International Law Doctrine Research Articles

КОНЦЕПЦІЯ ЮРИСДИКЦІЇ У МІЖНАРОДНОМУ ПРАВІ

The article analyzes the notion and types of jurisdiction in the doctrine of international law as well as in treaty law and international court practice. The author considers main restrictions of jurisdiction of a state within national boundaries and in international territories as well as the issue of conflict of jurisdictions from the perspective of Public and Private International Law. The article concludes that modern legal doctrine and treaty law witness that jurisdiction has become an established institute of international law which has its own principles and sources; it embraces all branches of international law and, thus, may be characterized a system-wide institute of international law.

Wpływ zimnej wojny na ukształtowanie i rozwój międzynarodowego prawa kosmicznego

The beginning of the Cold War took place with the collapse of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1945, and the conflict itself lasted until the collapse and disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. The Cold War arms race was a manifestation of the multifaceted rivalry between East and West. One sphere of conflict was the space race. The apogee of the space race occurred between 1957 and 1985. With the launch of the first artificial satellite “Sputnik 1” in 1957 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics into orbit around the Earth, efforts to conquer space began. The main research objective of this article is to answer the question of how the Cold War influenced the formation and development of international space law. The author will also provide answers to specific research questions, such as: How was the space policy of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shaped during the Cold War? What legal matter was regulated in acts of international space law during the Cold War period? How did the norms and principles of international space law introduced during the Cold War period affect relations between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics? To verify the main research objective and research questions, the author used the dogmatic-legal method to systematize the international legal norms governing space activity during the Cold War conflict. The main sources used in the article are the international conventions developed on the grounds of the United Nations, data containing summaries of the most important space missions in the period from 1957 to 1985, and the body of doctrine of international space law from the Cold War era.

La omisión en el artículo 28(a) del Estatuto de Roma: un análisis a propósito del caso Bemba Gombo

The judicial pronouncements of the case Prosecutor v. Bemba have been the first decisions of the International Criminal Court in matters of responsibility for omission of the superior (article 28 of the Rome Statute). Although this jurisprudence has meant the end of some of the problems raised by the scholarly doctrine of international criminal Law, many other issues have been left unsolved. After a review of the facts of the case and its judicial decisions, this paper proposes an interpretation of the omission responsibility that emanates from article 28(a) of the Rome Statute, giving a leading role to the interpretation of the ‘commission by omission’ of continental law.

Azerbaijan’s Policy of Ethnic Cleansing against the Armenian Population of Artsakh after the 44-Day War

This article intends to present the terrorist criminal actions of Azerbaijan carried out continuously and widely against the people of Artsakh after the 2020 44-day war, as well as to provide the goals of these actions and their legal qualification within the framework of international law. The work was done by means of historical research, analysis of norms of international law, court rulings, and scientific doctrines, as well as research and comparison of factual circumstances relevant to this article. In the end, it has been concluded that the crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh are not isolated, local incidents, but a continuation of a systematic and widespread deliberate state policy planned and carried out for decades, having the goal of achieving the final depopulation of Artsakh.

O wskrzeszeniu Rzeczypospolitej raz jeszcze. Problem restytucji państwa polskiego z perspektywy prawa międzynarodowego

The legal aspects of regaining independence by Poland in 1918 have been analysed many times in the literature on the subject. In the interwar period, the axis of one of the main disputes in the environment of Polish international lawyers was whether the Second Polish Republic could be treated as a new state or a continuation of the pre-partition state. Until today, a uniform position of the doctrine on this topic, which is also taken up in contemporary publications, has not crystallised. Both sides of the dispute, however, overlook many aspects related to the law of nations concerning the collapse and continuity of states, which has changed throughout history. The aim of this article is to re-analyse the partition and regaining independence by Poland against the background of norms of international law of the time. This will help to systematise the knowledge about the history of Poland and this part of Europe, to resolve a weighty dispute in the history of Polish doctrine of international law, and to point out important aspects related to the struggle of nations still trying to regain independence.

CORRELATION OF TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN ORGANS WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKING: CHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ORDER AT THE CROSSROADS OF CRIME AND HUMANISM / ՄԱՐԴՈՒ ՕՐԳԱՆՆԵՐԻ ԱՆՕՐԻՆԱԿԱՆ ՇՐՋԱՆԱՌՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՀԱՐԱԲԵՐԱԿՑՈՒԹՅՈՒՆԸ ՄԱՐԴԿԱՆՑ ԱՌԵՎՏՐԻ ՀԵՏ. ՄԻՋԱԶԳԱՅԻՆ ԻՐԱՎԱԿԱՐԳԻ ԱՇԽԱՐՀԱՔԱՂԱՔԱԿԱՆ ՄԱՐՏԱՀՐԱՎԵՐՆԵՐԸ ՀԱՆՑԱՎՈՐՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԵՎ ՄԱՐԴԱՍԻՐՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԽԱՉՄԵՐՈՒԿՈՒՄ

The Article is dedicated to the study of research problem regarding human organs. Taking organs from human is of particular importance as a form of “using human beings”. However, it is a fundamental component of such a complex and serious crime as the illegal circulation of those organs (human organ, body part, tissues and cells); which is being characterized not only by a higher degree of public danger, but also is more hidden crime (latent) in terms of disclosure. In this context, the author believes that in the conditions of rapid growth of information infrastructures and biomedicine, as well as active improvement of modern technologies, there is a need to create a doctrine of international law in the framework of the relationship between humanitarianism and crime, which is related to considering the taking of human organs for transplantation as a component of humanitarianism, and trafficking in human organs as an object of transplant commercialism.

Mizhnarodno-pravove rehuliuvannia spivpratsi derzhav u haluzi vidnovliuvanoi enerhetyky

The current state of international legal regulation of relations of renewable energy is considered, the need to analyse the dynamics of the formation of rules of conduct of states, which are enshrined in various sources, including those enshrined in Art. 38 of the Charter of the International Court of Justice, as well as a significant array of rules, which international law has been called «soft law». It is shown that in the domestic doctrine of international law is quite a common to view that the main sources of so-called «soft law» are resolved of intergovernmental organizations of the UN system and its offices, especially the UN General Assembly, political acts of regional conferences, and organizations, others international acts adopted by states, intergovernmental organizations, which are not legal but moral and political in nature. The process of formation of the international regulatory framework in the field of renewable energy is analysed, which shows that the development of international policy and «soft law» in this area has gone through four conditional stages: the formation of general principles of cooperation; introduction of the concept of sustainable development in the international legal environment; recognition of energy as a component of sustainable development; launch of the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative. It is noted that despite all efforts, the share of new and renewable energy sources in the global energy balance remains extremely low. Referring to this fact, the General Assembly calls for measures to be taken to ensure the cost-effective use of such types of energy. It is noted that in the array of norms of international law, which directly or indirectly relate to the field of renewable energy, the vast majority is a set of rules of «soft law». It is shown that the world powers seek to cooperate through the work of specialized international organizations that are designed to introduce the production of renewable energy sources. The focus is on the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the establishment of which is, of course, a necessary way to implement renewable energy. Because the recommendatory nature of these international organizations does not contribute to the positive purpose of such cooperation. In order to unify the international legal regulation of renewable energy, it is necessary to develop a common international legal framework in this area with mandatory compliance with the legal norms of all participants.

Energy Law Under Incredible Shortage: Review on the Perspective of Institutional Structure

In 2021, the global energy shortage affected nearly every country around the world, and it took place quite suddenly. Desperation spread among people suffering from COVID-19. Many were seeking a reasonable explanation for this puzzling circumstance. This led to increasing attention on the energy market, a topic now heatedly discussed by scholars, and legal regulation has become one of the most common aspects to examine. This article will present the current outcomes of the analysis of this aspect through a comprehensive perspective of institutional structure, drawing on thoughts from economics, politics, international law, and law doctrine. A deduction will be made from these ideas to help analyze the formation, developing tendencies, and ideal design of energy institutions, as well as the derivation of their structure. Paths from global transitions will be applied and will certainly address human rights concerns simultaneously.

Питання обґрунтованості застосування принципу самовизначення народів сепаратистськими утвореннями в Україні

The article provides an analysis of the possibility of separatist formations in Ukraine to refer to the principle of self-determination of peoples as a justification for their activities. The minimum necessary criteria of legal bases for self-determination are considered, among which: the existence of effective connection of the subject of self-determination with a certain territory; the existence of the subject itself, i.e., the people (ethnic group), which claims self-determination; and the recognition by the international community of such a potential entity as the bearer of the right to self-determination. Regarding the connection with the territory, the doctrine of international law and practice recognizes the right to cultural and national self-determination in a particular territory for any ethnic group. This right is limited to the common interests of all the people of the state, which consists in the unconditional preservation of the inviolability and integrity of its territory. As for the existence of the subject of self-determination, the people is recognized as the historical community of people formed in a certain area and have stable features of the language, culture, and mental composition (mentality), as well as aware of their unity and difference from others through conscious self-name. At the same time, diasporas and migrants must be subject to the laws of the country of residence under the right of citizenship or the right of permanent residence. As for the recognition of the subject of self-determination by the international community, it may recognize as the people those who are under colonial rule, occupation by a foreign state, or against whom a policy of racism is pursued. Thus, international law does not protect separatist movements aimed at secession if they do not meet these criteria. This means that separatist formations in Ukraine do not have the right to secession but are terrorist organizations in terms of their methods of activity. Keywords: people, international recognition, right to self-determination, secession, territory

IMPLEMENTATION “SUBSTANCE OVER FORM” AND “BUSINESS PURPOSE” DOCTRINES IN DOMESTIC RULES OF TRANSFER PRICING

At aticle analyzes changes in the domestic tax legislation on the introduction of such interconnected and complementary doctrines of international tax law as “substance over form” and “business purpose”. The essence of these doctrines, their relationship with the principles and standards of financial reporting, financial and tax accounting, as well as their likely impact on the domestic transfer pricing rules are considered. The analysis of the existing practice in Ukraine of the application of these doctrines in court cases on tax issues is carried out. The problematic aspects of their application for tax control over the observance of transfer pricing rules by taxpayers have been identified. The practical application of interrelated doctrines of international tax law, such as “substance over form” and “business purpose”, provides for the implementation of a set of measures to document and study the subjective component of a separate controlled transaction and the activities of a taxpayer as a whole and / or an international group of companies as a whole (strategies goals, intentions and expectations). The taxpayer must be ready and able to explain in his transfer pricing documentation and/or during audits to the officials of the regulatory body the economic effect obtained from the implementation of the controlled transaction. To this end, the following are essential: in-depth attention to transactions that may be considered risky for transfer pricing; proper justification and documentation of activities related to the implementation of a controlled transaction in all areas and levels of accounting. The conclusion is also formulated that the concept of “business purpose” is evaluative in nature, allowing to predict the further development of practical developments in the field of application of the “business purpose” doctrine in Ukraine, incl. as a result of further jurisprudence.

Validity of applying the principle of self-determination of peoples by separatist entities in Ukraine

The process of modern social development is determined by two dialectically opposite tendencies: centripetal, expressed in worldwide integration and globalization, and centrifugal, manifested in regional localization, one of the forms of which is the phenomenon of separatism – the desire of regions within states to separate, to acquire greater political independence, sovereignty up to territorial separation or joining another state. The purpose of this paper was to analyse the theoretical issues of national self-determination and the principle of equality of peoples in its relationship with separatism. The study used a set of methods and techniques of scientific cognition. The principal ones included the dialectical method, comparative legal method, formal legal method, and method of logical analysis. The paper analyses the possibility of reference to the principle of self-determination of peoples by separatist entities in Ukraine as a justification for their activities. The minimum necessary criteria of legal grounds for self-determination are considered, including the presence of an effective connection of the subject of self-determination with a certain territory; the presence of the subject itself, i.e., the people (ethnos), which claims self-determination; and recognition by the international community of such a potential subject as the bearer of the right to self-determination. As for the connection with the territory, the doctrine of international law and practice recognizes the right to cultural and national self-determination in a certain territory for any ethnic group. This right is limited to the common interests of the entire people of the state, which lies in the unconditional preservation of the inviolability and integrity of its territory. As for the presence of the subject of self-determination itself, the people recognize the historical community of people that has developed in a certain territory and has stable features of language, culture, and mentality, as well as the awareness of their unity and difference from others through conscious self-name. At the same time, diasporas and migrants must obey the laws of the country of residence on the right of citizenship or the right of permanent residence. As for the recognition of the subject of self-determination by the international community, they recognize those who are under colonial rule, occupation by a foreign state, or who are subject to a policy of racism. Consequently, international law does not protect separatist movements whose goal is secession if they do not meet these criteria. This means that separatist entities in Ukraine are not entitled to secession, and by their methods of activity they are terrorist organizations. The practical value of the materials and conclusions presented in this paper lies in their further use in further developments aimed at the analysis and study of the self-determination of peoples through separatism, in the law-making sphere, and the sphere of law enforcement related to ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Cross-Border Oil and Gas Transactions in Private International Law: Concept, Types, and Features of Regulation

The paper proposes to refer to cross-border oil and gas transactions as contracts mediating relations in the field of international circulation of hydrocarbons. These include all transactions complicated by a foreign element (foreign entity, object, legal fact) and concluded regarding the exploration, development, processing, transfer, transportation of oil and gas as a commodity in the course of entrepreneurial and investment activities. Based on the Russian and foreign doctrine of private international law, the author examines the most common transactions in the industry, analyzes their features, and also proposes a basic classification of contractual structures. In the absence of a wide range of international treaties governing cross-border oil and gas transactions, the author concludes that the conflict of laws method of determining the applicable law is dominant. The importance of non-state regulators lex petrolea is noted, capable of complementing, but not replacing, national legal regulation.

Resistance to territorial and maritime delimitation judgments of the International Court of Justice and clashes with ‘territory clauses’ in the Constitutions of Latin American states

AbstractThis article analyses the growing resistance to judgments of the International Court of Justice arising out of domestic law in Latin America, through a study of challenges to the authority of the Court’s judgments regarding territorial and maritime delimitation in the region. These challenges are based upon the ‘territory clauses’ found in many Latin American constitutions, which were used to set national boundaries following colonial independence. Territory clauses that once developed international law doctrines such as uti possidetis iuris are now being used against prevailing international law rules, in a process described in this article as ‘constitutional resistance’.This article explains the nature of ‘territory clauses’ in Latin America, i.e., clauses that constitutionally define the national territory in reference to international law. It then describes the process of ‘constitutional resistance’, by which local authorities have used these clauses to oppose ICJ judgments, leading to various results, such as non-appearance in further proceedings, constitutionalizing exclusively favourable judgments, deferring the implementation of a judgment to the Constitutional Court or implementing only certain ICJ judgments, while creating legal barriers to the implementation of judgments that, in the State’s view, negatively affect their territory.These challenges based on territory clauses are studied through prominent ICJ cases involving Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia. The article also explores how the lack of a strong territory clause eased the implementation of the Peru v. Chile judgment, and how the recent non-appearance of Venezuela in its current ICJ proceedings with Guyana, is partly based on constitutional justifications.

THE CASE OF THE BIAŁOWIEŻA FOREST BEFORE THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: COMMENTS FROM AN (APPROPRIATE) TIME PERSPECTIVE

The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 17 April 2018 in Case C-441/17 (failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations), brought by the European Commission against Poland, concerning “logging” in the Białowieża Forest, was widely reported in the media and on the scientific forum (naturally, also in the doctrine of international and European law). Analysing this decision and referring to the jurisprudence and achievements of the doctrine, commentators cautiously (but, in essence, not always correctly) indicated what decisions and actions constituted the basis of this dispute, which ultimately led to Poland’s defeat before the Court, considering the judgment an end to the case and, at the same time, the canon for the subject knowledge. It should be emphasised, however, that the judgment itself did not resolve the dispute as to which model of protection of the Białowieża Forest is appropriate. In particular, it has not contributed to determining whether the previous activities of the State Forests (although it proved them formally inconsistent with EU law) were beneficial (or harmful) to the protection of the Białowieża Forest stand. By emphasising the imperfection of the situation, the authors try to constructively draw from it conclusions de lege lata and de lege ferenda.

ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE SPHERE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

The article examines the problems of the formation and development of the main institutions of international cooperation in the field of criminal procedure. The doctrinal approaches and norms of the first international treaties in this area are analyzed. The first institutions and directions of international cooperation in the field of criminal procedure are outlined, their specificity and features are revealed. It is noted that the first legal institution in the field of international cooperation, which later became directly related to the sphere of criminal procedure, was the institution of extradition (this institution, throughout its history, has been and remains a system consisting of several procedures by which one sovereign issues another sovereign a person (criminal) who has committed a crime and is wanted). Attention is focused on the fact that from ancient times until the end of the seventeenth century, extradition was not an institution of international law, let alone a criminal process. The vast majority of extradition cases were caused by political or religious circumstances, but not by the need for mutual assistance in the framework of the criminal process. Therefore, most of the known treaties of this period provided for the extradition of exclusively political and religious criminals or defectors. It is noted that similar tendencies of the institution of extradition were characteristic in the territory of Ukraine. An outstanding role in the formation of the foundations of international cooperation in the territory of Kууivs’ka Rus’ was played by «Russian Truth», which contained the norms of criminal, inheritance, commercial and procedural legislation. It was determined that from the 17th century the first scientific comments and principles of international cooperation in the fight against crime began to appear, and the foundation was laid for the formation in the doctrine of international law of the concept, which is defined in our time as the commission of criminal prosecution at the request of a foreign state. The periodization of international cooperation in the field of criminal procedure has been developed, namely, six historical periods have been identified, each of which has its own type of legal regulation.

A Category “Public Order” and Limitations on Party Autonomy in Contracts for the Carriage of Passengers by Sea

This article attempts to research the purpose, the meaning and the essence of the category “public order” in the legal regulation and practice of law enforcement in the sphere of passengers’ sea shipping. In the first part of the article, the authors consider the role of the public (imperative) element in the legal regulation of passengers’ sea shipping. It is paid attention to the significant segment of the state and the supranational administrative regulation in the modern legal basis of such shipping. It gets a manifestation in consolidating the possibilities of imperative influence on the system of private legal relations, including relations, complicated by a foreign element, particular on the sphere of passengers’ sea shipping. In the second part of the article, the authors applied to the definition of the correlation connections of the category “public order” with the related legal categories “law and order”, “civil order”, “world order”, made the distinction between the categories “order” and “regime”. It is emphasized the attention on the legal regime is a process aimed at establishing public order. The third part of the article is devoted to brief research of the international public order in the projection on the problems of passengers’ sea shipping. It is laid emphasis on the attempt of the world community to form a legal basis for countering illegal actions in the maritime spaces that violate the established international public order, aimed at reservation and protecting health and lives of people. It is noted that the sphere of human rights allows emphasizing more clearly the limits of the institute “public order”, which remains underestimated in the Ukrainian doctrine of international private law. Finally, the authors examine the public order clause as one of the leading institutes of the international private law and the relevant legislation of most modern states. It is emphasized the lack of a definition of the category of “public order” under the conditions of the proper regulation in the laws of the relevant clause.

Human rights and positive obligations of the state

At present, both the international and the regional levels of human rights protection lack an express definition of the positive obligation of states to protect human rights. Similarly, the doctrine lacks a unified opinion regarding this concept. For quite a long time, human rights were considered as such that give rise to so-called negative obligations of states to refrain from human rights violations. However, with the development of international human rights law, it is increasingly recognised that human rights also give rise to positive obligations of the state to take active measures to ensure these rights. Such obligations usually derive from international human rights treaties or from the interpretation of international judicial bodies that monitor the implementation of corresponding international treaties. Therefore, it is crucial for the doctrine and practice of international law in the field of human rights protection to analyse the positive obligations of the state, which are consolidated in international treaties and the practice of international judicial bodies. The purpose of this study is to analyse human rights and positive obligations of the state in the context of regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights. Among the general scientific methods, the study used the analysis and synthesis, as well as deduction, induction, prediction, modeling, analogy and other general scientific methods. A thorough study of the positive obligations of the state would be impossible even without the use of special methods of study and cognition, which include comparative legal, historical and legal, technical, and structural-functional methods. In particular, one of the leading research methods was the comparative legal method, which was used to study the practice of regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights. The study provides an overview of the modern interpretation of positive obligations of states. Specifically, this study focuses on the practice of the European, Inter-American and African Human Rights Courts in the context of applying the state's positive obligations

Rein Müllerson in the international law: retrospectives and prospects

This article is dedicated to reconsideration of the ideas of the prominent Soviet, Russian, Estonian and international legal expert Rein Müllerson, which he introduced to the theory and practice of international law. The relevance of this research is substantiated by the contribution made by Professor Rein Müllerson to the Soviet system, as well as the contribution he continues to make to the modern domestic, foreign, and universal doctrine of international law. In 201, the author of multiple articles and monographs that are published in different languages and countries, Professor Rein Müllerson released his summarizing work – the autobiography “Living In Interesting Times: Curse or Chance?”, which in reality is not an autobiography. This monograph, which determines the topic of this research, is dedicated to the most relevant issues of international law and international relations, which underlie the scientific reflections in the latest published work of Professor Müllerson. The goal of this article lies in the analysis of manifestation of subjective realism and new philosophy of modern international law declared in the 2021 monograph. Using such instruments of the modern researcher of international relations as liberalism and democratization, globalization and regionalization, correlating the theory built in the Soviet scientific paradigm with the practice tested in the UN structures, he brought the international law to a higher level of comprehension, as a complex system of regulators of multinational behavior. The neutral and non-politicized views of Professor Müllerso answers on the majority of modern international problems, along with his vast experience in practical implementation of legal norms, should be duly appreciated by present and future generations of researchers interested in building a new world – free from warfare and confrontations.

Reopening the Upper Airspace over Kosovo for Civil Air Traffic: The Road Thereto

Over twenty years have passed since the insurrection in Kosovo which ended with the introduction of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in June 1999. The establishment of the State of Kosovo has raised multiple questions and challenged public international law doctrines in different ways. The validity of unilateral State succession in the post-colonial era, the international legal personality of international intergovernmental organizations, and the exercise of sovereign rights by other entities than States are among the questions that the international community has had to contend with. The present essay elaborates the aviation law-related aspects of these challenges, more precisely the reopening of the upper airspace of Kosovo, with a special focus on the legal solutions of the Implementing Agreement Between Hungary and the International Security Force in Kosovo (KFOR) (Implementing Agreement Between the Government of Hungary and International Security Force in Kosovo (KFOR) for the Provision of Air Navigation Services (ANS) and Other Relevant Activities in the Designated Airspace over Kosovo as promulgated by Act No. CCXLVIII of 2013 on Promulgation of the Implementing Agreement Between the Government of Hungary and International Security Force in Kosovo (KFOR) for the Provision of ANS and Other Relevant Activities in the Designated Airspace over Kosovo.). airspace, sovereignty, NATO, Kosovo, Hungary

THE CONCEPT OF A LEGAL DILEMMA

This article is based on the monograph (Irresolvable Norm Conflicts in International Law: The Concept of A Legal Dilemma) of Valentin Jeutner pioneering the concept of legal dilemma in the doctrine of international law. Briefly, the concept of a legal dilemma is a theory of irresolvable norm conflicts. The concept of legal dilemma serves as a normative exposition of the international legal states of affairs where the conflict between two legal norms is so fundamental that their adequate resolution through norm conflict resolution techniques of contemporary international law is impossible. In this article, the author conceptualizes legal dilemmas as an unavoidable and irresolvable conflict between norms of international law. The intrinsic nature of legal dilemmas resembles a legal state of superposition where a given conduct is both illegal and legal at the same time. That is, if one norm is favored over the other, the other is necessarily unduly impaired. Upon providing the general legal account of the concept of legal dilemma, the author responds affirmatively to their presence in contemporary international law. Subsequently, the author ventures to demonstrate that various legal devices to accommodate legal dilemmas once they have arisen are unsatisfactory. Then he establishes that judicial institutions – for a multiplicity of different legal and non-legal reasons – do not represent an appropriate forum for dealing with the various substantial problems posed by legal dilemmas. Thus, the author proposes that judicial institutions – instead of deciding the legal dilemmas themselves – must issue dilemmatic declarations when confronted with an irresolvable and unavoidable norm conflict. Dilemmatic declarations communicate that a legal dilemma exists but do not resolve a dilemma in favor of one or the other norm. However, the author warns us that the issuance of dilemmatic declarations must occur only after the most rigorous and careful application of norm conflict resolution and accommodation techniques. Importantly, dilemmatic declarations do not themselves decide the legal dilemmas but delegate the decision-making competence to the archetypal subjects of international law and the authors of the legal dilemmas themselves – the States. In the author's view, the final say over the decision of the legal dilemmas falls precisely to the States due to the inherent epistemological and/or metaphysical difficulties associated with deciding the legal dilemmas. A State’s decision of a dilemma possesses no legal precedential value and after a State has decided the legal dilemma, the judicial institutions should then enforce an unduly impaired norm. Finally, the author posits the merits of dilemmatic legal thinking in the international legal thought, one of which is to enhance the conceptual understanding of international law, transcend the binary representations of norms only as legal and illegal and to enable States to engage with and reflect constructively about the problems the existence of legal dilemmas presuppose.