December 1948. Paragraph 1 The application of paragraph 1 to internal taxes imposed by local governments and authorities with the territory of a contracting party is subject to the provisions of the final paragraph of Article
December 1948. As Xxxxxxxxx explained: ‘For the first time in the history of mankind, a document had come into being which defined the rights of all human beings, independently of their race, colour, sex, language, or other condition. A new chapter of human history began on that day, notwithstanding the fact that the UDHR was not 231 Tomuschat (2014), at 2. 232 On the history of human rights, see generally Tomuschat (2014), at 12 ff. 233 Ibid., at 27-28. binding—and still has not reached that status. It characterizes itself as a ‘common standard of achievement’ (Preamble, last paragraph).’234 The adoption of the Universal Declaration was followed by the adoption of, amongst others, the 1966 Covenants, which are legally binding on their states parties. Typically, as seen, (human rights) treaties are open to states only; international organisations cannot become parties. Certain human rights norms arguably have become part of general international law.235 That being so, the extent to which human rights obligations are part of customary international law is a ‘hotly debated question’. 236 For such obligations to qualify as customary international law, they must meet the requirements regarding ‘general practice accepted as law’ under Article 38(1)(b) of the ICJ Statute. As the ICJ opined in the North Sea Continental Shelf cases,237 and as reflected in its case law since:238 ‘Not only must the acts concerned amount to a settled practice, but they must also be such, or be carried out in such a way, as to be evidence of a belief that this practice is rendered obligatory by the existence of a rule of law requiring it. The need for such a belief, i.e., the existence of a subjective element, is implicit in the very notion of the opinio juris sive necessitatis. The States concerned must therefore feel that they are conforming to what amounts to a legal obligation. The frequency, or even habitual character of the acts is not in itself enough’.239 Customary international law is complex, not to say problematic.240 In 2012, the ILC decided to include in its programme of work the topic ‘Formalities and evidence of customary international law’, subsequently re-named ‘Identification of customary international law’. 241 The ILC’s Special 234 Ibid., at 29. 235 Regarding customary international law, see, e.g., the literature cited in X. Xx Xxxxxxxx, ‘Human Rights and the Rise of International Organisations: the Logic of Sliding Scales in the Law of International Responsibility’, in X. Xxxxxx...
