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Summary of 29 pages for the course Public International Law at wits (Summary document)
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HISTORY & SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Int. law Definition: “…a body of rules and principles which are binding upon
states in their relations with one another” (Brierly)
Pub. int. law consists of general rules (open shipping on high seas) and particular
rules (treaty establishing a relationship between a few states only)
Early int. law concerned only with states, however now international agencies
such as the UN have int. legal personality. Protection of Int. Law has also been
extended to individuals; they are beneficiaries of int. law. Multi-national
corporations, NGO’s, national liberation movements, indigenous peoples:
participate in the int. community
However public int. law is different to private int. law in that it governs
relationships between states. It comprises a body of rules and principles which
seek to regulate relations between states. Private int. law or conflict of laws looks
at individuals.
Difference between int. law and municipal law:
I. There is no central legislative body in int. law with the power to enact rules
binding on all states. The UN is not an int. legislature. The General Assembly can
adopt recommendations, which are not binding. The Security Council can make
decisions that are binding on all UN member states (article 25) but this is
restrained by the veto.
II. Rules of int. law are found in treaties and int. custom. Municipal law operates
vertically imposing rules form above; while int. law is a horizontal system in
which lawmaker and subject are the same legal personas.
III. There is no central executive body to enforce the rules of int. law. The UN is able
to raise forces to police certain situations or it may authorize member states to
take action on its behalf.
IV. Int. law does have a judicial system capable of ruling disputes between states such
as the Int. Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. However
these courts only have jurisdiction over those states that have consented to their
jurisdiction. Int. judiciary is incapable of resolving serious political disputes
between nations and many states refuse to consent to the jurisdiction of the ICJ.
The Int. Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Int. Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda prosecute individual state leaders on an ad hoc basis. The
ICC indicates the development if int. law.
However, the UN empowers the Security Council to use force against delinquent
states in violation of int. law, which causes a threat to int. peace (two clear
precedents)
1
, Occasionally UN peacekeeping forces have engaged in the enforcement of peace
by military means, although these are not measures taken against a state, they
have resulted in the enforcement of rules of int. law.
Economic sanctions are another enforcement mechanism. Exclusion from
membership of international organizations an non-recognition of territorial
adjustment are other forms of sanction..
Int. law is not without sanctions, but it is clear that sanctions of the kind
mentioned lack comprehensiveness, regularity and consistency.
Is int. law really law? A: “…a legal system requires the existence of a political
community, and the recognition by its members of settled rules binding upon
them” (Pollock). By these standards int. law qualifies: there is a political
community of 185 modern states and a body of legal principles that comprise the
int. legal order, which members regard as binding.
HISTORY OF INT. LAW:
The roots of int. law are found ancient societies but the need to regulate relations
with the emergence of the modern state after the Renaissance and Reformation.
Previously feudalism and the Church obstructed the growth of territorial states
with strong governments. Jurists were responsible for the formulation of the basic
principles, their main sources being the ius gentium of Roman Law and the
concepts of natural law. The father of int. law was Grotius (1583-1645) who
wrote a treatise (1625), which was committed to an int. legal order transcending
the interests of states and whose principle aim was the restraint of war.
European int. law with limited expansion in the late C18th to U.S. and in C19th to
Turkey, Japan, China, Persia and Siam. The creation of the League of Nations
extended membership but was still euro-centric. However since de-colonisation
the int. community includes over 185 states.
Sources of Public International Law
2
, In a developed municipal legal system, sources may be readily identifiable in the
form of legislation or judicial decisions. However on the int. plane there is no int.
legislature or written constitution
Salmond (Jurisprudence): a formal source ‘is that from which a rule of law
derives its force and validity; the material sources are those from which is derived
the matter, not the validity of the law’
Schwazenberger (International Law (vol 1) 3rd ed (1957), pp 26 – 27),
differentiates similarly: a – c distinguish between the pedigree of rules of
international law, whereas d provides us with a means for the determination of an
alleged rule.
Dugard (pp 23): treaties are viewed as a primary source; custom is the secondary
source
The sources of international law are described in article 38(1) of the Statute of the
International Court of Justice as
a. International conventions (treaties), general and particular
b. International custom,
c. The general principles of law, recognized by civilized nations
d. Judicial decisions and teachings of publicists, as subsidiary means
for determination.
There is no provision for the hierarchy of sources, but treaties are viewed as the
primary source, with custom as the secondary source. This emphasizes the
consensual basis of international law.
I) Treaties or Conventions
A treaty is a written agreement between states, or between states and international
organizations, operating within the field of international law.
The rules relating to capacity to enter a treaty, the procedure to be followed, the
interpretation and termination are governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law
of Treaties of 1969.
A treaty can be multi-lateral or bilateral and are divided into 3 categories:
o Contractual: govern matters such as trade, extradition, air, landing rights
and mutual defence. Two or more states ‘contract’ with each other to
establish a particular legal relationship.
o Legislative: Codify existing rules of customary law, or create new rules of
law. These are not binding on non-signatory states, ie: they do not confer
obligations or benefits on those who do not sign
o Constitutional: International Organizations such as the UN are created by
multi-lateral treaties
II) Custom
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