public international law

Definition

A clause frequently included in bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") which provides that a host state shall treat all of its trading partners equally. Under such a clause, if the host state lowers a tariff for one trading partner, it must lower it for all trading partners.

Bilateral investment treaties (or, BITs) are international agreements establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state. 

Self-determination denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order.  Self-determination is a core principle of international law, arising from customary international law, but also recognized as a general principle of law, and enshrined in a number of international treaties.  For instance, self-determination is protected in the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a right of “all peoples.” 

uti possidetis juris (UPJ) is a principle of customary international law that serves to preserve the boundaries of colonies emerging as States.  Originally applied to establish the boundaries of decolonized territories in Latin America, UPJ has become a rule of wider application, notably in Africa.  The policy behind the principle has been explained by the International Court of Justice in the Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Mali) Case: 

In customary international law, opinio juris is the second element (along with state practice) necessary to establish a legally binding custom.  Opinio juris denotes a subjective obligation, a sense on behalf of a state that it is bound to the law in question.  See ICJ Statute, Article 38(1)(b) (the custom to be applied must be "accepted as law").  

Customary international law refers to international obligations arising from established state practice, as opposed to obligations arising from formal written international treaties.  According to Article 38(1)(b) of the ICJ Statute, customary international law is one of the sources of international law.  Customary international law can be established by showing (1) state practice and (2) [[wex:opinio juris (inter

International humanitarian law (law of war) is a field of international law regulating armed conflict between states, and more recently, between states and informal groups and individuals.  See Jean Pictet, Development and Principles of International Humanitarian Law (1985).  International humanitarian law governs both the legality of justifications for war (jus ad bellum, or when states can resort to war) and the legality of wartime conduct (jus in bello, or how states must behave themselves during war).

In international law, recognition is the process of formally acknowledging the legal existence of a state or government.  See Christopher Joyner, International Law in the 21st Century 47 (2005). 

See Also:

• Statehood (international law)

The attributes of statehood under international law have traditionally been considered the following:  territory; population; recognition by other states.  See Ian Brownlie, Principles of Public International Law 83-85 (5th ed., Oxford, 1998); Hans Kelsen, Principles of International Law 206-207 (1952).  Previously the 'elements' of statehood required: (1) territory; (2) population; (3) government.  Georg Jellinek, General Theor