International Law And International Legal Theory

When comparing apples to pears, one is not making a fair comparison, but a disproportionate comparison. Often times when international law is discussed or attempts are made to understand international law; many often attempt to compare international law with existing laws such as national law or domestic law. Making such disproportionate comparisons leads to many misconceived notions and attitudes toward international law. For an adequate comparison of international law to other laws, one should look closely at the available facts. This essay will demonstrate the vitality of international law, in a world of nations which continue to increase in interdependence.

Basically, Ratner discusses how we have two challenges: how to make universal rules legitimate amongst a community of diverse nations and how to make these rules effective in the absence of a governing authority. He then goes on to explain how there are four fundamental shifts in these kinds of issues. New Forms, New Players: Rules of international law used to reside in treaties or customary law, but as new domains from the environment to the internet become appropriate for international regulation, states become unwilling to embrace strict rules. Soft law enables states to adjust to the regulation of new areas without fearing punishment upon failure to comply. New participants are making demands

There were many difficulties which arose as there were many questions which occurred such as ‘who has the right to authority?’ to authorize military intervention for humanitarian purposes? (Heywood, 2011) This is usually referred to the UN security council, this emphasises on the power in which the security council holds and how much responsibility they have, to protect and maintain peace and security. Secondly, Kofi Annan tried to reconcile the tension between sovereignty and human rights, by arguing that, in a context of globalization and international cooperation’s, the state should be viewed as ‘the servant of people and vice versa’ (Annan,1999) . Changing attitudes towards the norm are reflected in the growth in the influence of such doctrines of intervention as the responsibility to protect is that there is an onus on the international community to intervene in situations, where the lives of a country’s civilian population are threatened by the actions of government (Guelke, 2012) However, this can be seen as a disadvantages towards ‘responsibility to protect’ as stated above people’s lives and safety are in the hands of governments which in some occasions cannot be good, as not all civilians agree with government verdicts. Finally, Russia is regarded as a weak rival of the west in geo-strategic terms, its capacity to project power remains very limited (Guelke, 2012). Another example includes; Iraq, they do not follow the human right law, which shows that they are in need for protection to prevent waste of supreme court time and funding. Iraq has one of the most corrupt governments in the world, due to lack of human rights, which is defining the lives of civilians within their country. It is evident that there is a significant need for the right to protect in countries such as

In Unjust Justice, Chantal Delsol evaluates the contemporary international system and contemporary international law, the regulation of relations between sovereign states, by defending various principles that she claims will be violated by the potential formation of a “world government”. The principles that Delsol defends in response to recent steps toward a universal state are found in the works of modern thinker, Emer de Vattel, and medieval thinker, Thomas Aquinas.

The most destructive and destabilizing state crimes are wars of aggression. Under George Bush, neoconservatives ushered in a climate of unilateralism as well as militarism which stemmed from America’s lengthy experiences involving “open door” imperialism. State crimes are defined as criminal acts perpetrated by state representatives in an attempt to serve in their job’s capacity. However, some have promoted an expanded description of state crimes which includes behavior which violates international agreements and treaties. Non-mainstream theorists argue that UN sponsored international law often conceals the white, western, liberalist predominance instead of valid understandings of human nature. The current system has been criticised

There are many acts of violence committed around the world today. One common problem that arises from these issues and wars is the aftermath of sorting out who did what and where to discuss this information. Pierre Leval, who is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, wrote the article, “The Long Arm of International Law” (2011). Leval was born in New York and received his bachelor’s degree in 1959 from Harvard (2011). Shortly after, in 1963, he earned his first professional doctorate degree as a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School(2011). After his nomination by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Leval joined the court (2011). Prior to this, he served on the Southern District of New York, joining in 1997 after appointment from President Jimmy Carter (2011). On August 16, 2002, Leval assumed senior status (2011).

Cybersecurity, cyber conflict, cyberwarfare, cyberattack. In addition to these terms, there are countless others relating to the evolving technological capabilities and the emerging ?battlespace? dimension that is cyberspace. A robust volume of scholarly literature has attempted to address numerous emerging security concerns in the cyber realm making cybersecurity one of the most discussed areas of study. Key leaders in the field of cybersecurity including General (ret.) Keith Alexander has stated that threats from the cyber realm are going to be some of the top security challenges the United States faces in the 21st century.[footnoteRef:1]

The United Nations, with its rigid moral and political limitations against force, has become a benchmark of peace and a social achievement of modern times. From war torn Europe, the United Nations developed from five major powers with an initial goal to prevent the spread of warfare through peaceful means and to establish and maintain fundamental human rights. Through the past fifty years, this organization has broadened its horizons with auxiliary organizations from peace keeping missions to humanitarian aid, to economic development. However, in a modern example of ethnic cleansing, the UN faces new a new role as a bystander as its power is bypassed by NATO forces. The UN, however, promises to be an

This reflective paper will address several issues associated with international and world trade law as they pertain to counterfeiting and discussing the connections between business, law, politics and ethics with regard to counterfeiting. First, it will discuss the legal and ethical issues related to boycotting goods from other countries, as well as the practical business implications of such a move. Next, this paper will analyze the problem of World Trade Organization (WTO) participant nations and their ability to address the problems of counterfeiting. Finally, it will discuss the type of action the United Nations might take with regard to the counterfeiting issue.

Public law governs the relationships between private individuals and institutions and the state, whereas private

When discussing international law, there are two possible situations that generate misunderstanding. One is that consensus over specific cases or universal recognition of certain principles has not been reached among different actors. Therefore the international law fails to provide guidance as to its conception of justice. The other situation is that international law per se is not well respected by the actors in the international community. The credibility and inviolability of law is therefore degraded by frequent breaches in practice.

International Law reflects an effort by states to co-operate and achieve global aims such as safety from crime (including terrorism), whilst respecting individual state sovereignty and maintaining maximum participation of states. How effective is International Law in achieving this aim? What are the pitfalls and how might these be removed or the effects ameliorated?

According to the Cornell University Law School’s ‘Legal Information Institute’, self-determination is defined as ‘denoting the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order’. As a major concept of modern day international law, self-determination gives people the right to control their own fates and livelihoods under certain fundamental criteria. Such criteria suggests that self-determination can be claimed by a minority that bases its lifestyle on an ethnic identity that is distinguishable from regular society, with a strong desire for cultural preservation. It has been considered to be a framework with the ability to guide binding legislative reforms within Australia, with an underlying ‘rights- based’ approach to Indigenous Issues. Self-determination is considered to be an important aspect of the legal system in regards to Indigenous Peoples, as it provides them a process of choice, to guarantee the practice of Indigenous social, cultural, political and economic needs.

The first reading for this week was a chapter out of a book about international legal subjects. International legal subjects include things like insurgents, national liberation movements, international organizations, and individuals (Cassese, 124). States have not been happy when insurgents try to enter their territory. Insurgents are rebels and they feel as if they are dangerous. Insurgents are state like and they have many characteristics that states have. They do not have as many rights are states does and their duties are limited.

All through the most recent four decades, coordinated endeavours have been taken by states at universal, local and national levels to address natural difficulties postured far and wide. Amidst this period, global understandings have been made running from the "marine environment to space and from species conservation to assurance of the ozone layer". In addition, the author peddled that this period has additionally seen the foundation of new global establishments which have reinforced endeavours towards tending to the difficulties postured by natural concerns. Remarkably, the United Nations Environment Program ( 'UNEP ') and the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development ( 'UNCSD ') are two conspicuous bodies