The Concept of International Obligations Erga Omnes

This is the first monograph on the concept of obligations erga omnes, an increasingly important notion in contemporary international law since its appearance in the International Court's judgment in the Barcelona Traction case. In 1970, The International Court of Justice identified a separate category of international obligations, which rather than being owed to a specific State on a bilateral basis, are owed to the international community as a whole, with all States having an interest in their protection and their being binding on all States irrespective of consent. Examples of such obligations given by the International Court are those prohibiting aggression and genocide, and those protecting from slavery and racial discrimination, in other words obligations erga omnes are those protecting and promoting basic values and common interests of states. This book is the first to examine the very concept of the obligations, rather than the corresponding rights of protection of obligations erga omnes. Ragazzi adopts a pragmatic method of legal analysis that identifies five common elements among the examples of obligations erga omnes given by the International Court. These five common elements are then discussed in relation to other candidates of obligations erga omnes which have emerged in State practice and international literature. Ragazzi's approach is extremely thorough and includes extensive bibliographical references in various languages.

The Appearance of the Concept of Obligations Erga Omnes on the Agenda: The Dictum of the International Court in the Barcelona Traction Case ; Selected Prefigurations of the Concept of Obligations Erga Omnes: (a)State Servitude, Permanent Dedication, International Status, and Objective Regime ; Selected Prefigurations of the Concept of Obligations Erga Omnes: (b)Jus Cogens ; The Examples of Obligations Erga Omnes Given by the International Court in its Dictum: (a)The Outlawing of Acts of Aggression ; The Examples of Obligations Erga Omnes Given by the International Court in its Dictum: (b)The Outlawing of Genocide ; The Examples of Obligations Erga Omnes Given by the International Court in its Dictum: (c)Protection from Slavery ; The Examples of Obligations Erga Omnes Given by the International Court in its Dictum: (d) Protection from Racial Discrimination ; Selected Candidates of Obligations Erga Omnes Proposed in the International Literature ; Other Selected Candidates in Light of the Advisory Opinion on Namibia and the Nuclear Tests Cases ; Particular Aspects of the Relationship Between the Concept of Obligations Erga Omnes and the concepts of Jus Cogens and Actio Popularis ; Bibliography