1. International
Law
Sources of Contemporary
Australian Law

2. What is International Law?
 All interactions between nation-states rely
on international law
 Trade
 Peace & security
 Human rights

3. Definitions
Domestic Law
 Applies universally
 Enforced by
agencies
 Created by
parliament or in
courts
International Law
 Applies only to
countries which
agree to adopt it
 Countries can
exempt themselves
from enforcement
 Created through
international
negotiations

4. Negotiation
•Between nation states. May last for an extended period
of time
Agreement
•A law is proposed and written. Countries which are in
favour of the law will sign an agreement.
Ratification
•A declaration of intent to make the international law
binding in the home country. (In some countries, eg
France, this is all that is required to make domestic law.)
Enacting
•In other countries, eg Australia, domestic law must be
written and passed in parliament before it becomes
binding.
MakingInternational LawDomestic Law`

5. State sovereignty
 Belief that all nations are equal, and each
nation’s leaders have the right to make
decisions for their own nation
 Means that external countries (or even
International organisations) have no
authority to interfere with another nation.
 Countries can even refuse to participate
in international processes – even if they
have previously agreed to abide by the
International Law

6. Advantages
 Independence –
laws can suit a
nation’s own
culture/values
 Prevents one
person from ruling
the world
 Countries can be
influenced
positively by other
countries
Disadvantages
 Human Rights
cannot be enforced
 Different laws in
different countries
can cause conflict
between states
 Countries can be
influenced
negatively by other
countries
 Wealthy nations may
be better positioned
to prosper

7. Examples of breaches of
international law
 Japanese whaling
 Russia and the Crimea (Ukraine)
 Australia spying on East Timor

8. Major sources of International Law
Declarations
and Treaties
Customs
Legal
Writings
Legal
Decisions

9. Declarations & Treaties
 Most common sources for International Law
 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
(1969): “international agreement concluded
between states in written form and governed
by the guidelines of international law”
 Bilateral – between 2 nations
 Multilateral – between more than 2 nations
 Aka: conventions; covenants
 Declarations are similar to treaties: they state
beliefs, but they have no binding
consequences for breaches.

10. Customary International Law
 Not written down – based on long-
established traditions
 Develops over an extended period of
time; countries must still agree to it.
 Most treaties originated as customary
international law.

11. Legal Decisions
 The International Court of Justice (a UN
court) has the power to make rulings
regarding treaties.
 These rulings (aka “decisions”) can act as
a type of precedent in future, similar
cases
 (There are also other types of UN court
which make decisions)

12. Legal Writings
 May be made by judges or other
academics and philosophers
 Even though these do not form binding
precedent, they can guide international
lawmakers
 Legal writings may spark discussion in
international communities/organisations
and can draw attention to flaws in
international law.