In relation to customary international law, what are the difficulties Essay

In relation to customary international law, what are the difficulties involved in determining State practice and how is it possible to separate State practice from opinio juris - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is International Law as the body of laws, precepts and regulatory principles that govern relationships between states on the world stage. As states interact with each other in worldly affairs, a political, economic or financial business situation may be created whereby there is a disagreement or difference of viewpoint or even rules of conduct. As a result, one or both state entities may feel cheated and may either decide to settle their differences amicably with one another on agreed terms, resort to aggressive tactics like wars and embargoes or appeal to internationally recognized institutions like the International Courts of Justice and the United Nations Organization to solve their problems. For example, the UN last year has intervened to monitor the situation in Libya arising from the formation of opposition groups seeking to overthrow the corrupt and decadent regime of Col. Muammar Gaddafi. It passed Resolution 1970 on February 26, 2011 under which it condemned the escalation of violence in Libya, noting the loss of lives and heavy civilian casualties that defined crimes against humanity and the civilian population. It demanded a ceasefire and cessation of violent activities, ensuring safety and security to both citizens as well as foreign nationals. It also pressed for safety of the media which was instrumental in bringing information as to the actual situation on the ground. Among other things, the adoption of this resolution resulted in an arms embargo, the creation of a no-fly zone and freezing of assets as recommended by a high level Committee created in the aftermath of the Arab League meeting and the Organization of Islamic Conferences on the situation. Thankfully, the situation is now returning to normalcy since Gaddafi has been deposed and killed and the rest of his family is either in exile or has been arrested or killed. At the present time, the world community especially European and US officials have asked t he Security Council to pass a similar resolution against the regime in Syria, considering the nine month crackdown on protestors in which thousands have been killed or arrested. In terms of Lord Denning’s definition, given at the judgment of the case of Trendtex Trading Corp v Central Bank of Nigeria (1977), International Law may be described as ‘the sum of the rules or usages which civilized States have agreed shall be binding upon them in their dealings with one another’. It is primarily concerned with the behavior of States, and comprises the body of principles, rules and customs recognized as binding obligations by sovereign States and international entities. Higgins points out that ‘it is a system of normative conduct that States consider obligatory to follow’ and as may be formally defined by various conventions and agreements published by the United Nations, the