INTERNATIONAL LAW
different types of information:
laws, cases and regulations, guides or overviews, policy studies,
conventions, recommendations …
Definitions
• Foreign law. The domestic law of a country other
than your own.
• Comparative law. Study comparing laws of two or
more countries or two or more legal systems (often
includes the study of foreign law).
• Public international law.
– Rules dealing with some relations between two ore
more states (i.e., countries).
– Rules dealing with some relations between states and
persons (e.g., human rights).
– Rules dealing with international organization.
– International economic law is the branch that deals
with economic exchanges between states (including
monetary, trade and customs law).
Definitions - II
• Sources of international law
– International convention (treaties)
– International custom, as evidence of a general
practice accepted as law
– The general principles of law recognized by civilized
nations
– Juridical decisions and teachings of most highly
qualified publicists of the various nations
• Private international law (conflict of law)
– Rules dealing with relations among individuals that
have an international element, typically rules
concerning as to which county`s laws apply in a
particular dispute.
Definitions - III
• Soft law. Guidelines, policy declarations, or codes of
conduct that set standards of conduct but are not
directly enforceable.
• Transnational law (the international lex mercatoria).
– Rules governing certain disputes that are accepted
regardless of national jurisdiction.
– Promoted as a solution to some problems of
international commercial law; contracting parties from
different countries would both be bound by this
transnational law, rather than by law of either party`s
country.
Sources of analysis
Preliminary questions
– Is there a convention, are there import cases, what is
a factual background ?
– A list of questions include
• factual questions
• questions about the law.
Sources of international law
- international conventions
- international custom
- the general principles of law
- judicial decisions and teaching
Sources analysis - II
Secondary sources
• Books and law journal articles
• Sources of international law
Non-legal sources
News, scientific, technical, economic sources helping
the factual context for legal issue. Historical work
can provide evidence for custom.
Sources of law
• United Nations
– Created in 1945 by signing the Charter.
– The UN has six main organs: the General
Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social
Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat, and
the International Court of Justice.
– The UN system includes independent
organization, called “specialized agencies”.
• European Union
Fundamental values of the EU
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The EU as guarantor of peace
Unity and equality as the recurring theme
The fundamental freedoms
The principle of solidarity
Respect of national identity
The need for security
Fundamental rights in the EU
Structure of the European Union
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First pillar: the European Communities
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Second pillar: common foreign and security policy
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EC (customs union and single market, agricultural policy, structural
policy, trade policy)
new or amended provision (EU citizenship, education and culture,
trans-European networks, consumer protection, health, research and
environment, social policy, asylum policy, external borders,
immigration policy)
foreign policy (cooperation and common position and measures,
peacekeeping, human rights, democracy, aid to non-member
countries)
security policy (disarmament, financial aspects of defence, security
network)
Third pillar: cooperation in justice and home affairs
cooperation between judicial authorities in civil and criminal law,
police cooperation, combating racism and xenophobia, fighting drugs
and arms trade, fighting organised crime, fighting terrors, criminal
acts against children, trafficking in human beings