1. INTERNATIONAL LAW Satu Pitkänen 2015

2. The effectiveness of a legal order is based on
The norms
SOURCES OF LAW §§
that govern
the behavior
SUBJECTS
of the members
of a particular
society
The effectiveness of a legal order is based on
sanctions

3. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ORDER?
Subjects of law
Who are the participants in international legal order?
States, international organizations (sometimes private individuals)
Horizontal system of sovereign states
Where is the law, who makes it?
No formal machinery => law comes into effect by general consent of states
Sanctions
=> What is the basis of obligation?
States consider international law binding

4. CONCEPT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Different ways to approach:
Public international law
Comparative law
Private international law

5. 1. PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

6. International law, traditional approach
STATE A
STATE B
”International Law is the body of rules generally
recognized by civilized nations as governing their
conduct towards each other and towards each
other’s subjects.” (Collins English Dictionary)

7. EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
Sources of international law
Scope of international law
International personality
State territory
State succession
State responsibility to aliens
Law of the sea
Environmental law
International dispute settlement
Law of war

8. SUBJECTS OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
States
Prerequisites of statehood:
Territorial sovereignty
A population
A government capable of
controlling the territory and the people
entering into international relations
International organisations

9. THE UNITED NATIONS (1) Members: 193 states (5/2015) Goals
Maintenance of peace and security in the world
Promotion of world wide economic and social co-operation
Promotion of the protection of human rights
Achievements by universal respect for international law

10. THE UNITED NATIONS (2) Organs General Assembly Security Council
Secretariat
Economic and Social Council
International Court of Justice
Resolves legal disputes between sovereign states
Issues advisory opinions asked by international organizations
UN General Assembly
Security Council chambers
Peace Palace, seat of the ICJ

11. WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION
History
Bretton Woods Conference 1944
=>
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT 1947
Uruguay Round
The World Trade Organisation Agreement 1994

12. WTO Members: 161 states (5/2015) Targets of the WTO
Implement the WTO Agreement and its annexes
Act as a forum for ongoing multilateral trade negotiations
Serve as a tribunal for resolving disputes
Review the trade policies and practices of member states

13. WTO AGREEMENT Valid from 1994
Consists of multilateral trade agreements on
Trade in Goods (GATT)
Trade in Services (GATS)
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Settlement of Disputes (DSU)
Trade Policy Review Mechanisms (TPRM)

14. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
International conventions
International customary law
General principles of law
Judicial decisions
Teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of various nations
Art 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice:

15. 2. COMPARATIVE LAW

16. Comparative approach
§§ STATE A §§
STATE B

17. MUNICIPAL LEGAL SYSTEMS 2. ANGLO-AMERICAN COMMON LAW
1. CIVIL LAW
THE ROMANO GROUP
THE GERMANIC GROUP
2. ANGLO-AMERICAN COMMON LAW
= CASE LAW
3. ISLAMIC LAW SYSTEM

18. HISTORY OF ROMANO-CERMANIC CIVIL LAW SYSTEM
ROME
12 tables 450 B.C.
Corpus Iuris Civilis A.D.
CATHOLIC
CHURCH
> Canon law
GLOSSATORS,
COMMENTATORS,
STUDENTS,
A.D.
Effects on
the English
law
Ius Commune
(Common law of
Europe)
GUILDS,
MERCHANTS
Lex Mercatoria
Legal nationalism
A.D.
Followed by:
Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Scandinavian countries…
Followed by:
The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Indochina,
sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia…
Effects on
national
jurisdictions
German Civil
Code 1896
Code Napoleon
1804

19. Lex Mercatoria
consists of common trade practices and norms of customary law among international trading partners.
It dates back to the Renaissance. Its main principles are that a merchant must deal in good faith, contracts are binding and resorting to arbitration tribunals .

20. ANGLO-AMERICAN COMMON LAW SYSTEM
1066 Normans conquered England
William the Conqueror began to centralize the governmental administration
King’s courts represented the common custom of the realm => COMMON LAW
EQUITY: complementary and supplementary norms
ADMIRALTY: law and court with jurisdiction over marine affairs

21. SOURCES CIVIL LAW - COMMON LAW Sources of law: Codes Statutes
Prescribed texts
Sources of law:
Court decisions, precedents

22. CHARACTERISTICS OF RULINGS: INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCE:
COMPARISON BETWEEN
CIVIL LAW COMMON LAW
BASIC SOURCE:
Codified law, abstract principles
Specific circumstances
=> precedents => case law
FACT FINDER:
Judge
Jury
CHARACTERISTICS OF RULINGS:
Predictability, consistency, uniformity
Unpredictability, flexibility,
procedural emphasis
EFFECTS ON BUSINESS:
Contracts can be lacking in detail
Contracts must be comprehensive and detailed
INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCE:
Focus on national issues
Refined to cope with issues of international trade

23. Ray August. International Business Law. 2000. Prentice Hall. New Jersey

24. ISLAMIC LAW SYSTEM Main source of Shari’a is Koran Other sources:
Sunna: traditional teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad
Writings of Islamic scholars who derived rules by analogy from the principles established in the Koran and the Sunna
Consensus of the legal community
No evolution of Islamic law since the 10th century A.D.
Shari’a is primarily a moral code

25. 3. PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
”International law is the body of rules and norms that regulates activities carried on outside the legal boundaries of states”. (Ray August)

26. International law, wider approach
STATE A
STATE B

27. EXAMPLES OF PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES
Contracts and sales
Transportation
Money and banking
Financing
Securities regulations
Intellectual property
Taxation
Torts
Inheritances
Nationality
Marriage and divorce