Revisiting the Sources of Public International Law: A Salle XXI Perspective’ by Martins Paparinskis

 

Abstract: Salle XXI is the room in Palais de Nations where the sessions of the International Law Commission in Geneva are traditionally held. In the current quinquennium, the Commission has directly engaged with sources of public international law, such as general principles of law. It has also addressed subjects that are not about sources but are nevertheless, in some sense, contiguous, like topics entitled subsidiary means for determination of rules of international law and non-legally binding international agreements. And questions of sources have featured in the discussion of substantive topics, such as immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction and sea-level rise in relation to international law. The lecture will reflect on the broader points about the character of sources of international law that may be drawn from the recent Commission’s work and its impact on the international legal process. 
 

Bio: Professor Martins Paparinskis is Professor of Public International Law at UCL Laws and the International Law Commission’s Special Rapporteur on compensation for the damage caused by internationally wrongful acts. He is a generalist international lawyer with a variety of specialist interests, and has published in leading journals. Professor Paparinskis is also an associate member of the Institute of International Law, a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the UNECE Water Convention’s Implementation Committee, and a board member of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration.