INTERNATIONAL LAW PAST EXAM QUESTIONS WITH MODEL ANSWERS
Question 1:
On a recent trip to New York the South African Minister of Foreign
Affairs enters
... [Show More] into an agreement with representatives from the United
States, Canada, Namibia and the United Kingdom on the treatment of
illegal immigrants. At the sane time the South Africa Minister of Health
is visits Zimbabwe, where she enters into an agreement (without
producing full powers) with Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment Affairs
on the protection of the environment.
(a) discuss fully, with reference to both the Vienna Convention on
the Law of Treaties and the South African Constitution,
whether
(i) The treaty on the treatment of illegal immigrants will bind
South Africa at an international level.
This was a straight forward question which required you to apply article 7(2)
of the Vienna Convention. Refer to pages 23-25 in the guide. Then decide
whether the treaty is binding internationally in terms of the South African
Constitution. (Consult section 231(1), 231(2) and 231(3).
(8)
(ii) The treaty on environmental protection will bind South Africa
at an international level.
All you had to do here was apply the provisions of article 7(1) of the Vienna
Convention. Consult pages 24 of the guide. (7)
(b) Assume that the treaty on the treatment of illegal immigrants
is binding on South Africa at an international level. Mr
Musina, an illegal immigrant from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, approaches a South African court claiming
damages in the grounds that the treatment he received at the
hands of the South African Police Services was in violation of
his rights under the treaty. Write a legal opinion for the
Minister of Safety and Security, in which you set out the
status of the treaty in terms of the SA Constitution 108 of
1996. (20)
The fact that the treaty is binding internationally does not make it effective
in, or applicable to, municipal law. Nor does it mean that it can be applied
by SA courts. Here you firstly had to determine whether this treaty has
legal effect in municipal law. To do this you require a discussion of section
231(4) of the Constitution. You should have found that treaty does not have
municipal effect. This does not mean that treaty is no use at all t Mr
Musina. Consult page 92 of the guide for the various ways that the
unincorporated treaty could be useful to Mr Musina. Note that not all of
these ways are useful. For example, there is no relevant legislation and
therefore section 233 is probably not going to be too helpful.
Question 2:
Ms Johanna Mann has a successful sex operation in February 2002.
She subsequently applies to the Department of Home Affairs to have
the change officially recorded and to change her name to Johann
Mann. The department of Home Affairs rejects the application. Ms
Mann approaches you, claiming that her rights under the Bill of
Rights have been violated. You are familiar with a European Court of
Human Rights decision and a German Constitutional Court decision
both, which held that refusal to recognise a sex change was a
violation of fundamental rights.
Explain, in light of the above, the relative weight that A South
African court must attach to the decisions of the European Court of
Human Rights and the German Constitutional Court in terms of the
SA Constitutions. (15)
This question involves he interpretation clause in the bill of rights. See
activity 2 on page 138 of the guide for guidance on how to answer such
questions.
Question 3:
With reference to recent international and municipal case law, discuss
critically the extent to which international law developments are
reflected in the South African Diplomatic Privileges and immunities Act
37 of 2001 in terms:
- head of state immunity
- government official other than heads of state
- Immunity of the United Nations, specialised agencies and
other international organisations. (25)
Please go to the beginning of the tutorial to read the new work to be
included. You have been warned to study the tuts as well.
Question 4:
Mr S Patat, a Portuguese national, owns a [Show Less]