Source of IL

Good evening sir.. Im going to present the topic you have assigned to us..
That is the sources of international law
Sources of International Law are Identified in Article 38 (1) of the 1945 Statute
of the International Court of Justice (established by the Charter of the United
Nations)
So according to article 38 of icj we can divide the sources into

● International conventions or treaties
● International customs
● The general principles of law
● Judicial decisions
● Juristic works
Now let's discuss the different sources of international law one by one
1.Internationalconventions or treaties
Treaties are primary sources of international law.
A treaty may be defined as an international agreement concluded between
States in written form and governed by International Law.
The term treaty is used for all kinds of international agreements which are
known by variety of different names such as convention, pact, declaration,
protocol, as well as the name agreement itself.
Treaties can be Divided Into 1) Law Making Treaties and 2) Treaty Contracts
1) Law making Treaty-
Law making treaties are those treaties which are entered into
by a large number of States. These are the direct source of International Law.
These treaties are binding to all.
2) Treaty Contracts:
These are the treaties which are entered into by two or
more States. The provisions of such treaties are binding only on the parties to
the treaty.
2)International customs
Article 38 of the Statute of the ICJ refers to an international custom as
evidence of a general practice accepted as law. This definition comprises of
two elements:
● a general practice and
● its acceptance as law.
In this sense, international customs may be defined as practices or usages
which have been observed by a large number of States over a lengthy period
of time and considered by them to be legally obligatory, i.e., being a law
Now the qn arises that what is the Difference between custom and usage:
there is a clear technical distinction between the two. Usage is an
international habit of action that has not received full attestation and does not
reflect a legal obligation; . Usages may be conflicting;but a custom must be
unified and consistent.
So A usage to become a customary rule of law, it must fulfill two conditions:
● acceptance or recognition by a large number of States and

● repetition over a lengthy period of time.
so these are the 2 condition which state must fulfill.
A custom has a definite obligation attached to it. And Failure to follow
custom results in State responsibility, and consequently entails the possibility
of punishment (sanction)
The general Principles of Law:
General Principles are based on moral Principles and law of

nature, it has relation with the State Practice. So According to art 38 of The
statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)it says " the general
principles of law recognized by civilized nations"
It says that The Court shall apply the general principles of law in cases where
treaties and customs provide no rules to be applied.
Judicial decisions
According to Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice,
Judicial Decisions are subsidiary sources of International Law. They are not
the automatic sources of law.
Article 59 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice expressly
provides that the decisions of the court have no binding force except between
the parties and in respect of that particular case. That means Judicial
decisions are binding only on the disputed States. And Under the provisions of
this Article, the Court is specifically required not to apply precedent or doctrine
of stare decisis in its decisions.
Juristic works
Under art 38 of ICJ, The opinion of jurists are also regarded as sources of
international law but they are subsidiary means for the determination of rules
of international law. While deciding the case, if the Court does not find any
treaty or judicial decision or legislative act or any established custom, the
Court may take the help of opinion of jurist as subsidiary means for the
determination of rules of International law. Although juristic works are not an
independent source of law, sometimes juristic opinion lead to the formation of
International law. It throws light on the rules of International law and their
writing makes it easier to frame a particular rule.
Ex aequo et bono (Equity)
Article 38 (2) Provides that the Article 38 (1) shall not prejudice the power of
the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono (means in justice and good faith)
if the parties agree thereto.
Means.. this Article lists “ex aequo et bono” (equity) as an alternative source
of Public International Law applied by the Court only if the parties agree
thereto

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Good evening sir.. Im going to present the topic you have assigned to us..

That is the sources of international law

So according to article 38 of icj we can divide the sources into

1) Law making Treaty-

● acceptance or recognition by a large number of States and

The general Principles of Law:

General Principles are based on moral Principles and law of

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