Summary lcp INTERNATIONAL LAW NOTES

INTERNATIONAL LAW LAERING UNIT 1: DEFINING EPOCHS DEFINITION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW International law’ more correctly refers to ‘public international law’, which is often used in the titles of international law textbooks. This distinguishes the subject from ‘private international law’, also known as ‘conflict of laws’. The latter forms part of the national law of a state for resolving conflicting legal positions involving the private law of different countries as it applies to the relationships between individuals. Thus, when we speak of ‘international law’ in this volume, we have ‘public international law’ in mind. States are therefore the main subjects of international law and their relations may be bilateral (one state to another) or multilateral (several states co-operating with one another under a multilateral treaty, or as members of an international organisation). The whole body of international law operates in a world of sovereign, independent states; and the purpose of the international legal order is to define and delimit the respective spheres within which each of the states is entitled to exercise its authority and defend its interests. The concept ‘Westphalian institutions’ or ‘Westphalian states’ refers to the coming into being of the modern state system. Three core principles were accepted at the time for interstate relations, and they are still valid today – namely, the principle of state sovereignty, the principle of the legal equality of states and the principle of non-intervention in the affairs of another state. HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW