FOUNDATIONS
A system of rules and principles regulating relations among States and other subjects of International Law.
What is Public International Law?
What is international legal personality?
The capacity to possess international rights, obligations, and legal capacities.
Which provision is our starting map for identifying the sources of International Law?
Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
True or False: Recognition of a State and recognition of a government are the same thing.
False. Recognition of a State concerns the legal entity, recognition of a government concerns who represents an existing State.
Domestic Law and International Law are best described as what?
Two distinct but interacting legal orders.
Name the four elements of Statehood studied in class.
Permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity for international relations.
What TWO elements are required for customary International Law?
State Practice + Opinio Juris.
Which theory argues that recognition acknowledges Statehood that already exists?
Declaratory Theory.
True or False: A State may use its domestic law alone to determine an international legal question.
False. Domestic law alone cannot settle an international legal status or obligation.
True or False: Every international actor is automatically a subject of International Law.
False. Political influence does not automatically establish international legal personality.
Name the three principal source categories emphasized under Article 38.
Treaties, customary International Law, and general principles of law.
Which theory gives recognition a role in creating or establishing an entity's international status?
Constitutive Theory.
Authority, independence, territory, and international obligations.
What four ideas should you associate with sovereignty?
Does recognition by one State automatically determine Statehood for the entire international community?
No. Recognition is relevant, but it does not automatically settle Statehood universally.
Why are judicial decisions important even though Article 38 describes them as subsidiary means?
Because they help identify, interpret, and apply rules of International Law. “Subsidiary” does not mean unimportant.
What is the key difference between Statehood and Recognition?
Statehood concerns the legal characteristics and status of an entity; recognition concerns its acknowledgment or treatment by existing States.
A State changes its constitution and claims that foreign territory now belongs to it. What is the international legal problem?
Domestic legislation cannot by itself change the international legal status of territory. The issue must be analyzed under International Law.Term might be used: sovereingty
Why can individuals or international organizations be subjects of International Law without having the same legal personality as States?
Because international legal personality is not identical for every subject. Different subjects possess different rights, obligations, and legal capacities.
A student finds a treaty relevant to an international dispute. What should be checked before concluding that the treaty applies?
RATIFICATION: Whether the relevant States are parties, whether it was in force, the relevant provision, whether it applies to the facts, and If a court is involved, whether the court has jurisdiction
Why does a change of government normally NOT mean that the State disappears?
Because the State has continuing international legal personality separate from the particular government representing it.