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Qn 1: What are types of International Law?

(5)

1. International law is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of
independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it
primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. In other words it is that body of law which is
composed for its greater part of the principles and rules of conduct which States feel themselves bound
to observe, and therefore, do commonly observe in their relations with each other and which includes
also :

(a) The rules of law relating to the function of international institutions or organizations, their
relations with each other and their relations with States and individuals; and

(b) Certain rules of law relating to individuals and non-state entities so far as the rights and duties of
such individuals and non-state entities are the concern of the international community.

2. However, the term "international law" can refer to three distinct legal disciplines

(a) Public international law, which governs the relationship between provinces and international
entities, either as an individual or as a group. It includes the following specific legal field such as
the treaty law, law of sea, international criminal law and the international humanitarian law.
(b) Private international law, or conflict of laws, which addresses the questions of
(i) in which legal jurisdiction may a case be heard; and

(ii) the law concerning which jurisdiction(s) apply to the issues in the case

(c) Supranational law or the law of supranational organizations, which concerns at present regional
agreements where the special distinguishing quality is that laws of nation states are held inapplicable
when conflicting with a supranational legal system.

Public international law

3. Public international law (or international public law) concerns the relationships between the entities or legal
persons which are considered the subjects of international law, including sovereign nations, the legal status
of the Holy See, international organizations (including especially intergovernmental organizations such as
the United Nations), and in some cases, movements of national liberation (wars of national liberation) and
armed insurrectional movements (see insurgency). Norms of international law have their source in either:

1. custom, or customary international law (consistent provincial practice accompanied by opinio juris),
2. globally accepted standards of behaviour, or
3. codifications contained in conventional agreements, generally termed treaties.

4. Article 13 of the United Nations Charter obligates the UN General Assembly to initiate studies and make
recommendations which encourage the progressive development of international law and its codification.
The UN has also been the locus for the development of new advisory (non-binding) standards, such as
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Other international norms and laws have been established
through international agreements, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war or armed
conflict, as well as by agreements implemented by other international organizations such as the ILO,
the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International
Telecommunication Union, UNESCO, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund.
The development and consolidation of such conventions and agreements has proven to be of great
importance in the realm of international relations.
Conflict of laws

5. Conflict of laws, often called "private international law" is distinguished from public international law
because it governs conflicts between private persons, rather than states (or other international bodies with
standing). It concerns the questions of which jurisdiction should be permitted to hear a legal dispute
between private parties, and which jurisdiction's law should be applied, therefore raising issues of
international law. Today corporations are increasingly capable of shifting capital and labor supply
chains across borders, as well as trading with overseas corporations. This increases the number of
disputes of an inter-state nature outside a unified legal framework, and raises issues of the enforceability of
standard practices.

Supranational law

6. Supranational law is a form of international law, based on the limitation of the rights of sovereign nations
between one another. It is distinguished from public international law, because in supranational law,
nations explicitly submit their right to make judicial decisions to a set of common institutions.

7. European Community law' is the first and only example of a supranational legal framework. In the EC,
sovereign nations have pooled their authority through a system of courts and political institutions. They
have the ability to enforce legal norms against and for member states and citizens, in a way that public
international law does not. "The Community constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit
of which the states have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields, and the subjects of which
comprise not only member states but also their nationals. Independently of the legislation of member
states, community law therefore not only imposes obligations on individuals but is also intended to confer
upon them rights which become part of their legal heritage. These rights arise not only where they are
expressly granted by the treaty, but also by reason of obligations which the treaty imposes in a clearly
defined way upon individuals as well as upon the member states and upon the institutions of the
community.

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