What is International Law?
Definition: a body of rules established by custom or treaty and recognized by nations as binding in their relations with one another
Definition: a body of rules established by custom or treaty and recognized by nations as binding in their relations with one another
- Agreements among nations
- Nations decide to take part in these agreements, promising to live by those rules
International law regulates interactions between countries by:
- Providing rules for conduct
- Mechanisms for dispute resolution
- Substantive and procedural law to help guide decisions
Where does it come from?
- By the end of 20th century, nearly all of the world adopted a system of state sovereignty
- Countries have definable, unchanging borders
- Have the right to pass/uphold laws within their own borders without interference from other countries
- Countries were not always countries, some were previously cities and city-states that are now developed into countries
- Sovereignty is not always respected, borders and affairs of countries not absolute at all times (ex. war)
- Countries have definable, unchanging borders
- Today, state sovereignty constitutes international system
- States also enter into treaties, which constitute a system of international law
- Treaties bind countries to follow certain rules
- Those treaties that a state agrees to limit a state’s sovereignty by confining it to the rules of that treaty
Basic Treaty Law Principles
- Treaties must be
- Negotiated, signed, ratified, and implemented by each country
- In the absence of any one of these steps, the treaty is not binding on the state
Treaty Negotiations
- Negotiation is the first stage
- Bilateral or multilateral negotiations
- Often negotiated during conferences
- Other times over long periods of time
- Treaties are no longer valid if signed under coercion
Signing and Ratification
- Countries agree on the text of the treaty and then sign the treaty
Implementation
- Implementation means that country takes steps to make the treaty a part of domestic law by ratification
- In Canada, to make a treaty part of Canadian Law, must be passed by the Federal Government
- Must be consistent with existing Canadian Constitution and federal laws
Domestic Law
Purpose: tool for overseeing relations between citizens, gov’t and companies
Origin of Rules/Laws: laws created by gov’t
Dispute Resolution: Judicial system for civil lawsuits/prosecuting crimes
Enforcement: System of enforcement like police force
International Law
Purpose: tool for overseeing relations between states, sometimes between governments and people
Origin of Rules/Laws: no international body that sets international law (treaty-based) (like UN)
Dispute Resolution: International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court → limited application, not as robust as Domestic judicial system
Enforcement: no enforcement mechanism → compliance with int’l laws motivated by desire to be accepted by int’l community of nations
Enforcing International Law
- Compliance with international laws is motivated by desire to be accepted by international community of nations
- Compliance is voluntary
- For this to work, acceptance by other countries has been seen as beneficial to each country
- There is no enforcement of international law like there is for domestic (no police force)
Diplomatic Immunity
- Diplomats are entitled to protection from physical harm and are not subject to arrest and detention without following rules set out in the Vienna Convention
- “A person of diplomatic agent shall be inviolable” → Vienna Convention
- Police and enforcement is not allowed to physically enter a mission, embassy or consulate without permission
- Foreign missions/embassies are not “foreign territory” → just laws don’t apply
- Principle of diplomatic immunity can be controversial at times
Diplomatic Asylum
- When a citizen of a country seeks protection within embassy of another country
- Ex. Manuel Noriega sought refuge in Vatican embassy in Panama following U.S. invasion in Panama in 1989
- Purpose of consulates/embassies in a host country:
- Protect the nationals (citizens) of the sending state
- Be a middle between with local and foreign authorities
- This means the consulate will help a citizen if he/she gets in trouble with local authorities
International Court of Justice
- Established by the UN charter (section 92)
- 2/3rds of the world’s countries is a part of this
- Main judicial body of the UN
- 15 elected judges from different nations for a 9 year term by the GA and SC
- Judges reflect the diverse legal systems and traditions from around the world
- Purpose:
- Settles legal disputes submitted by states (that have agreed to its jurisdiction)
- Gives advisory opinions on referred legal questions
- Limit of jurisdiction to cases between states
- No state subject to the ICJ jurisdiction without its consent
- Both parties in a case must agree to to ICJ's jurisdiction and accept decision
Human Rights Origins
- Comes from natural law
- That human beings have certain universal inalienable rights (human rights)
- Positive law: believe that the law must be followed no matter what
- Natural law: recognize the law, actively decide not to follow it
Tension: Human rights (natural law) VS. State Sovereignty (positive law)
- Some states are against rights of citizens being dictated by international rules and not by their their own rules/laws
UN and other int’l organizations have adopted related norms of behaviour to reflect rise of human rights
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
- Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous People
Challenges to Universal Human Rights
- General acceptance of universal human rights, but remains a highly controversial topic
- International community is highly diverse
- Most religions have their own codes of right and wrong
- Many not consistent with “universal” human rights → largely based on Western philosophical beliefs and values
- Some countries resist human rights because of:
- Inconsistentcies with established religious/cultural norms
- Political considerations