Group of the International Law Commission, “Fragmentation of International Law: Difficulties Arising from the Diversification and Expansion of International Law” (A/CN.4/L.702, 18 July 2006).


D. Doctrine

A. Aust, Modern Treaty Law and Practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000.

R. Higgins, “A Babel of Judicial Voices? Ruminations from the Bench”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 55, 2006, p. 791.

W. Karl, “Conflicts between Treaties”, in Encyclopedia of Public International Law, vol. 4, North Holland, Amsterdam, New York and Oxford, 2000, p. 935.

H. Lauterpacht, “The Covenant as Higher Law”, British Yearbook of International Law, vol. 17, 1936, p. 57.

F. Paolillo, “Article 30”, in O. Corten/P. Klein (eds.), Les Conventions de Vienne sur le Droit des Traité: Commentaire article par article, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2006, p. 1247.

E. Roucounas, Engagements Parallèles et Contradictoires, Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, Recueil des cours de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye, vol. 206, 1987.

C. Rousseau, “De la compatibilité des normes juridiques contradictoires dans l’ordre juridique international”, Revue générale de droit international public, vol. 39, 1932, p. 133.

I. Sinclair, The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 2nd ed., Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1984.

C. Tomuschat, Obligations Arising for States without or against their Will, Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye, vol. 241, 1993.

M. Virally, “Textes internationaux de portée juridique et textes internationaux dépourvus de portée juridique. Rapport à l’Institut du droit international”, Yearbook of the Institute of International Law, vol. 60-I, 1983, p. 166.

P. Weil, “Vers une normativité relative en droit international?”, Revue générale de droit international public, vol. 86, 1982, p. 5.

P. Weil, “Towards Relative Normativity in International Law?”, American Journal of International Law, 1983, vol. 77, p. 413.

M. Zuleeg, “Vertragskonkurrenz im Völkerrecht”, German Yearbook of International Law, vol. 20, 1977, p. 246.