International Treaties and Forums

The Legal and Treaties Division was created in 1957 to advise the Government of India on all matters of international law. This division is the sole point of contact for legal advice for the Ministry of External Affairs. It also provides legal advice to other Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

This International Law Advisory Division is very broad and has a variety of responsibilities. Beginning with matters relating to the country’s frontiers, natural resources like the international waters or seacoast, and its citizens abroad, the mandates of this Division are very wide.

The sources of international law are all the things that would influence a tribunal in making decisions about international disputes. Disputes could be between companies, between individuals from different countries, or between an individual and a foreign nation-state. 

Source Of International Law

International law sources is a broad term. Law sources can be found in the decisions of a court, a nation’s foreign relations, or a treaty that has been ratified by the United Nations Security Council.

For example, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) depicts its own sources of international law as Article 38 of the ICJ Treaty. International law is a system of rules that govern the conduct of international relations among nations.

In Article 38 of the International Court of Justice Statute, “civilised nations” are included as a source of international law. Many general principles of law around the world are accepted as a universal standard – such as laches, good faith, use of evidence from previous cases, and impartiality. The Statute of the International Court of Justice entails 4 sources of international law:  

• Treaties and Conventions – These are the persuasive source of international law. While treaties are agreements to solve issues between two or more parties, conventions are a set of rules to solve issues that affect a larger part of the nation. One of the major sources of International law is conventions and treaties, which help form the backbone of International law. Treaties and conventions can be subdivided into two categories: primary and secondary.
• Custom – Between nations Custom is another source of international law. This refers to a custom followed by two or more countries during diplomatic correspondence, policy statements, or official government statements. In order for a custom to exist, it must be consistent and recurring over a significant period of time. If this happens, the nation will recognise the custom as binding, even if it is not written in binding international law. These customs may appear in treaties.

• General principles of law – It has become increasingly clear that international law must be handled in a more global arena. Even without any formal agreements, there are still many laws within the world. The US courts can help by deciding where a dispute should be heard, based on a forum-selection clause in the contract.

• Judicial decisions – In international law, judicial decisions are not binding on subsequent disputes. In fact, there is evidence of international practice and can help international law experts understand treaties and customs.

List Of International Conventions

ITLOS 

Established by the UNCLOS, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is a judicial body independent from politics and vested with the authority to adjudicate a variety of disputes arising out of the convention.

• The International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is a multi-governmental entity that was formed by the mandate of the 3rd UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. 
• The agreement was made on December 10th 1982 at Jamaica, by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
•  On 16th November 1994, the convention became effective.

Functions of ITLOS

The Convention regulates all uses and resources in ocean space. It includes a comprehensive legal framework to ensure the long-term sustainability of the ocean environment and its goods and services.

• It operates to defend the diverse marine resources and save the different species. 
• It also has requirements connected to territorial occupancies of the continental shelf, seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs). 
• It also helps elevate and leverage scientific research to develop and transfer marine technology.

India has been a part of the UNCLOS process beginning in 1982 and continues to be a party since 1995. Ms. Neeru Chadha, diplomat and a lawyer from India, won election to the ITLOS for a nine-year period from 2017-26. She was the first Indian woman to ever be selected.