Codification and Progressive Development of International Law

Abstract

Despite being christened as a soft (read weak) law by its critics, International Law as grown by leaps and bounds and has acquired binding sanction through jus cogens, erga omnis obligations and other sanctions being imposed by the international community against the violators of international law. The present note makes an attempt to trace the development of international law as such through the ages with a special reference to the codification process through which most of the principles of international law have seem to become of relative significance. Today the codification and progressive development of international law is broadly accepted as being an important task of states and the specific legislative process of the contemporary international community. The chapterization is as under; I. Introduction II. Origin of International Law III. Codification of International Law (a) Meaning of Codification (b) International Law and Codification: Different Perspectives (c) Stages of Codification IV. ILC and Codification of International Law V. Codification versus Development of International Law: An Introspect VI. Conclusion