Analysis of International Law
Analysis of International LawInternational law is the body of legal rules that apply
between sovereign states and such other entities as have been granted
international personality (status acknowledged by the international
community). The rules of international law are of a normative
character, that is, they prescribe towards conduct, and are
potentially designed for authoritative interpretation by an
international judicial authority and by being capable of enforcement
by the application of external sanctions. The International Court of
Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, which
succeeded the Permanent Court of International Justice after World
War II. Article 92 of the charter of the United Nations states:
The International Court of justice shall be the principal
judicial organ of the United nations. It shall function in accordance
with the annexed Statute, which is based upon the Statute of the
Permanent court of International Justice and forms an integral part of
the present Charter.
The commands of international law must be those that the
states impose upon themselves, as states must give consent to the
commands that they will follow. It is a direct expression of raison
d'etat, the "interests of the state", and aims to serve the state, as
well as protect the state by giving its rights and duties. This is
done through treaties and other consensual engagements which are
legally binding.
The case-law of the ICJ is an important aspect of the UN's
contribution to the development of international law. It's judgements
and advisory opinions permeates into the international legal community
not only through its decisions as such but through the wider
implications of its methodology and reasoning.
The successful resolution of the border dispute between
Burkina Faso and Mali in the 1986 Frontier Dispute case illustrates
the utility of judicial decision as a means of settlement in
territorial disputes. The case was submitted to a Chamber of the ICJ
pursuant to a special agreement concluded by the parties in 1983. In
December 1985, while written submissions were being prepared,
hostilities broke out in the disputed area. A cease-fire was agreed,
and the Chamber directed the continued observance of the cease-fire,
the withdrawal of troops within twenty days, and the avoidance of
actions tending to aggravate the dispute or prejudice its eventual
resolution. Both Presidents publicly welcomed the judgement and
indicated their intention to comply with it.
In the Fisheries Jurisdiction case (United Kingdom v. Iceland,
1974) the ICJ contributed to the firm establishment in law of the idea
that mankind needs to conserve the living resources of the sea and
must respect these resources. The Court observed:
It is one of the advances in maritime international law,
resulting from the intensification of fishing, that the former
laissez-faire treatment of the living resources of the sea...
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