Subjects of International Law
Introduction
Subjects of International Law can be described as those persons or entities who possess international personality. Throughout the 19th century, only States qualified as subjects of international law. After, the Second World War, more and more new actors emerged in the international legal arena such as the intergovernmental organizations created by States, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) created by individuals, multinationals and even natural persons (i.e. individuals). These can now be considered as having to a large or sometimes limited extend the capacity to become international persons.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on Subjects of International Law. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's systematic classification → Subjects of international law and subject heading (subject heading Subjects of International Law is instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. 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
- Dunoff, J.L., S.R. Ratner and D. Wippman, International Law: Norms, Actors, Process: A Problem-Oriented Approach, New York, NY, Wolters Kluwer, 2010.
- Portmann, R., Legal Personality in International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- Szazi, E., NGOs: Legitimate Subjects of International Law, Leiden, Leiden University Press, 2012.
- Talavera, F.N., L.García-Corrochano Moyano, Derecho Internacional Público, T. II: Sujetos de Derecho Internacional, San Miguel, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Fondo Editorial, Vol. II, 1*, 2001. Centennial donation by the Embassy of Peru
- Talavera, F.N., L.García-Corrochano Moyano, Derecho Internacional Público, T. II: Sujetos de Derecho Internacional, San Miguel, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Fondo Editorial, *Vol. II, 2*, 2002. Centennial donation by the Embassy of Peru.
Books
- Bergmann, N., Versinkende Inselstaaten: Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die Staatlichkeit kleiner Inselstaaten, Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 2016.
- French, D., Statehood and Self-Determination: Reconciling Tradition and Modernity in International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- Harel Ben-Ari, R., The Legal Status of International Non-Governmental Organizations: Analysis of Past and Present Initiatives (1912-2012), Leiden, Nijhoff, 2013.
- Kettemann, M.C., The Future of Individuals in International Law: Lessons From International Internet Law, The Hague, Eleven International Publishing, 2013.
- Kjeldgaard-Pedersen, A., The international legal personality of the individual, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Saganek, P., Unilateral Acts of States in Public International Law, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2016.
- San-Akca, B., States in Disguise: Causes of State Support for Rebel Groups, New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Summers, J., Peoples and International Law, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2014.
Leading articles
- Acquaviva, G., "Subjects of International Law: a Power-Based Analysis", Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 38 (2005), No. 2, pp. 345-396.
- 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.
- Chetail, V., "The Legal Personality of Multinational Corporations, State Responsibility and Due Diligence: the Way Forward", Unity and Diversity of International Law / Essays in Honour of Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Leiden, Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2014.
- Dieng, A., "The Value of Customary International Law in the Light of the Recent Emergence of Non-State Actors as Subjects of International Law", African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (2007), pp. 166-171.
- González Napolitano, S.S., Sujetos del Derecho Internacional, in: Lecciones de Derecho Internacional Público, Buenos Aires : Errepar S.A, 2015.
- Guliyev, K., "Local Custom in International Law: Something in between General Custom and Treaty", International community law review, 19 (2017), No. 1, pp. 47-67.
- Lauterpacht, H., "The Subjects of International Law", Non-State Actors and International Law, Farngate, Ashgate, 2009, pp. 3-17.
- "Le droit des organisations internationales: modèle et moteur du droit international", Archiv des Völkerrechts, 53 (2015), No. 3, pp. 390-399.
- Lyon, a., "The Principality of Sealand, and It's Case for Sovereign Recognition", Emory International Law Review, volume 29, issue 3, pp. 637 - 671, 2015.
- McCorquodale, R., "The Individual and the International Legal System", International Law, Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 280-305.
- Meijknecht, A.K., "Are Minorities Subjects of International Law?", Law and Cultural Diversity, Utrecht, SIM, 1999, pp. 95-118.
- Schusterschitz, G., "European Agencies as Subjects of International Law", International Organisations Law Review, 1 (2004), No. 1, pp. 163-188.
- Tzeng, P., "The State's Right to Property under International Law", Yale law journal, 125 (2016), No. 6, pp. 1805-1819.
- "Le droit des organisations internationales: modèle et moteur du droit international", Archiv des Völkerrechts, 53 (2015), No. 3, pp. 390-399.
Systematic classification → Subjects of international law
New titles
Librarian's choice
Summers, J., Gough, A., (ed.), Non-State Actors and International Obligations : Creation, Evolution and Enforcement, Boston, Brill, 2018. [e-book]
View this title in our discovery serviceNon-State Actors and International Obligations examines the contribution and relevance of non-state actors in the creation and implementation of international obligations. These actors have traditionally been marginalised within international law and ambiguities remain over their precise role. Nonetheless, they have become increasingly important in legal regimes as participants in their implementation and enforcement, and as potential holders of duties themselves. Chapters from academics and practitioners investigate different aspects of this relationship, including the sources of obligations, their implementation, human rights aspects, dispute settlement, responsibility and legal accountability.
Kjeldgaard-Pedersen, A., The International Legal Personality of the Individual, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018.
View this title in our discovery serviceThe first monograph to offer a comprehensive study of the relationship between international legal personality as a theoretical construct and the way in which individuals have been taken into account in the practice of international law
Identifies and explains the four main theoretical conceptions of international legal personality and relates each of them to the question of the distinction between international and domestic legal norms
Provides a comprehensive and easily accessible overview of how individuals have been taken into account in international law as a matter of positive norms.
Challenges the existing narrative concerning the development of the role of the individual in the international legal system
Database
Blogs
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