Law 2101 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Implied Powers, Montevideo Convention, Territorial Entity
The concept of personality in international law:
Main capacities of an international legal person:
1. Claims before international (and national) tribunals in order to vindicate rights
given by international law.
2. Subject to some or all of the obligations imposed by international law.
3. Power to make valid international agreements binding in international law.
4. Immunities from the jurisdiction of the national courts of other states.
There are two types of personality in international law:
• Original Personality: belongs to states once they satisfy the criteria of statehood
• Derived Personality: flows from the recognition by states that other entities
may have some competence in the field of international law.
The ICJ stated (in Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (WHO
Case), 1996) that ‘international organizations are subjects of international law which do not,
unlike states, possess a general competence. International organizations … are invested by
the states which create them with powers, the limits of which are a function of the common
interests whose promotion those states entrust to them.’ (This is a clear example of ‘derived
personality’)
The subjects of international law:
• States: States are the most important and most powerful subjects of international
law. Criteria of statehood (Art. 1 Montevideo Convention)
a) A Permanent Population
b) A Defined Territory
c) A Government
d) The Capacity to Enter into Legal Relations: A territory cannot be regarded as
a state so long as it is under the control, direct or indirect, of another state.
The Manner of Attainment of Capacity to Enter into Legal Relations:
(a) If the territory or ethnic group declaring factual independence is able to claim
the right of self-determination, sufficient to attain legal independence and
“statehood” (ex: former colonial, whether or not with the assent of the
former colonial power). Right of secession.
(b) If a territory satisfies the factual criteria of statehood but also violates one
of these general principles, it may not be recognised as a state by others.
Document Summary
The icj stated (in opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons (who. Case), 1996) that international organizations are subjects of international law which do not, unlike states, possess a general competence. International organizations are invested by the states which create them with powers, the limits of which are a function of the common interests whose promotion those states entrust to them. " (this is a clear example of derived personality") The subjects of international law: states: states are the most important and most powerful subjects of international law. The manner of attainment of capacity to enter into legal relations: (a) if the territory or ethnic group declaring factual independence is able to claim the right of self-determination, sufficient to attain legal independence and. Statehood (ex: former colonial, whether or not with the assent of the former colonial power).
