STUDY UNIT 1 Flashcards
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL LAW?
International law are the rules and principles that regulate the legal relationship between subjects of international law
PRIMARY SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
- Treaty law
- Customary international law
REQUIREMENTS OF CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW:
- Usus
- Opinio juris
USUS:
is the practice of states.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. the general and widespread acceptance
2. must be constant and uniform application
ARTICLE 2(1)(a), A treaty:
a treaty is an international agreement concluded between states in written form and is governed by international law, whether it is embodied on a single, two or more instruments.
FORMS OF TREATIES:
- Multilateral treaty
- Bilateral treaty
TYPES OF TREATIES:
- Contractual
- Legislative
- Constitutional
SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW:
- State
- Intergovernmental organisations
- International organisations
LEGISLATIVE:
-there is no central legislative body in international law with the power to enact rules that are binding upon all states.
-Rules of international law are to be found in agreements between states, known as treaties.
-Rules are created by the consent of states.
-International law is a horizontal system in which the lawmaker and the subjects are the same legal persona.
EXECUTIVE:
-there is no central executive body in international law.
HOW IS IT ENFORCED?
-Economic sanctions
-Non-recognition of territorial adjustments
-Exclusion from membership
-Diplomatic pressure
-Physical force
JUDICIARY:
there is an International Court of Justice.
-states are governed by individuals
OPINIO JURIS
is a feeling on the part of states that they are bound by the rule.
SOFT LAW
serves as a useful guide to state conduct without creating legal obligations for states.
- lacks the status of law
