home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Shareware Overload Trio 2
/
Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO
/
dir33
/
1798_r.zip
/
INTRNAT.LAW
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-12-26
|
10KB
|
183 lines
International law was defined traditionally as the body of
rules governing relations between sovereign states. This
definition distinguished sharply between what was called public
international law and private international law, which
concerned the transnational relations of individuals with one
another and with states. Because of radical changes in the
world community, international law is now understood as the
authoritative institutions and processes people establish,
maintain and change to aid in the clarification and achievement
of common interests. This definition includes the law-creating
role of international organizations, multinational
corporations, political parties, pressure groups, and even
international terrorists, all of whose behavior tends to erode
the distinction between public and private international law.
International law relates to every human concern, including the
recognition of states and their admission to international
organizations, trade and foreign investment, diplomatic
protection of nationals, nationality, war, human rights,
boundaries, territorial acquisition, environmental protection
and use, and the law of the oceans.
International law in the modern sense began to emerge with the
growth of international trade and the development in the 14th
and 15th centuries of the European state system. The increase
in international trade contributed to growth and change in
commercial and maritime laws. The growth in government to
government relations--among the Italian city-states, for
example--led to new developments in the laws of diplomacy.
Italian, Spanish, and Anglo-Dutch schools of international
lawyers arose to interpret and systematize these laws. One of
the first jurists to produce a systematic treatise on
international law was the Dutch philosopher Hugo GROTIUS, whose
De jure belli ac pacis (On the Laws of War and Peace, 1625) was
a blend of natural law and Roman law applied to the practices
of the new national states. Other important early theorists of
international law were Baron Samuel Von PUFENDORF, Francisco
SUAREZ, Christian WOLFF, Alberico Gentili, Emerich de Vattel,
and Richard Zouche.
During the 19th century the scope and ambition of international
lawmakers began to broaden. In 1856 the Congress of Paris
attempted the first significant codification of rules of
maritime warfare. The GENEVA CONFERENCES and HAGUE CONFERENCES
of the late 19th and 20th centuries began to establish laws
concerning the conduct of warfare. The LEAGUE OF NATIONS and
the UNITED NATIONS went further, attempting to outlaw military
aggression. After World War II international law expanded into
areas as diverse as war crimes, the achievement of popular
sovereignty, refugee policy, international economic
cooperation, nuclear testing, deep-sea mining, and outer space.
SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Some people equate international law with the United Nations
and its component institutions such as the INTERNATIONAL COURT
OF JUSTICE (ICJ). In fact, only a very small proportion of
international law is generated by such institutions. Most is
created from three generally recognized sources: treaties,
custom, and "general principles of law".
Treaties and Resolutions
Treaties, or formal agreements between nations, are considered
legally binding upon the parties concerned. To this formal
means of lawmaking must now be added the work of international
organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), the WORLD BANK,
or the Group of Seven (G-7). In a number of leading decisions,
such as the imposition of economic SANCTIONS on South Africa or
the use of military force against Iraq (1991), the resolutions
of the UN have been recognized as important in the formation of
international law. Resolutions of other organizations or
conferences have also had significant formative impact on
international law.
Customary Law
Customary law consists of norms that are established through
habitual behavior rather than by formal legislation, and their
establishment can be subtle. For example, officials of State X
may begin to refuse to accept hazardous waste from State
Y--even when private contracts call for the admission of the
waste. Officials from other states may support the decision of
State X and decide to implement similar policies. A custom may
form even though officials of State Y protest and vow to take
the matter to arbitration.
General Principles
The notion of "general principles" has caused controversy among
legal writers. Although some principles have been widely
recognized, such as pacta sunt servanda (agreements are to be
honored by their signatories), some legal scholars feel that
the use of "general principles" has been an invitation,
especially for courts, to create law where none exists. In
fact, the opinions of courts, together with the writings of
legal scholars, are recognized as subsidiary sources of
international law. Because of the proliferation of law-making
institutions, and the diversity of cultures comprising the
world community, it is often exceedingly difficult to decide
which norm is to prevail in international disputes or to gauge
whether a particular norm is becoming more important or is
losing authority.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
International law tends to be most effective when governments
share an obvious and continuing interest in its maintenance.
When the contours of common interest are less clear or when
governments have no common interest, international norms that
may have survived from earlier periods are usually ineffective,
and matters are likely to be settled by unauthorized power.
The law of diplomacy has, on the whole, been one of the most
successful and durable fields of international law. Though this
body of law--which guarantees rights and immunities to
diplomats stationed in foreign countries and secures their
premises and their lines of communication--was challenged
repeatedly throughout the 1980s, the international response to
these attacks, however, tended to affirm the authority of the
prevailing law of diplomacy. The law of boundaries and
territorial acquisition has enjoyed wide support among nations
at certain times. An international system based on national
territorial units obviously demands that the territorial
integrity and political independence of states be respected.
With the advent of the principle of self-determination as the
ultimate claim for title to territory, however, even this
comparatively sedate area of international law has changed
radically.
For more than 300 years, the basic norms of the law of the seas
were widely accepted and enforced. The oceans were considered a
res communis, or common property, and not subject to
appropriation. With new technology and the growing demand for
petroleum, minerals, and fish, the area of the res communis has
decreased; more and more claims to certain parts of the oceans
have been made and accepted, and the traditional public order
of the oceans is being radically revised. (See SEA, LAW OF THE;
SEAS, FREEDOM OF THE; TERRITORIAL WATERS.)
A basic function of the international system is maintaining
minimum order. In the language of the UN Charter, "threats to
the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression" are
unlawful. In periods of major social transformation, however,
people will view differently what constitutes an acceptable
system of minimum order. Since 1945 continuing violence has
demonstrated, on the whole, the inability of international law
to maintain minimum order. Still, global war has been avoided
and there have been examples of unified international action
against aggression.
Some observers believe that the end of Soviet domination in
Central and Eastern Europe may present an occasion for
international law to function more effectively as some suggest
was evident during the GULF WAR (1991). Yet, long-suppressed
demands for autonomy and revenge, released by the collapse of
the post World War II international political order, could
produce fragmentation of authority on a worldwide scale.
Furthermore, the growing recognition of environmental
interdependence will put even further stress on the basic
structures of international law. While the coming years are a
period of great opportunity, they are also a moment of danger
and potential calamity.
International law is integral in shaping the structure of the
world community; its effectiveness is largely a function of
this structure. Whereas national leaders often pay lip service
to international norms, they actually demand full loyalty to
their own national symbols. In time of crisis, when
international law is most needed, these national loyalties
receive even more emphasis. National politicians are most
likely to support international law when to do so will yield
short-term gains for their states. Even these commitments are
fragile, however, and may be abandoned when they no longer seem
to serve national interests. In such areas as ARMS CONTROL,
national security, and international trade, governments are
constantly negotiating, but the resulting agreements are often
short-lived. In many other areas, however, international links
and international law have grown closer and stronger. Whether
this trend will continue is not clear. Certainly, for the
foreseeable future, the effectiveness of international law will
be sporadic.