LCP4801 ASSIGNMENT 01
2021 SUPER SEMESTER
DUE DATE: 15 MAY 2021
RULES OF THIS RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT (rule 1 most important)
1. You will have to conduct research for this assignment. Please note that we will only
accept articles authored in accredited law journals, books and relevant case law as
permissible references in the assignment. Internet sources like Wikipedia, Google
etc will not be acceptable, as they are NOT legal resources. This means that this is
just a guideline. To avoid plagiarism every student has to use unique sources,
should you copy and paste this assignment as is, a ZERO mark will be awarded.
2. The length of your assignment should not exceed 2500 words in total
(approximately five (5) typed pages in 1.5 line spacing). Should your assignment
exceed the restriction placed on the number of pages; everything written after page
5 will not be assessed. Your page margins must be set at 2 cm on all four sides (not
inches); and your text must be justified and presented in black ink only.
3. Your essay must be properly referenced and must conform to the conventions on
essay writing. The practice of merely inserting a bibliography at the end of the
essay will not suffice. If you are submitting a typed assignment, then referencing
should be done in footnotes. The OSCOLA style must be used for referencing your
sources.
If you are submitting a handwritten assignment, then we will accept the Harvard style
(in text) method of referencing. Should you choose to ignore the instructions on
referencing you will be severely penalised as marks will not be awarded for
plagiarism. We cannot reiterate this enough, but a failure to reference properly
constitutes plagiarism which is an offence in terms of the rules of the University.
ATTEMPTED ANSWER BELOW
|
, IMMUNITY OF HEADS OF STATES
International law may, in certain instances, prevent a court from exercising criminal or
civil jurisdiction over foreign states and their representatives through the principle of
immunity. Under this principle, international law will prohibit a state from exercising
jurisdiction over a matter that would ordinarily fall within its jurisdiction, either based on
the identity of the person or entity involved (for example, a head of state) or the nature
of the conduct in question.1
IMMUNITY OF HEADS OF STATES AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMES
Under international law, representatives of foreign states may be beneficiaries of
personal immunity or functional immunity, or both. Personal immunity provides complete
immunity of the person of certain officeholders while they carry out important
representative functions’. It is absolute, covering both private and public acts committed
by officials, even those committed prior to their taking office, but temporary, that is, it
only applies in so far as the person holds the office in question.2 This form of immunity
is provided for under both customary international law, as well as various treaties. In the
Arrest Warrant3 case, the ICJ held that Belgium had ‘failed to respect the immunity from
criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability which the incumbent Minister for Foreign Affairs
of the Democratic Republic of Congo enjoyed under international law’ when it issued an
arrest warrant for him for crimes against humanity and war crimes. According to
Strydom personal immunity does not apply in international tribunals but applies in
domestic courts.4
Secondly, functional immunity relates to conduct carried out on behalf of a state. It is
based on the notion that a state may not sit in judgment on the policies and actions of
another state, since they are both sovereign and equal. Equally, when a person acts on
1
Strydom et al International Law (Oxford University Press) 2016 253.
2
Strydom Strydom et al International Law 254.
3
Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Belgium) (Judgment) ICJ
Reports 2002.
4
Strydom et al International Law 254.
|
2021 SUPER SEMESTER
DUE DATE: 15 MAY 2021
RULES OF THIS RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT (rule 1 most important)
1. You will have to conduct research for this assignment. Please note that we will only
accept articles authored in accredited law journals, books and relevant case law as
permissible references in the assignment. Internet sources like Wikipedia, Google
etc will not be acceptable, as they are NOT legal resources. This means that this is
just a guideline. To avoid plagiarism every student has to use unique sources,
should you copy and paste this assignment as is, a ZERO mark will be awarded.
2. The length of your assignment should not exceed 2500 words in total
(approximately five (5) typed pages in 1.5 line spacing). Should your assignment
exceed the restriction placed on the number of pages; everything written after page
5 will not be assessed. Your page margins must be set at 2 cm on all four sides (not
inches); and your text must be justified and presented in black ink only.
3. Your essay must be properly referenced and must conform to the conventions on
essay writing. The practice of merely inserting a bibliography at the end of the
essay will not suffice. If you are submitting a typed assignment, then referencing
should be done in footnotes. The OSCOLA style must be used for referencing your
sources.
If you are submitting a handwritten assignment, then we will accept the Harvard style
(in text) method of referencing. Should you choose to ignore the instructions on
referencing you will be severely penalised as marks will not be awarded for
plagiarism. We cannot reiterate this enough, but a failure to reference properly
constitutes plagiarism which is an offence in terms of the rules of the University.
ATTEMPTED ANSWER BELOW
|
, IMMUNITY OF HEADS OF STATES
International law may, in certain instances, prevent a court from exercising criminal or
civil jurisdiction over foreign states and their representatives through the principle of
immunity. Under this principle, international law will prohibit a state from exercising
jurisdiction over a matter that would ordinarily fall within its jurisdiction, either based on
the identity of the person or entity involved (for example, a head of state) or the nature
of the conduct in question.1
IMMUNITY OF HEADS OF STATES AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMES
Under international law, representatives of foreign states may be beneficiaries of
personal immunity or functional immunity, or both. Personal immunity provides complete
immunity of the person of certain officeholders while they carry out important
representative functions’. It is absolute, covering both private and public acts committed
by officials, even those committed prior to their taking office, but temporary, that is, it
only applies in so far as the person holds the office in question.2 This form of immunity
is provided for under both customary international law, as well as various treaties. In the
Arrest Warrant3 case, the ICJ held that Belgium had ‘failed to respect the immunity from
criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability which the incumbent Minister for Foreign Affairs
of the Democratic Republic of Congo enjoyed under international law’ when it issued an
arrest warrant for him for crimes against humanity and war crimes. According to
Strydom personal immunity does not apply in international tribunals but applies in
domestic courts.4
Secondly, functional immunity relates to conduct carried out on behalf of a state. It is
based on the notion that a state may not sit in judgment on the policies and actions of
another state, since they are both sovereign and equal. Equally, when a person acts on
1
Strydom et al International Law (Oxford University Press) 2016 253.
2
Strydom Strydom et al International Law 254.
3
Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Belgium) (Judgment) ICJ
Reports 2002.
4
Strydom et al International Law 254.
|
