1 Introduction - Lecture notes 1 PDF

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Summary

What Is International Law? ● “international law provides the shared surface on which political adversaries recognize each other as such and pursue their adversity in terms of something shared” “.. that invites them to argue in terms of an assumed universality” - Koskenniemi ● “existence of a politic...

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What Is International Law? ● “international law provides the shared surface on which political adversaries recognize each other as such and pursue their adversity in terms of something shared” “...structure that invites them to argue in terms of an assumed universality” - Koskenniemi ● “existence of a political community, and the recognition by its members of settled rules binding upon them” - Brierly ● “International law is a mechanism for distributing power and resources in the international and national communities. It offers a wide range of normative prescriptions: from regulating coercive behaviour between states, and between states and non-state actors” “...while the international legal system may be broadened in scope, it remains narrow in perspective” - Chinkin ○ Regulating outer space, Antarctica, human rights, systems of trade and finance, etc. ● “governs relations between States and between States and international organizations. It is the Law of each and every one of us. In a world often divided by politics, it is our common language” - Judge Higgins Basic Principles ● Sovereign equality of States ● Principle of respect for each other’s independence ● Prohibition on war ● Respect for human rights Functions of International Law ● Koskenniemi presents 4 responses: ○ Realizing the extension of certain values, interests, and preferences ○ Provides a voice to those who have been excluded from power - critique of power ○ preserving/maintaining international law itself ○ Promise of justice, animates the political community Other Functions ● Preserves power of those who already have it (UNSC) ● International law as an administrative function to provide the structure for states to function as they wish to ● Project of change from Treaty of Westphalia through the UN to now...