Calling all lawyers! List of specific fields for Law

[apoc527]

Originally Posted by rust

What I mean is that a lawyer would need different sources than those of his
home country. For example, in an extradition case he needs to understand
the legal system of the country that is asked to extradite the person, the
legal system of the country that asks for the extradition, and the treaties
concerning extradition between the two countries. Moreover, he has to deal
with the problem that international treaties are often difficult to enforce.

Which is why "international law" is something of a misnomer. It's not so much "law" as it is "diplomacy." There are sort of "world courts" but nothing that a normal lawyer would ever work in. The reality is that nobody really practices "international law" in the same sense that they practice family law. Being an international lawyer is often more about policy and diplomacy rather than being before a judge in a lawsuit. It's certainly a valid area for lawyers to work in, but it's not the same. Most law students are somewhat disappointed to learn that "international law" isn't a real field in the sense that they think it is when they come to law school.

Many diplomats are lawyers, after all, and many treaties (most, probably) are negotiated, drafted, and fought over by lawyers, but in such a case, being a lawyer is the background for doing "international law" rather than an area of law being practiced. It's a weird way of thinking about it, but I think that's accurate. What I'm trying to say is that "doing international law" is a very different thing than "knowing international law." The latter is really just a specialized knowledge skill, perhaps "Expert Skill (International Treaties)" while the former requires a whole host of skills and probably more than a few Law specialties, none of which I'd actually label "interional law" (upon reflection).

Even if I'm not making much sense right now, trust me, "it's different." :-)