The Classification of International Legal Rules: A Reply to Stefan Talmon

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEXANDER ORAKHELASHVILI
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Multiple Components ◽  
Ideological Preference ◽  
Problematic Issue ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Jus Cogens ◽  
Viable Organism

AbstractAny legal system, including the international legal system, consists of rules that serve multiple purposes and functions that the legal system in question needs to perform in order to survive as a viable organism. Jurisprudence of national and international courts relating to areas such as responsibility, immunity, and dispute settlement has involved intensive discussions as to the nature and implications of the various categories of rules. Approaching this broad area, with its multiple components, requires careful differentiation of the nature of those various categories of rules, for the fact that the relevant classification of rules works in one area does not inherently make it workable in other areas, which is confirmed in practice. The most problematic issue remains the judicial application of jus cogens in relation to state immunities and the ensuing distinction between substantive and procedural rules. It is shown in this contribution that this artificial distinction does not reflect the functions international law actually accords to its various rules, and is instead a product of political and ideological preference to keep particular classes of plaintiffs out of certain jurisdictions.

1. The Nature of the International Legal System

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dixon ◽  
Robert McCorquodale ◽  
Sarah Williams
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
International Community ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
System P ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Political Economic

International law is a description of an entire legal system: the international legal system. It is an international legal system by which legal rules are created in order to structure and organise societies and relationships. It acknowledges the influence of political, economic, social and cultural processes upon the development of legal rules. This chapter discusses the relevance of international law; the international community and international law; theories of international law; and the practice of international law.

1. Foundations and structure of international law

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
System P ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter introduces the subject of public international law and provides an overview of its most important elements. It begins with a brief historical overview of international law. It then presents the international legal system consisting of different structures of legal rules and principles; discusses the basis of international legal obligation; offers a brief overview of the relationship between international law and national law; and deals with the issue of enforcement. The chapter concludes with some remarks about the alleged inadequacies of international law and the tension between notions of justice and order that is so prevalent within the international legal system.

1. Foundations and structure of international law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
System P ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter introduces the subject of public international law and provides an overview of its most important elements. It begins with a brief historical overview of international law. It then presents the international legal system consisting of different structures of legal rules and principles; discusses the basis of international legal obligation; offers a brief overview of the relationship between international law and national law; and deals with the issue of enforcement. The chapter concludes with some remarks about the alleged inadequacies of international law and the tension between notions of justice and order that is so prevalent within the international legal system.

scholarly journals Remarks by Holger Hestermeyer

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 238-239
Author(s):  
Holger Hestermeyer
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
International Community ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
Judicial Economy ◽  
Over Time

This question is inextricably connected with the first one. The more you think a judge's or arbitrator's task consists in merely resolving a dispute, the more you will insist on judicial economy. The more you regard a judge as an instrument of the international community in developing international law or elucidating its concepts, the more you will favor her or his straying from what is strictly necessary to resolve the dispute. To some extent, the international judiciary serves both of these functions, which was made explicit with regard to World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement in Article 3.2 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding. It obviously resolves disputes with an important role for judicial economy. But it also elucidates the concepts of international law. That function of adjudication gains some importance in international law, because it is a legal system without legislature, where pressures on legal rules can build over time and only the adjudicator can ensure that the system remains operable in a changing world, straying from the path of judicial economy.

1. The Main Legal Features of the International Community

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
Paola Gaeta ◽  
Jorge E. Viñuales ◽  
Salvatore Zappalà
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Central Authority ◽  
National Legislation ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Technical Discussion ◽  
Legal Subjects ◽  
Freedom Of Action

This chapter introduces the main features of the international legal system, including the nature of international legal subjects, the lack of a central authority (and the resulting decentralization of legal ‘functions’), collective responsibility, the need for most international rules to be translated into national legislation, the range of States’ freedom of action, the overriding role of effectiveness, traditional and individualistic trends and emerging community obligations and rights, and the coexistence of the old and new patterns. These features provide a general preview of the more detailed and technical discussion of international legal rules and institutions undertaken in subsequent chapters.

4. States as the Primary Subjects of International Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Paola Gaeta ◽  
Jorge E. Viñuales ◽  
Salvatore Zappalà
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
State Action ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Many

This chapter focuses on the State as the primary subject of international law. It begins with a discussion of the continuing pre-eminence of States as pivotal subjects of the international legal system and then analyses the processes through which States are created; the role of recognition of States, particularly in the context of contested Statehood; the legal rules governing the continuity, succession, and extinction of States; and the evolving concept of sovereignty, which is a notion at the very core of what a State is. The chapter is intended to introduce the main legal aspects of ‘Statehood’, as a first step in the discussion of more advanced concepts in subsequent chapters, such as the State’s spatial dimensions, its immunities and those of State officials, and the many limitations imposed by international law on State action.

International Legal Hierarchy Revisited – The Status of Obligations Erga Omnes

2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Linderfalk
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Evidence ◽  
The Status ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Legal Arguments ◽  
Jus Cogens ◽  
Peculiar Nature

AbstractIncreasingly, international legal arguments exploit the peculiar nature of obligations erga omnes. This practice raises questions about the precise legal status of norms expressing such obligations relative to other norms of international law. According to an oft-made suggestion, whether a norm is part of the international jus cogens or not, when it expresses obligations erga omnes it is hierarchically superior to all other norms of non-peremptory international law. This essay inquires into the justification of this theory – throughout the essay referred to as “the Theory on the Superior Status of Erga Omnes Obligations”. As shown in section 2, irrespective of whether inferential legal evidence exists or not, the Theory on the Superior Status of Obligations Erga Omnes can be explained by reference to the non-reciprocal character of such obligations. However, logic requires that the theory be restated to include also interdependent obligations and obligations erga omnes partes. As shown in section 3, although inferential legal evidence provides some support for the Theory on the Superior Status of Obligations Erga Omnes, the evidence is not entirely consistent. As shown in section 4, if the theory on the superior status of obligations erga omnes is adopted and applied on a wide scale, this will have detrimental effects on the overall understanding of international law. Rather than a more properly functioning international legal system, confusion and disorganization will ensue.

1. Foundations and structure of international law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
System P ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter introduces the subject of public international law and provides an overview of its most important elements. It begins with a brief historical overview of international law. It then presents the international legal system consisting of different structures of legal rules and principles; discusses the basis of international legal obligation; offers a brief overview of the relationship between international law and national law; and deals with the issue of enforcement. The chapter concludes with some remarks about the alleged inadequacies of international law and the tension between notions of justice and order that is so prevalent within the international legal system.

The Spanish Translation of Les Leçons de chimie élémentaire: On the Legal Status of Translation and its Various Values

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 201-215
Author(s):  
Tania P. Hernández-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Complex Network ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Spanish Translation ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Translation Rights ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Legal Battle

Throughout the nineteenth century, European booksellers and publishers, mostly from France, England, Germany and Spain, produced textual materials in Europe and introduced them into Mexico and other Latin American countries. These transatlantic interchanges unfolded against the backdrop of the emergence of the international legal system to protect translation rights and required the involvement of a complex network of agents who carried with them publishing, translating and negotiating practices, in addition to books, pamphlets, prints and other goods. Tracing the trajectories of translated books and the socio-cultural, economic and legal forces shaping them, this article examines the legal battle over the translation and publishing rights of Les Leçons de chimie élémentaire, a chemistry book authored by Jean Girardin and translated and published in Spanish by Jean-Frédéric Rosa. Drawing on a socio-historical approach to translation, I argue that the arguments presented by both parties are indicative of the uncertainty surrounding the legal status of translated texts and of the different values then attributed to translation.

(Dis)solving the Chronological Paradox in Customary International Law: A Hartian Approach

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lefkowitz
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Resolution Function ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Law ◽  
Normative Standard

As traditionally conceived, the creation of a new rule of customary international law requires that states believe the law to already require the conduct specified in the rule. Distinguishing the process whereby a customary rule comes to exist from the process whereby that customary rule becomes law dissolves this chronological paradox. Creation of a customary rule requires only that states come to believe that there exists a normative standard to which they ought to adhere, not that this standard is law. What makes the customary rule law is adherence by officials in the international legal system to a rule of recognition that treats custom as a source of valid law. Confusion over this distinction arises because in the international legal system the same agents whose beliefs give rise to a customary rule are the legal officials whose adherence to the rule of recognition leads them to deem that rule legally valid. The proposed solution to the chronological paradox employs H.L.A. Hart’s analysis of the concepts of law and a legal system, and in particular, the idea of a rule of recognition. Yet Hart famously denies the existence of a rule of recognition for international law. Hart’s denial rests on a failure to distinguish between the ontological and authoritative resolution functions of a rule of recognition, however. Once such a distinction is drawn, it can be argued that customary international law rests on a rule of recognition that serves the ontological function of making customary norms legal, though not the authoritative resolution function of settling disputes over the alleged legality of particular norms.

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