International law

International law is a branch of law that deals with rules and principles of governing the relations and
dealings of nations with each other, and recently, relations between states and individuals. This set of
rules is generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations between states and between nations.
The basic difference between international and state-based legal systems is that international law is
primarily applicable to countries rather than to private citizens. The term "international law" is
sometimes divided into "public" and "private" international law, following the Roman tradition. Public
side of it concerns itself only with questions between several nations, whereas the private side deals
with issues between private persons. The difference between the two has become quite uncertain in
recent years.

When it comes to domains of international law, they include the classic, basic concepts of law that exist
on a national level: status, obligation, tort and property. International law also includes substantive law,
procedure, process and remedies. Some of the major substantive fields of international law are
economic law, security law, criminal law, environmental law, diplomatic law and human rights law.
Special type of law that should be mentioned within this segment is law of war, which deals with
acceptable justifications to engage in war and the acceptable wartime conduct.

Every issue that comes up in international relations is dealt with on international courts. International
courts are formed by treaties between nations or under the authority of an international organization,
such as the United Nations. These courts include tribunals that are by rule permanent institutions. One
of the most popular international courts is the criminal court in The Hague. The formation of the United
Nations created the ideal means for the world community to enforce international law upon members
that violate its charter. Besides the International Court of Justice, there are several more
intergovernmental bodies that help with the law enforcements, such as the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and the United Nations Trusteeship
Council.

In conclusion, it should be mentioned that international law endures certain amount of criticism. Some
scholars say that international law is more ethical than legal in nature, considering that it lacks a
sovereign power and is therefore unenforceable.