As my first and last law class at Georgetown began in September 2007, the first question our professor of International Law asked was “Does international law exist?”As he proceeded to give a whirlwind answer to this question, he concluded by saying that he hopes that we’re agnostic about this until the end of the course.

The two primary sources of international law, according to Article 38 of the ICJ Statute, are (1) treaties/conventions and (2) customary international law, which formulates over a long period of time until it is recognized by the international community. Some examples of international law include:

• Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
• Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
• Extradition Treaties
• Trade Treaties, such as NAFTA
• UN Charter
• ICJ Statute
• Montevideo Convention
• Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
• Act of State Doctrine
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Even the U.S. Constitution has something to say about international law:

• Article 1, Section 8, Clause 10: “Congress has the right to define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations.”
• Article II: “The President shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.”
• Article VI: “All Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”

But even if we can agree on what International Law is and go so far as to successfully try a case, when an international court such as the ICJ or ICC renders a decision, the question of enforcement is often left to further negotiations.

International law has a basic tenet that all nation states are of equal legal status and that obligations go in both directions. Of course, creating and following such a principle are two very different things.

To be continued…

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