2015-06-30
1915
INTERNATIONAL LAW
1. The legal process that concerns relations among nations is called international law. International law serves the international community; international law is about the relations between independent states. It treats them as equals, whatever their population, wealth and power. International law aims at stability in international life and the encouragement of trade and other contacts between states.
2. International law is almost wholly based on custom. The precedents on which it rests are the acts of independent governments in their relations with one another, including treaties and conventions. Behind many of its rules is only a moral sanction: the public opinion of the civilized world. When treaties or conventions are involved, however, machinery to enforce them exists – either an arbitration or conciliation procedure or the submission of the dispute to a regional or international court.
3. A body of rules and principles is observed or at least acknowledged in international relations. These rules concern such matters as territorial titles and boundaries, use of the high seas, limits on war, telecommunication, diplomatic and consular exchange, and use of air space. The major sources of international law on these matters are multilateral treaties, international custom, and such general principles recognized by civilized nations. The United Nations is one of the primary mechanisms that articulate and create international law. The General Assembly and other agencies of the UN bring a combination of diplomacy, negotiation and propaganda to bear on world affairs in ways that produce effective international treaties and affect world opinion. Certain courts also have indirect impact, including the International Court of Justice. Domestic courts in various nations at times also engage in the articulation of international law.
