International Conventions on Protection of Humanity and Environment

The treaties reproduced here in their entirely clearly demonstrate that the nation state is no longer universally perceived as an absolute end in itself, and that the power of international law not only to govern relations among states, but to affect their internal affairs, is increasing. An indication of the growing interdependence among national states and the enhanced significance of international law in areas previously the sole domain of national states, these treaties exemplify in content, though not in theory, the evolution of inter-state law into international public law. Public opinion in individual countries as well as international world opinion have embraced the issues addressed in these treaties as major challenges of our time, especially when the treaties are seen as strongly binding, globally-valid guarantees of moral values, violation of which is no longer acceptable.