INTERNATIONAL LAW IS A WEAK LAW

SUBMITTED TO:- SUBMITTED BY:-

Prof. Shivangi Sahay Akshay Chadha

IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY 13bbl006

BBA. LLB
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my pleasant duty to offer my service acknowledgement to those honorable

personalities of the department who have been a constant source of help and encouragement in
carrying out this project. First of all I would like to thank the College authorities for providing
me the opportunity to work with one of the most prestigious organization.

I have further more to thank the company guide Prof. Shivangi Sahay who gave and confirmed
this permission and encouraged me to go ahead with my thesis.

I wish to express my ineptness to Prof. Shivangi Sahay for valuable suggestions and guidance
throughout the project.

This research would not have been completed without friendly efforts of the all the concerned
authorities. Also this project enables me to have the know-how of the effectiveness & working of
the team spirit. Its web like structure helps me to have added potential in myself to adjust easily
to the tense & result oriented environment of the organization.

AKSHAY CHADHA
 INDEX

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL LAW

TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

INTERNATIONAL COURT

LIST OF COURT

INTERNATIONAL LAW IS A WEAK LAW

SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL LAW

CONCLUSION
INTERNATIONAL LAW IS A WEAK LAW?

International law is the set of rules generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations

between states and between nations. It serves as a framework for the practice of stable and

organized international relations. International law differs from state-based legal systems in that

it is primarily applicable to countries rather than to private citizens. National law may become

international law when treaties delegate national jurisdiction to supranational tribunals such as

the European Court of Human Rights or the International Criminal Court. Treaties such as

the Geneva Conventions may require national law to conform to respective parts.
Much of international law is consent-based governance. This means that a state member is not

obliged to abide by this type of international law, unless it has expressly consented to a particular

course of conduct. This is an issue of state sovereignty. However, other aspects of international

law are not consent-based but still are obligatory upon state and non-state actors such

as customary international law and peremptory norms.

Types of international law

Public international law

Public international law (or international public law) concerns the treaty relationships between

the nations and persons which are considered the subjects of international law. Norms of

international law have their source in either:

1. custom, or customary international law (consistent state practice accompanied by opinio

juris),

2. globally accepted standards of behavior (peremptory norms known as jus cogens or ius

cogens), or

3. Codifications contained in conventional agreements, generally termed treaties.

Article 13 of the United Nations Charter obligates the UN General Assembly to initiate studies

and make recommendations which encourage the progressive development of international law

and its codification. Evidence of consensus or state practice can sometimes be derived from

intergovernmental resolutions or academic and expert legal opinions (sometimes collectively

termed soft law).

Private international law

Conflict of laws, often called "private international law" in civil law jurisdictions, is

distinguished from public international law because it governs conflicts between private persons

rather than states (or other international bodies with standing). It concerns the questions of which

jurisdiction should be permitted to hear a legal dispute between private parties, and which

jurisdiction's law should be applied, therefore raising issues of international law.

Today corporations are increasingly capable of shifting capital and labor supply chainsacross

borders, as well as trading with overseas corporations. This increases the number of disputes of

an inter-state nature outside a unified legal framework, and raises issues of the enforceability of

standard practices. Increasing numbers of businesses use commercial arbitration under the New

York Convention 1958.

INTERNATIONAL COURT
Early examples of international courts include the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals established in
the aftermath of World War II. Three such courts are presently located at The Hague in
the Netherlands: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Further
international courts exist elsewhere, usually with their jurisdiction restricted to a particular
country or issue, such as the one dealing with the genocide in Rwanda. In addition to
international tribunals created to address crimes committed during genocides and civil war, ad
hoc courts combining international and domestic strategies have also been established on a
situational basis. Examples of these hybrid tribunals are found in Sierra Leone, Lebanon, East
Timor, and Cambodia.

International Courts are permanent tribunals judging by International laws and treaties, also
when these norms are on civil and commercial matters. International courts should be
distinguished from international arbitration forums.

LIST OF INTERNATIONAL COURTS

Years
Name Scope Subject matter
active
International Court of
Global 1945present General disputes
Justice
International Criminal Court Global 2002present Criminal prosecutions
Permanent Court of
Global 19221946 General disputes
International Justice
Appellate Body Global 1995present Trade disputes within the WTO
International Tribunal for
Global 1994present Maritime disputes
the Law of the Sea
African Court of Justice Africa 2009present Interpretation of AU treaties
African Court on Human
Africa 2006present Human rights
and Peoples' Rights
COMESA Court of Justice Africa 1998present Trade disputes within COMESA
 Years
Name Scope Subject matter
active
ECOWAS Community Interpretation
Africa 1996present
Court of Justice of ECOWAS treaties
East African Court of Justice Africa 2001present Interpretation of EAC treaties
SADC Tribunal Africa 20052012 Interpretation of SADC treaties
Caribbean Court of Justice Caribbean 2005present General disputes
Court of Justice of the South
1983present Trade disputes within CAN
Andean Community America
Eastern Caribbean Supreme
Caribbean 1967present General disputes
Court
Inter-American Court of
Americas 1979present Human rights
Human Rights
Benelux Court of Justice Benelux 1975present Trade disputes within Benelux
Economic Court of the Economic disputes and
Former
Commonwealth of 1994present interpretation of treaties within
USSR
Independent States the CIS
European Court of Human
Europe 1959present Human rights
Rights
European Court of Justice Europe 1952present Interpretation of EU law
European Court of Auditors Europe 1977present Audits EU Institutions
European Free Trade
Europe 1994present Interpretation of EFTA law
Association Court
European Nuclear Energy
Europe 1960present Nuclear energy disputes
Tribunal
European Union Civil
Europe 2005present Civil disputes
Service Tribunal
International Military
Europe 19451946 Criminal prosecutions
Tribunal
International Military
Pacific 19461948 Criminal prosecutions
Tribunal for the Far East
International Criminal Former 1993present Criminal prosecutions
 Years
Name Scope Subject matter
active
Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
International Criminal
Rwanda 1994present Criminal prosecutions
Tribunal for Rwanda
Mechanism for International
Global 2012present Criminal prosecutions
Criminal Tribunals
Special Court for Sierra
Sierra Leone 2002present Criminal prosecutions
Leone
Special Tribunal for
Lebanon 2009present Criminal prosecutions
Lebanon

INTERNATIONAL LAW IS A WEAK LAW?

International Law is said to be a weak Law. The weaknesses of International Law become
evident when we compare it with Municipal Law. Its weaknesses reflected in most of cases
when these are compared with the state law. The following are some of the weaknesses of
International Law:-

WEAKN ESSES

l. The greatest shortcoming of International Law is that it lacks an effective executive

authority to enforce its rues.
2. Lacks Of effective legislative machinery:- Since the International Laws are based on
international treaties and conventions. Therefore these are interpreted by the states according to
their self interest.

3. The International court of Justice lacks compulsory jurisdiction in the true sense of the
term: - The International court of Justice which is situated in Hague (Netherland) is not
authorised to take cases of all states. The cases can be filed in this court with the mutual consent
of concerned states.

4. Due lack of effective sanctions, rules of International Law are frequently

violated:- There is no sense or fear of sanction in the International Law with the results the laws
are violated frequently by the States.

5. Lack in right to intervene in Internal Affairs: - As per article 2(7) of UNO Charter, UNO is
not competent to interfere in the domestic matters of states. International law cannot interfere in
the domestic matters. Keeping in view these facts in several cases International Law proves to be
ineffective and weak.

6. Uncertainty:- There is one more reason behind the weakness of International Law is its
uncertainty. It is not certain as the laws of states as well as Municipal law. In addition to this it
has not been able to maintain international peace and order.

It is now very much clear from the above facts that International Law is weak. Paton says that,
from institutional point of view International Law is a weak. It has no legislative support though
there is international court of justice but that functions or takes case on the basis of mutual
consent of states. It has no power to get the decisions implemented.

According to Karbet, The main course of weakness of International Law is the lack of social
solidarity among highly civilised states.

A case of Queen v/s Ken 1876:- There is no such institution or body which can enact laws for
sovereign states and there is no court also which can enforce its decision and to bind the states.
ACCORDING TO MY VIEW

Its weakness boils down to just two reasons it ultimately operates on politics and the historical
behaviour of the countries (rebadged as conventions).

International law comes into force with the conduct of the actors/parties to a treaty and cannot be
said to be a enacted law, it is always the agreement or conventions which create the law through
international relations and the disputes are mostly resolved through dialogues/international
criminal courts or International Court of justice.

Organs of the United Nations keep a close watch over the transactions, like the IMF and the
Security Council who have secretariat took look after any international breach of an
Agreement/Treaty.

Seen followers of international affairs often wonder why, despite the prohibition on the use of
force by the UN Charter, States still resort to this means of addressing international disputes.
Explanations vary. Legal experts offer various technical explanations for this development. This
includes that the rules governing the use of force are outdated and do not offer enough protection
for States. Non-lawyers blame the double-standard of international law which allows rich and
powerful States to act with impunity while weak and poor States are held accountable for their
conducts. Others blame the special status accorded to the five permanent members of the
Security Council by the veto vote. Regardless of divergent viewpoints, all agree the prohibition
of the use of force is less effective than other areas of international law. This is due principally to
lack of compliance by some States, and lack of enforcement against rich and powerful States. It
is also difficult for States not to defend themselves against threatening States until those have
attacked them. The presence of nuclear weapons makes it difficult for most States to sit and wait
for an attack before they respond. Overcoming these challenges requires making the Security
Council work more evenly and responsibly; ensuring greater transparency and consistency in the
administration of collective security by the United Nations. More importantly, it requires the
interpretation of the law prohibiting the use of force in accordance with the reality of the twenty
first century.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL LAW

Despite the above mentioned weaknesses, it has to be noted that International Law is constantly
developing and its scope is expanding. It is a dynamic concept for it always endeavours to adopt
itself to the needs of the day. As compared to Municipal Law the International Law is works in a
decentralised system. This is because of the facts that the International policies, Inter-
dependence of states and the continuous growth of the concept of International or world
community. However the weaknesses of the International Law may be improved in following
ways:-

l. The International Court of Justice should be given compulsory jurisdiction, in the true sense of
term overall international disputes.

2. An International Criminal Court should be established to adjudicate cases relating to

international crimes.

3. International Laws should be properly codified.

4. The machinery to enforce the decisions of the International Court of Justice should be
strengthened.

5. An International Police system should be established to check international crimes and to

enforce the rules & principles of International Law.

6. An international Bureau of Investigation and prosecution should be established for

investigation of matters relating to International crimes and the prosecution of International
criminals.

7. The U.N.O. should be authorised to intervene in the internal matters of states.

8. For settlement of international disputes the use of judicial precedents must be encouraged.

9. There must be constant review of International Law.

10. Last but not the least there must be basic recognition of the interest which the whole
international society has in the observance of its laws.
 CONCLUSION

It is pertinent to mentioned here that the General Assembly of UNO should made fruitful efforts
in this direction. The above suggestions will make International Law equivalent to a Municipal
Law to some extent. With the growth of Internationalism and the feeling of universal
brotherhood international aw will also become effective and powerful.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

International Law (by Antonio Cassese)

Principles of Public International Law (by Ian Brownlie )

International Law (by Malcolm N. Shaw)