Принципы в международном праве: термино- логия

Abstract

Introduction. In international law the research of the notions “general principles of law”, “basic principles of international law”, “generally recognized (generally binding) principles of international law”, “sectoral principles of international law”, etc., seems to be relevant, due to their fundamental significance. Their content is the subject of many scientific discussions in foreign, as well as in the domestic science. Materials and methods. The research was conducted based on the analysis of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, the Declaration on Principles of International Law, which concern friendly relations and cooperation between states in conformity with the UN Charter 1970, materials of the International Law Commission, the Digest of Justinian and the interpretation of these documents in the doctrine. The research is based on methods such as historical research, formal logic, including analysis, synthesis, and modeling, as well as systematic, comparative and interpretation. Research results. Based on the results of the analysis, the author notes that due to the absence in international law of an official interpretation of the mentioned principles they are not infrequently perceived in the doctrine as synonyms. In particular, “general principles of law, recognized by the civilized nations”, due to the fact that they are noted as sources of international law in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, are often perceived as fundamental principles of international law. Discussion and conclusions . The article substantiates the conclusion that the notions “general principles of law”, “basic principles of international law”, “generally recognized (generally binding) principles of international law”, “sectoral principles of international law” have actually different content, despite the fact that they are perceived (by ear) as notions that are very close to each other in meaning or even identical by definition. At the same time, in particular, “general principles of law” constitute not fundamental principles of international law, but the rules of juridical logic and juridical technique that are used in international law in defining and using legal norms, as well as in national legal systems.