Deck 13: International Law Norms and Human Rights

Question 1

One of the first sources of international law that sought to regulate war came from the

A) Roman Empire.
B) catholic church.
C) League of Nations.
D) feudal states.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The idea that rational inquiry could reveal to people what behaviors should be legal is known as

A) rational law.
B) collective action.
C) just war.
D) natural law.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Aside from reasons of self defense, what was the other rationale that the United States and Great Britain used to support their case for the invasion of Iraq in 2003?

A) The existence of weapons of mass destruction threatened the world.
B) That Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant who had killed thousands of his own people.
C) That the leader of Iraq had ignored earlier Security Council resolutions.
D) That they needed to gain access to important security clearances.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to many scholars, the central problem with international law is

A) the unequal power among nations.
B) the arbitrary decisions made by the International Court of Justice.
C) the greater weight of domestic versus international law.
D) enforcement of legal decisions and treaties.

Question 5

The U.S. government position that preventive war against potential nuclear proliferators was legal is known as the

A) Colin Principle.
B) Cheney Act.
C) Bush Doctrine.
D) Principle of Self-Defense.

Question 6

The set of rules and obligations that states recognize as binding on each other is called

A) international law.
B) international organizations.
C) international regimes.
D) international institutions.

Question 7

Major sources of international law do NOT include

A) treaties.
B) international custom.
C) general principles of law.
D) the UN General Assembly

Question 8

Which of the following theoretical frameworks argues that international law is heavily biased in favor of the powerful?

A) Constructivism
B) Liberalism
C) Realism
D) Imperialism

Question 9

The banning of biological and chemical weapons was signed by the major powers in 1925 and included in the

A) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
B) Kellogg-Briand Treaty.
C) Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
D) Geneva Protocol.

Question 10

Countries who signed the 1987 Montreal Protocol agreed to

A) ban of the use of aerosol propellants.
B) reduce annual catch limits on halibut and tuna to protect breeding grounds.
C) regulate the level of mercury released from coal fired power plants.
D) lower the level of energy consumption in the developed countries.

Question 11

According to the Dutch legal scholar Grotius, a just war includes all of the following principles except

A) there must be just cause to go to war.
B) a preemptive war is permissible.
C) the means used in war must not be inhumane.
D) the means used in war must be proportional to the ends obtained.

Question 12

The General Assembly of the United Nations

A) has the right to pass legally binding resolutions.
B) does not have the right to pass legally binding resolutions.
C) has the right to decide on the placement of peacekeeping forces.
D) has the power of the veto.

Question 13

The Bush Administration argued that UN resolution 1441 supported the case for invasion because it called for

A) serious consequences.
B) military invasion.
C) a possible nuclear strike.
D) economic sanctions.

Question 14

Which of the following is not listed as a major source of international justice in Article 38 of the Charter of the International Court of Justice?

A) International custom
B) The general principle of law
C) International conventions
D) Religious institutions

Question 15

Who wrote The Law of War and Peace ?

A) Kofi Annan
B) St. Thomas Aquinas
C) Hugo Grotius
D) Michael Walzer

Question 16

One of the first international treaties that focused on the conduct of war, especially in terms of treatment of prisoners, is called the

A) Geneva Conventions.
B) Maastricht Treaty.
C) Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
D) Landmine Ban Treaty.

Question 17

The International Court of Justice consists of

A) 10 judges, including two each from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
B) 20 judges, including one each from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
C) a panel of 3 judges per case, including one from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
D) 15 judges, including one each from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Question 18

The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact sought to

A) establish punishment for those committing genocide.
B) establish the League of Nations.
C) prohibit war as an instrument of state policy.
D) ban specific weapons in the use of war.

Question 19

For cases in which the International Court of Justice has jurisdiction

A) the case must involve two or more states.
B) rulings are considered final and there is no appeal process.
C) the case can involve states or non-state actors.
D) the United States must be one of the plaintiffs.

Question 20

The International Court of Justice, unofficially referred to as World Court, is based out of

A) New York City, USA.
B) Geneva, Switzerland.
C) The Hague, Netherlands.
D) London, England.

Question 21

In prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, what is the name of the actor in which many states have this shared interest?

A) Organization
B) Regime
C) Institution
D) Law

Question 22

In what way were enforcement measures strengthened in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

A) Member states can bring their complaints to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
B) Member states are required to accept the jurisdiction of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.
C) Member states are required to accept the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council.
D) Member states can use protectionist measures to punish other member states.

Question 23

States generally are willing to enforce international law themselves because

A) more powerful states could invade any state that breaks the law.
B) the International Court of Justice would decide against them anyway.
C) they tend to benefit from international law.
D) the United Nations would impose greater sanctions against those states.

Question 24

Norms can take many forms, including all of the following except

A) relative power between states.
B) ethical principles about how actors should behave.
C) mutual expectations about how actors will behave.
D) social identities indicating which actors are legitimate.

Question 25

Which theory of international relations supports the idea of the relevance of international law?

A) Economic structuralism
B) Liberalism
C) Marxism
D) Realism

Question 26

The first permanent court to deal with significant illegal acts was the

A) International Court of Justice.
B) European Court of Justice.
C) International Criminal Court.
D) International Military Tribunal.

Question 27

Constructivists emphasize the role played by

A) blended enforcement
B) norms.
C) regimes.
D) treaties.

Question 28

___________ represent an intermediate category of agreements that are not formal laws but are significant nonetheless in shaping state behavior. Often, they remain unwritten and are not represented by formal organizations.

A) Norms
B) International law
C) International regimes
D) Treaties

Question 29

Norms can spread through various ways. Were the World Bank to help spread the Washington consensus on development strategy this would be an example of

A) norms spreading across societies and influencing governments from the bottom up.
B) norms spreading from state to state.
C) norms spreading through international governmental organizations.
D) norms spreading through transnational groups of nongovernmental experts.

Question 30

The 1948 document that includes a range of inalienable rights that every individual possesses is known as the

A) Geneva Conventions.
B) Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
C) Maastricht Treaty.
D) European Convention on Human Rights.

Question 31

While the International Court of Justice can issue judicial decisions, the enforcement of those decisions has been the role of

A) the World Court.
B) NATO.
C) the United Nations.
D) states themselves.

Question 32

Economic and social rights include all of the following except

A) the right to a job.
B) a minimal standard of living.
C) the right to join a union and workplace rights.
D) the right to health care.

Question 33

The most pressing threats to international security tend to be brought to the ________.

A) World Trade Organization.
B) ICJ.
C) Security Council.
D) General Assembly

Question 34

Those who argue against the relevance of international law suggest that

A) international treaties and agreements simply are not important.
B) the International Court of Justice has no enforcement power whatsoever.
C) international law may at times constrain the behavior of states.
D) international law is a tool used by powerful states to control weak states.

Question 35

The first major global environmental treaty is the

A) Geneva Conventions.
B) Maastricht Treaty.
C) Montreal Protocol.
D) Kyoto Protocol.

Question 36

Many scholars would argue that today we are living in a period

A) of increasing normative consensus.
B) characterized by the breakdown in most international regimes dealing with human rights.
C) of decreasing normative consensus.
D) of deregulation of international law.

Question 37

Norms can spread through many ways, including all of the following except

A) through international organizations.
B) from state to state.
C) among transnational groups of government experts.
D) through military coercion and war.

Question 38

Which of the following statements is false?

A) The Westphalian system assumes that states control their own territory and citizens.
B) Human rights assume that rights are universal; however, a universal duty to protect is not assumed.
C) The Westphalian system assumes a territorial segmentation of authority.
D) Human rights assume that people have rights that states cannot deny and must protect.

Question 39

The World Trade Organization (WTO) mechanism might be described as an instance of __________; i.e., although WTO has the authority to dole out penalties, enforcement comes from the states themselves.

A) complex enforcement
B) blended enforcement
C) mixed use
D) self-enforcement

Question 40

Charles Beitz divides human rights into five broad categories.  Which of the following is not among these rights?

A) Social rights
B) Ethnic rights
C) Rights in law
D) Personal rights

Question 41

The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over all of the following crimes except

A) genocide.
B) economic discrimination.
C) crimes against humanity.
D) war crimes.

Question 42

The notion of war crimes first developed as a result of which war?

A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Korean War
D) Vietnam War

Question 43

The refusal of the United States to sign the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty is based mainly on its belief that the ICC

A) has too much power.
B) holds the view that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was illegal.
C) is dominated by countries associated with the "Axis of Evil."
D) might be used as a political tool against the United States.

Question 44

Illegal actions that come under war crimes include all the following except

A) willful killing.
B) torture.
C) unlawful deportation.
D) hate language.

Question 45

The United States

A) recently joined the International Criminal Court (ICC).
B) has not joined the ICC.
C) helped to found the ICC.
D) opposes the ICC.

Question 46

Why do some believe that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has transcended the traditional notion of international law as "law among nations"?

A) They believe it will be very successful.
B) It was formed by an agreement among states, but state governments are not represented at the Court.
C) It has already made great strides with regard to the improvement of human rights in the Third World.
D) The Court had success in the trial of Slobodan Milosevic.

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT a reason for migration?

A) People go to places where there is economic opportunity.
B) People move to reunite with family members.
C) People leave because of threats to their safety from war or famine.
D) People are never able to claim asylum.

Question 48

Which of the following is true regarding military intervention in human rights issues?

A) Intervention is never carried out in the contemporary system.
B) Cases where intervention does not occur are never controversial.
C) All agree that intervention is illegal under international law.
D) Intervention is the most controversial aspect of the human rights debate today.

Question 49

Today the largest groups of refugees are

A) found in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
B) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
C) in transit between the developing world and the developed world.
D) in South America and Mexico.

Question 50

According to John Brennan, which of the following is not a basic requirement for the legal use of force?

A) Principle of no other alternative
B) Principle of necessity
C) Principle of humanity
D) Principle of distinction

Question 51

The principle that the International Criminal Court will only take on cases in which domestic criminal courts are either unable or unwilling to get involved in is known as

A) segmentation.
B) complementarity.
C) jurisdiction.
D) ad hominem.

Question 52

Refugees are able to claim ___________, which allows them to immigrate permanently to a new state.

A) asylum
B) sanctuary
C) displacement
D) safety

Question 53

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees, approximately how many refugees were there in the world in 2011?

A) 5.5 million
B) 10.5 million
C) 20.5 million
D) 50.5 million

Question 54

Any person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country is a

A) migrant.
B) refugee.
C) asylum-seeker.
D) emigré.

Question 55

The most innovative feature of the International Criminal Court is that its primary focus is

A) individuals.
B) states.
C) ethnic groups.
D) international organizations.

Question 56

The "ethnic cleansing" campaigns of the wars in former Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide of 1994 are examples of

A) cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
B) war crimes.
C) unjust war.
D) civil wars.

Question 57

How have international norms against the death penalty affected the U.S. Supreme Court?

A) The international movement against the death penalty was cited by the Court as one reason for banning the execution of juveniles.
B) International norms do not affect the Supreme Court.
C) International norms have caused the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty.
D) International norms were cited by the Court as one reason for banning lethal injection.

Question 58

Which of the following treaties guarantees the rights to participate in free trade unions and to gain an education?

A) Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
B) Montreal Protocol
C) Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
D) Treaty of Portsmouth

Question 59

According to the text, all of the following are reasons that migrants are not welcomed, except

A) citizens of the receiving country fear that migrants divert state resources from other missions.
B) citizens fear migrants' religious influence.
C) citizens fear that migrants will take their jobs or livelihood.
D) citizens would rather not have migrants speaking their own languages in their new country.

Question 60

Which category of criminal action focuses on atrocities committed during armed conflicts?

A) Racial hatred
B) Ethnic tensions
C) War crimes
D) Human rights abuse

Question 61

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is similar to the previous organization, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), but also quite different. What are the main similarities and differences between these two organizations? What are the distinct challenges faced by the WTO?

Question 62

Discuss the two sides on the legality of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Which side makes the most convincing argument?

Question 63

Discuss the features of the International Criminal Court. What are its distinctive features? What are its primary challenges?

Question 64

In the war on terror, are drone strikes legal according to international law? Compare and contrast the legal arguments for and against the use of such strikes.

Question 65

What are the various sources of international law?

Question 66

Discuss how the case of the death penalty represents the spread of an international norm.

Question 67

Explain the structure of the International Court of Justice. What are the types of cases on which it passes legal judgment? What are its primary strengths and weaknesses?

Question 68

How exactly is the debate over universal human rights changing the current international norm of nonintervention? Why might certain actors assert the Westphalian system is indeed ripe for change? Why might others oppose intervention in support of human rights protection?

Question 69

How does international law differ from domestic law? Discuss the main differences, providing an example or two to help illustrate the major differences.

Question 70

The United States invaded Iraq twice: in 1990 and in 2003. What were the main differences in the circumstances that resulted in these invasions?