국제법상 도시에 관한 일고찰

초록

Growing attention to cities as the concern of international law goes hand in hand with robust activities of cities in the international relations. From the state-centric perspective of international law, cities could be regarded as the interesting research objective of international law. Under the doctrine of international law, cities do not have the independent international legal subjectivity because cities have been usually regarded as part of States. However, considering the de facto importance of cities in terms of the international relations, critiques would be raised against these kinds of the old-saying doctrine of international law. The main focus on cities in light of international law is concerning what cities are and what kinds of roles cities play concerning law-making, compliance and interpretation of international law. Difficulties with regard to research on the relationship between cities and international law would be originated from the dual characteristics of cities under international law: the organ of a State and non-state actors. Could allowing cities to actively participate in the formation and implementation of international norms, and to contribute to international multilateral negotiations on issues of global concern such as sustainable development, climate change or human rights, really imply a change in their status in international law? Could activities of cities as international legal phenomena trigger the change in international legal structure? Could cities suggest the foreign policy which might be opposed to that of a State? These kinds of specific matters with regard to relationship between cities and international law could be examined in the balanced way. Considering robust activities of cities in international relations, the alternative argument emphasizing the autonomous international legal subjectivity of cities and the separate international responsibility of cities would not be easily disregarded. However, critical theoretical deficits embodied in this alternative argument should be explored. Without this scrutiny, research on relationship between cities and international law could not bear the meaningful fruit. The relationship between cities and international law should be examined in both lex lata and lex ferenda.

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