Evolution of public international law. By Johnson Yesaya. LL.B

Jeremy Bentham , an English philosopher, coined a meaning of international law, also known as law of nations or public international law as the body of legal rules or principles, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign states and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors . There has been changes on the meaning of international law depending on different periods of time in history. Although treaties during the 19th and 20th centuries have been instrumental in establishing international law, its origin can be traced to ancient times of the Mesopotamian city of Lagash and Umma peace treaties agreed to maintain peace between these two Jurisdictions.

The ancient Greeks later developed the concept of good governance and international relations which supported much the establishment of strong international legal systems. The concept of Law of Nation evolved during the reign of the Roman empire, which defined and governed the relation between nonnatives and Roman citizens and the status of nonnatives living in Rome. Latterly, development of conception of Natural Law emphasized that certain rights are essential to all humans, which helped in widening the compass of transnational law. 

There was little to no international laws during ancient periods of empires, there was no coded rules regarding relationship between states. During and after the middle ages, during the rising of national states (a territorially bounded sovereign polity), rules regarding maritime intercourse and diplomatic agents came to existence. The increasing interconnectedness between many independent states during that time pushed harder a concept of international laws particularly to business arena. The disputes between alien traders and natives paved way for coding acceptable fair transnational rules to regulate business transactions.

Hugo Grotius, a philosopher who was also named as “father of international law” contributed much to the development of various concepts of public international law. His views were not entirely implemented by most states but he laid a foundation on ways to settle disputes between conflicting states . The core principles introduced by Hugo which got popularity and used by states is that of “sovereignty and legal equality of all state”. These concepts laid foundation of equal treatment between states in international affairs, and it increased the confidence of states to perform internal state affairs without interference from other powerful states. From this point, the customs of international law began to be part and parcel of governing a state. The diplomacy took place as the diplomatic agents were courteously handled as they’re in their domestic land.

The international law developed more through treaties which were signed by the member states of the so-called “family of nations”. The family of nations comprised of several states including states of Western Europe, the states of the new world, and other states of Asia. The U.S contributed much in laws of neutrality and recognitions of freedom of the sea. In Napoleonic period, the requirements of international laws were rejected and ignored, but the Vienna Congress  re-installed and added new rules and protocols on international law regarding rivers and recognition/treatment of diplomatic agents on foreign lands. 

The Paris declaration  perished away private pirates commissioned by governments to invade and rob merchant ships, introduced new rules of contraband and blockade, the Geneva Convention of 1864 introduced several new rules on treated of wounded etc. The 19th Century was a period of international conventions where states entered into various agreements concerning war prisoners, states communication, sea disputes, protection of sea creatures and migrating birds. Now, there was a venue for settlement of international disputes between states as there was conventions laid rules on various transactions between states and there was already made tribunals to hear and determine the justice.

International laws were in big threat during World War I, no powerful state was ready to abide to existed international laws. The principles regarding third party arbitration and other rules of international law were violated during armed fight. New means of warfare introduced new problems which were not covered by existed laws hence those laws became weak. The attempt to disarm states after WWI by using the same international law caused the outbreak of World War II, the end of WWII in 1945 there was a lot of international problems including rectification of boundaries, care of refugees, and administration of the territory of the defeated enemy. These problems triggered to the establishment of United Nations as a watchman for obedience to international laws and maintenance of world peace after WWII.

The establishment of International Law Commission by the United Nations  was a cornerstone toward codification of advanced international laws. In maintaining peace and security, the treaties have evolved to govern nuclear production and space activities, the 1960’s UN space laws internationalized outer space and its bodies, the limited test ban treaty of 1963 made illegal, all nuclear test at the atmosphere, in water and outer space. The 1968 treaty  limited the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide, the treaty of the strategic arms limitation talks, contracted by the US and the USSR , limited defensive and offensive weapon systems. The 1959 treaty internationalized Antarctica, 1963 satellite communication, and 1973 terrorism, the law of the sea treaty  which deeply clarified status of the ownership of territorial waters and utilization of seabed.

Environmental issues were not left behind due to the rapid development and establishment of industries globally. Asia, Europe and America were among continents which were characterized by industrialization quit after world war II, the treaties were established to cover fishing activities, ozone layer, biodiversity and global warming. Bilateral agreements between state members of UN or non members were capable to make agreements which served as collective rules and norms governing transactions between contractual parties.

The evolution of international laws shows that, at the beginning of international laws, there was special Target to regulate business transactions and to maintain peace between jurisdictions (Mesopotamian city of Lagash and Umma peace treaties), the treaties evolved to cover diplomatic issues and later the treaties are considered as municipal laws. The treaties now covers almost everything at the international level, treaties covers business transactions, security, human rights, warfare, health, education, weapons, environmental management, natural resources etc 

The international laws have evolved to reach a point that, now there is even regional and international courts where states can be sued for breach of one of UN treaty and sanctions may be imposed against that particular state found guilty. The penalty for breaching international conventions as a signatory may go far to military intervention by military forces from UN member states.

REFERENCE

Books

Brownlie, I., Principles of Public International Law (5th ed), Ch. XVII

Feltham, R.G., Diplomatic Handbook (6th ed), Longman, 1993

Malanczuk, Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to International Law, pp. 123-129

Satow’s Guide to Diplomatic Practice (5th ed), 1979

Sen, A., A Diplomat’s Handbook of International Law and Practices, (3rd ed) 

Starke, J.G., Introduction to International Law (10th ed), pp. 421-435

Conventions

The nuclear nonproliferation treaty (1968)

The Agreement of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks of 1972.

The Law of Sea Treaty (1982, in force from 1994)

The Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963

Other

Britannica, “international law”, available at <https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-law> (accessed November 3, 2021).

Infoplease, “international law: evolution of international law”, available at < https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/social-science/law/international/international-law/evolution-of-international-law> (accessed November 3, 2021).