Subjects of international law

The subjects of a legal system are those upon whom the law bestows, or in whom it recognizes, a capacity to act. In international law these include states, international organizations and certain other entities such as the Vatican.

The personality of a subject of international law is the measure ofits capacity to act. Some subjects have, like individuals in national law, the full measure of legal personality. These are the fully sovereign states and independent states. Others, like companies in national law, have only such personality as has been specially accorded to them.

States with the full capacity to act, or in other words with full international personality, are sovereign. They are able to take any ac­tion they think fit which is not prohibited by international law so long as it does not interfere with the rights of other states.

Within these limits a fully sovereign state has complete freedom of action to deal with its own nationals (personal sovereignty) and with its own territory (territorial sovereignty), to make use of the public domain (the high seas, the air beyond the territory of states, and outer space): to enter into legal relations with other states: to demand respect for its nationals abroad and to become a member of all international organizations of universal vocation. In former times it included the right to make war: today all that remains is the right to use force in certain circumstances, and the right to remain neutral in armed conflicts be­tween other subjects of international law.

The equality of states is a general principle of international law. It is a necessary corollary of the concepts of sovereignty and independence of states. However, it is only the legal equality, or equality before the law, which is in question. States are, of course, not equal in fact. The general consequence is that each state is entitled to equal treatment under the law. One specific consequence ofthe equality ofstates is that each state is entitled to the same voting rights in international confer­ences and international organizations unless they agree to accept some ­other system.

Recognition is a political act with legal consequences. No state has a duty to recognize another state or its government: no state or gov­ernment has the right to be recognized. Recognition of a state must be distinguished from recognition of the government of a state. A state, once recognized, does not itself require to be recognized by newly formed states. The question of recog­nition is important only for the latter.

 

 

6. Answer the questions to the text.

 

1. What are the subjects of international law?

2. Which subjects of international law have the full measure of legal personality?

3. What states can be called sovereign?

4. What are the basic rights of a fully sovereign state?

5. What does the general principle of the equality of states imply?

6. Why must recognition of a state be distinguished from recognition of the government of a state?

 

7. Find in the text English equivalents for the following.

 

Личность субъекта международного права; правосубъектность; иметь полную свободу действий; вступать в правовые отношения с другими государствами; право применять силу при определенных условиях; иметь равные права перед законом; право голоса; вооруженный конфликт; право вести войну.

 

8. Paraphrase the text replacing the parts in italics by synonyms.

 

During the armed rebellion, or as the result of war, the recognized government may lose effective control over part of its territory. It may then happen that some states recognize one authority and some the other as the sole government of the state, as, for example, in the cases of Germany and Vietnam. It is probably not possible for one state to recognize two governments in the same state without whereby recognizing two separate states unless the second body is recognized de facto, or as in insurgent or belligerent.

During war-time, or in other exceptional circumstances, governments may be recognized while yet being unable by force majeure to operate within, let alone control, the territory of the state. Such a government is nevertheless considered by the recognizing state able to represent and enter into undertakings on behalf of the whole state, since it is assumed that these will be honoured once the government resumes control of its territory. It is thus enabled to speak for and exercise public authority over its nationals outside the territory of the state, and in particular within the territory of the recognizing state.

 

9. Match the words/expressions on the left with their opposites on the right.

 

1. foreign (policy) a) answer

2. the internal (affairs) b) presence

3. to permit c) to defend

4. in general d) defendant

5. absence e) external

6. plaintiff f) in particular

7. to prosecute g) to forbid

8. question h) home, domestic

 

TEST II

 

1. Read the extracts from the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 1975 Summit, Helsinki, and make a summary of each principle of international law.