International law is defined traditionally as the rules determining conduct between states, but increasingly also applies to individuals and corporations. It consists of both explicit agreements between states in treaties and conventions, as well as customary law developed from widespread and consistent state practice. Key areas of international law include diplomacy, war, human rights, and the environment. War and human rights are particularly controversial as they can infringe on national sovereignty but many agreements and conventions have been put in place to define acceptable and prohibited conduct in these areas.

1. INTERNATIONAL
LAW

2. DEFINING INTERNATIONAL LAW
▰ Traditional: The rules determining the conduct of states in their
dealings with one other
▪ Increasingly, though, individuals and corporations – not just
states – viewed as subjects of international law
▰ Newer: The body of rules and principles, formal and informal,
operating at the international rather than national level
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3. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
▰ Explicit agreements (Treaties, conventions, protocols)
❖ UN Charter
❖ Geneva Convention
❖ Kyoto Protocol
▰ Customary Law (like “common law”)
❖ Widespread, representative and consistent practice of
states
▰ Norms (general principles of morality and justice)
❖ UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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4. OBJECTIVES
▰ To understand the obligations imposed on
India/nations
▰ To understand how these instruments are
implemented in India/nations
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5. AREAS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
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DIPLOMACY WAR
HUMAN
RIGHTS ENVIRONMENT
D W
H T

6. WAR
▰ When is it legal?
❖ “just wars” versus wars of aggression
▰ What conduct is legal?
❖ No chemical or biological weapons; no land mines
❖ Non-combatants should not be targeted
❖ Excessive force should be avoided
❖ POW`s (a person who is held captive by a belligerent power
during or immediately after an armed conflict.)
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7. DIPLOMACY
▰ Diplomatic recognition and immunity
▰ Embassies as sovereign territory
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8. HUMAN RIGHT
▰ New and controversial area
❖ How do you define it?
❖ Infringes on national sovereignty
▰ Broad political rights
❖ Helsinki Accords (1970s)
❖ U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
❖ U.N. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
▰ U.N. Convention Against Torture (1984)
▰ Rights of threatened groups
❖ U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1965)
❖ U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women/CEDAW (1979)
❖ U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
▰ Genocide (1948 convention)
❖ Rwanda – Bosnia - Sudan? 8

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THANKS!