Like the protectorate, which is now a dying species, the mandate system of the League of Nations no longer applies to any territory. The mandate system was created after the First World War under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations to deal with the future administration of the overseas possessions of the “Axis” states of Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Three categories of mandates (A, B and C) were devised for those territories “according to the stage of their development”. Therefore, the correct option is E.

According to the traditional approach, a state making reservation (the reserving state) can do so only with the consent of other contracting parties. 

A treaty is void ab initio (from the beginning), if at the time of its conclusion it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law, i.e., jus cogens (Art. 53). “If a new peremptory norm of general international law emerges, any
existing treaty which is in conflict with that norm becomes void and terminates” (Art. 64). Thus, a treaty is void if it is in contradiction with the existing or new jus cogens.

Before belligerency is accorded recognition, the recognizing state must satisfy that the:
• hostilities must not be local (as in insurgency) but must be of a general character;
• insurgents must be in occupation and control of a considerable portion of the
national territory;
• insurgent forces must be properly commanded and they observe the laws and
customs of war;
• hostilities have reached to such a magnitude that outside powers may be compelled to define their attitude toward belligerency. Recognition of belligerency, in fact, should be followed by a declaration of neutrality.

The correct answer is E.

An entity, to be considered a state, must have certain characteristics, such as territory, population, government, and sovereignty. Article 1 of the 1933 Convention on Rights and Duties of States (the Montevideo Convention) provides that “the state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:

(a) permanent population

(b) defined territory

(c) a government

(d) capacity to enter into relations with other States.”

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW

Non-liquet means “it is not clear.” In law, a non liquet is a situation where there is no applicable law. It refers to a situation in which a competent court or tribunal fails to decide the merits of a case for the absence of suitable law, the “it is not clear.”ness or ambiguity of rules, inconsistencies in law, or the injustice of the legal consequences.

The applicability of modern international law to non-European countries became possible after World War I with the League of Nations in 1920.

Situations in which a treaty may be rendered invalid can be stated as follows:

I- Violation of domestic law on treaty-making

II- Error

III- Fraud and corruption of the state representative

IV- Coercion

V- Conflict with a norm of jus cogens

Uti possidetis means “as you possess, as you hold.” The principle vests in either of the belligerents at the end of a war all territory occupied or controlled by them.

In 1990’s, two international criminal tribunals were established to deal with crimes that resulted mainly from internal armed conflicts to prosecute and punish those involved in serious violation of international humanitarian law, regardless of their official position. In May 1993, the Security Council constituted the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, followed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in November 1994. The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established in January 2002

According to the Vienna Convention, only a material breach entitles a party to withdraw from a treaty. A material breach refers to “the violation of a provision essential to the accomplishment of the object or purpose of a treaty” (Art. 60/3(b)). The correct answer is E.

Irrespective of the form or terminology of a particular instrument, an agreement should have the following characteristics to be considered as a treaty:
• it should be embodied in a written instrument between two or more
entities;
• those entities should be endowed with international personality; and
• it should be governed by international law.

The Vienna Convention defines treaty as “an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law”.

Amiable compositeur under international law refers to an unbiased third party, who suggests solution to a dispute between countries. An amiable compositeur acts as a conciliator or a mediator rather than a decision-maker in a dispute. An amiable compositeur is also not bound to apply strict rules of civil procedure and substantive law (USLegal.com).

Such organizations may be either universal (such as the UN and the ILO) or regional (such as the European Union and the African Union).

Three categories of mandates (A, B and C) were devised for those territories “according to the stage of their development” (Art. 22 of the Covenant of the League). Class A comprised territories that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire and were sufficiently advanced for their independence to be “provisionally recognized.” It was subject to the administrative advice and assistance of the Mandatory, “until such time as they were able to stand alone.” Except Iraq (Mandatory—Great Britain), which achieved early independence, all the territories under this category—Palestine and Transjordan (Mandatory—Great Britain), Syria and Lebanon (Mandatory—France) became independent only after the Second World War. Therefore, the correct option is C.

Non-liquet means “it is not clear.” In law, a non liquet is a situation where there is no applicable law. It refers to a situation in which a competent court or tribunal fails to decide the merits of a case for the absence of suitable law, the vagueness or ambiguity of rules, inconsistencies in law, or the injustice of the legal consequences.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM

Custom is a habitual course of conduct or general practice accepted as law. Custom evolves after a long historical process culminating in its recognition by the community. Custom may be treated as a source of law if it manifests the attributes of antiquity, certainty, continuity, consistency, and uniformity.

Audi alteram partem means "hear the other side (let the other side be heard as well)."

Naturalist school regards the law of nature as the main source of international law whereas positivist school takes it as self-limitation of countries as voluntarily restricting their own sovereignty. Thus the former put great emphasis on human beings and the latter places the emphasis on sovereignty. However, the true basis for international law lies neither of them exclusively.