International Law

Key Concepts – POLS

2401
What is International A set of rules and regulations agreed
upon by states to order their relations

Why the Need for International Law?

Remember Anarchy? – The lack of an

Law?

authority at the international level

 Recall from the unit on Global Actors that states
create Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) to
Why International mitigate anarchy

The presence of international law provides a

platform for dispute resolution

IGOs are generally created through treaty, a part of

International Law
Law?

Some IGOs, particularly the UN, are also charged

with upholding International Law
UN Language
Among the greatest achievements of the United
Nations is the development of a body of international
law, which is central to promoting economic and
social development, as well as to advancing
international peace and security. The international law
is enshrined in conventions, treaties and standards.
International Law and Justice | United Nations
Examples
• The time we keep – the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is
an outcome of International Law
• International Meridian Conference of 1884
International Law
Allows you to
Read Books
• Like Harry Potter and others
• Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic
Works
• Signed in 1971, this convention
allows international protection of
literary and artistic works
Sources of International
Law
• Treaty Law
• Customary Law
• General Principles
• Judicial Decisions and Legal Scholarship
Treaty Law
• Agreement (Contract) between two or more parties
• Codified
• Binding (on those who signed and ratified the treaty)
• Violators could be sanctioned
Customary Law
General (repeated) state practice accepted as law
1. Behavior of States
2. Legal basis of behavior
• Written and Unwritten Record
• Binding
• Examples: Targeting of Civilians in Conflicts, International
Humanitarian Laws
General Principles of Law
• Legal beliefs common to all developed legal systems
• “Recognized by civilized nations”
• Good faith
• Impartiality of Judges
• Only used when there is no treaty or customary laws
Judicial Decisions and Legal
Scholarship
• Decisions taken by major courts related to international
disputes
• Scholarly work such as those on trademark and copyright
laws