Mr. Aldunate
Development of International Law
Early international law was focused primarily on:
1. the protection of diplomats
2. the establishment of state boundaries,
3. treaty law.
The main difference between international law and domestic law is that it doesn’t exist
within a formal justice system. Which means:
a. International law lacks a legislature for creating laws
i.e. No int’l legislative body that passes laws like parliament
b. Offers limited opportunities for court determinations
i.e. a comprehensive judicial system (one that hears crimes or prosecutes crimes) does
not exist at the international level (exceptions are the I.C.J and I.C.C)
c. Has limited enforcement measures
e.g. no real international police force to impose punishment or sanctions
Then why do nations obey int’l law?
Nations are encouraged or persuaded to obey int’l law because continued acceptance
by the int’l community and participation in its activities serve the member nations’
individual and community interest
Ex. Countries in which children are permitted to work under unacceptable conditions
may find that countries opposed to child labour refuse to buy their products. The
offending countries can improve their export potential by working to comply with int’l
labour standards
Therefore, int’l law often depends on a state’s voluntarily agreeing to be subject to
particular rules
i.e. Much of int’l law is treaty based: a state must sign and ratify a treaty before it will
become bound. States must choose to become member of organizations or alliances or
allow institutions to exercise jurisdiction before their rules will apply
Int’l Criminal Court agreed upon by 120 nations dealt with the issues of int’l criminal prosecutions.
But the US, China, and Russia did not ratify the statute.