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Summary International Law
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This is a summary about the (online) lectures given in theme 8 of industrial engineering and management.
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International LawTheme 8
LECTURE 1
VIDEO 1.2 – Introduction to International Law
International law is law agreed by two or more states and is applicable to those states (and in most
cases their nationals). So, international law consists of rules and principles, which govern the
relations of nations with each other.
The sources of the international law, where to find?
- Treaties. Treaty of European union is best known.
- Regulations. It is a law which is applicable to states and the states are not able to adjust the rules
that are made.
- Declarations. Generally, a document of intent and does not create a legally binding obligation on
the countries which have signed it.
International organizations
International law can only work when the states accept and abide by those rules.
1. United Nations (UN). The UN was founded in 1945. Their tasks:
- To maintain peace and security;
- Develop friendly relations among nations;
- Achieve international cooperation in solving international problems;
- And to lay down international rules in the law.
For example, the UN can take actions on the issues confronting humanity, such as peace and purity,
climate change, human rights, terrorism, gender equality etcetera.
2. International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC was founded in 2002. It is the first permanent
international buddy capable of investigating accused individuals and they are accused of the
most serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Differences International Law
International Law consists of International Public Law and International Private Law.
International Public Law concerns the rules between states. It concerns the structure of states and
international organizations. For example, it is about the set-up of international institutions such as
the UN and the European union.
International Private Law is a law which deals with legal problems that arise from legal relationships
between parties domiciled in two different states in which two different legal systems apply. You
have to know that every country has its own legal system. Over the years, several treaties and
regulations have been setup. Some rules apply to every member state.
Example of International Private Law
Car driver 1 lives in Germany and car driver 2 lives in France. They have a traffic accident in a car
park in the Netherlands. The damage of Car driver 1 is a crushed box of Cuban cigars and broken
bottle of Scotch Whisky.
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,Question: which court of the law has jurisdiction in this case?
In this case, the accident is a tort (onrechtmatige daad). This means that there is a civil ‘wrong’
between two parties. The answer of the question depends on the places where the two parties live
and the place where the accident occurred. The court of the country where the accident occurred
has to do diction. This is determined in the international law, so states agreed on this.
NOTE: if there is a conflict that involves only one country, then there is no choice of which legal
system to use.
Three main issues
International Private Law deals with three main issues.
1. What court of law has jurisdiction in a case of litigation? (court of the Netherlands, court of
Germany)
2. What law is to be applied in order to resolve the conflict between the contracting parties?
(German law, Dutch law, French law)
3. Is there a specific treaty that provides an immediate solution to a conflict between contracting
parties?
Example about the three main issues
A seller, established in Germany, delivers 1.500 pair of shoes to a buyer who is established in Italy.
However, the buyer, despite several reminders, does not pay the price they agreed on. The German
seller starts litigation (starts a lawsuit) against the Italian buyer, in an attempt to cancel the sales
contract and to get back the shoes he delivered.
Question 1: what court of law has jurisdiction?
The parties are living in different parties, this means they can choose the court of law. If they don’t
make a choice, then the plaintive chooses which court of law.
Question 2: what law is applicable to the sales contract?
Also, in this case they can choose which law is applicable to the case, unless there is a treaty.
Question 3: is there an international treaty?
Yes, the convention of contracts for the international sale of goods (CISG).
VIDEO 1.3 – An introduction to European Law and Union
The European Union was set up in 1958. Now, there a 446 million people living in the EU and there
are 27 members of the European Union.
Goals and characteristics of European Union
- Goal. Their goal is to achieve economic integration through the use of a common market where
goods, persons, capital and services can circulate freely. For example, when you buy something
in Germany, you can bring that product to the Netherlands without paying extra duties.
- The European Union is a supranational organization. It is a state above the member states. It
has authority to make rules. States give up a part of their power. An example, if the European
Union wants to forbid gay marriage, and most of the states agree on this point, but the
Netherlands does not, then the Netherlands still has to follow these rules the European Union
made.
- Supremacy. The EU law is higher than the national law (which is the law of the member states).
- The laws of the EU are directly applicable. The EU law is applicable in the member states.
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, Difference between International Law and European Law
- European Law in itself is also international law.
- The European Law is based on one treaty, which is the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU). The international law is based on numerous treaties based on various
subjects and various countries.
However, the EU-law does not cover every aspect of business competition between member states.
So, other national and international rules and regulations still have a role to play.
Sources of EU-Law
And are these rules directly applicable?
1. The EU-treaty. This one is directly applicable.
2. Regulations. A regulation is also direct applicable, so this means the government does not has to
translate it to Dutch law. Regulations are general rules on numerous topics and specified to
different subjects.
3. Directives are not directly applicable. A directive demands a further act of the country and this
act has to be within a specific period of time. Rules have to be translated to Dutch law, it is kind
of a guideline or framework where countries have to move within.
4. Decisions. An example is when a penalty is giving to a country because they have formed a
cartel.
5. Preliminary rulings given by the European Court of Justice. A preliminary ruling is a question to
the court about interpretation of an article of the EU-treaty.
Conditions for Preliminary ruling
When can we ask a preliminary ruling?
1. It can only be asked by a court or tribunal.
2. When a question regarding EU-Law is necessary, then only a preliminary ruling can be asked.
This means the question has to be relevant, the question regarding hasn’t already been decided
and the correct interpretation is not obvious.
3. It can be asked when there is no further appeal in the national law.
4. It can be asked when the question is not a hypothetical question, so there is a real conflict.
Law system
How does the national law system and the European law
system work?
The National law system
In the Netherlands, when you have a conflict, you go to
the District Court first. The district court gives a
judgement and when you disagree with that judgement,
you can go to the Court of Appeal. The court of appeal
looks at all the facts of the case again. When you are still
not happy with the outcome, you can go to the Supreme
Court. The supreme court only looks at the legal aspects,
not to the circumstances of the case.
The European law system
The European Court of Justice is the Supreme court of
the European Union in matters of European law. The European court of Justice can decide that a
decision of the EU was or was not right.
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