 contents

1. MEANING,
2. DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW
3. Function of international law
4. Source
5. Principles and example of international law
 International law today is also about a body of rules
of international human rights and humanitarian laws
that aim at protecting the rights of individuals and
groups in both peace and armed conflict situations
against violations by states, non-state actors, and other
legal entities. Thereby governing the relations between
individuals and states.

 Further, international law today is about a body of

rules governing the relations between states and public
international organizations/institutions on the one h
and, and with non-state actors (otherwise known as
Transnational corporations) for all developmental and
security purpose or in so far their rights and
obligations/duties are matters of concern to
international law.
 Furthermore, international law today is about a body
of rules concerning the land, sea and space territorial
rights and obligations of states in their relationship
with other states and in the course of exploitation,
exploration and utilization of natural resources, trade
or business relations as well as the protection and
management of the environment.
 Traditional definition of International Law: - as a
body of rules and principles governing the relations
between states.
 it is true that contemporary rules of international
law were fashioned out by the European nations
(or the so-called 1st World) in the 19th and early
part of the 20th Centuries, especially the general
principles and the old legal doctrines.
In the course of its development especially in
the mid-20th Century/post 2nd World War when
the newly independent African, Asian and Latin
American states started coming on board of
international life, they have no option but to start
challenging some of the principles and concepts
or rules of international law which never took
their political, economic, social and
developmental interests into consideration. This
was simply because they were then colonial
territories of the 1st World.
 It serves as framework for the practice of stable
and organized international relations
 Today, there are 8 sources of international law
divided into traditional and non-traditional
sources
5 Traditional Sources

Principal (3) Subsidiary (2)

Treaty Customary General Judicial Writings of the

Rules of Principles Decisions most highly
International of Law qualified Scholars
Law
 Treaty: - means an international agreement
concluded between states or parties – may be
bilateral /multilateral and may be called any of the
following names/types: - charter, convention,
covenant, Protocol.
 Custom: - is evidence of a general practice
accepted as law. This can be established by the
existence of bilateral/multilateral relations
between states based on the belief of the existence
of a legal obligation .E.g., the 4 Geneva
Conventions and the Hague Conventions (on
conduct of war, treatment of prisoners of war etc)
 General Principles of Law: - Are principles of
equity and rules emanating from justice.
 E.g :The principle of abuse of rights: - is to the
effect that states must exercise their rights in a
manner compatible with their various
obligations arising either from treaties or from
the general law
 Judicial Decisions: - decisions of international courts
such as the ICJ, ICC, ICTY, ICTR, UN Special Court for
Sierra-Leone, European Court of Justice, European Court
of Human Rights, African Court of Human Rights, Inter-
American Court of Human Rights.

 Examples of Judicial Decisions

The Trial smelter case 11 March 1941 Arbitral
judgment is considered as having laid the foundations
for international environmental law
Writings of Scholars/Jurists/Commentators: - of
long standing research and experience rooted in
their fields of specialization are relied upon for
trustworthy evidence of what the law really is
and not what it ought to be.
 Non Traditional Sources

Resolutions of International Non-Binding Standards

Pre-emptory Norms
Organizations (Soft Law)
 The three non-traditional sources of international
law are: -
 Pre-emptory Norms: - are final/absolute/mandatory
norms recognized and accepted by the international
community as a whole from which no derogation is
allowed by any treaty or municipal law, else void.

 E.g., the absolute prohibition of torture and

slavery or the general norm prohibiting the use of
force in the internal affairs of a sovereign state or
the promotion and protection of the right to life.
 Resolutions of public international Organizations/
Institutions: - UN, AU, EU, ECOWAS etc resolutions
on given subject matters constitute a source of
international law with respect to the matters in
question.
 Non-binding standards (Soft law): - Are those
rules of conduct, statements, principles,
policies not intended to be legally binding but
are expressions of intent by the international or
regional community in a given topical/critical
issue of interest to all.
 Dualist doctrine
 Monism:
 Nihilism

 Branches or fields of public international law

1. International Human Rights Law (IHRL)
2. International Humanitarian Law (IHL)/ Law
of Armed Conflict
3. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (ICL)
 Promotion of human rights
 Sovereign immunity
 The strict limitation of force agains other states
 State responsibility