International law

International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together sovereign states in adherence to recognized values and standards. The term "international law" can refer to distinct legal disciplines:

• Public international law which governs the relationship between states and international organizations. It includes the following specific legal fields such as the treaty law, law of sea, international criminal law and the international humanitarian law.

• Private international law which addresses the questions: (1) in which legal jurisdiction may a case be heard; and (2) the law of which jurisdiction should be applied to the issues of the case.

Public international law (or international public law) concerns the relationships between the entities or legal persons which are considered the subjects of international law, including sovereign nations, the Holy See, international organizations (including especially intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations), and in some cases, movements of national liberation (wars of national liberation) and armed insurrectional movements. Norms of international law have their source in either 1) custom, or customary international law (consistent state practice accompanied by opinio juris), 2) globally accepted standards of behaviour (peremptory norms known as jus gentium), or 3) codifications contained in conventional agreements, generally termed treaties. Article 13 of the United Nations Charter obligates the UN General Assembly to initiate studies and make recommendations which encourage the progressive development of international law and its codification. Evidence of consensus or state practice can sometimes be derived from intergovernmental resolutions or academic and expert legal opinions.

International law has existed since the Middle Ages, but much of its modern corpus began developing from the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, the two World Wars and the formation of the League of Nations contributed to accelerate this process and established much of the foundations of modern public international law. After the failure of the Treaty of Versailles and World War II, the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations, founded under the UN Charter. The UN has also been the locus for the development of new advisory (non-binding) standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Other international norms and laws have been established through international agreements, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war or armed conflict, as well as by agreements implemented by other international organizations such as the ILO (International Labor Organization), the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. The development and consolidation of such conventions and agreements has proven to be of great importance in the field of international relations.

Task 2. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions. Memorize them. Use them in the context of your own.

відносини між країнами, імперативні норми, звичаєве право, міжнародне договірне право, основи міжнародного права, національно-визвольна війна, статут ООН, застосувати закон, папський престол, незалежні держави, повстанський рух.

Task 3. Give the Ukrainian equivalents for:

implicit and explicit agreements, treaty law, the Holy See, movements of national liberation, to encourage the progressive development, intergovernmental resolutions, advisory standards, consolidation of conventions, recognized values and standards, distinct legal disciplines, law of sea, academic and expert legal opinions, to accelerate the process

Task 4. Match the following English words with their definitions:

1) contribute	(a) self-governing and not ruled by another state
2) sovereign	(b) legally binding agreement between two or more states
3) entity	(c) a long established tradition
4) treaty	(d) imposing an obligation or duty
5) implement	(e) to give (support, money, etc.) for a common purpose
6) explicit	(f) to carry out; put into action; perform
7) binding	(g) precisely and clearly expressed
8) intergovernmental	(h) the fundamental principles of an organization; constitution
9) custom	(i) something having real or distinct existence; a thing, esp. when considered as independent of other things
10) charter	(j) conducted between or involving two or more governments

Task 5. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the difference between public and private international law?

2. What does public international law concern?

3. What are the three main sources that international law stems from?

4. When was the United Nations established? What is its function?

5. What other international organizations do you know?

Task 6. Role play. Compose your own dialogues and perform them in class. Here are some ideas for you to use in your dialogues.

You are a lawyer dealing with international law. Together with a TV journalist and a political analyst you have been invited to take part in a talk show on the most burning international issues.

1) Discuss the scope of problems to be highlighted in the program using active vocabulary of the Unit. Arrange the talk show involving the audience in the TV studio.

Topics for discussion:

• international conflicts;

• war crimes and responsibility;

• enforcement of international law.

2) Arrange a press-conference on the problems of terrorism and international response to it. Select 3-4 students who will act as international lawyers. The rest of the class will have to prepare their questions.

Task 7. Translate the following words and phrases. Use them to translate the text:

Contractual and customary legal norms, legal relations, promotion of peace and cooperation, foreign policy, regulations of international law, pursue its own policy, within international legislation, at early stages, religious doctrines.

Міжнародне публічне право – це особлива правова система договірних і звичаєвих юридичних норм, що регулюють правовідносини держав та інших суб’єктів міжнародного права з метою забезпечення миру і співробітництва. Міжнародне право тісно взаємопов’язане із зовнішньою політикою, дипломатією, міжнародними відносинами та релігією. Цей взаємозв’язок полягає в тому, що зовнішня політика кожної держави повинна враховувати положення міжнародного права і жодним чином не суперечити їм. Норми міжнародного права створюються у процесі розвитку міжнародних відносин, де кожна держава прагне провести свою політику. Весь цей складний процес протікає в рамках міжнародного права і часто під певним впливом релігії. Особливо значним цей вплив був на ранніх стадіях міжнародного права і в середні віки. Однак і тепер вплив релігійних догматів досить великий.