Law-
Enforcement of international law
laws,
and people who break them are tried in courts. But there is no
international legislature to pass rules that all nations must observe.
Neither is there an international police force to make countries obey
international law. As a result, it is often difficult to enforce the
provisions of international law.
Consent of nations. International laws are often classified in three
groups, according to how many nations accept them. (1) Universal
international law includes the rules accepted by all nations as part
of international law. These rules cover such items as the sanctity of
treaties, the safety of foreign ambassadors, and each nation's
jurisdiction over the air space above its territory. (2) General
international law includes rules accepted by the majority of
countries, especially those that are most powerful. One law of this
type is the rule that each nation has jurisdiction over its
territorial waters, a water area typically claimed to extend 22
kilometres from its shores. Many nations follow this rule, but some do
not. Ecuador and Peru, for example, claim a limit of 370 kilometres.
(3) Particular international law includes agreements between two or
among a few nations, such as trade treaties.
Violations. Japan violated international law in 1941 by attacking
Pearl Harbor without first declaring war. Germany broke international
law during World War II when the German government killed millions of
European Jews and forced slave labourers from other European countries
to work in German war factories. The Soviet Union violated
international law by refusing to repatriate many prisoners of war long
after the end of World War II. Reports were given to the United
Nations (UN) about the cruel treatment of many UN prisoners of war by
the Chinese Communists and North Koreans in the Korean War
(1950-1953). Violations occurred in the Nigerian Civil War
(1967-1970), the Pakistani Civil War (1971), and the Vietnam War
(1957-1975).
The fact that laws are broken does not destroy them as laws. The laws
of cities, states, and nations are often broken, but such laws remain
an active force. No nation denies the existence of international law.
Courts and arbitration. In the belief that arbitration is a better
method than war to settle disputes, the Permanent Court of Arbitration
was established in 1899 at The Hague, the Netherlands. Members of the
court serve as arbitrators, not as judges.
In 1920, the League of Nations set up the Permanent Court of
International Justice. The United Nations took over the court in 1946
and renamed it the International Court of Justice. This court issues
judgments on boundary disputes and other questions of international
law. Nations are not required to use the court, but they must accept
its decisions if they do use it.
Punishment. There is no uniform way to enforce international laws.
Laws within countries provide penalties for those who break them. But
in the society of nations, no individual nation has the power to
punish other nations or to force them to submit their disagreements to
courts of arbitration. If an aggressor refuses to arbitrate, an
injured nation may resort to self-help, which in some cases may mean
war. But when the aggressor is strong and the injured nation is weak,
such action is not practical. Treaties for united action, such as the
North Atlantic Treaty, provide help for weaker nations in such cases.
The UN Charter provides for collective defence.
The trials of German and Japanese leaders at Nuremberg and Tokyo after
World War II were an important step in the development of
international law. Some of the leaders were charged, not only with
breaking the laws of war, but also with bringing about the war itself.
The idea that international laws will be enforced by punishing those
persons who break them represents an important addition to the theory
of international law. The International Law Commission of the United
Nations has given much study to improved ways of formulating and
enforcing international law.
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