Complete the following assignment:

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General has proposed a treaty that has the United States, all European Union states, Ukraine, and Russia as prospective parties. The treaty provides for

  • a year-long cease-fire covering the provinces that Russia has claimed that it has annexed, and fighting between Ukraine and Russia remains intense in those areas;
  • an end to all weapons supplies and other military support from outside actors;
  • all disputes over the treaty and the disputed areas to be adjudicated through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The United States has withdrawn its acceptance of the “optional clause,” and all the other states have attached reservations to the ICJ Statute that are the same as the French one in the Case of Certain Norwegian Loans.
  • The treaty enters into force with the ratification of all prospective parties.

As Legal Advisor to the US State Department, Secretary Antony Blinken has asked you to identify all relevant developments in which (1) the proposed agreement might never happen and (2) those that would lead the agreement to fall apart after it takes effect.

Using the international legal rules on treaties (and any material covered through IIC1 on the course syllabus) focus on how various changes, events, or decisions affect the legal status of the agreement

–these scenarios (e.g., one side violates the treaty) might be political or legal, but only consider those with possible legal effects on the proposed agreement.

This paper is worth 15% of your final grade.

The paper will be graded according to the following criteria: (1) breadth of rule coverage, (2) accuracy of argumentation, (3) quality of explanation and argumentation, (4) organization, and (5) writing. The first three criteria will be given greater weight than the last two.

  • What if it had not been 2 years since the violation?
  • What if the UK and Spain explicitly objected to it?
  • What if this vessel had incriminating or military fortification on it?
  • What if there was no war at all? Could US seize the vessels?