Diplomacy & Politics Glossary

Customary international human rights law consists of rights and obligations derived from consistent state practice and opinio juris, binding all states regardless of treaty ratification.

Rules derived from general practice accepted as law that regulate conduct during armed conflicts.

A comprehensive collection of rules derived from state practice and opinio juris that govern conduct during armed conflicts, recognized as binding even without treaty ratification.

International obligations arising from established state practices accepted as legally binding, even without written treaties.

The process by which consistent state practice accompanied by opinio juris creates binding international law norms. It requires both objective behavior and subjective belief in legal obligation.

A body of commercial law rules and principles developed by merchants and applied internationally in trade disputes.

A state consistently opposing an emerging customary international law norm may exempt itself from being bound by that norm.

Consistent and general behavior by states followed out of a sense of legal obligation, forming a source of customary international law.