157
The principle of sovereign equality asserts that every sovereign State has the
same legal rights as every other sovereign State. According to this principle, a State
has a sovereign right to use its territory but, at the same time, it must respect the
territorial integrity of other States and their “correlative rights” to resources shared
with other States, like transboundary groundwater resources.
International law is sometimes divided into public and private components, with
public international law referring to laws governing the relationship between
States, and private international law referring to laws governing individuals and
organizations (like corporations) when they move across borders and operate in
countries other than their home. Because many international treaties have a significant impact on private international law and domestic law (laws internal to countries), it is important not to consider different areas of law to be entirely separate and
distinct.
6.2.2 The United Nations System
Following the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, at the end of the second
World War, the organization quickly became the most significant body for facilitating and overseeing international cooperation and governance. However, it is essential to remember that the UN:
1. Is just one source of international governance.
2. Has little direct authority of member states; rather, it is best viewed as a “club”
where members discuss issues and establish arrangements to address those
issues; and whose coercive power only exists when members voluntary enforce
agreements individually, or cooperatively on others.
As of 2019, the UN recognizes 193 sovereign States as members and which are
represented in the United Nations General Assembly. Two States have observer status, the Holy See and Palestine.
The General Assembly is one of six “principal organs” of the United Nations.
The others are the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of
Justice, the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, and the UN Secretariat.
There are also a large number of agencies and organizations established by and
reporting to different parts of the UN such as the World Bank Group, International
Monetary Fund (see Sect. 6.2.3), the World Food Programme, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Law Commission,
and many more. All of these entities collectively are referred to as the United
Nations System.
In the United Nations system, the General Assembly adopts multilateral treaties,
the International Law Commission promotes the development of international law,
and the International Court of Justice, based in city of The Hague, Netherlands,
settles disputes between States.
6 International Governance
The principle of sovereign equality asserts that every sovereign State has the
same legal rights as every other sovereign State. According to this principle, a State
has a sovereign right to use its territory but, at the same time, it must respect the
territorial integrity of other States and their “correlative rights” to resources shared
with other States, like transboundary groundwater resources.
International law is sometimes divided into public and private components, with
public international law referring to laws governing the relationship between
States, and private international law referring to laws governing individuals and
organizations (like corporations) when they move across borders and operate in
countries other than their home. Because many international treaties have a significant impact on private international law and domestic law (laws internal to countries), it is important not to consider different areas of law to be entirely separate and
distinct.
6.2.2 The United Nations System
Following the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, at the end of the second
World War, the organization quickly became the most significant body for facilitating and overseeing international cooperation and governance. However, it is essential to remember that the UN:
1. Is just one source of international governance.
2. Has little direct authority of member states; rather, it is best viewed as a “club”
where members discuss issues and establish arrangements to address those
issues; and whose coercive power only exists when members voluntary enforce
agreements individually, or cooperatively on others.
As of 2019, the UN recognizes 193 sovereign States as members and which are
represented in the United Nations General Assembly. Two States have observer status, the Holy See and Palestine.
The General Assembly is one of six “principal organs” of the United Nations.
The others are the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of
Justice, the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, and the UN Secretariat.
There are also a large number of agencies and organizations established by and
reporting to different parts of the UN such as the World Bank Group, International
Monetary Fund (see Sect. 6.2.3), the World Food Programme, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Law Commission,
and many more. All of these entities collectively are referred to as the United
Nations System.
In the United Nations system, the General Assembly adopts multilateral treaties,
the International Law Commission promotes the development of international law,
and the International Court of Justice, based in city of The Hague, Netherlands,
settles disputes between States.
6 International Governance