INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

  INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

INTERNATIONAL LAW

International law is the set of rules generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations between states and nations.^[1] It serves as the indispensable framework for the practice of stable and organized international relations.

Traditionally, international law consisted of rules and principles governing the relations and dealings of nations with each other, though recently, the scope of international law has been redefined to include relations between states and individuals, and relations between international organizations.  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 nave substantial significance for the international community of nations.

SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

 A source of international  law is where an international decision maker or researcher looks to verify the substantive legal rule governing a legal dispute or academic discourse. The sources of international law applied by the community of nations to find the content of international law are listed under Article 38.1 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice: Treaties, international customs, and general principles are stated as the three primary sources; and judicial decisions and scholarly writings are expressly designated as the subsidiary sources of international law. Many scholars agree that the fact that the sources are arranged sequentially in the Article 38 of the ICJ Statute suggests an implicit hierarchy of sources.^[4] However, there is no concrete evidence, in the decisions of the international courts and tribunals, to support such strict hierarchy, at least when it is about choosing international customs and treaties. In addition, unlike the Article 21 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which clearly defines hierarchy of applicable law (or sources of international law), the language of the Article 38 do not explicitly support hierarchy of sources.

The sources have been influenced by a range of political and legal theories. During the 20th century, it was recognized by legal positivists that a sovereign state could limit its authority to act by consenting to an agreement according to the principle pacta sunt servanda. This consensual view of international law was reflected in the 1920 Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was succeeded by the United Nations Charter and is preserved in the United Nations Article 7 of the 1946 Statute of the International Court of Justice.

 

DIFFERENT SCHOOL OF THOUGHT IN  INTERNATIONAL LAW

a.Realism is the view that world politics is driven by competitive self-interest
Realism is a tradition of international theory centered upon four propositions.
1. Anarchy:

• There is no actor above states capable of regulating their interactions; states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity.
• The international system exists in a state of constant antagonism

2. Egoism:

• Individuals and groups tend to pursue self-interest.
• Groups strive to attain as many resources as possible

3. Groupism:

• Politics takes place within and between groups.

4. Power politics:
           .>Relations between groups are determined by their levels of power derived primarily from their material (military and economic) capabilities.
            > The overriding national interest of each state is its survival, and there is a general distrust of long-term cooperation or alliance.
            >“International politics are always power politics” (Carr 1946, 145).            

b. Liberalism is one of the main schools of international relations theory. Its roots lie in the broader liberal thought originating in the Enlightenment. The central issues that it seeks to address are the problems of achieving lasting peace and cooperation in international relations, and the various methods that could contribute to their achievements.

c.,Institutionalism claims that international institutions such as the United Nations, NATO and the European Union can increase and aid cooperation between states.

d. Constructivism is the claim that significant aspects of international relations are historically and socially contingent, rather than inevitable consequences of human nature or other essential characteristics of world politics.

MEMBERS OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

  The membership in the International Society of Hypnosis (the International Society) shall consist of Members, Affiliate Members, and Honorary Members. .

The class of Affiliate Member is reserved for those who meet the standards of acceptability and have a serious interest in becoming colleagues but are unable to meet the dues requirement because of national restrictions upon currency exchange. When approved by the Credentials Committee they will be accepted as Affiliate Members, without dues.

Honorary Members shall be elected, upon special invitation and without application, by the Board of Directors, and shall be limited to distinguished scientific contributors to hypnosis. They shall have all the privileges of membership, but shall be free of the obligation to pay membership dues.

Individual applications will be accepted from nations in which one or more Constituent Societies exist only if the applicant is excluded from membership in a Constituent Society solely because of the profession to which he belongs. In such a case his application will be judged according to the standards of the International Society relative to his profession. Otherwise his application will be referred back to a Constituent Society to which he may be eligible. An individual applicant, if approved, will be admitted as a member upon the payment of dues.

TYPES OF INTERACTION IN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
DOMESTIC INFLUENCES ON STATE BEHAVIOR

 DIPLOMACY

 (from Latin diploma, meaning an official document, which in turn derives from the Greek δίπλωμα, meaning a folded paper/document) is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations^[1] through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics, culture,environment and human rights. International treaties are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national politicians. In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.

The scholarly discipline of diplomatics, dealing with the study of old documents, derives its name from the same source, but its modern meaning is quite distinct from the activity of diplomacy.

DIPLOMATIC AGENTS

                The convention splits the functions of diplomatic agents into six categories: representing the sending state; protecting the sending state's nationals within the receiving state; negotiating with the receiving state; notifying the sending state of conditions and developments within the receiving state; promoting friendly relations between the two states; and developing economic, cultural, and scientific relations between the two states.

THE  CONSULAR OFFICIALS OF A STATE

The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries. A consul is distinguished from an ambassador, the latter being a representative from one head of state to another. There can be only one ambassador from one country to another, representing the first country's head of state to that of the second, and his or her duties revolve around diplomatic relations between the two countries; however, there may be several consuls, one in each of several main cities, providing assistance with bureaucratic issues to both the citizens of the consul's own country travelling or living abroad and to the citizens of the country the consul resides in who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country