Serving as a single-volume introduction to the field as a whole, Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law seeks to present international law as a system that is based on, and helps structure, relations among states and other entities at the international level. It aims to identify the constituent elements of that system in a clear way. This ninth edition has been completely updated to take account of the many developments in international law that have occurred since the 8th edition (2012).
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3. The Principles of the International Legal System
Celebrated for their conceptual clarity, titles in the Clarendon Law Series offer concise, accessible overviews of major fields of law and legal thought. The closest thing to a manifesto for international law is the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970 as resolution 2625 (XXV). This chapter first examines the seven basic principles of the resolution: the prohibition on the threat or use of force; the duty to settle disputes peacefully; the duty of non-intervention; the duty to co-operate; (v) the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; the principle of sovereign equality of States; and (vii) the principle of good faith. The discussions then turn to the nature of the Declaration; provisions on State responsibility; the implementation of international responsibility; personality and the scope of application of international law; international law in domestic courts; international law in international tribunals; the diplomatic protection of nationals; and international law outside tribunals.
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3. The Normative Framework Of Human Rights Under International Law
Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade and Damián A. González-Salzberg
This chapter offers an essential introduction to the normative framework of the protection of human rights under international law. It is of particular relevance to those less acquainted with the discipline of public international law. The chapter discusses the fundamental topics of sources, obligations, and subjects of international law, as applicable to the international law of human rights. It explains that the international law of human rights remains attached to its traditional structures that overwhelmingly focus on the responsibility of States, but discusses how other actors have an ever-increasing role in the field. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the interaction between the international and domestic legal orders when dealing with the protection of rights.
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10. State responsibility
This chapter illustrates the concept of responsibility in international law. Within international law, the term ‘responsibility’ has long been understood to denote how fault or blame is attributable to a legal actor for the breach of an international legal obligation. State responsibility remains the archetypal and thus most developed form of international responsibility. Nevertheless, other international actors apart from States may also bear rights and obligations under international law. The result of such capacity is the potential to bear responsibility for a breach of an international legal obligation. International law also provides for what are termed ‘circumstances precluding wrongfulness’, through which an act which would normally be internationally wrongful is not deemed as such. In such situations, international responsibility is not engaged. These are akin to defences or excuses in municipal legal orders.
