Summary Public International Law
Chapter 1- International law in the modern context
International began with the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended
the Thirty Years War in Europe. Writers often confuse the beginning of international law
with the period when the formal documentation of international law began. These are two
remarkably different issues that must not be confused. International law began to grow from
the second half of the Middle Ages. The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius’ work De jure belli ac pacis
libri tres, appeared in 1625, became a foundation of later development. For many reasons it
is difficult to speculate when international law was actually born. Another difficulty is the
question of who documented international law and what parameters were used in
determining what constituted international is. Until the twentieth century, the standard for
measuring acceptability of civilization was mainly Western. One problem with attempting to
put a specific date on the origin of international law is that most of what became
international law principles already existed among primitive nations long before
documentation started.
International law was believed to have been coined by the British philosopher Jeremy
Bentham in 1789, who described it as that branch of jurisprudence exclusively concerned
with mutual transactions between sovereign as such. This definition embodies the notion of
international law in the classical era when the subject was regarded as applying only to
States. Some writers believed that international law applied to entities other than States.
William Blackstone thought that international law also applied to individuals so that the
subject applies to intercourse which must frequently occur between tow or more
independent states and the individuals belonging to each. Most modern writers define is as
a body of rules and principles applicable only to States. The Foreign Relations Law of the US
provides that: “International law, as used in this Restatement, consists of rules and principles
of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of international organizations
and with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons,
whether natural or juridical.” The Oxford Dictionary defines it as: “the law of nations, under
which nations are regarded as individual members of a common polity bound by a common
rule of agreement or custom, opposed to municipal law, the rules binding in local
jurisdictions.” The first modern type of records was the 1856 Declaration of Paris, concluded
in an effort to end the Crimean War. States were thus the only subjects of international law
at these early stages, because they alone were capable of applying its rules and principles,
and it was only to them that international law could be applied. States remain the most
important subjects of international law. By the twentieth century, international
organizations became fully recognized as international law subjects. International law now
applies to human beings in certain circumstances. International organizations can apply the
rules and principles of international law, which can also be applied to them. Thus, despite
the fact that certain categories of human being enjoy some international rights and
privileges that ordinary people do not, they cannot appear before the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) or conclude treaties on their own behalf, although they can do so as State
officials. Human beings are international law subjects only because international law can be
applied to them under given circumstances. A definition of international law is: a body of
rules and principles, contained in various sources, including treaties and customs which the
Chapter 1- International law in the modern context
International began with the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended
the Thirty Years War in Europe. Writers often confuse the beginning of international law
with the period when the formal documentation of international law began. These are two
remarkably different issues that must not be confused. International law began to grow from
the second half of the Middle Ages. The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius’ work De jure belli ac pacis
libri tres, appeared in 1625, became a foundation of later development. For many reasons it
is difficult to speculate when international law was actually born. Another difficulty is the
question of who documented international law and what parameters were used in
determining what constituted international is. Until the twentieth century, the standard for
measuring acceptability of civilization was mainly Western. One problem with attempting to
put a specific date on the origin of international law is that most of what became
international law principles already existed among primitive nations long before
documentation started.
International law was believed to have been coined by the British philosopher Jeremy
Bentham in 1789, who described it as that branch of jurisprudence exclusively concerned
with mutual transactions between sovereign as such. This definition embodies the notion of
international law in the classical era when the subject was regarded as applying only to
States. Some writers believed that international law applied to entities other than States.
William Blackstone thought that international law also applied to individuals so that the
subject applies to intercourse which must frequently occur between tow or more
independent states and the individuals belonging to each. Most modern writers define is as
a body of rules and principles applicable only to States. The Foreign Relations Law of the US
provides that: “International law, as used in this Restatement, consists of rules and principles
of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of international organizations
and with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons,
whether natural or juridical.” The Oxford Dictionary defines it as: “the law of nations, under
which nations are regarded as individual members of a common polity bound by a common
rule of agreement or custom, opposed to municipal law, the rules binding in local
jurisdictions.” The first modern type of records was the 1856 Declaration of Paris, concluded
in an effort to end the Crimean War. States were thus the only subjects of international law
at these early stages, because they alone were capable of applying its rules and principles,
and it was only to them that international law could be applied. States remain the most
important subjects of international law. By the twentieth century, international
organizations became fully recognized as international law subjects. International law now
applies to human beings in certain circumstances. International organizations can apply the
rules and principles of international law, which can also be applied to them. Thus, despite
the fact that certain categories of human being enjoy some international rights and
privileges that ordinary people do not, they cannot appear before the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) or conclude treaties on their own behalf, although they can do so as State
officials. Human beings are international law subjects only because international law can be
applied to them under given circumstances. A definition of international law is: a body of
rules and principles, contained in various sources, including treaties and customs which the
