No. 120

Sources of International Law: Scope and Application

  • 8 February 2000

The speaker said that the sources of international law, according to the traditional understanding, are limited to the list contained in the Statute of the International Court of Justice. However, rapid international developments, over the last few decades, required adding the resolutions of international organizations to this list. He added that the actual practice, at the level of international relations, experienced overlapping sources of international law. Thus, resolving many issues requires referring to most, if not all, of these sources. In addition, there are new cases that entail international organizations to issue resolutions rather than being restricted to the provisions of the international norms; they can be integrated into multilateral treaties, a process known as codification. The speaker also pointed out that developing an international law usually requires relying on the cooperation of a group of countries due to the absence of an effective central legislature. In the same context, the speaker added that developing the international law and drafting new sources for its system will continue to be a major challenge posed on the international community.

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LECTURER

Tuesday 8 February 2000

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Tuesday 8 February 2000

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