Justice: an essential element for social connection?

Résumé du document

"A socially inclusive society is one where all people feel valued, their differences are respected, and their basic needs are met so that they can live in dignity" Victorian Health Foundation (VHF). The VHF has probably nothing to do with international law, however the message it delivers through this definition of a socially inclusive society is interestingly relevant to our field of study which is Law. To put this quotation in other words, social connection exists when justice is brought.

Why did I transform "socially inclusive society" into "social connexion"? Because the two expressions both share common characteristics. In fact, they both create coherence in society, as they refer to communication, networks of people interacting, sharing sets of values and ideals; if we take the two expressions to a higher level of interpretation, they both take us to one common concept: peace. Indeed, when peace is removed or violated, it means that the bonds between people are broken, whatever these bonds are (values, norms, ideals, etc.).

How successful has international justice proven in maintaining social connection in and between societies? In other words, the aim of this essay is to try to find a practical applicability to the theoretical link that we previously found between justice and social connection.

Extraits

[...] Indeed, let us take the example used by Dimitrijevic (quoted previously) in his essay dealing with dignity and physical integrity. These values or rights are not expressively recognized as customary law; in fact, it is their violation that is recognised as subject to punishment. Indeed, the article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one “shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” which in other words means that human dignity and physical integrity shall be respected. [...]

[...] In fact, not only are they linked, but they are also determinant factors of each other's existence. Indeed, let's take social connection, and see how it takes us to justice. A socially connected society creates certain coherence within the society; this coherence comes along with order, because the latter keeps the bonds between the entities in the society and therefore makes it coherent; the main source of order is justice, in the two meanings of the word (the state/situation and the institution). Now let's do the inverted reasoning. [...]

[...] The final Vienna Congress Act of 1815 codified the diplomats' statuses, as well as the jurisdiction of some rivers and the abolishment of slavery, among others. Then, in 1961 and 1963 were developed diplomatic and consulate laws, followed by the 1969 Law of treaties. In fact, the origins of treaties are the conventions; these are what were used in for example; the year 1969 is very important in the History of treaties because it hosted the Vienna Convention, also called treaty of treaties”. [...]

[...] What about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? In fact, this declaration is not a treaty. Its content should be classified as customary, defined by the International Court of Justice evidence of a general practice accepted as (Statute of the International Court of Justice, Part Article 38, it is also defined by the Foreign Relations Law of the United states as a law that “results from a general and consistent practice of states followed by them from a sense of legal obligation” ( Restatement of the Law, Third, the Foreign Relations Law of the United States Customary law could therefore be qualified as opinio juiris sive necessitatis; it is general and constant in practice, since it has to be applied by many states and has to be long-standing. [...]

[...] Why are these treaties so important? Because treaties are source of rights. They are the most frequent instruments of international law, and nowadays involve all aspects of international cooperation. Treaties are explicit, public, and easier to use. Indeed, the different parties involved in the treaty express it the way they want, so there should be no problem of interpretation or implications. Treaties are also usually public, since the Article 102 of the United Nations Charter as well as Article 80 of the Vienna Convention guarantees that the treaties are being recorded and published by the United Nations Secretary. [...]