Customary International Law
Introduction

Updated: September 20, 2019 (Bibliography and Lib. choice).
According to Article 38 of its Statute, the International Court of Justice 'whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it,' has to apply, inter alia, 'international custom.' This source of public international law is described, in the same Article, as 'evidence of a general practice accepted as law.' This description of international custom, even though it has been criticized for its exact formulation, at least makes clear that international custom generally refers to a description of State practice, but only such practice as is accepted by the States themselves as legally required. Once a certain practice is understood to be customary law, States are obliged to act as the rule of customary international law prescribes. International customary law is probably the most disputed and discussed source of international law. For example, it is not clear when a particular State practice becomes a legally binding State practice. It is also unclear how one can identify a rule of international custom, or how one can prove its existence.
The International Law Commission appointed Sir Micheal Wood as Special Rapporteur concerning the issue of Customary International Law. His reports and recommendations are available in the bibliography under documents.
This Research Guide provides a starting point for research on Customary International Law. It contains legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Books, articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section including links to the PPL Catalogue when available. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Bibliography
Reference works
- Bederman, D.J., Custom as a Source of Law, New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- Lepard, B.D., Customary International Law: A New Theory with Practical Applications, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- Mendelson, M.H. “The Formation of Customary International Law”, Recueil des cours=Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law, 272 (1998), pp. 155–410. [e-article]
- Shaw, M.N., International Law, 7th ed., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014.
- Wolfke, K., Custom in Present International Law (2nd ed.), Dordrecht, Nijhoff, 1993.
Books
- D'Amato, A., The Concept of Custom in International Law, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 1971.
- Arajärvi, N., The Changing Nature of Customary International Law: Methods of Interpreting the Concept of Custom in International Criminal Tribunals, London, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2014.
- Bradley, C.A. (ed.), Custom's Future: International Law in a Changing World, New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 2016. [e-book]
- Byers, M., Custom, Power and the Power of Rules: International Relations and Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- Cannizzaro, E., and P. Palchetti (eds.), Customary International Law on the Use of Force : A Methodological Approach, Leiden, Nijhoff, 2005.
- Dumberry, P., The Formation and Identification of Rules of Customary International Law in International Investment Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016.
- Henckaerts, J.-M., and Doswald-Beck, L., Customary international humanitarian law / International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (2 Vols.), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- Lepard, B.D. (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Lijnzaad, L., and Council of Europe (eds.), The Judge and International Custom = Le juge et la coutume internationale, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2016. [PDF]
- Rauter, T., Judicial Practice, Customary International Criminal Law and Nullum Crimen Sine Lege, Cham, Springer, 2017.
- Scharf, M.P., Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change: Recognizing Grotian Moments, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- Staubach, P.G., The Rule of Unwritten International Law: Customary Law, General Principles, and World Order, New York, NY, Routledge, 2018.
- Thirlway, H., International Customary Law and Codification: An Examination of the Continuing Role of Custom in the Present Period of Codification of International Law, Leiden, Sijthoff, 1972.
- Villiger, M.E., Customary International Law and Treaties: A Manual on the Theory and Practice of the Interrelation of Sources (2nd ed.), The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 1997.
Articles
2019
- Berkes, A., “The Formation of Customary International Law By de Facto Regimes” (February 27, 2019), in S. Droubi and J. d’Aspremont (eds.), International Organizations and Non-State Actors in the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester University Press, 2019. [PDF]
- Brölmann, C.M., “Capturing the Juridical Will of International Organisations (February 25, 2019), in S. Droubi and J. d’Aspremont (eds.), International Organizations and Non-State Actors in the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester University Press, 2019; Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2019-09; Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2019-02. [PDF]
- Deplano, R, “The Riddle of Custom: General Assembly Resolutions (November 20, 2018), in S. Droubi and J. d’Aspremont (eds), International Organizations, Non-State Actors, and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester University Press, 2019. [PDF]
- Dodge, W.S., “International Comity in the Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law” (January 6, 2019). [PDF]
- Gradoni, L., “Un-procedural Customary Law”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 10 (2019), No. 2, pp. 175-199. [e-article]
- Nolte, G., “How to Identify Customary International Law?: On the Final Outcome of the Work of the International Law Commission (2018) (June 2019), KFG Working Paper Series, No. 37, Berlin Potsdam Research Group “The International Rule of Law – Rise or Decline?”, June 2019 . [PDF]
- Pershing, A.D., “Interpreting the Outer Space Treaty's Non-Appropriation Principle: Customary International Law from 1967 to Today”, Yale Journal of International Law, 44 (2019), No. 1. [PDF]
2018
- Bourgeois, H., and J. Wouters, “Methods of Identification of International Custom: A New Role for Opinio Juris?”, in R. Pisillo Mazzeschi, and P. De Sena (eds.), Global Justice, Human Rights and the Modernization of International Law, Cham, Springer, 2018, pp. 69-111. [e-article]May, 2019
- Bratspies, R.M., “Reasoning Up to Human Rights: Environmental Rights as Customary International Law”, in J. Knox and R. Pejan (eds.), The Human Right to a Healthy Environment, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming, August 2018. [PDF]
- Chimni, B.S., “Customary International Law: A Third World Perspective”, American Journal of International Law, 112 (2018), No. 1, pp. 1-46. [e-article]; Related commentaries (7), AJIL Unbound, Vol. 112 - 2018.
- Daugirdas, K., “International Organizations and the Creation of Customary International Law”, University of Michigan Public Law Research Paper No. 597, April 2018. [PDF]
- Gasbarri, L., “Beyond the Either/Or Paradigm in the Formation of Customary International Law by International Organizations”, in J. d’Aspremont and S. Droubi (eds.), International Organizations and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Fitzmaurice, M., “Customary Law, General Principles, Unilateral Acts”, in E. Sobenes Obregon and B. Samson (eds.), Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice: Impacts on International Law, Cham, Springer, 2018, pp. 247-267. [e-article]
- Fox, G.H., K. Boon, and I. Jenkins, “The United Nations Security Council and the Law of Non-International Armed Conflict: New Evidence of Customary International Law", American University Law Review, 67 (2018), No. 3, pp. 649-731. [PDF]
- Heller, K.J., “Specially-Affected States and the Formation of Custom”, American Journal of International law, 112 (2018), No. 2, pp. 191-243. [e-article] See also Heller (2017)
- Joyner, D., “Why I Stopped Believing in Customary International Law”, Asian Journal of International Law, 9 (2019), No. 1, Forthcoming; U of Alabama Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3228064. [PDF]
- McCall-Smith, K.L. “Treaty Bodies, States and the Shaping of Customary Law”, in S. Droubi and J. d’Aspremont (eds.), International Organizations, Non-State Actors, and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester University Press, 2019, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Okubuiro, J.C., “Application of Hegemony to Customary International Law: An African Perspective”, Global Journal of Comparative Law, 7 (2018), No. 2, pp. 232-271. [e-article]
- Rao, P.S., “The Identification of Customary International Law: A Process that Defies Prescription”, Indian Journal of International Law, (June 2018). [e-article]
- Ryngaert, C.M.J., and D.W. Hora Siccama, “Ascertaining Customary International Law: An Inquiry into the Methods Used by Domestic Courts”, Netherlands International Law Review, (March 2018). [PDF]
- Tan, Y., 2018. The Identification of Customary Rules in International Criminal Law. Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, 34(2), pp.92–110. [e-article] Dec.
- Wood, M., “The Evolution and Identification of the Customary International Law of Armed Conflict”, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 51 (2018), No. 3, pp. 727-736. [e-article]
- Yee, S., “AALCO Informal Expert Group’s Comments on the ILC Project on ‘Identification of Customary International Law’: A Brief Follow-up”, Chinese Journal of International Law, 17 (2018), No.1, pp. 187-194. [e-article]
2017
- Arajärvi, N., "The Requisite Rigour in the Identification of Customary International Law", International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 9-46.
- Arajärvi, N., “From the ‘Demands of Humanity’: the Formulation of Opinio Juris in Decisions of International Criminal Tribunals and the Need for a Renewed Emphasis on State Practice”, in B.D. Lepard (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 189-229.
- Azarova, V., “Adjudicators, Guardians, and Enforcers: Taking the Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in Customary International Law-Making Seriously” (Dec. 2017), in J. d'Aspremont and S. Droubi (eds), Non-State Actors and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Blokker, N., “International Organizations and Customary International Law”, International Organizations Law Review, 14 (2017), No. 1, pp. 1-12.
- Carrillo-Santarelli, N., "The Possibilities and Legitimacy of Non-State Participation in the Formation of Customary Law", International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 98-125.
- d'Aspremont, J., “Non-State Actors and the Formation of International Customary Law: Unlearning Some Common Tropes” (Nov. 2017), in I. Scobbie and S. Droubi (eds), Non-State Actors and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Deplano, R., "Assessing the Role of Resolutions in the ILC Draft Conclusions on Identification of Customary International Law: Substantive and Methodological Issues”, University of Leicester School of Law Research Paper No. 17-05, June 2017. [PDF]
- Droubi, S., "The Role of the United Nations in the Formation of Customary International Law in the Field of Human Rights", International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 68-97. [PDF]
- Droubi, S., “Institutionalisation of Emerging Norms of Customary International Law through Resolutions and Operational Activities of the Political and Subsidiary Organs of the United Nations”, International Organizations Law Review, 14 (2017), No. 2, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Dumberry, P., “Has the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard Become a Rule of Customary International Law?”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 8 (2017), No. 1, pp. 155-178. [e-article]
- Dupuy, P.-M., “Formation of Customary International Law and General Principles”, in J.E. Viñuales and E. Lees (eds.), Environmental and Energy Law: International Dimensions (Vol. 1), Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017, pp. 154-171.
- Galindo, G.R.B., and C. Yip, “Customary International Law and the Third World: Do Not Step on the Grass”, Chinese Journal of International Law, 16 (2017), No. 2, pp. 251-270.
- Guliyev, K., “Local Custom in International Law”, International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 47-67.
- Heller, K.J., “Specially-Affected States and the Formation of Custom”, Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2017-45, October 2017. [PDF]
- Henckaerts, M., and E. Debuf, “The ICRC and the Clarification of Customary International Humanitarian Law”, in B.D. Lepard (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 161-188.
- Henry, E., “Alleged Acquiescence of the International Community to Revisionist Claims of International Customary Law (with Special Reference to the Jus Contra Bellum Regime)”, Melbourne Journal of International Law, 18 (2017), No. 2. [e-article]
- Kelly, J.P., “Customary International Law in Historical Context: The Exercise of Power Without General Acceptance”, in B.D. Lepard (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 47-85. [PDF]
- Kleinlein, T., “Customary International Law and General Principles: Rethinking Their Relationship”, in B.D. Lepard (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 131-158.
- McGarry, B., “The Development of Custom in Territorial Dispute Settlement”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 8 (2017), No. 2, pp. 339-365.
- Meguro, M., “Customary International Law and Non-State Actors: Between Anthropomorphism and Artificial Unity” (Nov. 2017), in I. Scobbie and S. Droubi (eds), Non-State Actors and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Merkouris, P., "Interpreting the Customary Rules on Interpretation", International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 126-155.
- Miles, C.A., “Thoughts on Domestic Adjudication and the Identification and Formation of Customary International Law, Italian Yearbook of International Law, 27 (2017), pp. 133-149.
- Odermatt, J., “The Development of Customary International Law by International Organizations”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 66 (2017), No. 2, pp. 491-511. [e-article]
- Petersen, N., “The Role of Consent and Uncertainty in the Formation of Customary International Law”, in B.D. Lepard (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 111-130.
- Petersen, N., “The International Court of Justice and the Judicial Politics of Identifying Customary International Law”, European Journal of International Law, 28 (2017), No. 2, pp. 357-385. [e-article]
- Ramsey, M.D., “The Constitution's Text and Customary International Law" (Nov. 2017), San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-313; Georgetown Law Journal, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Scoville, R., “Egocentric Bias in Perceptions of Customary International Law”, in H.G. Cohen and T. Meyer (eds.), International Law As Behavior, Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming; Marquette Law School Legal Studies Paper No. 17-10, August 2017. [PDF]
- Tzevelekos, V.P., "Introductory Note: Beyond the Identification of International Customary Rules", International Community Law Review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 1-8.
- Worster, W.T., “The Presumption of Customary International Law: A Case Study of Child Statelessness”, Working Paper, Amsterdam Center for International Law, 2017. [PDF]
- Worster, W.T., “The Contribution to Customary International Law by Territories Under International Administration” (July 2017), in J. d'Aspremont and S. Droubi (eds.), International Organizations and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF]
- Yamashita, T., “Investors in the Formation of Customary International Law: An Insight from the 'Futility Exception' to the Local Remedies Rule in Investor-State Arbitration” (Dec. 2017), in I. Scobbie and S. Droubi (eds), Non-State Actors and the Formation of Customary International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2018, Forthcoming. [PDF].
2016 and before
- Customary International Law collection, European Journal of International Law, 1993-2015. [e-articles]
- Ambos, K., "Terrorism and Customary International Law", in B. Saul, Research Handbook on International Law and Terrorism, Cheltenham, Edward Elger, 2014, pp. 20-38.
- Bordin, F.L. "Reflections of Customary International Law: The Authority of Codification Conventions and ILC Draft Articles in International Law", International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 63 (2014), No. 3, pp. 535-567.
- Bradley, C.A., and G.M. Gulati, “Withdrawing from International Custom”, Yale Law Journal, 120 (2010), No. 2, pp. 202-275. [PDF]
- Bufalini, A., "The Principle of Legality and the Role of Customary International Law in the Interpretation of the ICC Statute", Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, 14 (2015), No. 2, pp. 233-254. [e-article]
- Chan, L., "The Dominance of the International Court of Justice in the Creation of Customary International Law", Southampton Student Law Review, 6 (2016), No. 1, pp. 44-71.
- Crootof, R., “Change Without Consent: How Customary International Law Modifies Treaties”, Yale Journal of International Law, 41 (2016), No. 2, pp. 237-299. [PDF]
- d'Aspremont, J., “International Customary Investment Law: Story of a Paradox”, Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2011-19; Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2011-08. [PDF]
- d'Aspremont, J., “The Decay of Modern Customary International Law in Spite of Scholarly Heroism”, Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence, (2015), pp. 9-29; Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2016-08; Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2016-18. [PDF]
- Dellapenna, J.W., "Customary International Law as the Rule of Decision in Human Rights Litigation in the US Courts", in S. Linton (et al.)(eds.), For the Sake of Present and Future Generations: Essays on International Law, Crime and Justice in Honour of Roger S. Clark, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2015, pp. 473-506.
- Dordeska, M., "The Process of International Law-Making: The Relationship between the International Court of Justice and the International Law Commission", The George University Law School, July, 2015. [PDF]
- Fon, V., and F. Parisi, “Stability and Change in International Customary Law”, George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 03-21, 2003. [PDF]
- Fry, J.D., "Formation of Customary International Law Through Consensus in International Organizations", Austrian Review of International and European Law, 17 (2015), pp. 49-82.
- Goldsmith, J.L., and E. Posner, "A Theory of Customary International Law", in B. Simmons, International law, Los Angeles, SAGE, 2008, pp. 135-150. [PDF]
- Gutierrez, N.C., and M. Gulati, “Custom in Our Courts: Reconciling Theory with Reality in the Debate about Erie Railroad and Customary International Law”, Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law, 27 (2016), No. 2, pp. 243-290. [e-article]
- Guzman, A.T., and T. Meyer, “Customary International Law in the 21st Century”, UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 984581, 2007. [PDF]
- Helfer, L.R., and I.B. Wuerth, “Customary International Law: An Instrument Choice Perspective”, Michigan Journal of International Law, 37 (2016), No. 4, pp. 563-609. [PDF]
- Kammerhofer, J., “Uncertainty in the Formal Sources of International Law: Customary International Law and Some of Its Problems”, European Journal of International Law, 15 (2004), No. 3, pp. 523-553. [PDF]
- Kirchmair, L., “What Came First: The Obligation or the Belief? - A Renaissance of Consensus Theory to Make the Normative Foundations of Customary International Law More Tangible”, German Yearbook of International Law, 59 (2016), pp. 289-319.
- Kyriakopoulos, G.D., "Formation of International Custom and the Role of Non-State Actors", in P. Pazartzis (et al.)(eds.), Reconceptualising the Rule of Law in Global Governance, Resources, Investment and Trade, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2016, pp. 43-58.
- Larsson, T., “Customary International Law: Developments Towards a Non-Consensual Source of International Law?”, Master Thesis, Uppsala University, 2014. [PDF]
- Lepard, B.D., “Customary International Law as a Dynamic Process”, in C.A. Bradley (ed.), Custom's Future: International Law in a Changing World, New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 62-94. [e-article]
- Mathias, S., “The Works of the International Law Commission on Identification of Customary International Law : A View from the Perspective of the Office of Legal Affairs”, Chinese Journal of International Law, 15 (2016), No. 1, pp, 17-31.
- Mejia-Lemos, D.G., "Some Considerations Regarding 'Instant International Customary Law', Fifty Years Later", Indian Journal of International Law, 55 (2015), No. 1, pp. 85-108.
- Mohamad, R., “Some Reflections on the International Law Commission Topic ‘Identification of Customary International Law’", Chinese Journal of International Law, 15 (2016), No. 1, pp, 41-46.
- Murphy, S.D., "Identification of Customary International Law and Other Topics: The Sixty-Seventh Session of the International Law Commission", American Journal of International Law, 109 (2015), No. 4, pp. 822-844.
- Ochoa, C., “The Individual and Customary International Law Formation”, Virginia Journal of International Law, 48 (2007), No. 1, pp. 119-186; Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 75. [PDF]
- Orrego Vicuna, F., "Customary International Law in Action: From the International Minimum Standard to Fair and Equitable Treatment", in H.Hestermeyer, Coexistence, Cooperation and Solidarity: Liber Amicorum Rüdiger Wolfrum, Leiden, Nijhoff, 2012, pp. 181-197.
- Parisi, F., and D. Pi, “The Emergence and Evolution of Customary International Law”, in E. Kontorovich and F. Parisi (eds.), Economic Analysis of International Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016, pp. 155-177.
- Petersen, N., “The Political Economy of Customary International Law”, in A. Fabbricotti (ed.), The Political Economy of International Law: A European Perspective, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016, pp. 47-61.
- Reinisch, A. and Bachmayer, P., "The Identification of Customary International Law by Austrian Courts", Austrian Review of International and European Law, 17 (2015), pp. 1-48.
- Roberts, A., "Traditional and Modern Approaches to Customary International Law: A Reconciliation", in Ch. Ku and P. Diehl, International law: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Boulder, CO, Lynne Rienner, 2009, pp. 49-75. [PDF]
- Scharf, M. P., "Accelerated Formation of Customary International Law", ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, 20 (2014), No. 2, pp. 305-341. [PDF]
- Sender, O.M., and M. Wood, “The Emergence of Customary International Law: Between Theory and Practice”, in C. Brölmann and Y. Radi (eds.), Research Handbook on the Theory and Practice of International Lawmaking, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016, pp. 133-159.
- Taki, H., "Opinio Juris and the Formation of Customary International Law: A Theoretical Analysis", German Yearbook of International Law, 51 (2008), pp. 447-466.
- Talmon, S., "Determining Customary International Law: the ICJ's Methodology between Induction, Deduction and Assertion", European Journal of International Law, 26 (2015), No. 2, pp. 417-443. [e-article]
- Tasioulas, J., “Customary International Law and the Quest for Global Justice”, in A. Perreau-Saussine and J. B. Murphy (eds.), The Nature of Customary Law: Legal, Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 307-335.
- Tomka, P., “Customary International Law in the Jurisprudence of the World Court: The Increasing Relevance of Codification”, in L. Lijnzaad and Council of Europe (eds.), The Judge and International Custom = Le juge et la coutume internationale, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2016, pp. 1-24. [PDF]
- Treves, T., and X. Hinrichs, “The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Customary International Law”, in L. Lijnzaad and Council of Europe (eds.), The Judge and International Custom = Le juge et la coutume internationale, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2016, pp. 25-45. [PDF]
- Verdier, P-H., and E. Voeten, Precedent Compliance, and Change in Customary International Law: An Explanatory Theory, American Journal of International law, 108 (2014), No. 3, pp. 389-434. [PDF]
- Voyiakis, E., “A Disaggregative View of Customary International Law-Making”, Leiden Journal of International Law, 29 (2016), No. 2, pp, 365-388.
- Wood, M., "Do International Organizations Enjoy Immunity under Customary International Law?", International Organizations Law Review, 10 (2013), No. 2, pp. 287-318.
- Wood, M., 2014 Jonathan J. Charney Distinguished Lecture in Public International Law: “International Organizations and Customary International Law”, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 48 (2015), No. 3, pp. 609-620.
- Wood, M., “The Current Work of the International Law Commission and the Role of Judges in Relation to International Custom”, in L. Lijnzaad and Council of Europe (eds.), The Judge and International Custom = Le juge et la coutume internationale, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2016, pp. 180-189. [PDF]
- Yee, S., "Report on the ILC Project on "Identification of Customary International Law", Chinese Journal of International Law, 14 (2015), No. 2, pp. 375-398.
Documents
- International Law Association, Final Report of the Committee on Formation of Customary (General) International Law, London Conference (2000).
- International Law Commission, Formation and Evidence of Customary International Law, Note by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/653 (2012).
- International Law Commission, First Report on Formation and Evidence of Customary International Law, by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/663 (2013).
- International Law Commission, Second Report on Identification of Customary International Law, by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/672 (2014).
- International Law Commission, Third Report on Identification of Customary International Law, by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/682 (2015).
- International Law Commission, Fourth Report on Identification of Customary International Law, by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/695 (2016).
- International Law Commission, Fifth Report on Identification of Customary International Law, by M. Wood, Special Rapporteur, UN Doc. A/CN.4/717 (2018).
- International Law Commission, The Role of Decisions of National Courts in the Case-law of International Courts and Tribunals of a Universal Character for the Purpose of the Determination of Customary International Law, Memorandum by the Secretariat, UN Doc. A/CN.4/691 (2016).
- International Law Commission, Report on the Work of the Sixty-Eighth Session, Chapter. V: Identification of Customary International Law (draft conclusions), UN Doc. A/71/10 (2016).
- International Law Commission, Report on the Work of the Seventieth Session, Chapter. V: Identification of Customary International Law (draft conclusions with commentaries), UN Doc. A/73/10 (2018).
Bibliographies
- Buisman, H.P.C., Customary international law: selective bibliography for the 70th session of the International Law Commission, The Hague, Peace Palace Library, 2017.
- Buisman, H.P.C., Selective Bibliography "Customary International Law & State Practice of France, Germany and the Netherlands", The Hague, Peace Palace Library, 2017.
- Wood, M. (International Law Commission), Fourth Report on Identification of Customary International Law: Addendum (Annex II. Identification of Customary International Law: Bibliography), UN Doc. A/CN.4/695/Add. 1 (2016).
- Wood, M. (International Law Commission), Fifth Report on Identification of Customary International Law: Addendum (Annex II. Identification of Customary International Law: Bibliography), UN Doc. A/CN.4/717/Add. 1 (2018).
Systematic classification → Customary international law
New titles
Librarian's choice
Staubach, P.G., The Rule of Unwritten International Law: Customary Law, General Principles, and World Order, New York, NY, Routledge, 2018.
View this title in our discovery serviceThis book seeks to re-appreciate the concept of customary international law as a form of spontaneous societal self-organisation, and to develop the methodological consequences that ensue from this conception for the practice of its application. In pursuing this aim, the author draws from three different strands of scholarship that have not yet been considered in connection with one another: First, general jurisprudential theories of customary law; second, theories of customary international law, especially as they relate to international relations scholarship; and third, methodological approaches to the interpretation of international law. This expansive, philosophical layout of the book enables the author to put the conceptual enigmas of customary international law into a broader perspective.
Heieck, J., A Duty to Prevent Genocide : Due Diligence Obligations Among the P5, Cheltenham, Edward Elger, 2018.
View this title in our discovery serviceThe permanent five (P5) members of the United Nations Security Council have a firm duty to prevent genocide in light of the due diligence standard under conventional, customary, and peremptory international law. This perceptive book explores the positive obligations of these states to act both within and without the Security Council context to prevent or suppress imminent or ongoing genocide. The author successfully argues why the duty to prevent genocide is not only a customary, but also an absolute norm of international law, and analyses the scope of the due diligence standard regarding the duty to prevent genocide. In doing so, he considers the ramifications of this on the actions of the P5 members of the Security Council, both inside and outside of this eminent body. Significantly, Heieck proposes a legal test for identifying jus cogens norms, and explores the effect of these on the actions and omissions of specifically identified members of the United Nations (UN). Topical and insightful, A Duty to Prevent Genocide will be an important read for both academics and students of international law and politics who wish to further understand the legal nature of the duty of the P5 members to prevent genocide. It will also provide valuable insights for policy makers of the P5 Member States.
Rauter, T., Judicial Practice, Customary International Criminal Law and Nullum Crimen Sine Lege, Cham, Springer, 2017.
View this title in our discovery serviceThis study analyzes the methods used by international criminal tribunals when determining customary international criminal law and to consider the compatibility of these approaches with the nullum crimen sine lege principle. In this context, the following research questions are of particular importance: Is there one approach common to all international criminal tribunals when determining customary international law? Do international criminal tribunals regard both traditional elements of customary international law - State practice and opinio iuris - as necessary elements for the establishment of customary international law? Do international criminal tribunals argue along the lines of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), requiring a high frequency and consistency of State practice that is both "extensive and virtually uniform"? In addition, the book analyzes the evidence used by international criminal tribunals in order to establish the constituent elements of customary international. It then poses the question: Do international criminal tribunals distinguish, as defined by Schwarzenberger, between the "law-creating processes" of public international law on the one hand, and the "law-determining agencies" as a subsidiary means of determining rule of law on the other? Assuming that they exist, how can different methodological approaches to determine customary international law be assessed in light of the nullum crimen sine lege principle? Does the principle require judges to apply the traditional method to establish customary international law as being based on extensive, uniform and enduring State practice accompanied by opinio iuris? Can the principle balance the desire for justice and the specificities of law creation of the international legal order with fairness for the accused? How can the law be accessible and criminal punishment foreseeable, when the underlying legal basis for criminal convictions, namely customary international criminal law, is unwritten in nature?
Lepard, B.D. (ed.), Reexamining Customary International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
View this title in our discovery serviceTis book takes on the complex issues and controversies surrounding the history, theory, and practice of customary international law as it reexamines customary law's increasingly important role in world affairs. It incorporates the expertise of distinguished authors to probe many difficult issues that remain unresolved concerning the doctrine of customary law. At the same time, this book engages in a profound exploration of the practical role of customary international law in a variety of important fields, including humanitarian law, human rights law, and air and space law.
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Happy Retirement Ingrid!
[On the retirement of our curator Ingrid Kost; blog in Dutch] Vandaag 15 januari 2015 is een memorabele dag voor de bibliotheek van het Vredespaleis. Wij nemen na 39 jaar afscheid van onze collega Ingrid Kost. Zij zal genieten van een welverdiend pensioen. Tijd om andere dingen te gaan doen, zoals oppassen op de kleinkinderen en bijenhouden. Wij zullen haar deerlijk missen als collega en als mens. Alvorens vandaag afscheid te nemen, spraken wij met haar en haalden herinneringen op.
Read moreConference about ICJ's judgment in the case between Nicaragua and the USA
In 1986, the International Court of Justice issued its judgment on the merits in a dispute between Nicaragua and the United States of America. Twenty-five years later, members of the legal teams of both Nicaragua and the United States faced each other once again in the Peace Palace.
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Links
- Globalex Guide on Customary International Law, by Silke Sahl and updated by Catherine Deane.
- Analytical Guide to the Work of the International Law Commission: Identification of Customary International Law.
- Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries, Research guide on Customary International Law by Elizabeth Wells, 2016.