Community Interest and International Legal Order

Abstract

Traditional notions about the private nature of the international legal order are increasingly being forced to contend with developments in the elements of public international law. The concept of international social interest is key to understanding these developments and has consequently transformed our understanding of international law. Beginning with an explication of public and private international law and a comparison of the two, this article further examines and classifies the various approaches to the public/private divide in domestic legal theory, arriving at four key elements of publicness common to all approaches: the existence of a community or public; the universality of public institutions with their own boundaries; the hierarchy of norms and institutions and the objectivity of obligations and responsibilities. The social interest and the development of relevant norms in international law can be seen as introducing and strengthening all these elements of publicness within the international legal system. Thus, the social interest is becoming an international public legal order. It is important for our understanding of international law and the future development of the international legal order.