Public International Law Notes for LLB Students

Public International Law (PIL) governs relations between states and international actors. These notes cover the core doctrines examined in the final-year LL.B. paper.

Sources of International Law

Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice lists the sources: international conventions/treaties, international custom (evidenced by general state practice accepted as law, “opinio juris”), general principles of law recognised by civilised nations, and (as subsidiary means) judicial decisions and the teachings of highly qualified publicists.

Recognition of States and Governments

Recognition may be de facto (provisional, acknowledging actual control) or de jure (full legal recognition). The constitutive theory holds recognition creates statehood; the declaratory theory (more widely accepted, reflected in the Montevideo Convention, 1933’s criteria of permanent population, defined territory, government and capacity to enter relations) holds statehood exists independent of recognition.

State Responsibility

A state is internationally responsible for internationally wrongful acts attributable to it, as codified in the ILC’s Articles on State Responsibility (2001) — requiring an act or omission attributable to the state that breaches an international obligation.

Law of Treaties

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969 (VCLT) governs treaty formation, interpretation (Article 31’s “ordinary meaning in context and in light of object and purpose”), and termination. India is not a party to the VCLT but accepts many of its provisions as reflective of customary international law.

UN Charter and Use of Force

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state; Article 51 preserves the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence; Chapter VII empowers the UN Security Council to authorise collective action for threats to international peace and security.

India and International Law

Article 51(c) of the Indian Constitution (a Directive Principle) directs the State to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations; Indian courts have applied international law in the absence of conflicting domestic legislation (Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, 1997, drew on CEDAW to frame workplace sexual harassment guidelines before the POSH Act, 2013 was enacted).

Key exam questions to prepare

• Sources of international law under Article 38(1), ICJ Statute.
• Declaratory vs constitutive theory of recognition.
• How did Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan use international law?

More: all LL.B. subject notes