Are all laws written down?

所有的法律都有寫下來嗎？

Are they written in stone?

它們是寫在石頭上嗎？

Well, when it comes to International Law, some are, but many aren't.

當涉及到國際法時，有些法律是，但也有很多法律不是。

Let's start with the easy one.

讓我們從最簡單的開始。

The written laws are usually what we call "treaties".

成文法律通常就是我們所說的「條約」。

These are documents that countries sign ⏤ a bit like a contract.

這些是各國簽署的文件，有點像合約。

We also call them things like "conventions" or "protocols", like the Geneva Convention or the Kyoto Protocol.

我們也稱它們為「公約」或「議定書」之類的，如《日內瓦公約》或《京都議定書》。

But what about the rules that aren't written down?

但那些沒有寫下來的條約呢？

Well, you know the term "unwritten rule"?

你知道「不成文的規則」這個詞嗎？

We might say there's an unwritten rule that you should say "sorry" if you bump into someone or give up your seat for an elderly person.

我們可能會說不成文的規則像是，如果你撞到別人，你應該會說「對不起」或者禮讓座位給年長者。

Countries also follow unwritten rules.

各國也遵守著不成文的規則。

We call them "customs" or "norms", and they give us the legal term "customary law".

我們稱之為「習俗」或「規範」，它們提供給我們這個法律術語「國際習慣法」。

This covers things that most countries already believe, like not invading another country.

這包括大多數國家已經相信的事情，例如：不入侵其他國家。

All states in the international community have to stick to customary law, even if they haven't explicitly said "yes".

就算國際社會的所有國家沒有明確表示同意與否，還是必須遵守國際習慣法

And many customs do eventually get written down, such as those in the UN Charters.

許多習俗確實被寫下來，例如聯合國的章程。