TO WHAT EXTENT PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INDIVIDUAL BE

DEEMED LEGALLY BINDING INTERNATIONALLY?
 
PREPARED BY GROUP N:-
HARSHINI VEENA A/P ANANTHAN (049575)     
NURAINA SYADZA BINTI BADRUL AISHAM (051013)
SHATIQA NADIRA BINTI SARIFUDDIN (051159) 
SITI NUR IZZATI BINTI AHMAD NASFU (051208)
INTRODUCTION
◦ -Evolution and sustainable growth of the international legal system after the Second World -War
contributed to a substantial rise in the importance of humanitarian principles in the context of developing
international law.
◦ -The security of individuals and communities from all forms of abuse, ensuring their rights and dignity,
has become one of the core priorities of the international community.
◦ - International Law is split up into two branches of private international law and public international law.
◦ -Private international law deals with these cases, within the context of a specific legal framework in
which foreign elements are involved, prompting concerns as to the application of foreign law or the role
of foreign law Courts.
◦ -International public law deals with external ties between Nations.
 PUBLIC
INTERNATIONAL
LAW
Important Sources of Public International
Law
◦ a)Treaties and Conventions

-Treaties are primary sources of international law where they are a binding formal agreements
between states or international organisations.
-Different name of treaties are covenants, protocols, acquis, conventions, pacts or charter.
-Conventional international law is based on consent of state parties and as such the treaty applies
only between those parties
-When signing a treaty, it means that the State is consent to be and most complyto the agreement
as once the State Signed the agreement, the States is agree with all the terms, conditions and
even risks that will come after.
-Treaties and conventions are created to bind the States legally in public international law. 
b) International Custom
• International custom is a source of international law 
• International custom makes clear that international custom generally refers to a description of State
practice
• Once a certain practice is understood to be customary law, States are obliged to act as the rule of
customary international law prescribes.
•  International custom is depending on the consent of the states which can be either explicit or implicit. 
• If in theory a nation state does not wish to be bound by a new rule, of customary international law, then it
can, in theory, vocally object and announce that it does not view itself as bound.
•  If there are new nations, generally they cannot choose between the various rules of international custom
as they were being formed. 

•  Customary international law is a source of international law that would be bound the States in public
international law.
c) General Principles of Law
• If there is no international treaty and customary international law, the court will apply general principles
to decide the case. 
• General principles are  principles that constitute that unformulated reservoir of basic legal concepts
universal in application.
• Three general functions that "General Principles" may serve.
-First, they are the source of various rules which are merely an expression of these principles.
-Second, they constitute the guidelines or framework for the judiciary with respect to the interpretative
and applicative functions of positive rules of law.
-Third, they may be applied as norms whenever there are no formulated norms governing a given
question
• General principles are applied by the courts as a fundamental required principles in order to settle the
disputes between States.

•  Once the general principles are applied, the States are bound in public international law.
d) Judicial Decisions
• Judicial decisions is another source of public international law but there are certain issues are found
before judicial decisions is declared as one of the sources of public international law. 
• The drafters of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice did not intend to give this
Court authority to create law, and on this point the British experts were in agreement with the continental
experts. 
• The Committee concern to adopt and provide in the text of Article 38 of the Statute under paragraph (d)
which the court shall apply judicial decision in international law.
• The Court in various statements or opinions have also recalled that ‘that it is not the role of the judge to
take the place of the legislator and it must limit itself to recording the state of the law without being able
to substitute its assessment for the will of sovereign States.
• The Judicial decisions are followed by the Courts not only as a source, but also as the best evidence. 

• When the court applies judicial decisions in the disputes between the States, the public international law
has been bound between the States.
The Consent of State
• Consent in public international law is based on the understanding of the role of the States in global
system when the States are willing to bind the international rule between themselves. 
• Consent is given by various ways such as signature in international treaty. 
• When a State is signing an agreement that means the State is agree and willing to receive any risks in the
terms agreed. 
• The risk that the rules will be ignored when the rules are imposed on States without their consent.
•  Even when a state consents to a rule and willing to comply, its position may change over time. 
• In order to bind the States in public international law, the consent is required mostly in international
treaties and conventions.

•  Once the States consent in any international agreement, automatically it binds the States to comply with
that agreement.
Subjects of Public International
Law
◦ a body or entity recognized or accepted as being capable, or as in fact being capable, of
possessing and exercising international law rights and duties (Dixon, 2013, p.116).

◦ Must be capable of possessing, exercising and/or enforcing varied rights and duties under
international law.
a) State
• Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention the State as a person of international law should
possess the qualifications of a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and
capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
◦ i) permanent population
◦ ii) a defined territory
◦ iii) government
◦ iv) capacity to enter into relations with the other states
b) Non-States Actors

◦ Actor is an entity that falls into one among of the four categories which are
non-governmental organizations (NGOs); private sector entities including
international, business associations; philanthropic foundations; and academic
institutions.
INDIVIDUAL  IN  INTERNATIONAL LAW

• Article 58 of the International Law Commission's Draft Papers on State Responsibility provided;
These Provisions shall be without prejudice to any issue of individual responsibility under
international law of any person acting on behalf of a State’. 
• The Article 58 was implemented in such a manner as not to exclude certain changes with
respect to international civil responsibility for individuals.
• The extent where individual international law is deemed binding internationally seems when the
legal implications of violations of international law are not limited to those which fall within the
competence of the State. 
•  Certain breaches of international law can require individual criminal liability.
•  Persons who support, abet, order, supervise and collectively commit foreign crimes may be held
accountable on an individual basis. 
• In other words, persons actually have responsibilities and rights, but not recourse under general
international law. 

• Developments in different ranges of universal legitimate arrange have significant implies and
strategies through which the commitments of States, laid down for the security of each person
human being, can be implemented and upheld.
CONCLUSION
◦ International law is made up of a set of principles established by the international community itself.
◦ It is this establishment of international law that empowers it to gloat binding authority.
◦ In this regard, the binding force of law of nations arises from its legitimacy, which offers ascend to state
assent.
◦ States partake in international law, and consequently disguise them, which advances compliance since an
intricately connection between national and international law is made.
◦ Therefore, public international law may be deemed binding to the extent that it's perceived legitimate
within the international community, through state consent.
◦ It can be said that while states have legitimate worldwide lawful character, individuals have a limited
locus standi in International Law
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