By the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the modern international law started getting its form and content, the natural law had made heavy inroads and assumed strong ideological moorings. This can be clearly seen in the writings of Francisco de Vittoria (1480-1546), Francisco Suarez (1548-1617) and Alberico Gentilis (1552-1608). International law was binding on the States because it was part of the law of nature. However, it was Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) who secularized the concept of natural law while making a distinction between jus naturale and jus gentium. He based the law of nations on customs and treaties in addition to the law of nature. The law of nature, according to him, was the dictate of right and reason, not of divine prescriptions.

Res judicata: The principle that when a matter has been finally adjudicated upon by a court of competent jurisdiction it may not be reopened or challenged by the original parties or their successors in interest (Martin, 2003:181, 325, 430).

In 1961, the General Assembly established the Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of 24) to assist in the implementation of Resolution 1514.

As for Crimea, its declaration of independence from Ukraine after a referendum on March 16, 2014 and the subsequent claim and annexation by the Russian Federation on March 18, 2014 was widely criticized. The UN General Assembly, in its resolution of April 1, 2014, rejected the referendum vote and annexation

Res judicata [Latin; a matter that has been decided]: The principle that when a matter has been finally adjudicated upon by a court of
competent jurisdiction it may not be reopened or challenged by the original parties or their successors in interest. It is also known as action estoppel (Martin, 2003: 430).

Codification means “the more precise formulation and systematization of rules of international law in fields where there already has been extensive State practice, precedent, and doctrine.” The correct answer is A.

Subrogation is the substitution of one person for another so that the person substituted succeeds to the rights of the other.

In the Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions case (1924), the PCIJ referred to the general principle of subrogation and held that the concessions made by the Ottoman Empire in favor of Mavrommatis were enforceable against the United Kingdom, which was the successor State to the Ottoman Empire in Palestine. 

Independence is crucial for Statehood, but not the size of that entity’s territory. In recent years, many new mini states or microstates have claimed Statehood. 

In contrast to the constitutive theory, the declaratory theory (also called evidentiary theory) considers that a new state or a new government exists independent of recognition.

Due to the inability of international law to satisfy this test, John Austin described international law as positive international morality, which consists of “opinions or sentiments current among nations generally.”

Resolutions of the General Assembly are sometimes referred to as soft law, since they cannot be classified as full-fledged rules of international law such as international custom, treaties, or general principles of law.

Article 38 classifies the sources of international law into two categories. Sub-paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) incorporate the law-creating process, which means that in any asserted rule of international law, it must be shown that it is the product of one or more of the three law-creating processes: treaties, customs, and general principles of law. Sub-paragraph (d), however, enumerates some of the means for the determination of alleged rules of international law. In the case of the law-creating process, the emphasis lies on the forms by which any particular rule of international law is created. This is being done through the law-determining agencies, (those stated in sub-paragraph d), that verify an alleged rule

McNair defines treaty as “a written agreement by which two or more states or international organizations create or intend to create a relation between themselves, operating within the sphere of international law” (McNair,1961). According to Oppenheim, international treaties are agreements, of a contractual character, between states or organizations of states, creating legal rights and obligations between the parties (Oppenheim, vol. I, 1992). The Vienna Convention defines treaty as “an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law” (Art. 2(1)/a).

The Kellogg-Briand Pact: A multilateral agreement condemning war.

The conflict between municipal law and international law causes a question of precedence to rise. In such situations, the real question becomes which of those laws to be considered primarily, hence the term primacy is the correct term that explains the issue.

Repetition or recitation of a resolution in subsequent resolutions adds further weight and helps in the formation of a new rule. Repetition demonstrates the continuity, consistency, and uniformity of the States’ conduct and practice in conformity with the rules stated therein. This may lead to formulating instant customary international law, a term coined by B. Cheng (1965).The subsequent conduct of States, after the adoption of a resolution, is similarly important in the formulation of a new rule.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM

There are two requirements for a custom to be accepted as law: (i) there should be sufficiently uniform general practice accepted as law, and (ii) the belief that such a practice is obligatory.

The doctrine of non-recognition, commonly called the Stimson Doctrine of non-recognition, implies the withholding of recognition from new territorial titles or territorial changes brought out by use of force or through any other act of doubtful character. The correct answer is A.

The juridical basis of international law is common will because it requires regarding countries to come to an agreement whereas the same basis for municipal law is much different, it does not require any multinational agreement. Thus there can be a conflict between those two.

The principle of uti possidetis was developed in the 19th century when the Spanish America was decolonized.