At a Glance International Law:
International law is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. In other words it is that body of law which is composed for its greater part of the principles and rules of conduct which States feel themselves bound to observe, and (a) The rules of law relating to the function of international institutions or organizations, their relations with each other and their relations with States and individuals; and
(b) Certain rules of law relating to individuals and non-state entities so far as the rights and duties of such individuals and non-state entities are the concern of the international community. However, the term "international law" can refer to three distinct legal disciplines
• Public international law, which governs the relationship between provinces and international entities, either as an individual or as a group. It includes the following specific legal field such as the treaty law, law of sea, international criminal law and the international humanitarian law.
• Private international law, or conflict of laws, which addresses the questions of (1) in which legal jurisdiction may a case be heard; and (2) the law concerning which jurisdiction(s) apply to the issues in the case
• Supranational law or the law of supranational organizations, which concerns at present regional agreements where the special distinguishing quality is that laws of nation states are held inapplicable when conflicting with a supranational legal system.
The two traditional branches of the field are:
• jus gentium — law of nations
• jus inter gentes — agreements among nations
Entities that create international law:
- States
- International organizations (which are composed of states)
Subjects of international law, who bear the rights and duties of international law:
- states
o international law developed to regulate states because of:
the emergence of states
state interaction
development of the laws of war
• Purpose for laws of war: it is in the mutual interests of all states to regulate the conduct of war, and in trying to agree on rules that will make it unlikely that war will happen.
o The Classic Model of relations between/among states
States are opaque (billiard ball theory – states hit each other one the outside but do not interfere with one another’s internal affairs) and we don’t really look at what’s inside
• Thus, international law only regulated relations between states, and did not regulate the internal affairs of states
Now, international law is also used to regulate the internal affairs of states
- Individuals
o The person has become increasingly accepted as an independent actor, subject to and benefiting from international law (this is a recent development)
o Individuals are not parties to international law – they can be a bearer of duties and a beneficiary of rights, but they are not parties to international law
- corporations
- international organizations
o for the purposes of our class, an international organization is an organization composed either solely or primarily of states, like the United Nations
Sources of international law:
- Customary international law
o Article 38 of the ICJ
- Treaties
o A treaty is an agreement between states, between states and international organizations, or between international organizations, that is binding under international law (something binding under the laws of one state is not international)
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