A. International law as public law

International law today aims not only at the delimitation of sovereign spheres of influence, the reconciliation of opposed national interests, or the reciprocal exchange of benefits between states. It increasingly seeks to promote and protect societal interests which are shared across borders – transnational interests, or, to use Wolfgang Friedmann's term, ‘common human interests’. Such international law aims at the protection of common goods, as for example the marine environment, the protection of shared values and interests, such as human rights or certainty for trans-national business transactions, and the internationalization of common spaces, such as the deep seabed or the moon.

International legal regimes that pursue such aims influence domestic government. They do so in prohibiting certain government measures or by requiring governmental action. Sometimes international institutions themselves exercise governmental functions, by adopting legislative acts, or by engaging in administration or adjudication.