Public International Law - Essay Example

Is Public International Law a with a distinct “legal” character or do you consider it simply a branch of ethics? The advent of the 21st century has presented the international community with new issues, questions and challenges. In the days of the yore, the concept of ‘one world’ was an ideal, an aspiration akin to a pie in the sky. However, with the ushering in of the IT revolution, increasing acceptance of free trade and the massive globalization of the national economies, the ideal of ‘one world’ has become a palpable reality. Today, the political policies and the business interests of nations are intricately intertwined with each other, for never before the individual nations were so interdependent and connected. Thus, interactions and collaborations of the specific nations in today’s complex world need to be governed by some rules. Herein, comes the notion of Public International Law. Public International law is primarily associated with the framework and deportment of the individual and sovereign nations, similar or parallel entities like the Vatican and the interstate organizations. In the current scenario, the structure and framework of the public international law has direct repercussions for the MNCs and the individuals, going by the fact that the current interpretations of the international law transcend the local and domestic constraints and limitations. Multiple pressing international issues like wars, international trade, digital connectivity and sanctity, cyber crime, international crime, climate change and environmental degradation has manifold augmented the importance and relevance of the public international law. The vital question that needs to be answered in the given context is as to whether public international law is simply a branch of ethics or the concept has a distinct legal character? The fact that must be understood here is that there exists very little divergence between the ethics and the law is it in a local or international context. In such a scenario, the public international law is an institution that has strong ethical moorings and an effective and pragmatic legal character1. Devoid of ethics, the public international law will be a tool serving the more powerful. Sans a legal character, public international law will be some sort of an international diplomatic luxury. Hence, to be effective, the public international needs to rest on the twin pillars of ethical sanctity and legal force. Law stands to be a rule or general principal that has significance and acceptance in a specific domain and is enforceable by an authority. Ethics pertain to the general aspects of morals and the particular moral choices to be made by an individual, community or a nation, which are not enforceable by any authority. Going by these definitions, there certainly exists a relation between ethics and the law. The power of law rests on an agreement between the individuals, institutions and nations that they will abide by an acceptable and just code of conduct in their association and relationship with each other. Hence, law constitutes the fundamental foundation of any viable community, be it local or international. It can only sustain itself as a pragmatic institution if the involved parties abide by it and agree to respect its outcome and sanctity and respect the institutions and organizations divested with the power to enforce the law. The notion that encourages the individuals, organizations and nations to abide by and respect law is their acceptance and understanding of the fact that the institutions deigned by them to enforce and administer law will do so in a just and upright manner, without resorting to any impropriety, that is in an ethical manner2. In the absence of any ethical focus, the law simply becomes a tool to be exploited and abused by the affluent and the powerful. Devoid of ethics, law tends to loose all the respect and reverence of the entities that agree to abide by it. Hence, communities, both local and international need laws to operate in a hassle free and secure manner, and law has to be essentially ethical in its conception, enforcement and administration to retain its sanctity and sway. Hence, the public international law in a way projects the notion as to what is deemed to be ethical in an international arena. Some nations naturally tend to be ethical in their dealings with other organizations and nations, and such nations in that context tend to accept and abide by international law for breaking a law is in itself unethical. On the contrary, there exist rogue states that have a notion of ethics that does not coalesce with the version acceptable to the international community. In such a scenario, the public international law serves the purpose of restraining such individuals, states and organizations from behaving in an unethical manner. Besides, a legal character of the public international law assures that the states and international organizations sort out their differences through dialogue and communication, thereby respecting the ethics of peace and harmony. What is the way of translating the ethics recognized by the international community to be sacrosanct and inviolable into internationally acceptable facts? The answer is by solemnizing such ethics through formalizing universally acceptable and agreed to international laws. Thus, the public international law not only has a strong ethical background, but also has a distinct legal character. Both the attributes of the public international law that is ethical and legal serve some vital purpose, and provide it with a similar framework or at least intend to, as the national constitutions enjoy in a local scenario. One thing that deserves the attention of all the interested individuals is the fact that ethics always tend to be relative in their acceptance and interpretation. For example, the natural resources law that comes in the ambit of the public international law cannot be based on some concrete and unambiguous ethics as the involved nations may tend to differ in the acceptance and interpretation of these ethics and in their interests and purposes. In such scenarios, there also exist differences in the viewpoint of the competing nations, which is but natural. In such situations, the legal character of the public international law offers the competing nations some sort of a compromise betwixt their competing interests. There is no denying the fact that the international disputes always tend to be confusing and contradictory. In such a scenario, the legal character of the public international law acceptable to and ratified by the involved nations or organizations makes way for some sort of a compromise that is acceptable to all the concerned parties. By doing so, public international law bolsters the ethics of cooperation and peace through its legal character. There also exist some ethics and ideals, which are not relative in their interpretation though acceptance, and are accepted by a majority section of the international community to be sacrosanct and inviolable3. For example, take the case of Human Rights. Most of the democratic and sovereign nations today tend to agree that every individual should have access to some privileges, which one deserves by the fact of being a human. A majority of the nations also agree that such rights ought to be enforced legally if the need be. The legal character of the public international law simply discourages any attempts to resort to some sort of balancing or compromise by the guilty parties or individuals and assures that these ethics are respected in letter and spirit. Besides, the legal character of such international laws builds in a strong international pressure on the culprit individuals and nations and discourages others from violating the involved ethics. In fact, the international community amply agrees that public international law has and should have distinct and discernable ethical moorings. The statement made by Javier Solana, the Secretary General of NATO on 14 March 1999, that is: “We must stop the violence and bring an end to the humanitarian catastrophe now taking place in Kosovo. We have a moral duty to do so.4” , very unambiguously alludes as to the duty of the international community to back the provisions of the public international law by widely acceptable ethics and ideals. Hence, in other words, the public international law simply cannot be divested of its ethical character and nature. Besides, the ethical aspect of the public international endows it with an essential amorphousness and openness to change, which is always the hallmark of any responsive and vibrant institution. In certain and specific international issues, the involved nations may tend to differ in their interpretation of the underlying ethics. For example, it may be the issue of nuclear non-proliferation, signing of the CTBT or the space exploration and colonization. In such a scenario, the ethical aspect of the public international law keeps it vulnerable to change and amendments, thereby shunning the hegemony of a single nation or a group of nations in the realm of international law. The final word is that the public international law has both ethical moorings and a distinct legal character, and both these aspects of the public international law not only serve it well, but also make way for a much broader and catholic international acceptance5. Total Words: 1,508 (six pages) Works Cited Brownlie, Ian. Principles of Public International Law. London: Oxford University Press, 2003. Mann, Scott. Economics, Business Ethics & Law. New York: Thomson, 2003. NATO Press Release (1999) 041, 14 March 1999. Shaw, Malcolm N. International Law. London: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Tim, Susan Jacob. Ethics and Law for Social Psychologists. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998. Read More