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International Law: A Moral Code Of Conduct?

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Law is the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. It is both permissive in allowing individuals to establish their own legal relations with rights and duties, as in the creation of contracts and coercive, as it punishes those who infringe its regulation. Law consist of series of rules regulating behavior and reflecting to some extent, the ideas and preoccupations of the society within which is functions.
International law is a combination of treaties and customs which regulates the conduct of states amongst themselves and persons who trade or have legal relationships which involve the jurisdiction of more than one state.
So is International Law an actual law or moral code of conduct?
One theory that has gained widespread recognition that international law is not an actual law, but rather a set of rules of behavior that only has moral force. Supporters of the theory are John Austin, Thomas Hobbes and Pufendorf. John Austin stated that international law is not a rule or norm of law, but only an ethics and norms of international courtesy alone. His view is based on his understanding of the law in general. Law is regarded as a command and control of the party-controlled. The party that controls is called the ruler, has a much higher position than the party-controlled. The ruling party has sovereignty, which is one of its manifestations is the
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