Domestic vs. International Law

DOMESTIC LAW Law that governs activity within a nation’s borders. Domestic law only applies in the country where it was written. When you travel to another country, you enter a sovereign state with its own laws, legal system, and methods of enforcement, and you are bound by, or required to follow, those laws. If you break a law in another country, there is very little that the government of Canada can do to help you.

INTERNATIONAL LAW Defn: Law that governs relations between independent nations Deal with issues such as trade (i.e. NAFTA), the rules of war (i.e. the Geneva Accords), and the exploitation of resources (i.e. the Kyoto Protocol)

Derived from CUSTOMARY PRACTICES and FORMAL AGREEMENTS (treaties). Customary practices are the practices and procedures that worked in the past which have become codified (written) into existing laws, such as the concept of DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY, which is an agreement not to prosecute foreign diplomats for crimes committed while working in other countries that has now been codified in the Vienna Convention Formal agreements are agreements that are entered into by 2 or more nation states, including extradition treaties (agreements to send persons to other countries to be tried for crimes committed there), free trade agreements (NAFTA), and defence treaties (NATO).

THE UNITED NATIONS Involved in the codification and development of international law; Any states that ratify the conventions and treaties set out by the United Nations are legally bound to them. One of the key branches of the UN is the International Court of Justice (World Court) based at The Hague in the Netherlands. This court hears disputes submitted by nations and will even adjudicate disputes between individuals and their governments.

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) In 2002, the International Criminal Court was set up to try persons accused of serious crimes of international concern, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Though located at The Hague, it is not part of the UN; It is an independent court with 108 member states, including Canada. The US, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have NOT become members of this court.

THE CONCERN WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW The major concern with international law is that there is no global means available to enforce these laws – there are no “global police”, so technically there is no way to ensure that countries comply with their agreements.

LANDMARK CASE: United States v. Burns, [2001] This case dealt with domestic and international law. The domestic law component consisted of the criminal laws in Washington State, and their penalties (murder and the death penalty). The international law component dealt with the extradition of the 2 boys to the US to face trial for the crimes they were charged with. SIGNIFICANCE: It was this case where the Supreme Court of Canada outlined under what circumstances a person could be extradited (surrendered to another jurisdiction) to stand trial. The Supreme Court decided that for persons accused of CAPITAL OFFENCES (crimes punishable by death), extradition would violate a person’s right to life, and therefore would only be permitted in exceptional circumstances (i.e. If they are not Canadian), or if assurances were given that the death penalty would not be imposed or carried out.

Assignment Read pages 63 – 67 Use the information to complete your organizer on the Classification of Law (define and provide an example of each) Complete Apply the Law questions 10 and 11 on page 71 and 72. THIS IS.