3. section 1
Definition and kinds of international law
International law is the body of rules and general principles that
nations are expected to observe in their relation with one
another.
Some international laws results from years of custom, others
originate in general principles of law recognized by civilized
nations. Still others have been agreed to in treaties or
determined by judicial decisions.
Many of the customs of international relations have existed for
hundreds of years .
For example , the ancient Greeks protected foreign ambassadors
from mistreatment , even in war time. For about 2000 years
nations have given ambassadors similar protection.
4. Kinds of international law
The rules of international law are generally divided
into:
1-Laws of peace.
2- Laws of war.
3-Laws of neutrality.
Peace is considered the normal relationship between
nations.
5. 1-The laws of peace
The laws of peace define the rights and duties of nations at peace
with one another.
Each country has a right to existence, legal equality, jurisdiction over
its territory, ownership of property , and diplomatic relations with
other countries.
Many of the laws of peace deal with recognizing countries as
members of the family of nations and recognizing new government
in old nations.
Most governments are recognized -de jury- that is, as rightful
governments.
Under unsettled conditions, a government may be recognized
-de facto- that is, as actually controlling the country , whether or not
by right.
6. 2- the laws of war
For example, undefended towns ,called open cities,
must not be bombarded . Private property must not be
seized by invaders without compensation.
Surrendering soldiers may not be killed or assaulted
and must be treated as prisoners of war.
All the laws of war have been violated repeatedly.
In war time, nations fight for their existence , and it is
not always possible to get them to follow rules.
Each nation does its best to destroy its enemy, and it
uses the most effective weapons it can find.
7. 3-The laws of neutrality
Under international law, the states are forbidden to
move troops across neutral territory .
Neutral water and ports must not be use for naval
operation.
9. The International Criminal Court (French: Cour Pénale
Internationale; commonly referred to as
the ICC or ICCt) is a permanent tribunal to prosecute
individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war
crimes, and the crime of aggression (although it
cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of
aggression )
The court's creation perhaps constitutes the most
significant reform of international law since 1945. It
gives authority to the two bodies of international law
that deal with treatment of individuals: human rights
and humanitarian law.
10. After legislative body passes a law for a nation or a
state , police enforces the laws and people who break
them are tried in courts.
However, there is no international legislature to pass
rules that all nations are required to observe , neither
is there an international police force to make countries
obey international law.
As a result, it is often difficult to enforce international
law.
11. International law are often classified in three groups,
according to how many nations accept them :
1-Universal international law
includes the rules accepted by all nations as part of
international law.
These rules cover such items as the safety of foreign
ambassadors and each nation's jurisdiction over the air
space above its territory.
12. 2-General international law
includes rules accepted by the majority of countries,
especially those that are most powerful. One law of
this type is the rule that each nation has jurisdiction
over its territorial water.
3-Particular international law ,
includes agreements between two or among a few
nations, such as trade treaties.
14. The idea of international
human rights
One of the most striking developments in international law
since the end of the second world war has been a concern
with the protection of human rights.
This development is the reflection of a wider phenomenon:
the increased concern of people all over the world with the
treatment accorded to their fellow human beings in other
countries, particularly when that treatment fails to come
up to minimum standards of civilized behavior.
Legal rules are a reflection of social standards and the
current interest in the international protection of human
rights is the result of a profound change in individual and
governmental attitude.
15. The first half of the ninteeh In the second half of the
centry twentieth century
• we are witnessing the development
• saw a similar development of international legal rules
when the abhorrence of slavery prohibiting many other forms of
led to the acceptance of legal cruel or oppressive behavior.
rules prohibiting the slave trade • Genocide is a prominent example ,
and then the institution of other are arbitrary arrest,
slavery itself. detention without trial , political
executions and torture.
16. The fact that violation of human rights continue to
occur does not mean that attempts to prevent them by
international action are pointless.
Widespread violations of human rights show that the
attempts to provide international protection are not as
effective as they ought to be and that a great deal
remains to be done to improve the existing
international procedures.
But in order to improve them we need to know what
they are and how they function.
17. The protection of human rights through international
action is a revolutionary idea and traditional
international law had no place for it at all, because
international law is concerned solely with the relation
between states and cannot confer rights on
individuals.
We are at present in a process of transformation to
make the fundamental rights of the individual a
matter of international law, with international
remedies available if those standard are not respected.
18. Today the protection of human rights has a place in
international law which it never occupied in earlier
times and there is a widespread recognition of the
need to render the system of international protection
more effective.
A realistic view involves recognizing that there are
more countries in the world today where fundamental
rights and civil liberties are regularly violated than
countries where they are effectively protected.
