In previous stages of the development of international law, rules were often drawn from municipal law. ![]() In view of the limitations of treaties or custom as sources of international law, Article 38(1) could be looked upon as a directive to the Court to fill any gap within the law and stop a non-liquet (a state of lawlessness) by reference to the general principles. The extent of general principles of law, to which Article 38(1) of the Statute of the ICJ refers, is unclear and controversial but may include such legal principles that are common to a sizable number of systems of municipal law. They account for essential rules for the very functioning of the system and, as such, are incorporated from the legal reasoning of those authorized to take legal decisions in the process of applying the law, notably the judiciary. Nevertheless, general principles of law are considered to be part of positive law, even if they are only used as additional tools. As opposed to other types of rules such as enacted law or agreements, general principles of law have not been proposed according to the formal sources of law. General principles of law are basic rules whose content is very general and speculative, sometimes boiled down to a maxim or a simple concept. From the prescriptive perspective, they are norms, belonging to legal language, hopefully facilitating a holistic interpretation of the (international) legal system in a unitary way. ![]() From the descriptive perspective, they are abstractions from norms, belonging to legal meta-language, helpful in understanding the (international) legal system or parts of it. The ‘general principles’ can be regarded either as a descriptive or a prescriptive concept. This article discusses the General Principles of International Law and helps understand its functionalities as a source of International Law. Nagwekar,a student of Karnataka State Law University’s Law School.
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