Sources of international law, comparison to domestic law

t would be advisable if you had a look at source of Public International Law and what are the differences and characteristics of this law regime in comparison to domestic legal systems. Furthermore, please consider to be able to have an opinion on what international organizations add to the field of international law in terms of states and “A camel is a horse designed by a committee”…

For Professor Germelmann’s part you are allowed to take the UN Charter with you if it does not have any annotations.

Sources of International Law

The generally recognized authoritative statement on the sources of international law is the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Article 38, which specifies that the Court, in deciding disputes, shall apply:

• international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
• international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
• the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
• subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.

The first three of these--treaties, custom, and principles of law--are sometimes referred to by lawyers and librarians with a common law background as "primary sources" of international law. The last two--judicial decisions and the teachings of publicists--are sometimes referred to as "secondary sources" or evidence of international law rules.

Note that case law is considered only a "subsidiary means." Even the decisions of the ICJ itself do not create binding precedent.

The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the parties and in respect of that particular case. (Article 59)

Note, also, that "teachings of publicists" now include the work of organizations such as the International Law Commission and private institutions.

More recent discussions of the sources of international law, recognizing the growing role of international organizations, include the resolutions and other acts of international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations, as sources or evidence of international law.

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states;

The field of study combines two main branches: the law of nations (jus gentium) and international agreements and conventions (jus inter gentes), which have different foundations and should not be confused.

Public international law should not be confused with "private international law", which is concerned with the resolution of conflict of laws. In its most general sense, international law "consists of rules and principles of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of intergovernmental organizations and with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons, whether natural or juridical."

Since international law has no established compulsory judicial system for the settlement of disputes or a coercive penal system, it is not as straightforward as managing breaches within a domestic legal system.  

Public_international_law, concerns itself only with questions of rights between several nations or nations and the citizens or subjects of other nations. In contrast, Private_international_law deals with controversies between private persons, natural or juridical, arising out of situations having significant relationship to more than one nation. In recent years the line between public and private international law have became increasingly uncertain. Issues of private international law may also implicate issues of public international law, and many matters of private international law have substantial significance for the international community of nations.

An expression critical of committees—or by analogy, group decision-making—by emphasizing the ineffectiveness of incorporating too many conflicting opinions into a single project. In this figure of speech, the distinguishing features of a camel, such as its humps and poor temperament, are taken to be the deformities that resulted from its poor design. 

The expression means that when many individuals design something as a group, every imaginable feature will go into the finished product – and it will end up with many important features. But the product will have lost its beauty – and sometimes will have lost some of its usefulness as a complete entity.