INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL LAW T

This research paper consists of an eight-page summary of Mark W. Janis's An Introduction to International Law.

Chapter 1 The Nature of International Law

Janis traces the origins of international law, "the roots of run deep in history," to the ancient Roman belief in ius gentium, law "common to all men" (p. 1). In the 17th century, the sovereign states of Europe established "a set of mutually agreed-upon rules respecting the nature of . . . states and their fundamental rights and obligations inter se" (p. 2). In 1627 the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius argued that certain fundamental legal principles governed the relations of those states.

International law can be divided between public international law, which governs the relations between and among states, and private international law, which governs transactions involving private parties, but these two categories overlap. It is sometimes said that there is no such thing as international law because it is not, due to the absence of any overriding international supranational power, as readily enforceable as municipal law. This is, however, untrue. Janis points out that there are a great many rules governing international conduct "that . . . are usually, for one reason or another, observed in international practice" (pp. 3-4).

The sources of international law are not to be found in domestic or municipal law but rather in: 1. international treaties; 2. customary international

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making parties as revealed in documents such as minutes of negotiations or travaux preparatoires, etc. American courts also tend to defer to the Executive Branch's interpretations of treaties. Treaties can be changed by amendments agreed to by all parties or by modifications by some parties. A treaty can be amended or modified by practice. In the 1989 Soering case, the European Court of Human Rights held that the abolition by all the states of Europe of the death penalty effectively modified the penalties available under the European Human Rights Convention. Treaties do not normally terminate merely because of a change in government or even a rupture in diplomatic relations. Normally, a treaty can be terminated only in accordance with its terms or if another party has materially breached its obligations thereunder. In the United States, the President has been held in the 1979 Goldwater case (in which Congress asserted objections to President Jimmy Carter's termination of the 1954 U.S.-Taiwan Defense Treaty) to have the sole power to terminate U.S. involvement in treaties without consulting any other branch of government. A state must carry out the terms of a treaty even though it may conflict with its own law. However, Artic
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Approximate Word count = 2079
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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