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Public International Law · Unit 1

Nature and Sources

Unit 1 of Public International Law (syllabus: Module I — nature, origin and development; definitions; theories and doctrines; nationality and citizenship; the sources of international law (custom, treaties, general principles, judicial decisions, writings, equity, General Assembly resolutions); international law and municipal law; recognition of States and governments). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • Where does the Court get the law it applies?
  • What must be proved to establish a rule of customary international law?
  • When may a custom bind only two States, and who must prove it?
  • When does a rule written in a treaty also bind States that are not parties?
  • What legal weight does a resolution of the General Assembly carry?
  • How do general principles of law enter international law, and what do they do there?
  • Is an international organisation a subject of international law?
  • Does a treaty India has ratified change Indian law by itself?
  • If a treaty is unimplemented, can it be used in an Indian court at all?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

Leading cases

Full case summaries

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper