Spring 2009
Public International Law
Public international law governs the relationships between national governments, the relationships between intergovernmental organizations, and the relationships between national governments and intergovernmental organizations. It regulates governments and intergovernmental organizations across national boundaries.
Sources: The sources of international law (authority based on Article 38 of the ICJ Statute)
- International conventions (treaties);
- Customary law (general practice of states and intergovernmental organizations that are legally binding and generally recognized by all states);
- General principles of law; and
- Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations.
National Law
National law is essentially domestic or internal law of a country. It defines the role of governments to the people they govern and controls relationships between people. It may regulate foreign persons and entities, but it does not have effect outside the boundaries of a nation.
Sources: National law is embodied in constitutions, statutes, regulations, and court decisions. Constitutions, statutes, and regulations are primary sources of law for all jurisdictions. Court decisions are also primary sources of law in common law jurisdictions, but are considered secondary sources of law in civil law jurisdictions. "Foreign law" is used by U.S. legal researchers when referring to the law of another country.
There are basically five legal systems: civil law, common law, customary law, religious law, and mixed legal systems. Many systems are mixed because two or more legal systems are applied within the jurisdiction.
For a quick look at the major legal systems (civil law, common law, etc.), see World Legal Systems.
Private International Law
Private international law governs the choice of law to apply when there are conflicts in the domestic law of different countries related to private transactions between private parties.
Sources: National laws are the primary sources of private international law. However, private international law is also embodied in public international law sources, especially treaties and conventions (for example, the Hague Conventions on Private International Law).While there is a growing body of treaty law, there is really no well-defined body of private international law.
Private international law deals with topics such as contracts, marriage and divorce, jurisdiction, recognition of judgments, child adoption and abduction, and many other areas. In the U.S., Canada, and England, private international law is known as conflict of laws.
Comparative Law
Comparative law is "the study of the similarities and differences between the laws of two or more countries, or between two or more legal systems. Comparative law is not itself a system of law or a body of rules, but rather a method or approach to legal inquiry." (Berring, How to Find the Law, 9th ed., at 565).
Sources: There is no defined body of comparative law because it is not a system of law. The sources depend on the national law or concept being compared.
Transnational Law
This is a broad category that is generally to "to include all law which regulates actions or events that transcend national frontiers. Both public and private international law are included, as are other rules which do not wholly fit into such standard categories" (Jessup, Transnational Law (1956)). The focus of works on this subject are invariably on the legal relationship between man and alien individuals or corporations, frequently in commercial, industrial or investment situations.” (Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (2nd ed., 2003) at 511).
Sources: Both public and private international law sources.
Supranational Law
Practically speaking, there is only one supranational legal order – the European Union. A supranational organization has the following characteristics: (a) has powers that its member states do not have because they surrendered those powers to it; (b) may enact rules that preempt the laws and regulations of its member states; and (c) can grant rights and privileges to the nationals of its member states, which those nationals may directly invoke.
Soft Law
Non-binding documents or instruments (guidelines, declarations, principles) that may have use politically, but they are not enforceable. Soft law has been effective in international economic law and international environmental law.
States
In international law, nations are often referred to as "States" (for example, "state responsibility" or "state actors").