§ 2.0 The Nature of International Law. This chapter discusses some important structures of international law relevant to the shipmaster. It is prefatory to other chapters,1 but it is not a complete survey of international law, for which there are many good sources.2 All systems of laws prescribe, proscribe, permit and prohibit acts of legal and natural persons. Those subject to the laws must tell the difference and act accordingly. The behaviours that laws regulate come from the conscience of the society developing them.3 Domestic laws apply these principles within a state’s jurisdictional reach. International laws generally apply these same systemic principles to states and other legal persons, rather than to natural persons, when states agree to be bound with each other through the language of a convention or a treaty.4 No overarching body enforces treaties and conventions, and states have only recently5 created a juridical system to decide conflicts between and among state disputants. International law is therefore self-enforcing law among the parties with some recourse to a limited juridical process.