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International law. What is it?
Well, perhaps it's best to start with what it's not.
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It s not a single, official big book of laws.
And it's not enforced by an international police.
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And cases are not heard by a single court.
No, it s a little more complicated than this.
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Instead, it's a set of agreements and
customs that most countries follow,
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most of the time. These agreements cover the
rights and duties of states about things like
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war, human rights, trade and diplomacy.
They can be treaties - written agreements
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that countries sign like a contract.
Or they can be what law calls 'customs' -
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principles and ideas that many already follow.
These agreements only apply to countries,
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not companies or individuals.
This can get
complicated, because some corporations are bigger
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than countries. All this means international law has
to keep evolving, to fit our changing world.
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