What is International Law Essays - Foreign Relations, Law

What is International Law? International law can be defined as a b ody of legal rules set for countries in dealing with each other. There are three legal processes which are identified in international law and they are Public international law, Private international law and supranational law. Public international law deals with the international entities such as the international criminal court and the relationship between sovereign states. Private law refers to that part of the law which is administered between private citizens of different countries and is concerned with the rights of these citizens. Supranational Law can be defined as a set of laws that sovereign states voluntarily submit to. The only globally accepted supranational tribunals are The United Nations Security Council and subordinate organizations such as the International Court of Justice ("What Is International Law" . n.d. ). What is Self - defence ? Self - Defence is defined as the use of reasonable force in protection of one's self, family or property. Self Defence is simple but it raises logical questions when applied to actual events which can be in itself complex or as simple as the definition of it. For example how does one know how much force is considered a reasonable force? Is it okay to kill an attacker as a victim in this situation? What if the attacker was provoked by the victim? When it comes to citizens of states of countries, self defence , have three basic laws of self- defence , they include Stand your Ground where in some states like Florida that passed this law in 2005 now allows a person to instead of trying to avoid the conflict first, a victim can use deadly force in a threatening situation if they see it needed. Meanwhile in some states like Massachusetts the Duty to Retreat law is still in effect and it states that any victim in a threatening position must first see k to retreat and if cornered, then is allowed to use deadly force. The Castle Doctrine law of self defence states that if there is an intruder within a victim's property, it is okay to use deadly force immediately ("Self-Defense Overview". n.d .). Self- Defence of a sovereign state to security threats as a member of the United Nations must follow rules of the charter in order to maintain peace and security. It is stated within the U . N Charter "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self- defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security" ( U.N Charter art. 51, para . 1 ). Upon analysis we can note that in order for a member of the United Nations to take any self-defensi ve action the Security Council must deem it necessary, and first try to maintain international peace. Dealing with the contemporary security threats faced by Nations like terrorist bombing and declaration s of war, hacking, Economic attacks, this would not prove to be very efficient in dealing with them quickly, seeing that a country needs the permission of the inter-gover n mental organisation The United Nations Secu rity Council. Stated within the U.N C harter "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations" ( U.N Charter art. 2, para . 4 ). The integral right of self-defence recognised in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations "if an armed attack occurs" states that there is an exception to the statement prohibiting the use of force under U.N Charter article 2 paragraph 4 ( Wilmshurst , 2005). Upon further examination