Lecture Notes (Fall Semester 2022) Public International Law/LL.B.
2021
Nizamuddin Ahmad Siddiqui, JGLS Strictly for Internal Circulation
Week No. 1
LECTURE TITLE: THE MANY “FIELDS” OF INTERNATIONAL LAW DISCOURSE
Topic(s) Covered:
The origins and the purpose of public international law.
The theological foundations.
Columbus’ expedition to Americas (1490s).
Francisco Vitoria (de Relicto) and Hugo Grotius (more geometrico).
Treaty of Westphalia - 1648
United Nations and shifting trends – from war to peace.
State sovereignty v. State autonomy
Summary:
The words “public”, “international” and “law” are all contested. We need to deconstruct the
philosophy of international law (John Tasioulas)
That international law took birth in the context of the Christian theology. This is evidenced
by Columbus’ discovery and treatment of the native Indians in Americas during the 1490s.
While the discovery marked the beginning of civilization, it also brought, the often
neglected, theological narrative at the forefront. (Alan Mikhail)
The Columbus’ expedition also paved way for what we call as the beginnings of international
law. The School of Salamanca, led by Francisco Vitoria, was at the forefront to lay the
foundations of the discipline. (Martti Koskenniemi, Antony Anghie)
The international law that developed till Hugo Grotius could be called as “primitive” since it
had the germ-seeds for the modern form of international law that we received centuries
later. (David Kennedy)
The origin of international law happened on a scientific template, with Hugo Grotius taking
lessons from Cartesian Geometry to develop the discipline more geometrico (Hendrik
Hommes, B.P. Vermeulen)
The origins of international law are rooted in contestations around the Christian theology –
Vitoria (Catholic) was pitted as the real originator of international law as against Hugo
Grotius (Protestant) (J.B. Scott, J.B. Scott and Paolo Amorosa); Treaty of Westphalia, 1948
(also known as Peace of Westphalia), which attempted to settle disputes between
Protestants and Catholics, paved the foundations for a secular international relations
(Anuschka Tischer).
International law also has the civilizational angle – that it was the product of civilizational
interaction (Yasuaki Onuma)
The original template of international relations has been of war, and peace was an exception
that required to be negotiated – Westphalia, 1648; Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928 (outlying war
as an instrument of international relations through a negotiated treaty) etc.
The establishment of U.N. marks a departure in international law. It establishes peace as the
normal template and war as an exception – Art 2(4) (prohibition of the use of force); Art 2(7)
(respect for territorial integrity); Art 51 (individual self-defence); Art 42/43 (collective
security).
International law primarily talked about the states and therefore whatever the states do was
deemed part of the corpus, especially the rights of the states (individual
autonomy/sovereign equality) (James Brierly). The discipline completely disregarded the
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Lecture Notes (Fall Semester 2022) Public International Law/LL.B. 2021
Nizamuddin Ahmad Siddiqui, JGLS Strictly for Internal Circulation
structure of the state, the formative processes involved in establishment, the rights of the
citizenry at the hands of the state etc.
However, international law today talks about individual rights/collective rights (human
rights); the formative processes of a state (Democracy - Hilary Charlesworth and
Constitutionalization - Anne Peters); and, the challenges to the liberal foundations of the
state (Populism - James Crawford, Heike Kreiger, Martti Koskenniemi and Anne Orford)
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Lecture Notes (Fall Semester 2022) Public International Law/LL.B. 2021
Nizamuddin Ahmad Siddiqui, JGLS Strictly for Internal Circulation
Lecture No. 2/Week No. 2
LECTURE TITLE: THE TERRAINS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW; ITS GEOGRAPHY FROM THE SOUTH
Topic(s) Covered:
Summary:
