1. International Law
Meaning. Sources. Weakness.
Enduring Value.

2. The Meaning of International Law
• Defining international law:
– The customs, norms, principles, rules and
other legal relations among states and other
international legal personality that establish
binding obligations.
– A body of rules which binds states and other
agents in world politics with one another.

3. Sources of International Law
• Sources:
1. Conventions and treaties
2. International customs
3. Generally recognized principles of law
4. International judicial decisions, writing of
recognized scholars and treatises.

4. Weakness of International Law
• Vague and conflicting obligations—
largely the result of importance of
treaties and conventions
• No effective legal system
1. Lack of compulsory jurisdiction
a. International Court of Justice
b. Optional Clause
2. Absence of judicial hierarchy

5. Weakness of International Law
• Law and Power
1. Powerful states able to ignore law when
it conflicts with their interests
2. Law itself is often a reflection of power
and interests

6. The Enduring Value of International
Law
• False lessons of spectacular failures
1. Example: Kellogg-Briand Pact
2. Need realistic vision of what international
law can and cannot accomplish
3. Positive v. normative law traditions

7. The Enduring Value of
International Law
• States usually abide by international law
1.Identitive compliance
2.Utilitarian compliance
3.Coercive compliance (possibility of
reprisals)
• Liberalism and international law:
embodying shared values
• Constructivism and international law:
shaping norms and identities

8. Conclusion
International Law, neither an irrelevancy
nor panacea.