Understanding the Legal Nature of International Law

Legal Character of International Law

International law is a legal order; it is not a system of moral rules or courtesy. In effect, the rules of international law serve as rules of law in the international community. States, in their disputes, recall them, call for them, and pay compensation for their offense. All states have the conviction that they cannot escape their knowledge and compliance. International courts of law apply them using all the resources of legal technicalities, and national courts regard them as part of their domestic law and apply them when presented with the opportunity to do so. In other words, public international law is considered as a right.

The Conditions of Multilateral Treaties

• Deferred Signature: This sets a period after the adoption of the treaty, during which the states that participated in drafting the treaty, and in some cases other invited states, will be able to sign the text. Normally, this is a relatively short time, but it is a fatal deadline.
• Accession: This is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become part of a treaty that has been previously negotiated and signed by other states.

Treaty Adoption in International Conferences

International conferences are not legislative bodies, but some of them are convened to adopt the text of a treaty, especially when it comes to certain special topics.

The Adoption of International Treaties

Some bodies of some international organizations, such as the UN General Assembly, have the competence to develop and adopt the text of a treaty or contentions regarding topics of their own.

The International Labor Convention

The International Labor Convention is an organ of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and has the competence to adopt treaties or conventions on labor matters.

The Registration of Treaties

Article 102 states that every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any member of the United Nations after the UN Charter (1945) came into force shall be registered with the Secretary of the United Nations. The penalty for non-registration of a treaty or agreement is that it cannot be invoked before a UN body, especially not before the International Court of Justice, since the International Court of Justice is one of the six most important organs of the UN.