SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
- Material sources (legitimacy): consent and consensus
o Foundation: horizontal structure of the international society
o Mutual/Coordinated consent
o Consensus: general acceptance, based on the global values of
the international community
- Formal Sources (procedure): art. 38.1 ICJ Statute
o Explicit sources: treaties, customary law, general principles of
law
o Non sources: judicial decisions and teachings
o Other sources?
secondary sources of intl. Law
soft law
- Peremptory Norms of International Law (Jus Cogens)
o Lack of hierarchy among formal sources
o Hierarchy of substantive norms: art. 53 VCLT
Rank
Process
Consequence(s)
o Examples
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMARY LAW
- Notion: art. 38.1.b) ICJ Statute and Elements
- State Practice
o What is it? “Precedents”
o Requirements
Consistency
Constance
General acceptance
Only general intl. law
Persistent objector
- Opinio Juris
o Concept and scope
o Evidence
- Classes: local, regional, universal
