Law - International Law

In international law, customary law refers to the general practice of States and intergovernmental organizations that is generally recognized by all States and is legally binding. Customary law is one of the more difficult sources to research because it is documented in such a wide variety of places.

The International Law Commission listed some forms of evidence of customary international law in the memo "Ways and means for making the evidence of customary international law more readily available": treaties, digests of state practice, decisions of national courts and international tribunals, national legislation, diplomatic correspondence, opinions of national legal advisors, and the practice of international organizations.

The objective is to find evidence of state practice by using sources such as:

• records of a state’s foreign relations and diplomatic practices, as set forth in official statements, diplomatic exchanges;
• a state’s domestic court decisions;
• a state’s internal legislation concerning its international obligations;
• newspaper reports of actions taken by states, statements made by government spokesmen to Parliament, to the press, at international conferences; and
• in resolutions, declarations & legislative acts of intergovernmental organizations.

Examples: