International Law: When Does It Apply?

International law is a set of rules, agreements, and treaties that are binding between countries. It applies to sovereign states and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors, such as international organizations and individuals. The term international law was coined by Jeremy Bentham in 1789, and it is also known as public international law or the law of nations. International law covers a wide range of issues, including human rights, economic and trade relations, war and diplomacy, and environmental preservation. While there is no centralized authority to enforce international law, states generally comply with its rules and principles to maintain their credibility and avoid negative repercussions in future relations with other states.

International Humanitarian Law

IHL is underpinned by two fundamental principles. Firstly, the protection of persons who are not, or are no longer, participating in hostilities. Secondly, the recognition that the right of parties to an armed conflict to choose their methods and means of warfare is not unlimited.

IHL classifies armed conflicts as either international armed conflict (IAC) or non-international armed conflict (NIAC). IACs are defined as conflicts between two or more States, whereas NIACs refer to conflicts where at least one party is a non-State armed group. The proper categorisation of an armed conflict is crucial as it determines the applicable set of rules. For instance, prisoner of war (POW) status is only recognised in IACs.

IHL aims to balance military necessity with humanitarian considerations. This balance is reflected in the foundational IHL norms of distinction and proportionality. The principle of distinction mandates that parties to an armed conflict must, at all times, distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military targets. Proportionality, on the other hand, dictates that an attack may not be launched if it is expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, or damage to civilian objects that would be excessive relative to the anticipated military advantage.

IHL also includes other principles such as the duty to take precautions to spare the civilian population, the prohibition of inflicting unnecessary suffering or superfluous injury, and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks.

The sources of IHL rules and regulations are treaties and customary international law. Treaties are binding agreements between States, while customary international law arises from patterns of behaviour and consistent state practices that are accepted as legally obligatory.

IHL has evolved over time, with modern IHL consisting of two historical streams: the Law of The Hague, or the laws of war proper; and the Law of Geneva, or humanitarian law. These streams stem from international conferences held in these cities, which produced treaties relating to war and conflict, such as the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions.

In conclusion, International Humanitarian Law is a critical component of the international legal framework, seeking to limit the devastating effects of armed conflict and protect those affected by it.

International Human Rights Law

The international human rights movement gained momentum when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The UDHR, for the first time in history, outlined the basic civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy. It has since been widely accepted as the fundamental norms of human rights that everyone should respect and protect.

The UDHR, along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, form the International Bill of Human Rights. This bill represents the fundamental norms of human rights that all countries should strive to uphold.

Through the ratification of international human rights treaties, governments commit to implementing domestic measures and legislation that align with their treaty obligations. When domestic legal proceedings fail to address human rights abuses, individuals can seek redress through complaint mechanisms at the regional and international levels.

While there is no international court specifically dedicated to administering international human rights law, quasi-judicial bodies exist under some UN treaties, such as the Human Rights Committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Additionally, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Regional systems of international human rights law, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, further strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights in specific areas of the world. These regional instruments establish human rights law within their respective regions, ensuring that human rights are respected, protected, and enforced at the local level.

International Environmental Law

• International Treaties and Agreements
• Customary International Law
• General Principles of Law
• International Environmental "Soft Law"
• Judicial Decisions
• Scholarly Writings
• International Cooperation Principle
• Principle of Prevention
• Precautionary Principle

International Trade Law

The application of international trade law varies depending on whether it falls under domestic or international law. On the domestic side, international trade attorneys may represent clients before bodies such as the International Trade Commission (ITC) or the Department of Commerce (DOC) regarding disputes related to import laws and remedies. They also assist clients with customs classification, valuation, and rules of origin matters. On the international side, trade lawyers handle disputes, for which the WTO is the primary arbitrator. Only sovereign states can bring disputes to the WTO.

Some key principles of international trade law include:

• The National Treatment Principle: Imported and locally-produced goods, services, trademarks, copyrights, and patents should be treated equally, at least after the foreign goods have entered the market.
• The Most Favored Nation (MFN) Principle: This principle ensures that whenever a WTO member lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it must do so for like goods or services from all WTO members, regardless of their economic size or level of development.

International Criminal Law

Permanent tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), have a mandate to investigate and prosecute cases worldwide. However, their jurisdiction is limited to countries that have accepted it. Ad-hoc tribunals, on the other hand, deal with specific national and international conflicts and the crimes committed by the armed parties involved. These include well-known tribunals like the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg and the Tokyo Tribunal.

ICL defines international crimes and compels states to prosecute them. While war crimes have been prosecuted throughout history by national courts, ad-hoc international tribunals were established after World War II to prosecute key actors in Germany and Japan. Over time, additional crimes such as genocide, torture, and terrorism were recognised. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and subsequent protocols mandated that national courts of contracting countries must prosecute these offences or extradite perpetrators to interested states.

In the 1990s, two ad-hoc tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), were established by the UN Security Council to address specific atrocities. The establishment of the ICC in 1998 marked the first permanent international court with jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Despite its significance, the ICC has faced scrutiny and opposition from some states, including the United States, due to concerns about its jurisdiction and potential threats to national sovereignty.

Hybrid courts represent the most recent development in international criminal justice, combining national and international components and operating in the jurisdiction where the crimes occurred. These courts aim to address the legitimacy concerns associated with international courts and provide resources that may be lacking in countries recovering from serious conflict.

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