Importance Of International Law

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The world needs international law because alone it is virtually impossible for a state to obtain its goals. International collaboration is of paramount importance and international law is the framework within which this global participation takes place.1 The rules of international law are based on three main sources: treaties, customary international law as well as the principles of natural law. Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice(ICJ) advises the court to make judgements with regards to cases before it on the basis of: 1. International Conventions, these being general or particular, constituting rules widely accepted by the states concerned. 2. International custom, as confirmation of a general practice accepted…show more content…
There are several benefits to custom being a source of law as it can be considered to be a democratic process since all states may share, and furthermore are encouraged, in the formation of a new rule. There is an ongoing element of equality between states when it comes to forming a new custom. Furthermore can be regarded as a beneficial value towards society due to the fact that it is triggered spontaneously and as a result reflects a society's interests. Perhaps the greatest advantage of custom being a source of law is that it is relatively simple to revise a particular law, should states be troubled by it. Even though the advantages of custom as a source of law seem to be plentiful, there is also great opposition to custom being a source of international law. Critics have rejected its significance as they believe that it does not evolve at the necessary rate to accommodate international…show more content…
These include the creation of a written agreement between states through which the participating states bind themselves legally to conduct themselves in an agreed manner between themselves. Treaties therefore involve a written agreement in which members agree to adhere to the negotiated terms. There are two types of treaties: Multilateral treaties and Bilateral treaties. Multilateral treaties involve several states and as a result are intended to have universal relevance. On the other hand, bilateral treaties involve few states (often just two) and are intended to be agreements between states on how they will act with regards one another and conduct business between themselves. Bilateral may also address just a particular area of co-operation between the

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