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Public International Law

Public international law governs the relationships between national governments and intergovernmental organizations. It regulates governments and intergovernmental organizations across national boundaries. The sources of international law (authority based on Article 38 of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Statute) are:

• international conventions (treaties);
• customary law (general practice of states and intergovernmental institutions that are legally binding and generally recognized by all states);
• general principles of law; and
• jurisprudence and the teachings of eminent international law scholars, as a subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.

Research Tip
For more information about the sources of public international law, take a look at one of the classic international law treatises.