International Public Law: general information on the legal branch

Like any industry, international public law plays a key role in regulating public relations. But unlike "internal", this system of legal norms is aimed at regulating issues of an international character.

The concept of public international law .

Lawyers characterize any branch of law on three main grounds: the method and subject of regulation, as well as the set of norms on the basis of which the first two criteria are determined.

The subject of the considered branch of law is understood as legal relations established between states, peoples and nations fighting for self-determination, state entities, intergovernmental organizations. At the same time, the range of issues to be solved is limited to strictly defined in interstate agreements problems that go beyond the competence and territory of a particular country.

International public law has a special method of regulating the relations of subjects of this industry - imperative. This will be explained by the fact that the contracting parties always discuss only those issues whose resolution can not be dualistic. A vivid example is the Kyoto Protocol of 1998, on the basis of which countries have established norms for saving ecosystems that are binding for all countries that are parties to the Convention and the Protocol.

International public law is characterized by two types of legal norms , on the basis of which basically regulation of problems of this branch of law can be carried out: contractual and extra-contractual. Traditionally, the norms that were fixed in interstate agreements that have a universal (UN Charter), local (the Maastricht Treaty of 1992) or a bilateral one (agreement on cooperation) traditionally refer to contractual ones . In turn, extra-contractual ones are represented by customs that have arisen and are being applied in the practice of countries' behavior among themselves. As a rule, contractual legal norms become binding on the parties only if they have been ratified in accordance with the procedure established by law and / or the Constitution. Concerning the usual norms, it should be said that they are optional for execution. However, in recent years, the process of their written consolidation and ratification has been noted.

Based on the presented characteristics, we determine:

International public law is the union of conventional and contractual norms that regulate the problems and relationships between countries, state entities, nations fighting for self-determination, and intergovernmental organizations that are binding on all parties that have confirmed their legitimacy in accordance with the law .

International public and private law: points of divergence .

As in the domestic law, in the international relations of a different nature are regulated by special legal institutions. They also form in international public and private law (hereinafter referred to as the IPP). Despite the fact that both sectors regulate the problems associated with participation by representatives of different states, the discrepancy between them is significant.

First and foremost, the very concept of public international law limits the list of its subjects: states, intergovernmental organizations, state entities, as well as nations struggling for self-determination. Unlike the above, IPP expands the list of participants in private law relations, for example, individuals and / or joint-stock companies.

Secondly, the industry is different and subject to regulation. The IPP is aimed at regulating private-law problems. Unlike him, international public law is directed to the consideration of issues of an administrative, public, nature.

Thirdly, the method of legal regulation differs . Imperative regulation is characteristic mainly for the public direction of international law. IPPP, on the contrary, provides its subjects with certain behaviors and allows participants to choose the most appropriate option for a particular situation.

Fourth, the basis for regulating the actions of the participants of the IPP, in most cases, is established by international public law, with the exception of legal customs. And that is why often some jurists exclude from the definition of "international public law" the characteristic "public", referring private law to the section of international public.