State Responsibility and the Primary-Secondary Rules Terminology: : The Role of Language for an Understanding of the International Legal System
Author
Summary, in English
In the international legal literature, it is commonplace to talk about the law of state responsibility as secondary rules of law. The terminology emphasises that in some way or another the law of state responsibility is different from other rules of the international legal system – what international legal scholars refer to as primary rules of law. The present essay inquires into the soundness of this language. As argued, the primary-secondary rules terminology builds on two assumptions. First, it assumes that the law of state responsibility can be described as separate from the ordinary (or primary) rules of international law. Secondly, it assumes that the two classes of rules can be described as pertaining to different stages of the judicial decision-making process. As shown in this essay, neither assumption can be defended as correct.
Department/s
Publishing year
2009
Language
English
Pages
53-72
Publication/Series
Nordic Journal of International Law
Volume
78
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Brill
Topic
- Law
Keywords
- Public international law
- Folkrätt
Status
Published
Research group
- Public International Law
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0902-7351