Nature of International Law

❖ Relationship between international and national law

Public international law is the overall legal rules and principles governing relations or issues
of state boundaries (international relations) that are not civil in nature, while national law is
a set of laws which consist mostly of principles and regulations that must be obeyed by the
public within a nation.

❖ Important Elements:
● Sovereignty
● Recognition
● Consent
● Freedom of the high seas
● Self-defense
● freedom of commerce
● Protection of nationals abroad.

❖ Components of International Law

❖ Sources of International Law

Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice
1. Treaties
- Rules given by international law are mainly in the form of treaties. Treaties are given
various other names like conventions, agreements, rules, etc. The Vienna Convention
on the Law of Treaties defines a ‘treaty’ as ‘an international agreement concluded
between States in written form and governed by international law, whether
embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever
its particular designation’ (Article 2(1)(a)) Treaties can be bilateral (between two
States) or multilateral (between three or more States). Treaties can also include the
creation of rights for individuals. Treaties bind only those States which have
expressed their consent to be bound by them, usually through ratification.

2. Customs
- "a general practice accepted as law". Such practice can be found in official accounts
of military operations but is also reflected in a variety of other official documents,
including military manuals, national legislation and case law. The requirement that
this practice be "accepted as law" is often referred to as "opinio juris".
2 requirements to consider a custom:
- Wide-spread
- Opinio nuris
3. The International Law Commission
- The United Nations International Law Commission was established in 1948. The ILC
has thirty-four members. The main function of the ILC is to codify international
laws. The International Law Commission prepares draft articles for the international
 laws over a period of time and then submits the draft to the United Nations General
Assembly for a draft convention.
4. Generally Accepted Principles of Law
- General principles of law are legal norms existing among the majority of nations.
Enduring examples of general principles of law, typically followed in most
jurisdictions, are the doctrines of good faith, estoppel, and equity.It adheres to the
policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.
This is not an exclusive list but just a directive one to rely on.

Subjects of International Law:

1. States

Discussion:
1.Social Interdependence
-when individuals share common goals and each individual's outcomes are affected
by the actions of the others.

2. Executive Agreements do not need ratification.

3. Does the executive agreement be deemed null and void when it is

unconstitutional towards another state?
General Rule: Pacta Sunt Servanda
Excpt: Rebus Sic Stantibus
-Distinction between domestic and international law. The unconstitutional
executive agreement will not bind domestically for what is stated in the Philippine
constitution will prevail, however, as for the international domain, whatever the
agreement is not in jurisdiction of the Philippines as international laws govern.

4. EX AEQOU ET BONO
- It disregards whatever the law states as it only recognizes what is just and
fair.