International Law: The Old and the New

1966 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles G. Fenwick

The Hague Conference of 1907 is over and the delegates return to their respective countries. Aspirations for the pacific settlement of international disputes have been voiced and a list of possible arbitrators has been drawn up described by the formal name of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Well and good! No obligation was accepted to have recourse to the Court, but at least the Conference went so far as to declare its acceptance of “the principle of compulsory arbitration” and its applicability to international agreements. At the same time the Conference declared that the divergencies of opinion in respect to compulsory arbitration “have not exceeded the bounds of judicial controversy,” and that the delegates, in the course of their long collaboration, had succeeded “in evolving a very lofty conception of the common welfare of humanity.”

Author(s):  
Oppong Richard Frimpong

This chapter studies the common law African countries Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Their main source of private international law rules is judicial decisions or case law. Because of the relatively underdeveloped nature of their private international law regimes, foreign case law often serves as an important source of persuasive authority. In this regard, the jurisprudence of the English courts is particularly persuasive and is often referred to by the courts. In general, an international convention or treaty does not have the force of law in the legal systems of the countries under study, unless it is expressly incorporated into national law. In essence, they are dualist countries. However, courts in some of the countries under study have demonstrated a willingness to seek guidance from international treaties that are not yet domestically in force, if the circumstances are appropriate. Thus, it is possible, that courts in the countries under study may be receptive to the Hague Principles, especially if argued by counsel.


Author(s):  
Symeonides Symeon C

This chapter discusses the principle of party autonomy. The term ‘party autonomy’ as used in this book is a shorthand expression for the notion that parties to a multistate contract should be allowed, within certain parameters and limitations, to agree in advance on which law will govern the contract. This notion is now considered a universal principle of private international law (PIL) or conflicts law. In 2015, the year in which the Hague Conference on Private International Law adopted the Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts, only eleven of the 161 countries surveyed did not adhere to this principle. It has been characterized as ‘perhaps the most widely accepted private international rule of our time’, a ‘fundamental right’, and an ‘irresistible’ principle that belongs to ‘the common core’ of nearly all legal systems. Naturally, there are significant variations from one legal system to the next about not only the exact scope, modalities, parameters, and limitations of this principle, but also about its theoretical source and justification. The chapter then traces the historical origins and subsequent evolution of the basic principle.


Author(s):  
Neels Jan L

This chapter provides comments on the Hague Principles from the perspective of Indian private international law of contract. The Republic of India inherited the English common law, also in the field of private international law. Case law is the primary source of Indian private international law of contract. Rooted in the common law tradition, the courts would certainly be entitled to refer to the Hague Principles as persuasive authority in the interpretation, supplementation, and development of the rules and principles of private international law. In any event, the Hague Principles were adopted on March 19, 2015, by consensus between all Member States of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, including India, which has been a Member State since March 13, 2008. The chapter then demonstrates that the Hague Principles have real potential to assist in the interpretation, supplementation, and development of Indian private international law of contract.


1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-247
Author(s):  
Marcel Brus

From 26 to 29 June the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries convened at the premisses of the Peace Palace in The Hague to discuss the issue of peace and the rule of law in international affairs. This meeting was the start of a campaign for aDecade of International Law. This was the first occasion that an extraordinary ministerial conference of the Non-Aligned Movement was not held in one of its member countries. The Hague was chosen to underline the historic ties between this city and the (early) development of international law. This year it will be 90 years ago that the First Hague Peace Conference was held on the initiative of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. This conference (together with the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907) became a landmark in the history of the codification of international law and especially the development of mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of international disputes between states. The two most important conventions that were adopted at that conference were the Convention with Respect to the Law and Customs of War on Land and the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.


Author(s):  
Wenliang Zhang ◽  
Guangjian Tu

Abstract Under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, decades of endeavours brought about the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, being the newest achievement and a milestone. Serving the basic modern values of promoting access to justice and facilitating multilateral trade, the 2019 Convention reflects the global trend and maximizes the common grounds countries could agree to. As a historical culmination, the 2019 Convention refers to the experience of the past Hague conventions, in particular the 1971 Convention. On the one hand, the 2019 Convention duplicates the 1971 Convention in significant respects, maintaining its virtues; on the other hand, novelties are created to avoid the failures shadowing the 1971 Convention. Overall, the 2019 Convention is acceptable though it falls short of some long-lasting expectations. Recent years have seen China’s efforts to promote transboundary movement of judgments and its contribution to the arrival of the 2019 Convention. As an important global player with increasing ambition of claiming more international presence, the Convention is expected to fare well in China.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103
Author(s):  
Komang Sukaniasa

International agreements are agreements between international subjects that give rise to binding obligations in international rights, which can be bilateral or multilateral. Based on these opinions, an understanding can be taken that international treaties are agreements or agreements entered into by two or more countries as subjects of international law that aim to cause certain legal consequences. International agreements, whether ratified or through approval or acceptance or accession, or other methods that are permitted, have the same binding force as ratified international treaties established in the Ratification Law of International Treaties. Once again, it is equally valid and binding on the state. Therefore, the authors consider that the position of international treaties are not made in the form of the Ratification Act of the International Agreement but are binding and apply to Indonesia. Then Damos Dumoli Agusman argues that ratification originates from the conception of international treaty law which is interpreted as an act of confirmation from a country of the legal acts of its envoys or representatives who have signed an agreement as a sign of agreement to be bound by the agreement.


Author(s):  
Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan

This chapter looks at how rule-relations within the international intellectual property (IP) system have developed from continuity (in constantly raising minimum standards) to resilience (against certain forms of increasing protection). It considers the evolution of the international IP system from the nineteenth century onwards, examining how each succeeding changes and additions to the system had established a relationship of continuity which integrates existing standards and adds new ones. The chapter then turns to the emergence of another revolutionary change. The integral nature of the common goals established in TRIPS’ object and purpose creates a form of ‘resilience’ of the multilateral system over attempts for inter-se modifications. Moreover, international law has appropriate tools so that those charged with applying, implementing, and interpreting multilateral IP norms can give effect to this resilience both in relations of interpretation and relations of conflict.


1930 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 674-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Miller

The Conference for the Codification of International Law which met at The Hague from March 13 to April 12, 1930, was the first international conference specifically called for that purpose.In 1924 the League of Nations set up a Committee of Experts for the progressive codification of international law. The task of that committee was to select and propose for the first conference on codification a certain number of subjects within the field of international law. Three subjects, namely, Nationality, Territorial Waters and The Responsibility of States for Damage Caused in Their Territory to the Person or Property of Foreigners, were finally agreed on as the subjects to be considered by the first conference.


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