Public international law

International law is law that deals with relationships between states, or between persons or entities in different states. It is divided into public international law, and private international law. When used without an adjective, public international law is generally what is being referred to, and that is the meaning used in this article.

Traditionally international law had states as its sole subjects. With the proliferation over the last century of international organizations, they have been recognized as its subjects as well. More recent developments in international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international trade law (e.g. NAFTA Chapter 11 actions) have lead to individuals and corporations being increasingly seen as subjects of international law as well, something which goes against the traditional legal orthodoxy. Since international law increasingly governs much more than merely relations between sovereign states, it may be better defined as law decided and enforced at the international, as opposed to national, level.

International legal norms can be customary or conventional.

History

Throughout the ages, a code developed for the relations and conduct between nations. Even when nations were at war, envoys were often considered immune to violence.

The first formal attamptes in this directions, which over time have developed into the current international law, stem from the era of the renaissance in Europe.

In the middle ages, it had been considered the obligation of the Church to intermediate in international disputes. In the 16th and 17th centuries the church gradually lost its influence in international affairs, as catholic and protestant powers emerged and struggled for dominance and survival.

Some people assert that international law developed to deal with the new states arising, others claim that the lack of influence of the pope and the church gave rise to the need of new generally accepted codes.

The Dominican professor Francisco de Vitoria (in Latin Franciscus de Victoria) of theology at the University of Salamanca lectured on the rights of the natives. He did so while Spain was at the height of its power, after the violent Spanish conquest of Peru in 1536. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, protested against the friar, but in 1542 new laws put the natives under protection of the Spanish crown. Vitoria is generally recognized as the founder of modern international law.

The French monk Emeric Cruce came up with the idea of having representatives of all countries meeting in one place to discuss their conflicts. He suggested this in his "The New Cyneas" (1623), choosing Venice, and suggested that the Pope should preside over the meeting. Of course, during the Thirty Years' War, this was not acceptable to the Protestant nations. Though his call to abolish armies was not taken seriously, Emeric Cruce does deserve his place in history through his foresight that international organizations are crucial to solve international disputes.

Hugo de Groot (latin: Hugo Grotius) developed his ideas on international with his "Mare Liberum" (Free seas), in which he challenged the claims and attempts of England, Spain, and Portugal to rule portions of the oceans and seas. In 1625, with his book "De Jure Belli ac Pacis (The Law of War and Peace)", he gained new international fame, as it was the first definitive text on international law.

Much of the content was drawn from the Bible and classical history. In it, he did not condemn war as a political tool. Instead, he considered cases in which war is appropriate, and defined criteria for a 'just war':

To repel an invasion is a legitimate cause;
To punish an insult to God is considered a legitimate cause;
There has to be a legitimate cause (one of the two mentioned above);
The war has to be declared by the proper authorities;
The war must possess a moral intention;
The war must have a chance of success;
The country, when using violence, must abstain from brutal practices;
Its aim and end result must be proportional to the means used;