The international legal system is the foundation for the conduct of
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
. It is this system that regulates state actions under
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
. The principal subjects of international law are states, rather than individuals as they are under
municipal law
Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a sovereign state and is defined in opposition to international law. It encompasses the laws enacted by national, state, or local governments and is concerned with regulating the behavi ...
. The
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
acknowledged in the ''Reparation for Injuries'' case that types of international
legal personality
Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person (in this sen ...
other than statehood could exist and that the past half century has seen a significant expansion of the subjects of international law. Apart from states, international legal personality is also possessed by
international organisations
An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
and, in some circumstance, human beings. In addition,
non-governmental organisations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
and
national liberation movements have also been said to possess international legal personality.
Since 1945 the international legal system has been dominated by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
and the structures that were established as part of that organisation. While the UN has been the object of significant criticism, it has nevertheless played a pivotal role both in the progressive development and codification of international law.
The
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
of the UN has sponsored and promoted some of the most important developments of the last fifty years through the adoption of multilateral treaties and instruments. The Convention on the
Law of the Sea
Law of the sea (or ocean law) is a body of international law governing the rights and duties of State (polity), states in Ocean, maritime environments. It concerns matters such as navigational rights, sea mineral claims, and coastal waters juris ...
1982 and the
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement that regulates treaties among sovereign states.
Known as the "treaty on treaties", the VCLT establishes comprehensive, operational guidelines, rules, and proced ...
1969 are two of the most prominent examples.
A significant role in the legal work of the UN is played by the Sixth Committee (Legal), one of the six committees of the General Assembly. The Committee deals with international law under Article 13(1)(a) of the Charter, which authorises the General Assembly to initiate studies and make recommendations to encourage the progressive development and codification of international law.
See also
*
International arbitration
International arbitration can refer to arbitration between companies or individuals in different states, usually by including a provision for future disputes in a contract (typically referred to as international commercial arbitration) or betwee ...
*
International litigation
International litigation, sometimes called transnational litigation, is the practice of litigation in connection with disputes among businesses or individuals residing or based in different countries.
The main difference between international lit ...
Bibliography
*''Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations (Advisory Opinion)''
949ICJ Reports 174 at 178.
Further reading
Janne Elisabeth Nijman, ''The Concept of International Legal Personality: An Inquiry into the History and Theory of International Law'' (Asser Press,
The Hague, Netherlands 2004)
References
External links
United Nations - International Law
Legal system
A legal system is a set of legal norms and institutions and processes by which those norms are applied, often within a particular jurisdiction or community. It may also be referred to as a legal order. The comparative study of legal systems is th ...
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