International law is “that body of principles, customs, and rules recognized as effectively binding obligations.
social sciences
Description
International law is “that body of principles, customs, and rules recognized as effectively binding obligations by sovereign states and such other entities as have been granted international personality.”1 The “other entities” referenced above include individuals, international organizations, and, to some extent, multinational corporations and even terrorist groups. One century earlier, Lassa Oppenheim provided a much more restrictive definition in the second volume of the American Journal of International Law: “International law is a law between states, which concerns states only and exclusively.”2 However, the expansion of international law subjects since 1908 represents a significant evolution of international law in response to the changed global political environment. A review of the evolution of international law since its modern inception in 1648 reveals several similar revisions of key underlying principles made necessary by the changing demands of international relations.
