LCP4801 INTERNATIONAL LAW ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS A+ 2025/2026
✔✔Role of UN in settlement of disputes - ✔✔• The UN, through the Security Council,
has the primary responsibility of maintaining global peace and security.
• Since both Ajubaria and Kalakuta are members of the UN, they are subject to its
jurisdiction, and the UN can intervene to stop the conflict.
• The UN can delegate the responsibility of intervention to a collective/regional force.
• When exercising this responsibility, the Security Council must act within the objectives
and principles of the UN.
• The Security Council may decide on measures such as sanctions, diplomatic
negotiations and severance of diplomatic relations in the exercise of its powers
✔✔Prohibition of the use of force under international law - ✔✔• There is a prohibition of
the use of force under international law.
• There are 2 exceptions to this rule: (i) where there is a threat to international peace
and security, the Security Council may authorise the use of collective force or a regional
force (e.g. the case of Libya) to use force (ii) where a state acts in self-defence. Ajubaria
must be able to prove these two points, in particular self-defence.
• Students must also show whether anticipatory or preventive self-defence is allowed
✔✔State liability under Int law - ✔✔• There are 2 types of state liability: Direct (where
states act through their officials and agents to violate the territorial integrity of other
states) and indirect (where state infringes the rights of the citizen of another state or
does nothing to prevent an attack against the property or persons of another state)
liabilities.
• In principle, there is no difference in the result of both direct or indirect liability.
• Students should make reference to the Iran Hostage case, to show that actions of
persons can be attributed/ascribed to a particular state, in the event that such state
makes no positive effort to prevent harmful actions.
• For attribution to occur, a sufficient link between the actor and the state must be
proved.
• Ajubaria can prove that the actions of the armed rebels is supported by Kalakuta, while
Kalakuta can also prove that Ajubaria supports rebel movement within its territory.
• Students have to provide sufficient explanation to determine the liability of both states,
and how this provides justification for use of force.
✔✔Measures that should be put into place to prevent outright conflict between states -
✔✔• UN should step in to prevent the escalation of this conflict.
• One way of addressing this is the peaceful settlement of disputes under article 2(3) of
the UN Charter
• Peaceful settlement of disputes include the use of negotiation, mediation, conciliation,
inquiry and judicial settlement under the ICJ.
• Students should be able to identify any of these measures, and show how these could
be used to prevent a potential war between Ajubaria and Kalakuta.
, ✔✔Immunity of foreign heads of states generally - ✔✔• Aim of immunity was to allow
heads of states (HOS) to conduct international relations smoothly.
• Provides for the inviolability of the person and premises of a foreign state's
representatives.
• Also provides for immunities from the exercise of jurisdiction over those
representatives.
• Premised on sovereign equality (principle of state sovereignty).
• Two forms of immunity: personal and functional.
• Provided for by both customary law and Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
• Arrest Warrant Case (ICJ) - certain holders of high ranking office in a state, such as
the HOS, head of government, and minister of foreign affairs enjoy personal immunity.
• Personal immunity is absolute, covers both private and public acts committed by
officials.
• Functional immunity relates to conduct carried out on behalf of a states. It is more
commonly used in civil cases.
• Functional immunity, unlike personal immunity, does not attach to all conduct
performed by state officials.
• In SA, this type of immunity is governed by the Foreign States Immunities Act 87 of
1981.
✔✔Immunity in relation to murder, assault and similar offences? - ✔✔• Section 2 of the
FIS provides that a foreign state shall be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of
the Republic.
• Under the Act, a number of exceptions to immunity exist, and these relate to civil
claims, amongst others, and also provide for the waiver of immunity by the state
concerned.
• Section 6(a) provides for immunity of the foreign head of state from the jurisdiction of
SA courts, except in the case of a death or injury of any person.
• Immunity ratione materiae (functional immunity) does not apply to international crimes,
whether prosecuted by international or domestic courts.
• Although the Arrest Warrant case seems to suggest that at the domestic level, a
domestic court would still be bound by the foreign HOS's immunity, regardless of the
crime committed, the situation in SA differs from that notion.
• The FIS was enacted with full knowledge of the prevailing international customary law,
and it was deliberately crafted to take away that immunity.
Strydom (p264) argues that under customary law, HOS and certain officials enjoy
absolute personal immunity before domestic courts of other states. This position cannot
be reconciled with section 6(a) of FIS as indicated above.
✔✔Immunity of wives (spouses) of foreign heads of states? - ✔✔Spouses enjoy
derivative immunity
• In other words, their immunity derives from the husband/wife who is a foreign head of
state.
• They cannot enjoy any more immunity than their spouses do.
• To the extent that the foreign HOS does not enjoy immunity for murder and related
cases, their spouses also do not have such immunity.
WITH SOLUTIONS A+ 2025/2026
✔✔Role of UN in settlement of disputes - ✔✔• The UN, through the Security Council,
has the primary responsibility of maintaining global peace and security.
• Since both Ajubaria and Kalakuta are members of the UN, they are subject to its
jurisdiction, and the UN can intervene to stop the conflict.
• The UN can delegate the responsibility of intervention to a collective/regional force.
• When exercising this responsibility, the Security Council must act within the objectives
and principles of the UN.
• The Security Council may decide on measures such as sanctions, diplomatic
negotiations and severance of diplomatic relations in the exercise of its powers
✔✔Prohibition of the use of force under international law - ✔✔• There is a prohibition of
the use of force under international law.
• There are 2 exceptions to this rule: (i) where there is a threat to international peace
and security, the Security Council may authorise the use of collective force or a regional
force (e.g. the case of Libya) to use force (ii) where a state acts in self-defence. Ajubaria
must be able to prove these two points, in particular self-defence.
• Students must also show whether anticipatory or preventive self-defence is allowed
✔✔State liability under Int law - ✔✔• There are 2 types of state liability: Direct (where
states act through their officials and agents to violate the territorial integrity of other
states) and indirect (where state infringes the rights of the citizen of another state or
does nothing to prevent an attack against the property or persons of another state)
liabilities.
• In principle, there is no difference in the result of both direct or indirect liability.
• Students should make reference to the Iran Hostage case, to show that actions of
persons can be attributed/ascribed to a particular state, in the event that such state
makes no positive effort to prevent harmful actions.
• For attribution to occur, a sufficient link between the actor and the state must be
proved.
• Ajubaria can prove that the actions of the armed rebels is supported by Kalakuta, while
Kalakuta can also prove that Ajubaria supports rebel movement within its territory.
• Students have to provide sufficient explanation to determine the liability of both states,
and how this provides justification for use of force.
✔✔Measures that should be put into place to prevent outright conflict between states -
✔✔• UN should step in to prevent the escalation of this conflict.
• One way of addressing this is the peaceful settlement of disputes under article 2(3) of
the UN Charter
• Peaceful settlement of disputes include the use of negotiation, mediation, conciliation,
inquiry and judicial settlement under the ICJ.
• Students should be able to identify any of these measures, and show how these could
be used to prevent a potential war between Ajubaria and Kalakuta.
, ✔✔Immunity of foreign heads of states generally - ✔✔• Aim of immunity was to allow
heads of states (HOS) to conduct international relations smoothly.
• Provides for the inviolability of the person and premises of a foreign state's
representatives.
• Also provides for immunities from the exercise of jurisdiction over those
representatives.
• Premised on sovereign equality (principle of state sovereignty).
• Two forms of immunity: personal and functional.
• Provided for by both customary law and Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
• Arrest Warrant Case (ICJ) - certain holders of high ranking office in a state, such as
the HOS, head of government, and minister of foreign affairs enjoy personal immunity.
• Personal immunity is absolute, covers both private and public acts committed by
officials.
• Functional immunity relates to conduct carried out on behalf of a states. It is more
commonly used in civil cases.
• Functional immunity, unlike personal immunity, does not attach to all conduct
performed by state officials.
• In SA, this type of immunity is governed by the Foreign States Immunities Act 87 of
1981.
✔✔Immunity in relation to murder, assault and similar offences? - ✔✔• Section 2 of the
FIS provides that a foreign state shall be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of
the Republic.
• Under the Act, a number of exceptions to immunity exist, and these relate to civil
claims, amongst others, and also provide for the waiver of immunity by the state
concerned.
• Section 6(a) provides for immunity of the foreign head of state from the jurisdiction of
SA courts, except in the case of a death or injury of any person.
• Immunity ratione materiae (functional immunity) does not apply to international crimes,
whether prosecuted by international or domestic courts.
• Although the Arrest Warrant case seems to suggest that at the domestic level, a
domestic court would still be bound by the foreign HOS's immunity, regardless of the
crime committed, the situation in SA differs from that notion.
• The FIS was enacted with full knowledge of the prevailing international customary law,
and it was deliberately crafted to take away that immunity.
Strydom (p264) argues that under customary law, HOS and certain officials enjoy
absolute personal immunity before domestic courts of other states. This position cannot
be reconciled with section 6(a) of FIS as indicated above.
✔✔Immunity of wives (spouses) of foreign heads of states? - ✔✔Spouses enjoy
derivative immunity
• In other words, their immunity derives from the husband/wife who is a foreign head of
state.
• They cannot enjoy any more immunity than their spouses do.
• To the extent that the foreign HOS does not enjoy immunity for murder and related
cases, their spouses also do not have such immunity.
