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Question Law will never play a really effective part in international relations until it can annex to its own sphere some of the matters which at present lie within the domestic jurisdictions of the several states.

The concept of Domestic Jurisdiction enforces a minor limitation on the necessity of law but not on its effectiveness in the international community. The concept however does not prevent the enforcement of law internationally but hinders it or limits its intensity on the nationstates that abide by the international code of conduct. The statement Law will never play a really effective part in international relations until it can annex to its own sphere some of the matters which at present lie within the domestic jurisdictions of the several states. discusses the limits of the Sovereignty, in terms of domestic jurisdiction, of nation-states as it tackles its domestic/internal problems. In chapter 1 article 2(7) of the UN charter it states Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.1 The concept of domestic jurisdiction was therefore implemented in the UN charter to protect the conception of Sovereignty as it covers the right to national privacy. Nationalism, a sub category of sovereignty, is a sentiment which resides in nations which have at their core a set of legal framework validating their very existence and their interaction with other states, it is essential to any study on laws application in international relations. Law is defined as the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by a judicial decision.2 It consists of a series of rules regulating behavior; it also reflects to some extent some of the ideas and preoccupations of a society within its functions. Furthermore, for a law to exist, there need to be a notion of a sovereign issuing a command that
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Charter of the United Nations chapter 1 article 2(7) American Heritage Dictionary

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is backed by a sanction or punishment for the failure to monitor the political system. John Austin, a 19th century theorist, stated in his best known work The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, published in 1832 that because international law cannot fall squarely within this context that it is not really a form of law but Positive Morality.3 International law is a body of rules (law of Nations)4 that apply between sovereign states and such other entities as having been granted international personality by sovereign states. The international system is governed by rules of a normative character in that they prescribe standards of conduct not of a prescriptive or sanctioned/authorized manner. International law attempts to define the standard of conduct for international relationships between and among states, as well as addressing the application of domestic law to foreign persons within individual states. The primary purposes of international law are to build cooperation between and among states, to set standards and procedures to minimize conflict between states, respect for fundamental human rights and protection of the natural environment. International law only applies when nation states agree to live by that rule of law. Subsequently, domestic, internal action is required to ensure each state respects its international obligations under international law. In principle, international law operates only at the international level and not within domestic legal systems; a perspective consistent with positivism, which recognizes international law and domestic law as distinct and independent systems. Sources of international law are the materials and processes out of which the rules and principles regulating the international community are developed. They have been influenced by a range of political and legal theories. The four types of sources prescribed by section 38(1) of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)5 statute are treaties, custom, general principles and judicial decisions and teachings (subject to article 59). Important and noteworthy treaties and conventions are the Convention of Human Rights, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
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The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832) The law of nations: or, Principles of the law of nature applied to the conduct and affairs of nations and sovereigns by Emer de Vattel
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The Statute of the International Court of Justice, part of the Charter of the United Nations, defines the sources of international law.Article 38. (1) The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it

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of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), the Antarctic Treaty (1959) and the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (1998). These treaties and conventions establish the path in which sovereign nation-states must follow in the international system. The concept of domestic jurisdiction signifies an area of internal state authority that is beyond the reach of international law6. The principle follows from the nature of the sovereignty of states that while a state is supreme internally, that is within its own territorial frontiers; it must not intervene in the domestic affairs of another nation. This duty of non-intervention within the domestic jurisdiction of states provides for the shielding of certain state activities from the state regulation of international law. Malcolm Nathan Shaw, a political theorist and writer of International Law, states that domestic jurisdiction is a relative concept, in that changing principles of international law has had the effect of limiting and reducing its extent and in matters of internal regulation may well have international repercussions and thus falls with the ambit of international law.7 For instance, Article 15(8) of the Covenant of the League of Nations If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement8., Article 2(7) was inserted in the United Nations Charter (UN Charter) to limit the authority of the organisation in respect of disputes which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the member states. After 50 years of the establishment of United Nations (UN), today it seems that the importance of the domestic jurisdiction clause has reduced considerably, if it has not already become a misnomer in the context of the UN practice. At present, states rarely think that domestic jurisdiction can provide a shield against UN jurisdiction in relation to any matter falling within its so-called reserve domain9. Most of the views departing from the legal notion of domestic jurisdiction tend to move in a direction that is
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Encyclopedia of Public International law 1090-1096 th Shaw, Malcolm, International Law, 5 edition, Cambridge University Press 2003 8 Article 15(8) of the covenant of the league of nations
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G. Nolte, Article 2(7) in B. Simma, ed., The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) at 162

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exactly the opposite of what the framers of the Charter wished while drafting Article 2(7). The original purpose for the concept of domestic jurisdiction is to provide nation-states with a sense of sovereignty, as an area of the internal state authority that is beyond the reach of international law10. However, loopholes within the agreement of article 2(7) of the UN Charter have provided a circumstance where the international community may able to intervene into a domestic situation.

There are two approaches when drawing the boundaries with the concept of domestic jurisdiction. The first approach has been deemed the essentialist11 theory of domestic jurisdiction due to the fact that some matters by their very nature fall with the exclusive jurisdiction of individual states. An excellent example of this essentialist approach is the Intervention in Libya. Code named Operation Odyssey Dawn, the UN-approved but Americanled military campaign to establish a no-fly zone over Libya, began on March 19, exactly eight years after George W. Bush began his shock and awe war against Iraq. The debacle in Iraq was a blatant violation of international law, an unjustified, unprovoked war of aggression. The Iraqi people have paid a tragic price for the Bush administrations disregard of global opinion, and Americas reputation was deeply tarnished. In the case of Libya America seemed to have learned this lesson. They resisted calls from right and left for unilateral US intervention in Libya and took the necessary steps indicated by the UN Charter before the confrontation in Libya. The White House favored a series of UN Security Councilmandated measures to weaken Muammar el-Qaddafis hold on power and prevent him from slaughtering his own people. It wasnt until it was clear that those actions would failand the potential for a massacre of civilians had increasedthat the administration began to consider military action. The essentialist approach confronts the situation where the government of a nation-state threats its own nationals within its territory. This can be noted from the recent development in the International Law on Human Rights which states If a state were to commit genocide against a minority group of its own nationals, torture or enslave any of its own nationals, then even
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Law of nations by J.L. Brierly 49-78 Encyclopedia of public international law

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though such acts may be performed entirely within the territory of the state, such acts would be generally recognized as illegal under present international law (genocide, torture, slavery) 12 In Libya Muammar el-Qaddafi was slaughtering his own people within its territory. Another great example is the intervention in Kosovo; critics have accused NATO of leading a war in Kosovo under the false pretense of genocide. It was said to be the first humanitarian war and even Kosovo Leader Hashim Thaci believed that NATO Intervention 'Was The Only Righteous And Humane Solution13.

The second approach to drawing the boundaries to domestic jurisdiction is termed as the relative theory. It states that the boundary is coextensive with the rules of International Law. This approach have been behind the wording of Article 15(8) of the Covenant of the League of Nations which stated If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement. Article 15(8) was viewed as a so-called gap in the covenant for Article 12 Article 12 of the Covenant stated that if there should arise any disputes between members of the League likely to lead to a rupture, they would be required to submit the matter either to arbitration or judicial settlement or to inquiry by the Council. Two examples of relative theory of domestic jurisdiction come to mind Aaland Island case (Finland v. Sweden) and in the Nationality Decrees Issued in Tunis and Morocco case (United Kingdom v. France). In the case of Aaland Island (Finland v. Sweden) both the dispute was concerned with the island strategically situated between Finland and Sweden in the Gulf of Bothnia. Great Britain exercising its right under Article 11(2) of the Covenant brought the situation to the attention of the Council as circumstances affecting international relations and threatening to disturb the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. Finland objected to the council on the basis of sovereignty, however the council took Finlands argument as challenging its jurisdiction under Article 15(8) and a committee of three jurists was appointed to give an advisory opinion. In the end Finland was awarded Aaland island.

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International humanitarian law made up of treaties and conventions Insufi Albana, Nato Intervention, 2008

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Law plays a significant part in the smooth operation of the international community and is essential for peaceful coexistence of nation-states. Its effect on international relations has been monumental in the fight for peace, security and prosperity in the global system. The extensive numbers of treaties and conventions provides a legal framework in which the international bodies must abide to in order to keep out of trouble internationally. These treaties and conventions also create an area where law can infiltrate into matters that are on the domestic arena. Thus, the concept of domestic jurisdiction is not out of reach for the legal framework of law. To reiterate, Domestic Jurisdiction enforces a minor limitation on the necessity of law but not on its effectiveness in the international community. The concept however does not prevent the enforcement of law internationally but hinders it or limits its intensity on the nation-states that abide by the international code of conduct.

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Bibliography
J. L. Brierly, Law of the Nations: An introduction to the international law of peace, ( USA: oxford university press, 1928), 49-78 Malcolm N. Shaw, International Law, (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 572-583 DAmato, Anthony, Domestic Jurisdiction in encyclopedia of Public International Law 10901096 (1992) Kawser Ahmed, the domestic jurisdiction clause in the united nations charter: A historical review, Singapore Year Book of International Law and Contributors (2006): 175-197, accessed on april 10th, 2011. doi (2006) 10 SYBIL 175197