HC1 international law
International law, subjects and sources
today’s learning goals:
1. What is international law, including some of its features (kenmerken)?
2. What is international legal personality (rechtspersoonlijkheid OR you can also say subject) and
who can have it?
3. What is a state?
4. What are the main sources (hoofdbronnen) of international law?
5. What are some legal techniques for resolving conflicts between custom and treaties, and
between treaties?
Wat zijn enkele juridische technieken om conflicten tussen gebruiken en verdragen en tussen verdragen op te
lossen
What is public international law
International law
International law is the totality of legal rules concerning the (sovereign) relations amongst States,
international organizations and other subjects of international law, including the rights and duties of
individuals that are relevant to the international community (or part thereof).
Internationaal recht is het geheel van rechtsregels betreffende de (soevereine) betrekkingen tussen staten,
internationale organisaties en andere onderwerpen van internationaal recht, inclusief de rechten en plichten
van individuen die relevant zijn voor de internationale gemeenschap (of een deel daarvan).
Some features (kenmerken) of international law
Sovereign equality of States (art. 2(1) UN Charter), Treaty of Westphalia (1648))
Soevereine gelijkheid van staten (art. 2 (1) VN-Handvest), Verdrag van Westfalen (1648))
Het idee van soevereine gelijkheid van staten is begonnen in 1648 door het verdrag van Westfalen. In
1648 waren er veel religieuze oorlogen, vertergenwoordigers van verschillende kanten kwamen samen
om een oplossing te zoeken naar vrede. zij kwamen met het idee om soevereine staten meest gezag te
geven, zij zijn de ´main actors´ van international law, zij wilde gelijkheid tussen de staten.
Het idee van soevereiniteit is dat elk land een groot zwarte doos is, en in deze doos bevind zich het
stadsgebied (state territory) en zijn volk met zijn politiek. En elke staat zegt tegen de ander; ‘dit is onze
zwarte doos en jij mag je niet bemoeien (interfere) met onze soevereiniteit (soevereignty)’.
Als je uit de zwarte doos stapt en je kijkt naar de relaties tussen de staten, wat betekend dan
soevereiniteit? Als elke staat soeverein en gelijk is, betekend dat dat de ene staat de andere staat niet kan
vertellen wat international law is. Als we allemaal soeverein en gelijk zijn, mag ieder van ons beslissen aan
welk internationaal recht we gebonden zijn (bound by).
, Relatively little organization (e.g. no universal executive, parliament, court or police)
Relatief weinig organisatie (bijv. Geen universele uitvoerende macht, parlement, rechtbank of politie)
Als elke staat instemt om gebonden te zijn en elke staat is gelijk aan elkaar, dan heb je op internationaal
relatief niveau relatief weinig organisatie. Zo hebben we bijvoorbeel geen wereldwijde politie die
rondlopot in het afwingen van internationale wetten, zo hebben we geen wereldwijde grondwet (global
constitution) etc, …
Legal practice (consent) matters for understanding the law
Juridische praktijk (toestemming) is van belang voor het begrijpen van de wet
We have to look at what states are doing, to figure out what the law is. Which is strange because we don’t
do that in domestic law (binnenlands recht). We have to watch very closely what states do and say to
content what international law is.
Another feature of international law is this idea that it should be international, we want it to be universal.
But the states get to consent to which laws they want to be bound by and even when you have a law that
applies to every state, you have nearly 200 states that probably going to disagree on how those laws are
interpreted (geinterpreteerd). Each state has a different way of thinking
Universal character in tension with legal cultural differences
Universeel karakter in spanning met juridische culturele verschillen
Another feature of international law is this idea that it should be international, we want it to be universal.
But the states get to consent to which laws they want to be bound by and even when you have a law that
applies to every state, you have nearly 200 states that probably going to disagree on how those laws are
interpreted (geinterpreteerd). Each state has a different way of thinking
Tension between law (not politically innocent) and politics
Spanning tussen recht (niet politiek onschuldig) en politiek
Another important tension (spanning) is that international law is not politacly innocent. So, if states make
the law, states are self-interested. They have an interest in advancing their goals. And that means that
they can create international law that is not honorable, that is unjust. They can also create international
law that we can celebrate, like colonization. International law was created to make colonization possible
and international law was also created to de-colonization possible. So, we can say that international law is
not politically innocent. We can advance the political interest of each state. But that doesn’t mean that
we should collapse the distinction (onderscheid) between law and politics.
Move from co-existence to cooperation
Ga van co-existentie naar samenwerking
If you look back in the last 100 years, what you see is a really important shift. If you go to the 1900, states
thought: ‘We are going to co-exist with each other, that’s what we need international law for’. And
around the turn of that century, states started to have ideas about cooperation with each other, they
recognize that international law could help them cooperate with each other. And it began in a really
simple way, for example, I want to send my letter from Canada to the Netherlands, how does my letter
get from Canada to the Netherlands? create an international postal union that will regulate how mail
will across the world! So that trend began in the 1900, and what we have seen especially in the last
decades is massive cooperation, for example, climate change, human traffic, drugs, fight against terrorism
… states find ways to cooperate with each other by using international law
International law, subjects and sources
today’s learning goals:
1. What is international law, including some of its features (kenmerken)?
2. What is international legal personality (rechtspersoonlijkheid OR you can also say subject) and
who can have it?
3. What is a state?
4. What are the main sources (hoofdbronnen) of international law?
5. What are some legal techniques for resolving conflicts between custom and treaties, and
between treaties?
Wat zijn enkele juridische technieken om conflicten tussen gebruiken en verdragen en tussen verdragen op te
lossen
What is public international law
International law
International law is the totality of legal rules concerning the (sovereign) relations amongst States,
international organizations and other subjects of international law, including the rights and duties of
individuals that are relevant to the international community (or part thereof).
Internationaal recht is het geheel van rechtsregels betreffende de (soevereine) betrekkingen tussen staten,
internationale organisaties en andere onderwerpen van internationaal recht, inclusief de rechten en plichten
van individuen die relevant zijn voor de internationale gemeenschap (of een deel daarvan).
Some features (kenmerken) of international law
Sovereign equality of States (art. 2(1) UN Charter), Treaty of Westphalia (1648))
Soevereine gelijkheid van staten (art. 2 (1) VN-Handvest), Verdrag van Westfalen (1648))
Het idee van soevereine gelijkheid van staten is begonnen in 1648 door het verdrag van Westfalen. In
1648 waren er veel religieuze oorlogen, vertergenwoordigers van verschillende kanten kwamen samen
om een oplossing te zoeken naar vrede. zij kwamen met het idee om soevereine staten meest gezag te
geven, zij zijn de ´main actors´ van international law, zij wilde gelijkheid tussen de staten.
Het idee van soevereiniteit is dat elk land een groot zwarte doos is, en in deze doos bevind zich het
stadsgebied (state territory) en zijn volk met zijn politiek. En elke staat zegt tegen de ander; ‘dit is onze
zwarte doos en jij mag je niet bemoeien (interfere) met onze soevereiniteit (soevereignty)’.
Als je uit de zwarte doos stapt en je kijkt naar de relaties tussen de staten, wat betekend dan
soevereiniteit? Als elke staat soeverein en gelijk is, betekend dat dat de ene staat de andere staat niet kan
vertellen wat international law is. Als we allemaal soeverein en gelijk zijn, mag ieder van ons beslissen aan
welk internationaal recht we gebonden zijn (bound by).
, Relatively little organization (e.g. no universal executive, parliament, court or police)
Relatief weinig organisatie (bijv. Geen universele uitvoerende macht, parlement, rechtbank of politie)
Als elke staat instemt om gebonden te zijn en elke staat is gelijk aan elkaar, dan heb je op internationaal
relatief niveau relatief weinig organisatie. Zo hebben we bijvoorbeel geen wereldwijde politie die
rondlopot in het afwingen van internationale wetten, zo hebben we geen wereldwijde grondwet (global
constitution) etc, …
Legal practice (consent) matters for understanding the law
Juridische praktijk (toestemming) is van belang voor het begrijpen van de wet
We have to look at what states are doing, to figure out what the law is. Which is strange because we don’t
do that in domestic law (binnenlands recht). We have to watch very closely what states do and say to
content what international law is.
Another feature of international law is this idea that it should be international, we want it to be universal.
But the states get to consent to which laws they want to be bound by and even when you have a law that
applies to every state, you have nearly 200 states that probably going to disagree on how those laws are
interpreted (geinterpreteerd). Each state has a different way of thinking
Universal character in tension with legal cultural differences
Universeel karakter in spanning met juridische culturele verschillen
Another feature of international law is this idea that it should be international, we want it to be universal.
But the states get to consent to which laws they want to be bound by and even when you have a law that
applies to every state, you have nearly 200 states that probably going to disagree on how those laws are
interpreted (geinterpreteerd). Each state has a different way of thinking
Tension between law (not politically innocent) and politics
Spanning tussen recht (niet politiek onschuldig) en politiek
Another important tension (spanning) is that international law is not politacly innocent. So, if states make
the law, states are self-interested. They have an interest in advancing their goals. And that means that
they can create international law that is not honorable, that is unjust. They can also create international
law that we can celebrate, like colonization. International law was created to make colonization possible
and international law was also created to de-colonization possible. So, we can say that international law is
not politically innocent. We can advance the political interest of each state. But that doesn’t mean that
we should collapse the distinction (onderscheid) between law and politics.
Move from co-existence to cooperation
Ga van co-existentie naar samenwerking
If you look back in the last 100 years, what you see is a really important shift. If you go to the 1900, states
thought: ‘We are going to co-exist with each other, that’s what we need international law for’. And
around the turn of that century, states started to have ideas about cooperation with each other, they
recognize that international law could help them cooperate with each other. And it began in a really
simple way, for example, I want to send my letter from Canada to the Netherlands, how does my letter
get from Canada to the Netherlands? create an international postal union that will regulate how mail
will across the world! So that trend began in the 1900, and what we have seen especially in the last
decades is massive cooperation, for example, climate change, human traffic, drugs, fight against terrorism
… states find ways to cooperate with each other by using international law
