PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

Public International Law

Public International Law

Introduction

International law is the body of legal rules, regulations, standards, and principles that govern international relations between or among states and other international actors. It deals with important concepts such as sovereignty (supreme authority over a territory); agreements and disputes between international actors; the use of force and self-defense; the regulation of the high seas, air, and space; international trade; and human rights. The United Nations (UN) and other international organizations have created a network of instruments addressing most aspects of international relations. International law influences large parts of everyday life—it makes it possible for us to send a letter to someone on the other side of the world, to travel internationally by just using our passports, and to know what time it is anywhere on the planet (Alvarez, 2006, 19).

International law is also known as public international law, which is distinct from private international law. Private international law deals with cases within the domestic legal systems of states, in which foreign elements are involved. Private international law addresses private matters, such as business disputes and family law, across international borders. Courts have to determine what jurisdiction and which laws apply to a certain case and how to enforce foreign judgments. By contrast, public international law, which is the focus of this chapter, is a separate legal system with its own rules and processes (Armstrong, 2007, 45).

Public international law is in many respects comparable to domestic law, but it has just as many differences. Most importantly, international law is horizontal and decentralized. International law is horizontal because the main actors—namely, states—are considered equal in rights and duties and not subordinate to a higher authority (with some exceptions, e.g., the European Union [EU] member states).

International Law and International Relations

International lawyers and international relations scholars often study the same issues. However, they have traditionally operated in different spheres and did not profit from each other's work. Only in the past years has a growing consensus developed that collaboration and inter-disciplinarity is fruitful and beneficial to both disciplines (see, for example, Anne-Marie Slaughter's work). In fact, both disciplines are divided and united by the same theoretical debates. The core paradigms—realism, liberalism, and constructivism—are mainly the same with regards to the basic assumptions about the world (see Chapter 36 in this volume, “History of International Relations,” for an overview of international relations theory). Realists generally have a critical view of international law because they believe that power and state capabilities (particularly military strength), rather than common interests, shape international relations. Cooperation occurs only if it is in the interest of states and has nothing to do with universal values or principles shared by all states in the world.

As a result, the likelihood of cooperation is ever changing, depending on the status of international politics, the balance of power, and the relative strength or weakness of a given state. Liberals, by contrast, see the development of international law and international institutions as a result of ...