INTL401 INTERNATIONAL LAW

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Definition
International law is the collection of
rules and norms that states and other
actors feel an obligation to obey in
their mutual relations and commonly
do obey
Conwey W. Henderson, Understanding
International Law, 2010.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Definition
In the past, international law was commonly
described as the law that regulates the
relations between states, amongst each other
or the system of legal norms regulating
mutual relations between states, or the set
of rules recognized by states and concerning
their external relations, or the set of rules
binding within the international community.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

An interesting definition of international law was
formulated in the 1970s by a Russian international
lawyer Prof. G. I.Tunkin:
contemporary international law is the aggregate of
norms which are created by agreement between states of
different social systems, reflect the concordant wills of
states and have a generally democratic character,
regulate relations between them in the process of
struggle and cooperation in the direction of ensuring
peace and peaceful coexistence and freedom and
independence of peoples, and are secured when
necessary by coercion effectuated by states individually
or collectively.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Some examples of more recent
definitions of international law include:
o The system of law regulating the
interrelationship of sovereign states and
their rights and duties with regard to one
another. In addition, certain international
organizations (such as the United Nations),
companies, and sometimes individuals (e.g.
in the sphere of human rights) may have
rights or duties under international
law.(Oxford Dictionary of Law, 1997, p.
240)

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Today, international law refers to those
rules and norms which regulate the conduct
of states and other entities which at any
time are recognized as being endowed with
international personality, for example
international organizations and individuals,
in their relations with each other (Rebecca
M.M. Wallace, International Law (Sweet
and Maxwell, 1995, p. 1).

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

International law is the body of rules which are
legally binding on states in their intercourse with
other states. These rules are primarily those which
govern the relations of states, but states are not the
only subjects of international law. International
organizations and, to some extent, also individuals
may be subjects of rights conferred and duties
imposed by international law (Oppenheims
International Law, ninth edition, Volume I Peace,
edited by Sir Robert Jennings and Sir Arthur Watts
(London: Longman, 1996), p. 4.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

The Roles of International Law:

To arrange for the cooperation most
actors wish to have most of the time;
To identify the membership of an
international society of sovereign
states;
To regulate the competing interests
of the various actors and to carry
theit agreements into the future;

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

To empower weaker states as they

press for change against the will of
the powerful;
To promote justice;
To outlaw war.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Is international law a real law?
o International law is practiced on a daily
basis in the Foreign Offices, national
courts and other governmental organs
of states;
The evidence is that reference to
international law has been a normal part of
the process of decision-making I. Brownlie
o States do not claim that they are above
the law or that international law does
not bind them;

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

o The overwhelming majority of

international legal rules are
consistently obeyed;
It is probably the case that almost
all nations observe almost all
principles of international law and
almost all of their obligations almost
all of the time (L. Henkin, How
Nations Behave, p. 47).

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Basic characteristics of international

law:
International law has only a limited
number of developed legal institutions;
In comparison with national law,
international law is decentralised:

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Basic characteristics of international law
Decentralised international lawmaking;
Decentralised international law
enforcement;
Decentralised, voluntary international
law adjudication.

THE NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Why is international law binding on
States and other actors?
The command theory;
The consensual theory/consensus;
Natural law.