What Is International Law?
International ‘Law’ is a much misunderstood field and one not easily pigeon-holed into a neat framework of systematic laws applicable to, or followed by, all nations. However, increased interaction and interdependence between and among States as well as non-State actors has driven the need for agreements binding the terms of their interactions.
International Law thus, defines the legal relationships between sovereign states as well as the “legal responsibilities of States in their conduct with each other, and their treatment of individuals within State boundaries.” According to the United Nations, the ‘domain’ of international law “encompasses a wide range of issues of international concern such as human rights, disarmament, international crime, refugees, migration, problems of nationality, the treatment of prisoners, the use of force, and the conduct of war, among others. It also regulates the global commons, such as the environment, sustainable development, international waters, outer space, global communications and world trade.”1
Indeed, the post-World War II era saw the clear need for binding agreements between States and the emergence of a variety of instruments to enforce compliance (as much as feasible). The United Nations, itself the embodiment of an international agreement oversees the development of an increasing amount of agreements. Moreover, The General Assembly (GA), the main deliberative body of the UN, established the International Law Commission in 1948 with a mandate to develop and codify international law under article 13(1)(a) of the Charter of the United Nations. The Commission’s task was to prepare draft conventions on subjects not yet regulated by international law and to codify rules of international law in fields, where there already has been extensive State practice. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), among others have been drafted by the Commission suggesting a solid commitment to the development of international law. Indeed, the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court was the result of the Commission’s work in criminal law.2
Historically, the theory and practice of international law was State-centered and only States possessed international legal rights and duties. It followed that no other entities were capable of possessing international legal rights and obligations. More modern definitions, however, have come to include the legal relationships that exist between and among international organizations, individuals, multinational corporations and other entities that are considered capable of possessing the characteristics of international personality.
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