17. What is international law?

In its widest sense, international law can include public international law, private international law and, more recently, supranational law. In its narrowest meaning, the term international law is used to refer to what is commonly known as public international law. Private international law is sometimes referred to as conflict of laws. Conflict of laws can also refer to conflicts between states in a federal system, such as the USA.

Public international law is the body of rules, laws or legal principles that govern the rights and duties of nation states in relation to each other. It is derived from a number of sources, including custom, legislation and treaties.

Private international law refers to the body of rights and duties of private individuals and business entities of different states. It is concerned with two main questions: 1) the jurisdiction in which a case may be heard, and 2) which laws from which jurisdiction(s) apply. It is distinguished from

public international law because it governs conflicts between private individuals or business entities, rather than conflicts between states or other international bodies.

Supranational law, or the law of supranational organizations, refers to regional agreements where the laws of a nation state are not applicable if in conflict with a supranational legal framework. At present, the only example of this is the European Union, which constitutes a new legal order in international law where sovereign nations have united their authority through a system of courts and political institutions.

18. Sources of international law

Customary law and conventional law are primary sources of international law. Customary international law results when states follow certain practices generally and consistently out of a sense of legal obligation. Recently the customary law was codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Conventional international law derives from international agreements and may take any form that the contracting parties agree upon. Agreements may be made in respect to any matter except to the extent that the agreement conflicts with the rules of international law incorporating basic standards of

international conduct or the obligations of a member state under the Charter of the United Nations. International agreements create law for the parties to the agreement. They may also lead to the creation of customary international law when they are intended for adherence generally and are in fact widely

accepted. Customary law and law made by international agreement have equal authority as international law. Parties may assign higher priority to one of the sources by agreement. However, some rules of international law are recognized by international community as peremptory, permitting no derogation. Such rules can be changed or modified only by a subsequent peremptory norm of international law.

General principles common to systems of national law is a secondary source of international law. There are situations where neither conventional nor customary international law can be applicable. In this case a general principle may be invoked as a rule of international law because it is a general

principle common to the major legal systems of the world and not inappropriate for international claims.

International law establishes the framework and the criteria for identifying states as the principal actors in the international legal system. As the existence of a state presupposes control and jurisdiction over territory, international law deals with the acquisition of territory, state immunity and the legal

responsibility of states in their conduct with each other.