"ПРИРОДНЕ" И МОРАЛНЕ ОСНОВЕ МЕЂУНАРОДНОГ ПРАВА
„NATURAL” AND MORAL BASES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Summary/Abstract: „Nature” and morality can be viewed as juridical or metajuridical phenomena. If they are accepted in the former sen/e, they have practical consequences for the validity of a given rule of law. If. however, the latter meaning is attributed to them, their position is closer to the usual notion of „material sources” of law. In any case, given the fact that there is no central international legislature and that creation of rules of international law is very complex, the barrier between international law and other normative systems is not absolute: it is rather a delicate membrane filtering new value elements into the realm of law. From the positivist standрoint, „nature” as basis of law and the doctrine of natural law has been criticized referring to the maxim that there is no law. without will, and that nature can provide only facts. On the other hand positivism leads to the glorification of power — if a norm is .willed by a powerful legislative entity, it is law irrespective of its contents. In the international community, this would lead to the conclusion that only through increased political power of those affected by and adverse international legal order necessary changes could be made. The present international legal, order, or parts thereof designated as „old” ar „classical”, are under attack by many states, which do not form /tv a coherent bloc and cannot therefore be taken as a single power. Their attitude is prevalently gioral, and their revolt is against rules imposed by dominant states in previous periods. In this sense, there is a revival of naturalism. A good example is the search for a „just and equitable” new international economic order. It is believed that, contrary to the „Westphalian” system of international law, based on the protection of parallel interests of important states, modem international legal order should rest on the concept of mankind and on universal values attributed to it. In this century humanity has suddenly become aware of the existence of such values (e.g. survival, peace, human rights etc.), which have already begun to act as controlling factors in the creation of new law.

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