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International Rule of Law and Its Relation to Harmonization

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Blurry Boundaries of Public and Private International Law

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Abstract

What does it mean when we say the international rule of law (IROL)? How does harmonization contribute toward the development of the IROL? When we refer to harmonization, what do we mean by it? What does it mean when we refer to the harmonization of public and private international laws? Do public and private international laws play different roles toward the IROL and harmonization? We address these questions in this chapter and try to understand their significance. Harmonization of international law can lead to the growth of the IROL. With this premise, the chapter aims to examine the concept of IROL and the harmonization of international law. The chapter also highlights the convergence of public and private international laws through scholarly work. The final part of the chapter addresses various elements of IROL and harmonization. It also analyzes the application of the principle of justice to both the international rule of law and the harmonization of international law.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Chesterman (2008, p. 332).

  2. 2.

    Kumm (2003, p. 25).

  3. 3.

    Available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-1 last visited on 25th September 2021.

  4. 4.

    Hagen (2012, p. 232).

  5. 5.

    See generally Stewart (2009, p. 1122).

  6. 6.

    Dicey (1979, pp. 183–205).

  7. 7.

    No man is punishable or can be lawfully made to suffer in body or goods except for a distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before the ordinary Courts of the land. In this sense the rule of law is contrasted with every system of government based on the exercise by persons in authority of wide, arbitrary, or discretionary powers of constraint.

  8. 8.

    No man is above the law, but (what is a different thing) that here every man, whatever be his rank or condition, is subject to the ordinary law of the realm and amenable to the jurisdiction of the ordinary tribunals.

  9. 9.

    We may say that the constitution is pervaded by the rule of law on the ground that the general principles of the constitution (as, for example, the right to personal liberty, or the right of public meeting) are with us the result of judicial decisions determining the rights of private persons in particular cases brought before the Courts.

  10. 10.

    For further discussion see Chesterman (2008, pp. 355–360), Bishop (1961, pp. 553–574).

  11. 11.

    Chesterman (2008, p. 355).

  12. 12.

    The interfaces between the national and international rule of law can be analyzed from three different angles: (1) how the national rule of law understands…international rule of law; (2) how the international rule of law understands… national rule of law; and (3) how the interactions can be understood and evaluated from external (outside) angles.

  13. 13.

    Kanetake (2016, p. 16).

  14. 14.

    Waldron (2011, pp. 322–324).

  15. 15.

    Raz (1979).

  16. 16.

    Id note 14.

  17. 17.

    Chesterman (2008, p. 343).

  18. 18.

    Available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/60/1 last visited on 25th September 2021.

  19. 19.

    Nollkaemper (2011).

  20. 20.

    Bezborodov (2017).

  21. 21.

    Ibid.

  22. 22.

    Ferreira (2013, pp. 337–364).

  23. 23.

    Szabó (2011, pp.143–151), Bezborodov (2017).

  24. 24.

    Ford (2013) Private International Law.

  25. 25.

    Ibid.

  26. 26.

    Sieber (2010, pp. 1–49).

  27. 27.

    Infra, the myth of Procrustes, who tied all travellers to his iron bed. "If they were shorter than the bed, he stretched their limbs to make them fit it; it they were longer than the bed, he lopped off a portion."

  28. 28.

    Leebron (1996, pp. 63–107); See also Cutler (1999, pp. 25–48).

  29. 29.

    Nussbaum (1942, p.189).

  30. 30.

    Kegel (1989, p. 39), Nadelmann (1971, pp. 213–222).

  31. 31.

    Starke (1936, pp. 95–401).

  32. 32.

    Fowler V. Harper, J. H. C. Morris and Dicey, ‘Dicey’s Conflict Of Laws’ (1950) 59 The Yale Law Journal, pp.3.

  33. 33.

    Cheshire (1952).

  34. 34.

    Cheshire (1957).

  35. 35.

    Neuwirth (2000, p. 393).

  36. 36.

    Boer (2010, p.20).

  37. 37.

    Ibid.

  38. 38.

    Narasimhan and John (2000).

  39. 39.

    Whytock CA, From International Law and International Relations to Law and World Politics, ID 3,170,066, 27 April 2018.

  40. 40.

    Karamanian (2013).

  41. 41.

    Arroyo and Mbengue (2018). They emphasized on the productive intersection of public and private international law in forms of international dispute resolution.

  42. 42.

    Van Harten (2007, pp. 71–393).

  43. 43.

    Kanetake (2016, pp. 19–20).

  44. 44.

    ibid.

  45. 45.

    Mills (2018).

  46. 46.

    Ibid.

  47. 47.

    Nardin (2008, p. 395).

  48. 48.

    Graveson (1962).

  49. 49.

    The idea dates to Savigny.

  50. 50.

    Symeonides (2001).

  51. 51.

    Nijman (2019).

  52. 52.

    Meckled-Garcia (2011, pp. 2073–2088).

  53. 53.

    Nardin in the paper discusses the role of morals and its relation to law. It can be interpreted widely as the perception on enforceability differs.

  54. 54.

    Nardin (2008, pp. 385–401).

  55. 55.

    Hamza (2003).

  56. 56.

    Coudert (1905).

  57. 57.

    Ibid.

  58. 58.

    Kumm (2003, p. 26).

  59. 59.

    Unification and harmonization though are different terms however their approach is similar. Unification here can be understood as both unification and harmonization.

  60. 60.

    Dubinsky (2005, p. 211).

  61. 61.

    Farrelly (1893, pp. 242–260).

  62. 62.

    Linarelli (2002, pp. 339–342).

  63. 63.

    Ruhl (2010, pp. 59–92).

  64. 64.

    Ibid, Public ordering as discussed in the paper are promulgated by a central regulator, especially a domestic or international legislator. They are imposed on the relevant private actors ("top-down strategies") and come in two different forms: (i) conflict of laws; and (ii) unification and harmonization of law.

  65. 65.

    For further discussion on national solutions to global problems see von Mehren (1974, p. 347).

  66. 66.

    The point has been made in relation to mediation in private international law matters. However, it can be extended to costs involved in private international law in general.

  67. 67.

    Alexander (2012, pp. 131–204).

  68. 68.

    Frédéric (2008).

  69. 69.

    Olivier (2008, pp. 437–442).

  70. 70.

    Ibid.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Megha Sharma for her research assistance in the preparation of this chapter.

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  1. Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India

    Dharmita Prasad

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  1. Maritime Law, Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS, Australia

    Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit

  2. Jindal Global Law School, O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India

    Dharmita Prasad

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Prasad, D. (2022). International Rule of Law and Its Relation to Harmonization. In: Sooksripaisarnkit, P., Prasad, D. (eds) Blurry Boundaries of Public and Private International Law. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8480-7_5

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