Balance of power

What does international law involve ?

Human rights

• Human rights
• Treatment of refugees
• Prosecution for international crimes
• Arms agreements and controls
• How states can claim new territories
• Regulating common spaces like water and outer space
• Trade between states
• Preventing war
• When it’s okay for a state to use force
• Fair treatment of prisoners
• Preserving the environment

International law and state sovereignty

One of the complex issues in international law is the issue of sovereignty. That’s the idea that the state is supreme, and that a state isn’t subject to the rules of any other country or body. It’s the idea that one country can’t tell another country what to do. State sovereignty is a relatively new concept in history that rose as more governments organized themselves into states in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• One of the complex issues in international law is the issue of sovereignty. That’s the idea that the state is supreme, and that a state isn’t subject to the rules of any other country or body. It’s the idea that one country can’t tell another country what to do. State sovereignty is a relatively new concept in history that rose as more governments organized themselves into states in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Because of the notion of state sovereignty, international law may only be as effective as the extent of the country’s true, honest participation in making and following the international laws and treaties that they agree to. To the extent that a state may halfheartedly participate in an international agreement only with the hope of making other countries happy, enforcing international law can be a challenge. Some countries might claim to follow an agreement while skirting the rules, and others might not even try to hide their failure to follow the international agreements that they’re a party to. International leaders, philosophers and politicians continue to debate the authority and enforceability of international law in light of modern state sovereignty.