A.

General Principles

1. Nature and Scope

TRADITIONAL CONCEPT – A BODY OF RULES AND PRICIPLE OF ACTIONS WHICH ARE BINDING UPON
CIVILIZED STATES IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
MODERN CONCEPT – INTERNATIONAL LAW IS THE BODY OF LEGAL RULES BETWEEN SOVEREIGN STATES
AND SUCH OTHER ENTITIES AS HAVE BEEN GIVEN INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY(SCHWARZENBERGER)
JEREMY BENTHAM – COINED THE TERM “INTERNATIONAL LAW”

2. Divisions
THE GRAND DIVISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ARE, THE LAWS OF PEACE, LAWS OF WAR AND LAWS
OF NEUTRALITY

3. Distinctions, Relations to other Law

A.
1. MUNICIPAL LAW is issued by a political superior for observance by those under its authority
INTERNATIONAL LAW Is not imposed upon but simply adopted by states as a common rule of action
among themselves.
2. ML is consists mainly of enactments from the law-making authority of each state. IL is derived not
from any particular legislation but from sources as international custom, international conventions and
the general principles of law.
3. ML regulates the relations of individuals among themselves or with their own states. IL applies to the
relations inter se of states and other international persons.
4. Violations of the ML are redressed through local administration and judicial process. Questions of IL
are resolved through state-to state transactions ranging from peaceful methods like negotiations and
arbitration to the hostile arbitrament of like reprisals and even war.
5. Breaches of ML generally entail only individual responsibility. Responsibility of infraction of IL is
usually collective in the sense that it attaches directly to the state and not to its nationals.

B. TWO THEORIES AS TO MANNER OF ADOPTING INTERNATIONAL LAW AS PART OF THE LAW OF THE
LOCAL STATE
1. DOCTRINE OF INCORPORATION - International laws are adopted as part of a state’s municipal law, by
affirming their recognition of the principles of international law in their constitutions.
2. DOCTRINE OF TRANSFORMATION - Generally accepted rules of international law are not per se
binding upon the state but must first be embodied in legislation enacted by the law-making body and so
transformed into municipal law.

4. Basis
A. Naturalist school of thought- there is a natural and universal principle of right and wrong,
independent of any mutual intercourse or compact, which is supposed to be discovered and
recognized by every individual through the use of his reason and his conscience(LAW OF NATURE).
B. Positivists- contend that the binding force of international law is derived from the agreement of
sovereign states to be bound by it (CONSENT OF STATES)
C. Eclectics or Grotians- both the law of nature and the consent of states as the basis of international
law.

HUGO GROTIUS – FATHER OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

5. Sanctions and Enforcement
The enforcement mechanism most in the news in recent years is the United Nations Security Council,
acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Under the provisions of that Chapter, the Security Council
may determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, and
may impose mandatory sanctions to try to rectify the situation. The sanctions may be economic (such as
a trade embargo against a country threatening the peace), diplomatic (such as severance of diplomatic
relations) or military (the use of armed force to maintain or restore international peace and security)

6. FUNCTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

1. To establish peace and order in the community of nations and to prevent the employment of force,
including war, in all international relations
2. It strives as well to promote world friendship by levelling the barriers, as of color or creed, that have
so far obstructed the fostering of a closer understanding in the family of nations.
3. To encourage and ensure greater international cooperation in the solution of certain common
problems of a political, economic, cultural or humanitarian character.
4. Aims to provide for the orderly management of the relations of states on the basis of the substantive
rules they have agreed to observe as members of the international community.

B. Sources of International Law

1. Primary/ direct sources

a. Treaties/conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the
contesting states
b. International customs- a practice which has grown up between states and has come to be accepted
as binding the mere fact of persistent usage over a long period of time.
c. General principles of law recognized by civilized nations- the general principles of law are mostly
derived from the law of nature and observed by the majority of states because they believed to be good
and just.
2. Secondary/ indirect sources
a. Decisions of courts- art 38 of the statute of ICJ does not distinguish between those rendered by
international tribunals and those promulgated only by national courts
b. Writing of publicists-must also be, to qualify as such, a fair and unbiased representation of
international law, and by an acknowledged authority in the field.

C. The International Community

The body of juridical entities which are governed by law of nation. Modern concept- it is composed not
only of states but also of such other international persons

1. Subject and Object Distinguished - SUBJECT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW- is the entity that has
rights and responsibilities under international law. It has an international personality, in that it can
directly assert rights and be held directly responsible under the law of nations. OBJECT OF THE
INTERNATIONAL LAW- is the person or thing in respect of which, rights are held and obligations assumed
by the subject.
a. States
Common definition - is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a
definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants
render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.
International Law concept - a group of people living together in a definite territory under the
independent government organized for political ends and capable of entering into international
relations.

ELEMENTS:
1. A permanent population- Human being living within its territory
2. Defined territory- fixed portion of the surface of the earth in which the people of the state reside
3. Government- agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed and realized.
4. Sovereignty or independence- external aspect or manifestation of sovereignty, that is, the power of
the state to direct its own external affairs without interference or dictation from other states.
CLASSIFICATION OF STATES
INDEPENDENT STATES - one which is not subject to dictation from others with respect to external affairs
a. Simple States- one which is placed under a single and centralized government exercising
power over both its internal and external affairs
b. Composites States- two or more states, each with its own separate government but bound
under a central authority exercising, to a greater or less degree, control over their external
relations.
1. Real union - created when two or more states are merged under a unified authority
so that they form a single international person through which they act as one entity.
2. Federal union- is a combination of two or more sovereign states which upon merger
cease to be states, resulting in the creation of a new state with full international
personality to represent them in their external relations as well as a certain degree of
power over their domestic affairs and their inhabitants.
3. Confederation- is an organization of states which retain their internal sovereignty
and, to some degree, their external sovereignty, while delegating to the collective body
power to represent them as a whole for certain limited and specified purposes.
4. Personal union- comes into being when two or more independent states are brought
together under the rule of the same monarch, who nevertheless does not become one
international persons for the purpose of representing any or all of them.
5. Incorporate union- two or more states under a central authority empowered to
direct both their external and internal affairs and possessed of a separate international
personality.
DEPENDENT STATES - An entity which, although theoretically a state, does not have full freedom in the
direction of its external affairs. It falls into two general categories:
a. Protectorate- which is established at the request of the weaker state for the
protection by string power
b. Suzerainty- which is a result of a concession from a states to a former colony that is
allowed to be independent subject to the retention by the former sovereign of certain
power over the external affairs of the latter.
b. The United Nations(for further discussion on the next chapter)
c. The Vatican City
1. A permanent population - 825 (2019)
2. Defined territory - 0.44 km²
3. Government - The Holy See, which translates to the Church having the ‘seat of government’.
It is a monarchy in which the Pope is the ‘king’, with the Pope themselves being voted in by the
College of Cardinals. The Pope is in control of executive, legislative, and judicial power over the
city, but due to their large expanse of duties, delegation is necessary.
 4. Sovereignty or independence - The Vatican City became an independent city-state on the
11th February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty signed by the Holy See and the Italian government.
d. Colonies and Dependencies
A colony or a dependency is part and parcel of the parent state, through which all its external
relations are transacted with other states. As such, therefore, it has no legal standing in the
family of nations. Nevertheless, such entities have been allowed on occasion to participate in
their own right in international undertaking and granted practically the status of a sovereign
state.
e. Mandates and Trust Territories
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the
control of one country to another following World War I. United Nations trust territories were
the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the
League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946.
The Mandate system, established by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in conjunction
with the League of Nations under Article 22 of the Covenant, was replaced after World War II by
the International Trusteeship System, established under Chapters XII and XIII of the United
Nations (UN) Charter
f. Belligerent Communities
A belligerent community may not be a sovereign state, but it has a government capable of
exercising rights and fulfilling duties provided for by the law of nations.
g. International Administrative Bodies
Created by agreement among states may be vested with international personality when two
conditions concur, to wit, that their purposes are mainly non-political and that they are
autonomous.
h. Individuals
The traditional concept of international law is that States are the sole subjects of international
law and that the individual is the object. The contemporary approach is that the individual is an
original subject of international law and the owner of international individual rights.

D. The United Nations

(Please refer to the UN Charter)

E. The Concept of the State

1. Creation and Extinction
Creation of State
 Revolution
 Unification
 secession
 assertion of independence
 agreement
 attainment of civilization
Extinction of State
 extinction or emigration en masse of its population
 loss of territory
 overthrow of government resulting in anarchy
2. Principle of State Continuity
The state continues as juristic being notwithstanding changes in its circumstances, provided only
that they do not result in loss of any of its essential elements.
3. State and Government Succession
Succession of State - Takes place when one state assumes the rights and some of the obligations
of another because of certain changes in the condition of the latter.
Succession of Government – Where the government replaces another either peacefully or by
violent methods. In both instances, the integrity of the state is not affected; the state continues
as the same international person except only that its lawful representative is changed.
The general rule is that the rights of the predecessor government are concerned; they
are inherited in “toto” by the successor government.
Where the new government was organized by virtue of a constitutional reform
duly ratified in plebiscite, the obligations of the replaced government are
completely assumed by the former.
Where the new government was established through violence as by a
revolution, it may lawfully reject the purely personal or political obligations of
the predecessor government but not contracted by it in the ordinary course of
official business.
4. Consequence of State Succession
a. Allegiance of the inhabitants of the predecessor state in the territory affected is transferred to
the successor state. They are also naturalized en masse
b. Political laws of the former are automatically abrogated and may be restored only by a positive
act on the part of the new sovereign. But nonpolitical laws, such as those dealing with family
relations, are deemed continued unless they are changed by the new sovereign or are contrary
to the institution of the successor state.
c. Treaties of a political and even commercial nature, as well as treaties of extradition, are also
discontinued, except those dealing with local rights and duties, such as those establishing
easement and servitudes.
d. All the rights of the predecessor state are inherited by the successor state, but this is not so
where liabilities are concerned.
F. Recognition
It is an act by which a state acknowledges the existence of another state, government, or
belligerent communities and indicates it willingness to deal with such entity under the rules of
international law.
 Recognition of a state- held irrevocable and imports the recognition of the government.
o Declaratory (majority view) merely affirms the pre-existing fact that the entity
being recognized already possess the status of an international persons (political
and discretionary). Constitutive (minority view) it is last indispensable element
that converts or constitutes the entity being recognized into an international
person (mandatory and legal)
 Recognition of a government- may be withdrawn and does not necessary signify the
existence of a state as the government may be that of a mere colony.
o Doctrines of Recognition of Government
WILSON/ TOBAR DOCTRINE This precludes recognition of the government
established by revolution, civil war, coup d’etat or other form of internal
 violence until the freely elected representatives of the people have recognized a
constitutional government
2. KELSEN DOCTRINE - A states violates international law and thus infringes
upon the rights of other states if it recognizes as a state a community which
does not fulfil the requirements of international law
3. BETANCOURT DOCTRINE - This came as a reflection of Venezuelan president
Romulo Betancourt’s antipathy for non-democratic rule, which denied
diplomatic recognition to any regime, right or left, which came to power by
military force.
4. LAUTERPACHT DOCTRINE - It is the recognition of an entity which is not
legally a state is wrong because it constitutes as abuse of the power of
recognition. It acknowledges a community which is not in law, independent and
which does not therefore fulfil the essential conditions of statehood as an
independent state. It is, accordingly, a recognition which an international
tribunal declare not only to constitute a wrong but probably also to be itself
invalid.
5. STIMSON DOCTRINE - This precludes recognition of any government
established as a result of external aggression
6. ESTRADA DOCTRINE - This refers to dealing or not dealing with the
government established through a political upheaval is not a judgement on the
legitimacy of the said government.
 Recognition of belligerency- does not produce the same effect as the recognition of
states and government because the rebels are accorded international personality only in
connection with the hostilities they are waging.
1. there must be an organized civil government directing the rebel forces
2. the rebels must occupy a substantial portion of the territory of the state
3. the conflict between the legitimate government and the rebels must be
serious, making the outcome uncertain.
4. The rebels must be willing and able to observe the laws of war.

G. Right of Existence and Self Defense

The right to self defense is the most comprehensive right of the state as all other rights flow
from it. State may take measures including the use of force as may be necessary to counteract
any danger to its existence.

Article 51 of the UN Charter

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective
self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the
Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and
security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall
be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the
authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at
any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international
peace and security.
 Article 52 of the UN Charter
1. Nothing in the present Charter precludes the existence of regional arrangements or
agencies for dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance of international
peace and security as are appropriate for regional action provided that such
arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the Purposes and
Principles of the United Nations.
Aggression - use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and political independence of other state.

H. Right of Sovereignty and Independence

Supreme, uncontrollable power inherent in a state, the supreme power of the state to
command and enforce obedience on all its member and to have freedom from foreign control.

Article 1 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States

The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:
a. a permanent population;
b. a defined territory;
c. government; and
d. capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

Sovereignty has two aspects internal and external. Internally viewed, the state has supreme
power over all individuals and associations within its fixed area. It can compel obedience of its
people to its laws and commands. Externally viewed, the state is free from control of any foreign
state or alien rule. External sovereignty is more often referred to as independence.
I. Right of Equality
Article 2 of the UN Charter
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in
accordance with the following Principles.
1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members
J. Territory
1. A. Acquisition of Territory
1. Discovery and Occupation occurs when control is acquired over an otherwise uncontrolled
territory by a foreign state. Typically, this must be peaceful and public.
Requirements : Possession and Administration
2. Prescription is similar to occupation, but concerns otherwise empty territory. If a second state
occupies that territory peacefully and publicly over a long period of time, it may be said to have
acquired the territory.
3. Accretion is when a state's territory increases by natural processes, such as deposits from
rivers or volcanic eruptions.
4. Cession is when one nation voluntarily gives up territory to another, typically via a treaty or
sale. The cession may be the result of a dispute or conflict settlement. Examples from the United
States, include the Louisiana Purchase from France and the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.
5. Annexation/Subjugation implies the taking of land, frequently associated with at least some
degree of coercion.
B. Loss of Territory
 1. Abandonment/Dereliction is the physical withdrawal by a state from territory with the
intention of relinquishing or abandoning all legal claims over it. Two conditions must concur: the
act of withdrawal and the intention to abandon.
2. Cession
3. Revolution
4. Subjugation
5. Prescription
6. Natural causes

2. Components of Territory
A. Terrestrial or Land Domain
Refers to the land mass which may be integrated or dismembered or partly bound by water
or consist of one whole island. It may also composed of several island like the Philippines.
The state exercises jurisdiction over everything found within it territorial domain
Exceptions:
1. Foreign states, heads of states, diplomatic representatives, and consuls to a certain
degree.
2. Foreign state property: embassies, consulates, and public vessels engaged in non-
commercial activities.
3. Acts of state
4. Foreign merchant vessels exercising the rights of innocent passage or arrival
5. Foreign armies passing through or stationed in its territories with its permission.
6. Such other persons or property, including organizations like the UN, by agreement,
waive jurisdiction.
B. Aerial Domain refers to the air space above the land and waters of state.
International Convention on Civil Aviation on December 7, 1944 recognizes that every
state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the air space above its territory but
not including the outer space.
Outer space, or the region beyond the earth’s atmosphere, is not subject to the
jurisdiction of any state.
C. Maritime or Fluvial Domain (UNCLOS and the Arbitral ruling of the case filed by the
Philippines against China)
Archipelago Doctrine – The baseline from which inland and territorial sea of an
archipelago is to be determined using straight lines by joining appropriate points of the
outermost island or the edge of the archipelago.
Archipelago – is a chain or cluster of island.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNCLOS I – Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Continental Shelf, High Seas
UnCLOS II – Did not result in any international agreements
UNCLOS III – Exclusive Economic Zone, Territorial jurisdiction of all archipelagic
state.
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea(ITLOS), International
Seabed Auhority(ISA), Commision on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf(CLCS)
Internal Waters – Waters on the landward side of the baseline of the
territorial sea. Not subject to entry by foreign vessels without the
consent of the local state.
 Straight Baseline Method – Straight baseline should be drawn to
connect appropriate points of the outermost island without
departing radically from the general direction of the coast, so
that the entire archipelago shall be encompassed as one whole
territory.
Territorial Sea – Belt of the sea located between the coast and internal
waters of the coastal state and the high seas extending up to 12 nautical
miles from the low water mark or in the case of a archipelagic state,
from the baselines.
Contiguous Zone – 12 nautical limit from the territorial sea. The coastal
state may exercise control necessary to prevent infringement of its
custom, fiscal, immigration and sanitary regulations.
Exclusive Economic Zone – Extends 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
Coastal state has sovereign rights over it for purposes of exploiting,
conserving, and managing natural resources, whether living or non-
living, of the seabed, the subsoil and the superjacent waters, as well as
the production of energy from the water, currents, and winds. Other
state shall have the freedom of navigation, and overflight. To lay
submarine cables and pipes and other lawful use.
Sovereignty – Legal authority of a state over its waters and
territorial seas
Sovereign Rights – Entitlement or privileges of a state to a
define area of the sea called exclusive economic zone
Continental Shelf – natural prolongation of the land territory to the
continental margin’s outer edge or 200 nautical miles from the coastal
baseline whichever is greater. May exceed 200 nautical miles until the
natural prolongation but not exceeding 350 nautical miles
Benham Rise
High Seas – Not a territory of a particular state(res communes or res
nullius)

L. The Right of Legation

1. Agents of Diplomatic Intercourse
2. Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges
M. Consuls
3. Functions
4. Immunities and Privileges
N. Treaties
5. Essential Requisites of a Valid Treaty
6. Binding Effect of a Treaty
O. Nationality and Statelessness
1. Acquisition and Loss of Nationality
2. Statelessness
P. Treatment of Aliens
3. The Doctrine of State Responsibility
 4. International Standard of Justice
5. Deportation and Extradition
Q. Settlement of Disputes
1. Amicable and Hostile Methods

R. War

S. Neutrality