Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 July 2009
A scholar studying international law, as it is presented in the texts of international treaties and restatements of customary norms, could describe an ideal world. The United Nations Charter and other international instruments suggest a harmonious existence in which there is no use or threat of the use of force between States, where disarmament is complete, where international aid to developing countries enables them to satisfy the basic needs of their inhabitants, where international co-operation leads to social and cultural progress and where human rights are respected. Disputes over the application of rules of international law are settled by international tribunals or other peaceful means, and violations of law are sanctioned by the implementation of rules of State responsibility.
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53. Council Directive of 4 May 1976, OJ No. L 129, 18 May 1976, p. 23.
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58. Programme of Action of the European Communities on the Environment, 22 November 1973, (EC) OJ No. 112, 20 December 1973, p. 1.
59. E.g., Iran and China.
60. See as an example, Art. XV of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Washington, 3 March 1973, UNEP loc.cit. n. 45, p. 289.
61. Inter-American Court of Human Rights, ‘The Effect of Reservations on the Entry into Force of the American Convention (Art. 74 and 75)’, Advisory Opinion OC-2/82 of 24 September 1982, OEA/Ser. L/V/III/O Doc 13 pp., 42 and 29.