New sources of public international law

Abstract

The study of emerging sources in public international law—namely unilateral acts of states and decisions of international organizations-has received significant attention from scholars of international law when examining Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. This is because the article does not explicitly mention either of these as recognized sources, despite their considerable importance and their role in the formation and determination of international legal rules.

However, legal scholars remain divided between supporters and opponents regarding whether such acts should be considered formal sources of public international law. This debate persists despite the ability of these acts to create general and abstract legal rules (in the case of unilateral acts of states), or to contribute-through other sources-to the formation, identification, and clarification of legal rules (in the case of decisions of international organizations).