President's Editorial

The UN Decade on International Law offers a unique moment to reflect on the evolution of the rule of law since World War II and to speculate on the next millennium. From the world order perspective, the most important change since WWII has been the collapse of colonialism and the creation of dozens of new, independent states to participate in the international system. A second important change has been the "legalization" of international relations; the number of legal instruments, both binding and non-binding has surged.

The demise of colonialism, coupled with the ascendancy of Asian countries such as China and Japan, has meant that international law--which is European in origin--must now resonate with states of very different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, there are many more countries with interests in the negotiation of agreements, declarations, and other legal instruments. Cross-cutting coalitions of countries emerge, which differ from issue to issue. These affect consensus-building, often positively as in the negotiations for the Law of the Sea Convention. Many states find it hard to keep pace with and participate effectively in the many negotiations that occur more or less simultaneously. One of the challenges for the new millennium is to ensure that all states have the capacity to participate in the development of international law relevant to their interests.

In the period from 1918 to 1941, Manley O. Hudson recorded 610 multilateral treaties.[1] In those days, international legal instruments focused foremost on rules of diplomatic intercourse, the conduct of war, navigation, boundary demarcations, and settlement of disputes. In 1995, by contrast, over 33,000 international agreements are registered with the United Nations, at least several thousand of which are multilateral. In addition, there is an increasing number of non-binding international legal instruments. The new agreements and other instruments address a wide variety of activities, including human rights, trade, banking, investment, environment, labor, communications, economic development, cultural transactions, arms control, peacekeeping, peace enforcing and peace building. Public and private international law are being drawn closer together as groups of private actors increasingly conclude legal instruments governing transnational issues, as, for example, environmental protection. Lawyers who graduate today will in all likelihood encounter international and comparative law at some point in their careers, and will quickly see that the sharp line between national and international law is becoming a relic.

The UN Decade of International Law celebrates the efforts in the last fifty years to ensure that the world acts under the rule of law. The United Nations has provided the stimulus and the forum for the negotiation of many legal instruments. Frequently the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution, and then countries have negotiated a binding multilateral instrument. At other times United Nations conferences have elicited important non-binding declarations and other legal instruments. The new legal instruments and associated institutions elaborate "rules of the road," facilitate coordination of activities, and establish processes for mutual accountability; they give predictability and stability to international relations.

While it is always easy to cast doubt on the rule of law by focusing on conflicts that have flared out of control, it is more instructive, perhaps, to focus on the success stories. Foremost, we have managed to avoid a third World War. We have used neither nuclear nor biological weapons. We have seen dramatic advances in protecting human rights and in bringing war criminals to accountability. We have witnessed the emergence of many new democracies and the rise of community participation in local, national, and international affairs. We have negotiated a comprehensive trading regime for the world and a pathbreaking regional trade agreement for North America. We have brought a whole new field of law into being--environmental protection--so that over 900 international legal instruments now have at least several important environmental provisions. The pattern is repeated in other areas, such as telecommunications.

As we celebrate the UN Decade of International law, we should realize that unprecedented rapid change will likely continue to be a central feature of world order in the next millennium. The information revolution, for example, will transform the way we develop and monitor compliance with international law. Our legal instruments will need to be sufficiently flexible that parties can adjust them to new conditions. In keeping pace with change, we will need to ensure that the rule of law remains central.

[Editor's Note: We would like to see more input from our members. If you have an op-ed idea, please contact me or just send me a fax. As our numbers increase, this portion of the Newsletter will continue to provide a forum for the exchange of timely ideas.]

Footnotes

[1]Louis B. Sohn, International Law Implications of the 1994 Agreement, 88 AM. J. INT'L. L. 696, 700 (1994) (Law of the Sea Forum).