Sources used by international law

The sources used in international law are affected by a wide range of legal and political theories. It was recognized, during the 20th century, by legal positivists that a sovereign state could limit its right to act by agreeing to a settlement in accordance with contract theory. in the 1920 Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, this consensual view of international law was reflected, was it was remain preserved and unchanged in Article 7 of the ICJ Statute. The sources of international law applicable by the community of nations are listed under Article 38 of the Statutes of the International Court of Justice, which is considered authoritative in this respect:

• International custom as defined from the general practice of states,
• International conventions and treaties, and
• General legal principles recognized by civilized nations.

In addition, the judicial decision and the teachings of the prominent international law scholars may be applied as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law. However, the language of Article 38 does not explicitly hold such a hierarchy, and the decisions of international courts and tribunals do not support such a strict hierarchy. At abogado de inmigracion en houston, one can get all information related to the best immigration lawyer in houston and eb5 houston.

On the other hand, Article 21 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court clearly shows us a hierarchy of applicable law (or sources of the international law).

International custom:

Customary international law is derived from the consistent practice of states with opinion jurisprudence, i.e. the belief of states that legal obligation requires consistent practice. The judgment made by the scholarly works as well as the international tribunals has traditionally been considered as persuasive sources for custom in addition to direct proof or evidence of state behavior. After World War II with the formation of the International Law Commission (ILC) under the auspices of the United Nations, efforts to codify customary international law gained momentum. A combining interpretation of the underlying custom by agreement through treaty has been made by the Codified customary law. The act of ILC may still be accepted as the custom applied to those states for states that are not parties to such treaties. General principles of law are those that are generally recognized by the world’s major legal systems.