ABSTRACT
International law is the body of rules binding on States in their relations with one another, and determining their mutual rights and obligations. The law governing relations between States is international law properly so-called, while aspects of a national legal system dealing with private law relations involving a foreign element are denoted as ‘conflicts of laws’. Hugo Grotius is often regarded as the founder of the modern doctrine of international law. Natural law was originally regarded as having a divine origin, but Grotius considered that the existence of natural law was the automatic consequence of the fact that men lived together in society and were capable of understanding that certain rules were necessary for the preservation of society. International law is law created by States through their consent and agreement, as opposed to domestic law, which is created by the State authorities binding individuals without their consent.
