Falk: World Order between Interstate Law and the Law of Humanity

Falk, R., 1995. World Order between Interstate Law and the Law of Humanity: The Role of Civil Society Institutions, The. International Legal Theory, 1, 14.

Richard Faulk presents a notion of world order that is situated between inter-state law and the law of humanity. Law of humanity must be understood in two senses: firstly, the transnational non-governmental sense, and secondly as the activation of peoples to pursue their emancipation from oppressive structures of governance, social movements legitimated by their aspirations being embodied in interstate law. World order is a composite reality of Inter-state law and the Law of Humanity. Law of Humanity must be distinguished from globalization, though there are connections. Throughout history, inter-state law was seen as the best vehicle by which to achieve the objectives of the law of humanity. There is an erosion of territoriality that has undermined the major premise of inter-state law and its derivative claim to operate as the guardian of human well being. Matters of vulnerability: state has lost the capacity to uphold security in light of nuclear weaponry, state cannot safeguard its territory from adverse effects of extra-terrestrial behavior (oceans; atmosphere), economic viability: can no longer provide an adequate framework for economic activity and is being superseded by an array of international regimes and the regionalization and globalization of capital markets. There is a place for the Law of Humanity to take over, thought it is only in its dreaming phase. Often, only civil society initiatives are helpful in these settings (Bosnia, Somalia) and then in ways that do not address the underlying conflict, as by providing humanitarian relief on a daily basis and seeking to identify and strengthen reconciling and democratically oriented social forces. Similar with environmentalism.

Many instances of globalization-from-above: world trade, investment, GATT, (list goes on and on). The law implications of globalization-from-above would tend to supplant interstate law with a species of global law, but one at odds in most respects with the law of humanity.

Transnational social forces provide the only vehicle for the promotion of the law of humanity. Globalization from below used to identify transnational democratic forces and their implicit dedication to the creation of a global civil society that is an alternative scenario of the future to that of the global political economy being shaped by transnational market forces.

Interstate law latently recognizes important ingredients of the Law of Humanity: Article 25 and 28 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Nuremberg principles, Preamble to the UN charter and Articles 1 and 2 of the charter. Must move from inter-state law to the Law of Humanity. Governance of environmental and market operations are two key areas.

States that UN must give greater weight to global civil society perspectives. Giver Germany and Japan permanent seats in the Security Council, possibly India, Brazil and Nigeria. Structural reform

Realizing the Law of Humanity is complex, though main energy must come from civil society.