The concept of the «International Rule of Law»

Abstract

The article is devoted to the elucidation and exposition of the concept of the «international rule of law», the analysis of approaches to its definition and the formulation of its definition. It is emphasized that the international rule of law is among those concepts that have been consistently «hanging in the air» to some extent since the post-World War II period. It is noted that, unlike in the case of defining the «classic» (domestic) rule of law, there is a lack of consensus within the scientific community regarding the definition of the international rule of law. The trends on which a certain unanimity is forming within the scientific and scholarly community are identified. The limits of the influence of the domestic rule of law theory on the international rule of law theory are revealed.
 The approaches to defining the concept of the international rule of law, as well as its «narrow» and «broad» meanings, are analyzed. It is stated that despite inconsistencies in the scientific doctrine, full adherence to the international rule of law is an «ideal,» and this «ideal» is associated with a human being, their rights, and freedoms. It has been proved that the narrow concept in the era of human rights law cannot be fully considered to be the «international rule of law», since human rights are an integral element of the latter. It is stated that contemporary theories of the rule of law and constitutionalism converge on the idea that human dignity, freedom, and human rights form the basis of all other obligations of the state. It is noted that the international analogue of the «rule of law, not individuals» would be the «rule of law, not states», which implies two aspects: it is not only about the impossibility for the hegemonic state to arbitrarily dictate its will to other states, but also the impossibility to dictate it to individuals.
 The authors distinguish between the concepts of «international rule of law», «rule of international law», and «rule of law in international relations». The requirements of the international rule of law in the practice of international bodies are highlighted. Based on the analysis of scientific approaches and the practice of international bodies, the authors’ own definition of the «international rule of law» is provided as a civilization-wide conceptual tool that represents a set of values, doctrines, and principles, the main requirement of which is the restrictions arising from the dignity, freedoms, and fundamental rights of every individual, in order to delineate the limits of power of states concerning an individual - both at the level of relations between subjects of international law and at the level of relations between certain subjects of international law and certain individuals.