Knowra Public international law Public international law Public international law is the body of rules governing relations among states and other international legal persons, including international organizations and, in some contexts, individuals.
Sources of international law : The forms through which international law is created or recognized, including treaties, custom, and general principles. These sources determine how rules governing international relations acquire legal authority.
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties : The 1969 treaty codifying many rules on the conclusion, interpretation, application, and termination of treaties. It supplies a central framework for determining what treaty obligations mean and when they apply.
International human rights law : International rules that protect human rights and impose related obligations on states and other actors. It illustrates how international law can regulate a state’s treatment of people under its jurisdiction.
Domestic law : The law made and enforced within a state’s own legal system. Unlike domestic law, international law lacks a single legislature and a general centralized enforcement authority.
State sovereignty : The principle that a state exercises supreme authority within its territory and is legally independent of other states. Sovereign equality shapes the system’s rules while limiting outside authority over states.
Customary international law : International law arising from general state practice accepted as law. It binds states beyond written treaties when practice and legal conviction establish a rule.
International humanitarian law : Rules that limit the means and methods of warfare and protect people affected by armed conflict. Its treaty and customary rules govern conduct during armed conflict.
Supranational law : Law made by institutions that can exercise authority over member states or individuals beyond ordinary treaty coordination. The European Union illustrates integration that exceeds the usual consent-based structure between sovereign states.
Statehood : The status of an entity recognized as a state under international law, associated with territory, population, government, and external relations. Statehood determines which entities hold the system’s central legal rights and duties.
International Court of Justice : The principal judicial organ of the United Nations, which decides disputes between states and gives advisory opinions. Its judgments and opinions clarify rules, though contentious jurisdiction generally depends on state consent.
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