Public International Law Notes
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We’ve covered all the essential topics of PIL, from its sources to state responsibilities, and major international mechanisms. Whether you’re preparing for exams or just looking to strengthen your foundation, these notes will guide you through.
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| Topic Title |
|---|
| Introduction to Public International Law |
| Nature and Scope of International Law |
| History and Evolution of International Law |
| Theories and Basis of International Law |
| Is International Law Really Law? |
| Public International Law and Private International Law |
| Fundamental Principles of International Law |
| Sovereign Equality of States |
| Principle of Non-Intervention |
| Prohibition on the Use of Force |
| Principle of International Cooperation |
| Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes |
| Sources of International Law |
| Treaties as a Source of International Law |
| International Custom |
| General Principles of Law |
| Judicial Decisions and Juristic Writings |
| International Organisations and Resolutions as Sources of Law |
| Codification and Progressive Development of International Law |
| Article 38 of the ICJ Statute |
| Relationship Between International Law and Municipal Law |
| Monism and Dualism |
| Transformation and Incorporation |
| International Law and Municipal Law in India |
| International Law and Municipal Law in the United Kingdom |
| Subjects of International Law |
| States as Subjects of International Law |
| International Organisations as Subjects of International Law |
| Individuals as Subjects of International Law |
| Peoples and Self-Determination |
| Multinational Corporations and Other Non-State Actors |
| International Legal Personality |
| Statehood and Essential Elements of a State |
| Creation and Extinction of States |
| Recognition of States and Governments |
| Theories of Recognition |
| De Jure and De Facto Recognition |
| Express and Implied Recognition |
| Recognition of Governments |
| Effects of Recognition |
| Withdrawal of Recognition |
| Non-Recognition and the Stimson Doctrine |
| Recognition of Belligerency and Insurgency |
| State Succession |
| Types and Modes of State Succession |
| Succession to Treaties |
| Succession to State Property |
| Succession to State Debts |
| Succession to Nationality |
| Succession and Membership in International Organisations |
| State Territory and Territorial Sovereignty |
| Acquisition and Loss of Territory |
| Occupation |
| Prescription |
| Cession |
| Accretion |
| Conquest and Debellatio |
| Self-Determination and Territorial Acquisition |
| Boundaries and Boundary Disputes |
| Territorial Disputes in International Law |
| Internationally Administered Territories |
| Mandates and Trust Territories |
| Colonial Territories and Decolonisation |
| State Jurisdiction |
| Territorial Jurisdiction |
| Nationality Principle |
| Passive Personality Principle |
| Protective Principle |
| Universal Jurisdiction |
| Effects Doctrine |
| Extraterritorial Jurisdiction |
| Jurisdiction over International Crimes |
| Conflict of Jurisdiction |
| Lotus Principle |
| Jurisdiction and Enforcement |
| State Immunity |
| Restrictive and Absolute Theories of State Immunity |
| Immunity of State Property |
| Diplomatic Relations |
| Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities |
| Diplomatic Agents |
| Persona Non Grata |
| Diplomatic Protection |
| Consular Relations |
| Consular Privileges and Immunities |
| Immunity of International Organisations |
| Nationality in International Law |
| Acquisition of Nationality |
| Loss and Deprivation of Nationality |
| Dual Nationality |
| Statelessness |
| Nationality of Married Persons |
| Treatment of Aliens |
| Diplomatic Protection of Individuals |
| Right to Nationality |
| Extradition |
| Principles Governing Extradition |
| Rule of Double Criminality |
| Political Offence Exception |
| Extradition and Human Rights |
| Asylum |
| Territorial and Diplomatic Asylum |
| Right of Asylum |
| Non-Refoulement |
| Extradition vs Asylum |
| Law of Treaties |
| Treaty: Meaning and Classification |
| Treaty-Making Process |
| Negotiation, Adoption and Authentication |
| Signature and Ratification |
| Accession and Acceptance |
| Reservations to Treaties |
| Pacta Sunt Servanda |
| Pacta Tertiis Nec Nocent Nec Prosunt |
| Treaty Interpretation |
| Invalidity of Treaties |
| Termination of Treaties |
| Withdrawal from Treaties |
| Suspension of Treaties |
| Fundamental Change of Circumstances |
| Rebus Sic Stantibus |
| Jus Cogens and Treaties |
| Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties |
| State Responsibility |
| Internationally Wrongful Acts |
| Elements of State Responsibility |
| Attribution of Conduct to States |
| Breach of an International Obligation |
| Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness |
| Consent |
| Self-Defence |
| Force Majeure and Necessity |
| Countermeasures |
| Consequences of State Responsibility |
| Reparation |
| Restitution, Compensation and Satisfaction |
| Erga Omnes Obligations |
| Diplomatic Protection and State Responsibility |
| Negotiation |
| Good Offices |
| Mediation |
| Conciliation |
| Inquiry and Fact-Finding |
| Arbitration |
| Permanent Court of Arbitration |
| Judicial Settlement |
| Retorsion and Reprisal |
| Role of the United Nations in Dispute Settlement |
| International Court of Justice (ICJ) |
| Composition and Organisation of the ICJ |
| Jurisdiction of the ICJ |
| Contentious Jurisdiction |
| Advisory Jurisdiction |
| Optional Clause Jurisdiction |
| Compromissory Clauses |
| Provisional Measures |
| Intervention before the ICJ |
| ICJ Judgments and Their Binding Force |
| Advisory Opinions of the ICJ |
| Enforcement of ICJ Judgments |
| Permanent Court of International Justice |
| International Organisations |
| Legal Personality of International Organisations |
| United Nations Organisation |
| UN Charter and Its Principles |
| Membership of the United Nations |
| UN General Assembly |
| UN Security Council |
| UN Economic and Social Council |
| UN Secretariat |
| UN Trusteeship Council |
| UN Peacekeeping Operations |
| UN Collective Security System |
| UN Charter Article 103 |
| Specialised Agencies of the United Nations |
| League of Nations |
| International Labour Organization |
| World Health Organization |
| UNESCO |
| International Monetary Fund |
| World Bank |
| World Trade Organization |
| International Organisations and Immunities |
| Law of the Sea |
| United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) |
| Internal Waters |
| Territorial Sea |
| Contiguous Zone |
| Exclusive Economic Zone |
| Continental Shelf |
| High Seas |
| Archipelagic Waters |
| International Straits |
| Freedom of Navigation |
| Maritime Delimitation |
| Rights of Landlocked States |
| Deep Seabed and International Seabed Area |
| Common Heritage of Mankind |
| International Seabed Authority |
| Piracy under International Law |
| Marine Environmental Protection |
| Maritime Boundary Disputes |
| Air Law |
| Sovereignty over Airspace |
| Chicago Convention |
| International Civil Aviation Organization |
| Legal Status of Aircraft |
| Freedom of the Air |
| Liability for Damage Caused by Aircraft |
| Outer Space Law |
| Outer Space Treaty |
| Moon Agreement |
| Registration of Space Objects |
| Liability for Space Objects |
| Rescue and Return of Astronauts |
| Remote Sensing and Satellite Activities |
| Militarisation of Outer Space |
| Commercial Space Activities |
| International Environmental Law |
| Sustainable Development |
| Precautionary Principle |
| Polluter Pays Principle |
| Prevention Principle |
| Environmental Impact Assessment |
| Transboundary Environmental Harm |
| Climate Change and International Law |
| Paris Agreement |
| UN Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| Biodiversity and International Law |
| Protection of the Ozone Layer |
| International Watercourses and Environment |
| Environmental Protection during Armed Conflict |
| Human Rights under International Law |
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights |
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights |
| International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
| International Bill of Human Rights |
| Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination |
| Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child |
| Convention Against Torture |
| Regional Human Rights Systems |
| European Human Rights System |
| Inter-American Human Rights System |
| African Human Rights System |
| Human Rights and State Sovereignty |
| Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention |
| International Humanitarian Law |
| International Humanitarian Law and Law of War |
| Sources and Principles of IHL |
| Geneva Conventions of 1949 |
| Additional Protocols |
| International and Non-International Armed Conflicts |
| Combatants and Non-Combatants |
| Prisoners of War |
| Protection of Civilians |
| Protection of Wounded and Sick |
| Occupation under International Humanitarian Law |
| Means and Methods of Warfare |
| Military Necessity and Proportionality |
| Distinction and Precaution |
| Prohibited Weapons |
| Neutrality during Armed Conflict |
| Humanitarian Assistance |
| Child Soldiers |
| Cultural Property and Armed Conflict |
| Use of Force in International Law |
| Prohibition of Force under the UN Charter |
| Article 2(4) of the UN Charter |
| Individual and Collective Self-Defence |
| Anticipatory Self-Defence |
| Armed Attack |
| Necessity and Proportionality in Self-Defence |
| Humanitarian Intervention |
| Responsibility to Protect |
| Use of Force against Terrorist Groups |
| Collective Security |
| UN Security Council and Use of Force |
| Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement |
| Uniting for Peace Resolution |
| International Criminal Law |
| Individual Criminal Responsibility |
| Genocide |
| Crimes Against Humanity |
| War Crimes |
| Crime of Aggression |
| Command Responsibility |
| Superior Orders |
| Individual Responsibility for International Crimes |
| International Criminal Court |
| Rome Statute |
| Jurisdiction of the ICC |
| Complementarity Principle |
| Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals |
| International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia |
| International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda |
| Universal Jurisdiction and International Crimes |
| International Refugee Law |
| Refugee: Definition and Status |
| 1951 Refugee Convention |
| 1967 Refugee Protocol |
| Principle of Non-Refoulement |
| Rights of Refugees |
| Internally Displaced Persons |
| Stateless Persons |
| International Migration and Human Rights |
| Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons |
| Law of Neutrality |
| Rights and Duties of Neutral States |
| Neutrality in International Armed Conflict |
| Permanent and Temporary Neutrality |
| Belligerency |
| Insurgency |
| Recognition of Belligerency |
| Blockade |
| Prize Law and Prize Courts |
| Contraband of War |
| International Economic Law |
| International Trade Law |
| WTO Agreements |
| Most-Favoured-Nation Principle |
| National Treatment Principle |
| Dispute Settlement under WTO |
| International Investment Law |
| Bilateral Investment Treaties |
| Investor-State Dispute Settlement |
| Expropriation under International Law |
| Fair and Equitable Treatment |
| Law of International Rivers |
| International Watercourses |
| Rights and Duties of Riparian States |
| Equitable and Reasonable Utilisation |
| No-Harm Principle |
| Transboundary Water Disputes |
| International Watercourses Convention |
| Cyber Warfare and International Law |
| Cyber Operations and Use of Force |
| Artificial Intelligence and International Law |
| Autonomous Weapons Systems |
| International Law and Terrorism |
| International Law and Global Health |
| Pandemics and International Law |
| Climate Justice |
| Global Commons |
| Protection of the Global Commons |
| International Law and Emerging Technologies |
| International Law and Space Resources |
| Law of the Polar Regions |
| International Law and Deep-Sea Mining |
| Doctrine of Sovereignty |
| Doctrine of Self-Determination |
| Doctrine of State Continuity |
| Doctrine of Non-Intervention |
| Doctrine of Universal Jurisdiction |
| Doctrine of Pacta Sunt Servanda |
| Doctrine of Jus Cogens |
| Doctrine of Rebus Sic Stantibus |
| Doctrine of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources |
| Principle of Common Heritage of Mankind |
| Principle of Comity |
| Principle of Good Faith |
| Principle of Proportionality |
| Principle of Necessity |
| S.S. Lotus Case |
| Corfu Channel Case |
| Chorzów Factory Case |
| Nottebohm Case |
| Asylum Case |
| Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case |
| North Sea Continental Shelf Cases |
| Barcelona Traction Case |
| Nicaragua v. United States |
| Nuclear Tests Cases |
| Tehran Hostages Case |
| Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project Case |
| Arrest Warrant Case |
| LaGrand Case |
| Avena Case |
| Pulp Mills Case |
| Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua Case |
| Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo |
| South West Africa Cases |
| Right of Passage over Indian Territory |
| Chagos Archipelago Advisory Opinion |
| Jurisdictional Immunities of the State |
| Whaling in the Antarctic |
| Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean |
