• CONFLICTS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TREATIES •
In a previous article in this JOURNAL the conclusion was reached, that when the state expresses its will definitely, as through a statute, courts will recognize such a source of law as superior to international law and apply the statute in case of a conflict. Statutes, however, ordinarily apply only within the territory of the state. They are pronouncements of the internal sovereignty of the state. Thus, within its boundaries, judicial practice recognizes that the state enjoys
l'auto- nomie de la volonte. A Is there a similar judicial recognition of the external sovereignty of the state? The very idea of international law seems to imply that the external activity of the state is limited by law, but ordinary courts of justice, because of their limited jurisdiction, cannot often consider cases involving such activity. There is, however, one type of case in which they may do so, that in which a conflict arises between the immediate will of the state as expressed in a treaty and international law.