International law is any set law, regulation or practice that is developed to establish the acceptable conduct between independent countries. These laws can be used to describe the conduct of the government, groups within the countries or individual people. International laws are developed by many different means including treaty law, laws of the sea, customs laws and international humanitarian law. When a country, group or individual violates an international law, they risk the chance of coming under international law enforcement and will need to be punished for their crimes. Common laws that involve international law enforcement are drug trafficking, terrorism, weapons smuggling, human trafficking and human rights violations. The three major organizations that play a large role in international law enforcement are The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and The United Nations.
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is an organization within the United States that works to fight against international smuggling of narcotics and international crimes. They set up programs and policies that are used to recognized and stop international crime. They directly advise the President, Secretary of State and other governmental agencies as needed. When international laws are found to be broken, this is the agency within the United States government that is used for international law enforcement.
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police force and is comprised of one hundred and eighty-eight countries. This strong international force works together to fight and prevent international crimes and together they form a united front in international law enforcement. The INTERPOL police even attempt to enter into countries that refuses to abide or recognize international law. This organization is headquartered in France but is able to cross borders as needed to provide international law enforcement.
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that is comprised of one hundred and ninety-two countries and they work together to promote world peace. The UN has worked since its creation in 1945 to negotiate many treaties between countries to help set policy and regulations. They also held the Vienna Convention which aided in developing general regulations to be used in day-to-day business between countries. The UN also helped create the Laws of the Sea finalized in 1994, which allows for better international law enforcement on the various seas and oceans of the world. The UN developed the International Law Commission whose members meet annually to discuss the international laws and techniques for international law enforcement.
