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Introduction
international law, 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 jurisdiction.
Evolution of International Law
Beginnings
There was little scope for an international law in the period of ancient and medieval empires, and its modern beginnings coincide,
therefore, with the rise of national states after the Middle Ages. Rules of maritime intercourse and rules respecting diplomatic agents
(see diplomatic service) soon came into existence. At the beginning of the 17th cent., the great multitude of small independent
states, which were finding international lawlessness intolerable, prepared the way for the favorable reception given to the De jure
belli ac pacis [concerning the law of war and peace] (1625) of Hugo Grotius, the first comprehensive formulation of international law.
Though not formally accepted by any nation, his opinions and observations were afterward regularly consulted, and they often
served as a basis for reaching agreement in international disputes. The most significant principle he enunciated was the notion of
sovereignty and legal equality of all states. Other important writers on international law were Cornelius vanBynkershoek, Georg F.
von Martens, Christian von Wolff, and Emerich Vattel.
Recent Developments
The nuclear age and the space age have led to new developments in international law. The basis of space law was developed in the
1960s under United Nations auspices. Treaties have been signed mandating the internationalization of outer space (1967) and other
celestial bodies (1979). The 1963 limited test ban treaty (see disarmament, nuclear) prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in
outer space, and underwater. The nuclear nonproliferation treaty (1968) attempted to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. The
agreements of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, signed by the United States and the USSR in 1972, limited defensive and
offensive weapon systems. This was first of many international arms treaties signed between the two nations until the dissolution of
the Soviet Union. Other treaties have covered the internationalization of Antarctica (1959), narcotic interdiction (1961), satellite
communications (1963), and terrorism (1973). The Law of the Sea treaty (1982, in force from 1994) clarified the status of territorial
waters and the exploitation of the seabed. Environmental issues have led to a number of international treaties, including agreements
covering fisheries (1958), endangered species (1973), global warming and biodiversity (1992). Since the signing of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, there have been numerous international trade agreements. The European Union
(prior to 1993, the European Community) has made moves toward the establishment of a regional legal system; in 1988 a Court of
First Instance was established to serve as a court of original jurisdiction on certain economic matters. The establishment of the
International Criminal Court (2002), with jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and related matters, marked a major
step forward in international law despite the United States' repudiation of the treaty under President George W. Bush.
Nature and Scope
International law includes both the customary rules and usages to which states have given express or tacit assent and the
provisions of ratified treaties and conventions. International law is directly and strongly influenced, although not made, by the
writings of jurists and publicists, by instructions to diplomatic agents, by important conventions even when they are not ratified, and
by arbitral awards. The decisions of theInternational Court of Justice and of certain national courts, such as prize courts, are
considered by some theorists to be a part of international law. In many modern states, international law is by custom or statute
regarded as part of national (or, as it is usually called, municipal) law. In addition, municipal courts will, if possible, interpret
municipal law so as to give effect to international law.
Because there is no sovereign supernational body to enforce international law, some older theorists, including Thomas Hobbes,
Samuel Pufendorf, and John Austin have denied that it is true law. Nevertheless, international law is recognized as law in practice,
and the sanctions for failing to comply, although often less direct, are similar to those of municipal law; they include the force of
public opinion, self-help, intervention by third-party states, the sanctions of international organizations such as the United Nations,
and, in the last resort, war.
National states are fundamentally the entities with which international law is concerned, although in certain cases municipal law may
impose international duties upon private persons, e.g, the obligation to desist from piracy. New rights and duties have been imposed
on individuals within the framework of international law by the decisions in the war crimes trials as well as the treaty establishing the
International Criminal Court (see war crimes), by the genocideconvention, and by the Declaration of Human Rights