The Judiciarys Law Journal

The Judiciarys Law Journal

Critique of the Classical Categorization of International Law and an Orderistic Redefinition of Legal Systems in the Age of Globalization

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors
1 PhD student, Department of International Law, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran,
3 Assistant Professor, Department of International Law, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22106/jlj.2025.2041880.6052
Abstract
The classical categorization of international law, founded on the distinction between public and private branches, contains deep-rooted deficiencies at the internal level arising from the neglect of enabling contextual factors, which has produced imbalances in the classificatory structure, shortcomings in description, and ambiguity regarding the status of public law when it possesses a transboundary element. At the external level, too, developments such as globalization, the expansion of transboundary relations, and the emergence of non-state actors have introduced new challenges to the delineation of boundaries between different legal systems. The conjunction of these internal and external weaknesses intensifies the need to reassess the systematization of international law.This study, to clarify the differentiation and distinction of legal systems, employs an analytical-descriptive method and draws on Orderism theory to propose a novel legal-systems framework. The principal finding of this paper is the introduction of a multi-level classification of legal systems under two principal levels of the Exclusive and the Universal.This Orderistic approach, while recognizing internationalized private and public law at the exclusive leve, and situates global law alongside international law at the Universal level, It provides an integrated analytic tool for understanding contemporary legal dynamics, identifying the status and functions of different systems, and examining legal issues within a coherent framework, thereby paving the way for resolving globalization-related conflicts.
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Volume 89, Issue 130
Summer 2025
Pages 419-460

  • Receive Date 24 September 2024
  • Revise Date 09 July 2025
  • Accept Date 04 September 2025
  • First Publish Date 04 September 2025
  • Publish Date 23 August 2025