Refers to the adjustment of mutual economic relations between countries; between international organizations; between countries and international organizations; between countries and private individuals in other countries; between international organizations and private individuals; and between private individuals of different nationalities. The general term for legal norms. It is formed and developed with the increasing trade and economic exchanges between countries and the increasing state intervention in trade and economic activities. As early as the late Middle Ages, major European commercial cities had some rules regarding international business transactions. After the Second World War, a large number of legal rules and systems related to international economic relations emerged, and took the form of treaties between countries. As a discipline, international economic law gradually developed after the Second World War.

Concept and Scope Regarding the concept and scope of international economic law, there are different international and domestic theories. Generally speaking, it can be summarized into two concepts and scope: broad and narrow.

Broadly defined international economic law generally refers to the laws that regulate international economic exchanges. Its scope includes all legal rules and systems regarding transactions and exchanges that transcend national boundaries and involve any economic interests, regardless of whether the subject of the exchanges and transactions is a country, an international organization or institution, a state-owned financial institution (such as a country's central bank), or an individual , legal persons or multinational companies. Nor does it distinguish between international and domestic law, public and private law. Legal scholars who advocate this concept generally believe that international economic law is the general term for international legal norms and domestic legal norms for economic relations and economic organizations in international society. They break the boundaries between various legal departments and emphasize the differences between various legal departments. Interaction and interpenetration. This school of international economic law scholars particularly focuses on studying actual legal issues from a comprehensive perspective of various relevant laws and regulations, which is more practical for practical legal practitioners.

According to a broad concept, the content of international economic law is very broad, mainly including the following aspects: ① Domestic legislation and international law regarding the economic status of foreigners. ②Private law aspects of international commercial transactions, including laws on the sale of goods, transportation, contracts, insurance law, company law and maritime law. ③Domestic regulations on international trade, such as tariff regulations, inland tax regulations, import and export control regulations, foreign exchange control regulations, and regulations on quality and packaging standards, etc. ④ Domestic legislation and international law regarding foreign investment, including the organization and liquidation of foreign investment, the treatment, protection and guarantee of investment (see international investment law), nationalization and expropriation, methods of settling investment disputes and applicable laws, etc. wait. ⑤International law and international economic institution law regarding the international trade system, international monetary and financial system and international institutional investment system, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, regional international development banks (such as the Asian Development Bank) laws, international commodity agreements, etc. This part of the law is formulated in the form of international treaties, constitutes treaty obligations between countries, falls within the scope of international public law, and does not directly involve or bind individuals. ⑥ Laws on regional economic integration, such as the laws of the European Economic Community, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and the Andes Treaty Organization. ⑦International tax law, including the scope of taxation jurisdiction and laws on solving double taxation (see international tax law).

International economic law in the narrow sense is a special department of public international law. All private law issues involved in international trade and economic transactions (such as international contracts for the sale of goods, etc.) and domestic law issues (such as domestic legislation on import and export management, etc.) do not fall within the scope of international economic law. Scholars of this school pay more attention to the study of the theoretical system of international economic law. According to a narrow concept, the scope and content of international economic law mainly include the following aspects: ① Regarding the legal status of a country’s citizens (natural persons) and legal persons in the economic field outside its country’s borders. ②Legal system regarding private foreign investment. ③The legal system for international institutional investment mainly involves the organizational laws of the World Bank and regional development banks and laws regarding their funding sources and operations. ④Adjust the legal system of international economic relations, which mainly includes the principles and rules of international law for international trade, finance and monetary relations. Issues involved in the law on the international monetary system include: rules of conduct on the international monetary system established in accordance with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund and its implementation and reform, regional monetary systems, etc. The international trade legal system includes various principles embodied in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (such as the principle of non-discrimination, multilateral most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment, general and gradual reduction of tariffs, prohibition of quantitative quotas, and the principle of preventing restrictions on competition in export trade). , principles involved in the system of customs unions and free trade areas, regarding safeguard measures and systems for exemption from the implementation of certain principles, etc.), international commodity (primary products) agreements, associations of producing countries, issues of integrated commodity programmes, adjustment of countries with different levels of development (i.e. The principle of non-reciprocal preferential nature of trade relations between developed and developing countries), the international code of conduct on the prohibition of commercial practices that restrict competition, the elimination or reduction of non-tariff trade barriers, etc. ⑤International economic organizations and institutional law, including issues such as organizational structure, decision-making procedures, and scope of functions. ⑥Legal system for regional economic integration. ⑦International tax laws, etc.

International economic law has become independent from public international law. There are not only public international laws on economic relations, but also legal norms that regulate the relationship between individuals and subjects of international law.