The Rule Of International Law

It is not only a globalized world, but an age of global governance. Global governance is such a manner in which international law governs global public affairs. Accordingly, it is also a time of the rule of international law, and international law is the basis and hardcore of global governance. For over three hundred years, the rule of international law experienced the stage of "international conference-state governance" and the stage of "international organization-international governance", nowadays is in a stage of "international law-global governance". The European Union (EU) regime and the World Trade Organization (WTO) system are two of contemporary practices of the rule of international law. The process of participation in the rule of international law of China includes three different periods, namely, the period of "under governance", "out of governance" and "in governance". In the contexts of the rule of international law, the three coral elements of the rule of law, namely the supremacy of the law, equality before the law and a government of laws, have enriched innovative contents. The future of the rule of international law may be defined jointly by Leader States, the International Law of Co-progressiveness and the Harmonious World.The main body of the thesis consists of five parts besides Introduction and Conclusion.In Introduction, the coral issue to be studied in this paper and the reason why to research it are briefly presented, some discourse related to the issue is explored, and research ideas, structural arrangement as well as research methods are explained too.Some conceptions, such as the domestic rule of law, the national rule of law, the international rule of law and the rule of international law are preliminarily defined in Chapter One, the conception of global governance is done as well. The rule of international law includes the rule of law in international society (the international rule of law) and the national rule of law which constitutes a part of the rule of law in domestic society. The rule of law at the national and international levels carrying out the United Nations is an important component of the practice of the rule of international law. The rule of international law recognizes the fundamental framework of the Westphalia system and its process relies on international law. The sophisticated international law is both a set of rules with three basic elements and a legal order with three systems.Chapter Two examines the history of the rule of international law. Starting from the Westphalia Peace in 1648, the evolving process of the rule of international law is divided into three stages. In the stage of "international conference-state governance", national interests are overwhelming values; international conferences were major means in which international disputes to be resolved. In the second stage, that is the stage of "international organization-international governance", the maintenance of the peace and the promotion of the development not only were commitments of both states and international organizations established jointly by the former, and some non-intergovernmental organizations were managed to do later on; but also were based on both national wills and a set of governance institutions shaped gradually. The stage of "international law-global governance" is the current phase we are witnessing in which national wills are still primary values; however, the common interests of humankind are quite concerned; international law governs almost all aspects of the international life. Admittedly, all these evolutions are not preceded naturally.Chapter Three observes two of the contemporary practices of the rule of international law. The EU governance is regional, all-round governance which is illustrated by the continuing European integration since post-World WarⅡ, and it establishes an innovative regime of co-governance by states. The European legal system and the legal order it forms play an essential role in European governance. The WTO global governance is universal and specialized governance launched only in 1990s. The "hard bindingness" and the "soft inducement" provided by the dispute settlement mechanism and the trade policy review mechanism respectively enhance together the application of and compliance with the WTO law for ensuring the well-functioning of the multilateral trade system. Needless to say, both of them are in the process of adaptation to the profound changes of international system.Chapter Four discusses how China thinks and behaves in the interaction between global governance and international law. The views of "ruling the world by Li(礼)"and "harmonious world" are essentials of Chinese thinking on global governance. Three periods can be differentiated from the experience of China's participation in international law system and global governance; they are the period of "under governance", "out of governance" and "in governance". China always understands the world order through international law, and regards the sovereignty as both the backbone of international law and the basis of international relations. In WTO global governance, China performs her obligations in good faith, resolves international disputes peacefully and exercises her rights seriously.Chapter Five explores the standards of the rule of international law. Three dilemmas in global governance (the paradox of the sovereignty, the contradictions among subjects, and the demerits of the basis) and three challenges facing international law (deformalization, fragmentation and empire) will accompany even determine sometimes the process of the rule of international law in a very much long time. The most important is, however, international law will play a significant role more and more in the world order. In the contexts of the rule of international law, the three coral elements of the rule of law, namely the supremacy of the law, equality before the law and a government of laws, have enriched innovative contents. The future of the rule of international law may be defined jointly by Leader States, the International Law of Co-progressiveness and the Harmonious World. Absolutely, the coming of an age of the perfect rule of law is a quite far picture.Finally, Conclusion summarizes the main points of the thesis, re-defines the conception of the rule of international law, explains the results of historic analysis, practice observance on the EU regime and the WTO system and case study on China of the rule of international law, and due clarifies the shortcomings of the rule of international law.