Contents

Introduction................................................................1
Modern Definition Of International Law...........................3
Evolution Of The International Law..................................4
Beginnings...............................................................4
Development to World War I.........................................5
Effect of the World Wars..............................................6
Recent Developments..................................................6
Nature and Scope.........................................................8
Conclusion...............................................................10
Bibliography..........................................................12

Introduction.
International law is differently known as the law of Nations,
international law, public international law, transitional law, interstate
law, the law of the community of states or universal international law.
International Law or the law of nations is the system of law, which
governs relations between states. At one time states were the only bodies
which had rights and duties under International Law, but now-a-days
international organizations, companies, and individuals also sometimes
have rights and duties under International Law, however, it is still true to
say that International Law is primarily concerned with sates. The term
international law has been defined in a variety of ways by different
jurists. Some of the definitions may be given as under:

By Oppenheim:
Law of Nations or international law is the name for the body of
customary law and conventional rules which are considered binding by
civilized states in their intercourse with each other.1
1 Oppenheims International Law, Vol. 1, Ninth Edition (1992), p.9.

J.L Brierly:
The laws of nations or international law may be defined as the body of
rules and principles of action which are binding upon civilized states in
their relation with other states2
By Alf Ross:
Alf Rose defines the term international law as under:
International law is the body of legal rules binding upon states in their
relations with one another. 3
By Lawrence:
According to him, international law is the rule which determines the
conduct of the general body of civilized state in their mutual dealings.

2 Studies In History and Jurisprudence (1904)

3 A Textbook in International Law (1947)

Modern Definition Of International Law.

International law has always been in a continuous state of change. In
modern period the term International law may rightly be defined as
under;
That body of legal rules which regulates the relationship of the Nation
States with each other, as well as, their relationship with other
International actors.
The International Law we see today is a culmination of various treaties
and compromises that the states as well as non-state actors have arrived
for the betterment of the people they represent. International Law today
is more effective in achieving the targets decided in their preambles or
objectives than they were ever before. Coercion and moral pressures are
playing a prominent role in shaping the world as was envisaged in the
Utopian vision. The world is now more closely woven and every act of
terror or peace, every piece of legislation or every decree pronounced by
judges anywhere has a larger impact on the world order. However, a
close scrutiny of the recently concluded cold war establishes that a war
of superiority between any two blocs can cost the whole world a great
deal. But, nevertheless our world is moving ahead and those sitting at
international conferences, assigned with the task of making our world a
pacific place to accommodate and reconcile every difference, are
committed to the cause.

Evolution Of The International Law.

Beginnings
There was little scope for an international law in the period of ancient
and medieval empires, and its modern beginnings coincide, therefore,
with the rise of national states after the Middle Ages. Rules of maritime
intercourse and rules respecting diplomatic agents (see diplomatic
service) soon came into existence. At the beginning of the 17th cent., the
great multitude of small independent states, which were finding
international lawlessness intolerable, prepared the way for the favorable
reception given to the De jure belli ac pacis [concerning the law of war
and peace] (1625) of Hugo Grotius, the first comprehensive formulation
of international law. Though not formally accepted by any nation, his
opinions and observations were afterward regularly consulted, and they
often served as a basis for reaching agreement in international disputes.
The most significant principle he enunciated was the notion of
sovereignty and legal equality of all states. Other important writers on
international law were Cornelius van Bynkershoek, Georg F. von
Martens, Christian von Wolff, and Emerich Vattel.

Development to World War I

The growth of international law came largely through treaties concluded
among states accepted as members of the "family of nations," which first
included the states of Western Europe, then the states of the New World,
and, finally, the states of Asia and other parts of the world. The United
States contributed much to the laws of neutrality and aided in securing
5

recognition of the doctrine of freedom of the seas (see seas, freedom of

the). The provisions of international law were ignored in the Napoleonic
period, but the Congress of Vienna (see Vienna, Congress of)
reestablished and added much, particularly in respect to international
rivers and the classification and treatment of diplomatic agents. The
Declaration of Paris (see Paris, Declaration of) abolished privateering,
drew up rules of contraband, and stipulated rules of blockade. The
Geneva Convention (1864) provided for more humane treatment of the
wounded. The last quarter of the 19th century saw many international
conventions concerning prisoners of war, communication, collision and
salvage at sea, protection of migrating bird and sea life, and suppression
of prostitution. Resort to arbitration of disputes became more frequent.
The lawmaking conventions of the Hague Conferences represent the
chief development of international law before World War I. The
Declaration of London (see London, Declaration of) contained a
convention of prize law, which, although not ratified, is usually
followed. At the Pan-American Congresses, many lawmaking
agreements affecting the Western Hemisphere have been signed.

Effect of the World Wars

In World War I, no strong nations remained on the sidelines to give
effective backing to international law, and the concept of third party
arbitration was again endangered; many of the standing provisions of
international law were violated. New modes of warfare presented new
problems in the laws of war, but attempts after the war to effect
disarmament and to prohibit certain types of weapons (see war, laws of)
failed, as the outbreak and course of World War II showed. The end of
hostilities in 1945 saw the world again faced with grave international
problems, including rectification of boundaries, care of refugees, and
6

administration of the territory of the defeated enemy (see trusteeship,

territorial). The inadequacy of the League of Nations and of such
idealistic renunciations of war as the Kellogg-Briand Pact led to the
formation of the United Nations as a body capable of compelling
obedience to international law and maintaining peace. After World War
II, a notable advance in international law was the definition and
punishment of war crimes. Attempts at a general codification of
international law, however, proceeded slowly under the International
Law Commission established in 1947 by the United Nations.

Recent Developments
The nuclear age and the space age have led to new developments in
international law. The basis of space law was developed in the 1960s
under United Nations auspices. Treaties have been signed mandating the
internationalization of outer space (1967) and other celestial bodies
(1979). The 1963 limited test ban treaty (see disarmament, nuclear)
prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and
underwater. The nuclear nonproliferation treaty (1968) attempted to limit
the spread of nuclear weapons. The agreements of the Strategic Arms
Limitation Talks, signed by the United States and the USSR in 1972,
limited defensive and offensive weapon systems. This was first of many
international arms treaties signed between the two nations until the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. Other treaties have covered the
internationalization of Antarctica (1959), narcotic interdiction (1961),
satellite communications (1963), and terrorism (1973). The Law of the
Sea treaty (1982, in force from 1994) clarified the status of territorial
waters and the exploitation of the seabed. Environmental issues have led
to a number of international treaties, including agreements covering
fisheries (1958), endangered species (1973), global warming and
7

biodiversity (1992). Since the signing of the General Agreement on

Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, there have been numerous
international trade agreements. The European Union (prior to 1993, the
European Community) has made moves toward the establishment of a
regional legal system; in 1988 a Court of First Instance was established
to serve as a court of original jurisdiction on certain economic matters.
The establishment of the International Criminal Court (2002), with
jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and related
matters, marked a major step forward in international law.

Nature and Scope

Modern International law includes both the customary rules and usages
to which states have given express or tacit assent and the provisions of
ratified treaties and conventions. International law is directly and
strongly influenced, although not made, by the writings of jurists and
publicists, by instructions to diplomatic agents, by important
conventions even when they are not ratified, and by arbitral awards. The
decisions of the International Court of Justice and of certain national
courts, such as prize courts, are considered by some theorists to be a part
of international law. In many modern states, international law is by
custom or statute regarded as part of national (or, as it is usually called,
municipal) law. In addition, municipal courts will, if possible, interpret
municipal law so as to give effect to international law.

Because there is no sovereign supernational body to enforce

international law, some older theorists, including Thomas Hobbes,
Samuel Pufendorf, and John Austin have denied that it is true law.
Nevertheless, international law is recognized as law in practice, and the
sanctions for failing to comply, although often less direct, are similar to
those of municipal law; they include the force of public opinion, selfhelp, intervention by third-party states, the sanctions of international
organizations such as the United Nations, and, in the last resort, war.

Nation states are fundamentally the entities with which international law
is concerned, although in certain cases municipal law may impose
international duties upon private persons, e.g, the obligation to desist
9

from piracy. New rights and duties have been imposed on individuals
within the framework of international law by the decisions in the war
crimes trials as well as the treaty establishing the International Criminal
Court, by the genocide convention, and by the Declaration of Human
Rights.

10

Conclusion.

International law has been transformed from a European-based system

enabling sovereign states to interact in a relatively limited number of
areas to a truly international order with profound and increasingly
cooperative requirements. Globalization has ensured that the doctrine of
the sovereignty of states has in practice been modified, as the
proliferation of regional and global international organizations
demonstrates. In an increasing number of cases, certain sovereign
powers of states have been delegated to international institutions.
Furthermore, the growth of large trading blocs has underscored both
regional and international interdependence, though it also has stimulated
and institutionalized rivalries between different blocs. The striking
development of the movement for universal human rights since the
conclusion of World War II has led to essentially unresolved conflicts
with some states that continue to observe traditional cultural values. The
rules governing the use of force have focused particular attention on the
UN, but violent disputes have not disappeared, and the development of
increasingly deadly armamentsincluding biological, chemical, and
nuclear weapons (so-called weapons of mass destruction)has placed
all states in a more vulnerable position. Particular challenges are posed
when such weapons are possessed by states that have used them or
threaten to do so. In 2003 the United States and Britain led an attack
against Iraq and overthrew its government because they believed that the
country continued to possess weapons of mass destruction in defiance of

11

binding Security Council resolutions; the attack proceeded despite

opposition from a majority of the council to a proposed resolution
explicitly authorizing the use of force. Although terrorism is not a new
phenomenon, the increasing scale of the destruction it may cause, as
well as the use by terrorists of modern forms of communication such as
computers and mobile phones, has raised serious new challenges for
international lawones that may affect the interpretation of the right of
self-defense and pose a critical test for the UN.

12

Bibliography.

1. Dr. H.O. Agarwal, International Law and Human

Rights, Nineteenth Edn. 2013
2. Malcolm N. Shaw, International Law, Seventh Edn.
2014
3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-law
(last visited on 3 Nov. 2016 at 23:11:56
4. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/International_law (last
visited on 3 Nov. 2016 at 23:19:32)

13