Chapter 10, International Law Summary and Analysis

International law threatens the account of law Hart has heretofore developed. It has no legislature and no compulsory jurisdiction. The rules of states seem to only consist of primary rules and no secondary rules. International law seems to have no rules of recognition and so we must ask whether international law is really law. Two problems arise: first, attempts to analyze international law as ruled back by threats, and second, problems that arise from believing that states cannot be the subjects of international law.

The first question is whether international law can be obligating. It is not a question of applicability but a question of whether international law is law at all. The question is thus not analogous to the question of whether municipal law is really law. Hart denies that we can claim that international law...