A. Sources of International Law

SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

1. ARTICLE 38. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE STATUTE

What are the sources of international law according to Article 38(1) of the ICJ Statute?

• international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
• international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
• the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
• subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law. (ICJ Statute, art.38(1))

What is the principle of subsequent objector?

In the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case, the ICJ held that the asserted ten-mile rule was not opposable to Norway because Norway had consistently opposed its application to its coast.