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Definition: international law from Philip's Encyclopedia

Body of rules deemed legally binding that have resulted from treaties, agreements and customs between states. Its sources are also decisions by agencies, conferences or commissions of international organizations such as the United Nations, as well as decisions of international tribunals such as those of the International Court of Justice.

International Law

From International Encyclopedia of Political Science
International law is a system of law that is predominantly created by, and designed to govern the actions of, states. Public international law, the subject of this entry, can be distinguished from private international law, which addresses aspects of private legal relationships that span national borders. International law is a horizontal system of law in which states, at least in legal theory, enjoy sovereign equality. Lacking a legislative body or a law enforcement agency, international law functions very differently than a system of law in a modern liberal democracy. International law has grown enormously in scope and complexity since World War II. The number of states has expanded through decolonization and disintegration, international law has come to address a far wider range of subjects than ever before, and there has been a considerable increase in the number of international courts and tribunals. This entry first looks at how international law is created and enforced, and…
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Full text Article international law

From Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought
International law has two branches: public (applying between states), which is referred to in this entry, and private (applying to individuals), which is also known as conflict of laws and described under that heading. In theory the first is a single body of law applying universally, while the…
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Full text Article international law

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
body of rules considered legally binding in the relations between national states, also known as the law of nations. It is sometimes called public international law in contrast to private international law (or conflict of laws ), which regulates private legal affairs affected by more than one…
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Full text Article International Law

From American Governance
International law is a system of rules created by sovereign states to regulate their interactions with one another. States are both the authors of international law and the primary subjects of it; states write the rules, and states must follow and enforce them. The rules of the international legal…
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Full text Article International Law

From SAGE Key Concepts Series: Key Concepts in International Relations
CORE QUESTIONS ADDRESSED What are the sources of international law? What is the legalization of world politics? Why is the status of customary international law problematic? DEFINITIONS International law is a set of rules, norms and principles to regulate state conduct and guide state interaction by…
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Full text Article international law

From Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy
International law is a force for peace in world politics and a vehicle for organizing international activity. The United States has had an uneasy relationship with international law. Traditional American liberal values place a great deal of emphasis on the rule of law and the ability of individuals…
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Full text Article International Law

From The Oxford Companion to International Relations
International law derives its authority primarily from the interactions of states, and increasingly from those of international institutions, nongovernmental and private organizations, and even individuals. These interactions determine who has the authority to act and on whose behalf, what behavior…
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Full text Article international law

From Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics
International law in the United States has undergone changes back and forth from a marginal role, to manipulation for reasons of national interest, to respect and observation. Policy makers have given radically different interpretations of what international law is depending on how or if they sought…
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Full text Article INTERNATIONAL LAW

From The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History
Alternately traced to the Jus Gentium (Law of the Nations) of the Holy Roman Empire and explained as a by-product of the rise of the nation state in the seventeenth century, by mid-eighteenth century international law comprised rules that bound nations in their relations with one another. Whereas…
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Full text Article international law

From The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy
The body of rules and principles of action which are * binding on * sovereign states in their relations with each other. The last half century or so has also seen the extension of international law to include the rules relating to the activities of * international organizations and to individuals…
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Full text Article international law

From Encyclopedia of the American Presidency
Dutch jurist Grotius is credited as the father or inventor of international law. In 1625 he wrote The Law of War and Peace , an attempt to devise a system of laws applicable to all peoples, places, and times. Today, international law remains an only partially realized dream. There are a variety of…
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