SUBJECTS AND FUNCTIONS (RULES) OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

HOT TIP

In Public international law, the subjects of international law traditionally included states. Since the establishment of international criminal tribunals, individuals are also proper subjects of international law. Other international actors include transnational corporations, non-state actors, terrorist groups. The regulation of these actors’ activities in the international sphere is one of the most pressing concerns of contemporary international law.

A subject of international law (also called an international legal person) is a body or entity recognized or accepted as being capable of exercising international rights and duties.

The main features of a subject of international law are:

the ability to access international tribunals to claim or act on rights conferred by international law;

the ability to implement some or all of the obligations imposed by international law;

to have the power to make agreements, such as treaties, binding in international law;

to enjoy some or all of the immunities from the jurisdiction of the domestic courts of other States.

Although this is a somewhat circular definition, there are at least two definite examples of subjects of international law, namely, States and international organisations.

While States are the main subjects of international law, and have all of these capacities, there are other subjects of international law. Their legal personality, their obligations and rights need not be the same as a State. For instance, the International Court of Justice has recognized some international organisations as proper subjects of international law. It is accepted that international organisations are subjects of international law where they:

1. are a permanent association of States, with lawful objects;

2. have distinct legal powers and purposes from the member States; and

3. can exercise powers internationally, not only within a domestic system.

Examples of this type of international organisation are the European Union, the Organisation of American States, the African Union, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and specialised UN agencies.

International organizations play increasingly important role in the relationships between nations. An international organization is one that created by international agreement or which has membership consisting primary of nations. To vitalize the status of international organization of which United States is a member and facilitate their activities Congress has enacted the International Organization Immunities Act, which among other provisions defines the capacity of such organizations.

The United Nations, the most influential among international organizations, was created on June 26, 1945. The declared purposes of United Nations are to maintain peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of the nations and attaining their common ends. The Charter of the United Nations has been adhered to by virtually all states. Even the few remaining non-member states have acquiesced in the principles it established. The International Court of Justice is established by the UN Charter as its principal judicial organ.

PART III

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1442