International Law Review

International Law Review

The Recognition of Customs and Treaties from the Perspective of International Law-making

Document Type : academic

Author
Rezvan Bagherzadeh
Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
10.22066/cilamag.2024.2015648.2469
Abstract
Legislation forms the bedrock of all legal systems, and each system operates according to its distinct structure, characteristics, and conditions. International law, unlike domestic legal systems, does not exhibit the same degree of systematic operation in this regard; non-legal issues e.g. political factors may significantly infiltrate the process of international regulation. Broadly construed, not only states but all actors within the international community engage in international law-making, utilizing both hard and soft law sources. Among these, the traditional sources of international law, custom and treaty, occupy a distinct and unique role. The central question of this study is how these sources have actively participated in the international law-making process from historical times to the present day. According to the hypothesis of this research, employing a descriptive-analytical methodology, these two sources, in a voluntary and non-coercive yet divergent manner, fulfill the needs of their creators. This study finds that while customary international law, as a collective endeavor, evolves spontaneously, implicitly, gradually, and sometimes even inadvertently, the formulation of legal norms through treaties, representing a form of individualism or particularism within the international community, transpires abruptly, explicitly, uniformly, and with deliberate intent.
Keywords
International Law-making
International Law-creation
Custom
Treaty
Sources of International Law

Subjects

  1. - Books

    1. Bailliet, Cecilia Marcela. “Subjects of International Law”. University of Oslo (PublicInternational Law),
    2. Brölmann, Catherine, and Yannick Radi. Research handbook on the theory and practice of international lawmaking. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016.
    3. Brunnée, Jutta, and Stephen J. Toope. Legitimacy and legality in international law: An interactional account. Vol. 67. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
    4. Butchard, Patrick. "Principles of international law: a brief guide." (2020).
    5. Charlesworth, Hilary, and Christine Chinkin. "Modes of international law-making." In The boundaries of international law, pp. 62-95. Manchester University Press, 2022.
    6. Danilenko, Gennadiĭ Mikhaĭlovich. Law-making in the International Community. Vol. 15. Brill, 2024.
    7. De Vattel, Emmerich. "The Law of Nations or the Principles of Natural Law (1758)." Fenwick, C (trans)(1916).
    8. Fitzmaurice Malgosia, and Armin Quast, “Section A: Introduction to the law of treaties” (study guide), University of London, 2007.
    9. Franck, Thomas M. Fairness in the international legal and institutional system: general course on public international law. Martinus Nijhoff, 1993.
    10. Higgins, Rosalyn. Problems and Process: International Law and How We Use It. Clarendon Press, 1995.
    11. Hudson, Manley Ottmer. "International legislation: a collection of the texts of multipartite international instruments of general interest: beginning with the covenant of the League of Nations." (No Title)(1931).
    12. Kraska, James, Ronan Long, and Myron H. Nordquist. Peaceful Maritime Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Brill, 2022.
    13. Liivoja, Rain, and Jarna Petman. "International Law-making." (2014).
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    19. Skubiszewski, Krzysztof. "Elements of custom and the Hague Court." (1971).
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    21. Wolfrum, Rüdiger. "Sources of international law." Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law9 (2011): 299-313.

     

    - Articles

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    4. Baker, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. "Customary international law in the 21st century: old challenges and new debates." European Journal of International Law 21, no. 1 (2010): 173-204.
    5. Besson, Samantha, and José Luis Martí. "Legitimate actors of international law-making: towards a theory of international democratic representation." Jurisprudence9, no. 3 (2018): 504-540.
    6. Brolmann, Catherine. "Law-making treaties: form and function in international law." Nordic J. Int'l L.74 (2005): 383.
    7. D'Amato, Anthony. "Treaties As a Source of General Rules of International" Harvard International Law Journal3 (1962): 11-16.
    8. Da Rocha Ferreira, Andre, Cristieli Carvalho, Fernanda Graeff Machry, and Pedro Barreto Vianna Rigon. "Formation and evidence of customary international law." UFRGS Model United Nations Journal1 (2013): 182-201.
    9. Hakimi, Monica. "Making sense of customary international law."  L. Rev.118 (2019): 1487.
    10. Janssens, Pauline Charlotte, and Jan Wouters. "Informal international law-making: A way around the deadlock of international humanitarian law?." International Review of the Red Cross104, no. 920-921 (2022): 2111-2130.
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    12. Koskenniemi, Martti. The gentle civilizer of nations: the rise and fall of international law 1870–1960. Vol. 14. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

     

    1. Mejía-Lemos, Diego Germán. "Some considerations regarding “‘Instant’ International Customary Law”, fifty years later." Indian Journal of International Law55, no. 1 (2015): 85-108.
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    3. Murphy, Sean D. "The Making of International Law. By Alan Boyle and Christine Chinkin. Oxford, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xxx, 338. Index. 70, paper." American Journal of International Law104, no. 4 (2010): 697-701.
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    8. Roberts, Anthea, and Sandesh Sivakumaran. "Lawmaking by nonstate actors: engaging armed groups in the creation of international humanitarian law." Yale J. Int'l L.37 (2012): 107.
    9. Rudi Natamiharja, Rudi Natamiharja, Rudy Rudy, and Ali Chaidir. "Law Making Treaties: The Implication of International Law towards Indonesia’s" Jambe Law Journal3, no. 2 (2020): 191-210.
    10. Schachter, Oscar. "Recent trends in international law making."  YBIL 12 (1988): 1.
    11. Scharf, Michael P. "Accelerated formation of customary international law." ILSA J. Int'l & Comp. L.20 (2013): 305.
    12. Shelton, Dinah L. "International law and domestic legal systems: Incorporation, transformation, and persuasion (introduction)." INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS: INCORPORATION, TRANSFORMATION, AND PERSUASION, Dinah Shelton ed(2011): 2013-61.
    13. Shelton, Dinah. "Normative hierarchy in international law." American Journal of International Law100, no. 2 (2006): 291-323.
    14. Singh, Narendra N. "The legislative process in international law: A general comment." Bond L. Rev.2 (1990): i.
    15. Sivakumaran, Sandesh. "Techniques in international law-making: Extrapolation, analogy, form and the emergence of an international law of disaster " European Journal of International Law28, no. 4 (2017): 1097-1132.
    16. Smith, Herbert A. "International Law-Making." Transactions Grotius Soc'y16 (1930): 93.

     

    1. Sommer, Julia. "Environmental law-making by international organisations." Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht56 (1996):
    2. Swart, Mia. "Judicial Lawmaking at the ad hoc Tribunals: The Creative Use of the Sources of International Law and ‘Adventurous Interpretation’." Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht70, no. 3 (2010): 459-86.
    3. Tanwar, Parth, and Jaispriya Poply. "Instant Formation of Customary International Law in the 21st Century: Components, Challenges and Applications in Customary Legal Fields." Challenges and Applications in Customary Legal Fields (July 14, 2023)(2023).
    4. Tladi, Dire. "Representation, Inequality, Marginalization, and International Law-Making: The Case of the International Court of Justice and the International Law Commission." UC Irvine J. Int'l Transnat'l & Comp. L.7 (2022): 60.
    5. Ugli, Mukhammadjonov Jasurbek Jakhongir. "Law Making By International" JournalNX6, no. 10 (2020): 58-62.
    6. Von Bogdandy, Armin, and Ingo Venzke. "Beyond dispute: international judicial institutions as lawmakers." In International judicial lawmaking: on public authority and democratic legitimation in global governance, pp. 3-33. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012.
    7. Voyiakis, Emmanuel. "A disaggregative view of customary international law-making." Leiden Journal of International Law29, no. 2 (2016): 365-388.
    8. Wessel, Ramses A. "Informal international law-making as a new form of world legislation?." International Organizations Law Review8, no. 1 (2011): 253-265.
    9. Wolfrum, Rüdiger. "International Law Making," in Kraska, James, Ronan Long, and Myron H. Nordquist. Peaceful Maritime Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Brill, 2022.
    10. Yasuaki, Onuma. "International law in and with international politics: The functions of international law in international society." European Journal of International Law14, no. 1 (2003): 105-139.

     

    - Thesis

    1. Marcos, Henrique Jerônimo Bezerra. Consistency in international law: how to make sense of a decentralised and expansive rule-based world, Doctoral Thesis, (Maastricht University, Universidade de São Paulo, 2023).

     

    - Cases

    1. Fisheries Case, (UK v. Norway), ICJ Reports, 1951.
    2. Fisheries Jurisdiction Case, (United Kingdom Iceland), ICJ Reports, 1974.
    3. PCIJ, SS. "Lotus Case (France v. Turkey)." (1927): 26.
    4. Polish Upper Silesia, PCIJ, Series A, No. 7, 25 May 1926.
    5. Tadić Case (Prosecutor v Tadić [Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction]), 02 Oct. 1995.

  • Receive Date 24 March 2024
  • Revise Date 11 August 2024
  • Accept Date 12 August 2024