Stupňovitá struktura mezinárodního práva: strukturální analýza namísto mystiky pramenů

Abstract

Abstract:The Hierarchical Structure of International Law: Structural Analysis, not Mysticism of the Sources of Law The prevalent doctrine of international law considers Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice to be an authoritative list of the sources of international law. There are, however, many theories about the sources of international law. Moreover, the traditional approach is burdened by many inconsistencies and misrepresentations. The 'Stufenbau' theory of the hierarchy of norms, founded by Hans Kelsen and Adolf Julius Merkl, is based on a legal-theoretically coherent approach and can therefore describe the complex structure of the international legal order in a more accurate manner. The Stufenbau theory views the legal order as a hierarchy of norms, connecting the rules and structuring them. In particular, the 'hierarchy of legal conditionality' explores the validity of norms and the circumstances of their formation. Legal norms can only be valid, if their creation is authorised by a higher norm and if the lower norm fulfils the requirements of the enabling provisions of the higher norm. Therefore, for every norm, there has to be a higher one, except for the highest enabling norm, which represents the positive-legal foundation of one particular legal order, the so called 'historically first constitution'. The Stufenbau theory offers three variants as to how international law could be structured. We cannot say which one of these is the correct, and that would not be the aim of the structural analysis anyway. The Stufenbau theory and the structural analysis it enables therefore help us to understand the complexities of international law better than other legal theories.Keywords: international law, sources of international law, Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the hierarchical theory of norms, hierarchy according to the conditions of law-making, first historical constitution Klíčová slova: mezinárodní právo veřejné, prameny mezinárodního práva, článek 38 Statutu Mezinárodního soudního dvora, teorie stupňovité struktury, podmínky vytváření práva, první historická ústava