SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Apart from Treaty and Customs, the Statute of International Court of Justice (ICJ) under its article 38 (1) mentions some other sources of international law. Treaty represents state consensus and custom are referred to as laws which are practiced by the states and which later evolve as a customary law. Both are formal sources of international law, whereas, there are various other informal, material and evidential sources mentioned in the Statute.

The General Principles of law in Article 38 (1) of ICJ Statute refers to those legal principles which exist in all or most domestic systems of law. Its purpose is to fill in the gaps left by the treaty and customs i.e. to apply principles which do not have their origin in either treaty or custom. For example India and Pakistan agreed on the general principle of the law and in front of the  arbitrator on  the  basis of  the  principle of  equity-principles of  equity are  considered to constitute a part of international law and rely on fairness and justice, and which have been applied by the ICJ and other international judicial bodies and it has resolved law of the sea disputes. Similarly, the Islamic concept of International law also includes the customary norms relating to prisoners and the treatment of prisoners after the war.