Principles of International Law

The doctrine of international law distinguishes ten universal principles:

• The principle of the non-use of force and the threat of force;
• The principle of resolving international disputes by peaceful means;
• The principle of non-interference in matters within the internal competence of states;
• The principle of the obligation of states to cooperate with each other;
• The principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples;
• The principle of sovereign equality of states;
• The principle of the conscientious fulfillment of obligations under international law;
• The principle of inviolability of state borders;
• The principle of territorial integrity of states;
• The principle of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The principle of the non-use of force and the threat of force

For the first time this principle was enshrined in the UN Charter . According to paragraph 4 of Art. 2 of the Charter, "all Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other way incompatible with the goals of the United Nations." Subsequently, it was specified in documents adopted in the form of UN resolutions, including the Declaration on the Principles of International Law of 1970 , the Definition of Aggression of 1974, the Final Act of the CSCE 1975, and the Declaration on Strengthening the Effectiveness of the Principle of Avoiding the Threat or Use of Force in International relationship of 1987. The obligation to non-use of force extends to all states, and not only to UN member states .

The use of armed force in self-defense is only lawful if an armed attack on the state occurs. Article 51 of the UN Charter expressly excludes the use of armed force by one state against another in the event that the latter takes economic or political measures.

The UN Security Council , if it considers the measures of an unarmed nature recommended for resolving conflicts to be insufficient, “is authorized to take such actions by air, sea or land forces as it turns out to be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such actions may include demonstrations, blockades and other operations of the air, sea or land forces of Members of the Organization. ”

The normative content of the principle of non-use of force includes:

• the prohibition of the occupation of the territory of another state in violation of international law;
• prohibition of acts of reprisal associated with the use of force;
• the provision by the state of its territory to another state, which uses it to commit aggression against a third state;
• organizing, abetting, assisting or participating in acts of civil war or terrorist acts in another state;
• organizing or encouraging the organization of armed gangs, irregular forces, in particular mercenaries, to invade the territory of another state.

The principle of resolving international disputes by peaceful means

According to paragraph 3 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter, "all Members of the United Nations resolve their international disputes by peaceful means in such a way as not to jeopardize international peace and security and justice." This principle is specified in the 1970 Declaration of Principles of International Law and the CSCE Final Act . These documents enshrined the obligation of states “to make efforts to arrive at a fair decision based on international law in a short time”, the obligation to “continue to seek mutually agreed ways for a peaceful settlement of the dispute” in cases where the dispute cannot be resolved, “to refrain from any actions that could worsen the situation to such an extent that it would jeopardize the maintenance of international peace and security, and thereby make the peaceful settlement of the dispute more difficult. ”

The UN Charter provides parties to a dispute with the freedom to choose such peaceful means that they consider most suitable for resolving this dispute. Many states in the peace system prefer diplomatic negotiations , through which most disputes are resolved.

The principle of non-interference in matters within the internal competence of states

A modern understanding of this principle in a general form is fixed in paragraph 7 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter and is concretized in authoritative international documents: the Declaration on the Principles of International Law of 1970, the Final Act of the CSCE , the UN Declaration on the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of states, on the protection of their independence and sovereignty of December 21, 1965, etc.

International law does not regulate the internal political situation of states, therefore, any measures of states or international organizations are considered interference with which they will try to prevent the subject of international law from resolving matters within its domestic competence.

In particular, each state has the inalienable right to choose its own political, economic, social and cultural system without interference in any form from any other state and no state should organize, help, incite, finance, promote or to allow armed, subversive or terrorist activities aimed at changing the system of another state through violence, as well as intervening in the internal struggle in another state.

An exception to this general rule is the use of coercive measures on the basis of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, that is, actions that can be taken in cases of threat to peace, violation of peace or an act of aggression. Currently, many experts in the field of international law also recognize that Chapter VII of the UN Charter can also be used to authorize the UN Security Council humanitarian intervention in the event of genocide or humanitarian catastrophe .

According to the document of the Moscow meeting, in 56 OSCE member states, human rights , fundamental freedoms , democracy and the rule of law are international in nature and are not exclusively internal affairs of the respective state ^[3] .

The principle of the obligation of states to cooperate with each other

In accordance with the UN Charter, states are obligated “to carry out international cooperation in resolving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature”, and are also obligated “to maintain international peace and security and to take effective collective measures to this end”. This principle has also been fixed in the charters of many international organizations, in international treaties, numerous resolutions and declarations.

The specific forms of cooperation and its scope depend on the states themselves, their needs and material resources, domestic legislation and international obligations assumed.

The principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples

Unconditional respect for the right of every people to freely choose the ways and forms of its development is one of the fundamental principles of international relations. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 1 of the UN Charter, one of the most important goals of the UN is “to develop friendly relations between nations on the basis of respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples ...”. This principle has been repeatedly confirmed in UN documents - in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 1960, the Human Rights Covenants of 1966, and the Declaration of Principles of International Law of 1970. The Declaration of Principles of the OSCE Final Act emphasizes the right of peoples to control their fate.

Each state, in accordance with the Declaration on the Principles of International Law of 1970, is obliged to refrain from any violent actions that could prevent the peoples from exercising their right to self-determination. Analyzing the characteristics of self-determination in the socio-political life of society and man, the author shows that self-determination is a process and the result of a social community choosing its own program for cultural, socio-economic or political self-realization. The political and legal phenomenology of self-determination presupposes the obligatory expression of free will regarding this choice, which emphasizes the role of the referendum and other forms of plebiscite on any issue of self-determination.

The principle of sovereign equality of states

Each state is obliged to respect the sovereignty of other participants in the system, that is, their right to exercise legislative, executive, administrative and judicial power within their own territory without any interference from other states, as well as independently conduct their foreign policy. This principle is reflected in paragraph 1 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter, which states: "The organization is based on the principle of sovereign equality of all its Members."

The main purpose of the principle of sovereign equality is to ensure legally equal participation in international relations of all states, regardless of differences in economic, social, political or other nature. Since states are equal participants in international communication, they all have fundamentally the same rights and obligations.

The principle of good faith compliance with international law

This principle arose in the form of the international legal custom pacta sunt servanda in the early stages of the development of statehood, and is currently reflected in numerous bilateral and multilateral international agreements.

The principle of conscientious fulfillment of obligations is enshrined in the UN Charter , the preamble of which emphasizes the determination of UN members to “create conditions under which justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law” can be respected. According to paragraph 2 of Art. 2 of the Charter, “all Members of the United Nations conscientiously fulfill the obligations assumed under this Charter in order to provide them all with the rights and advantages arising from membership in the Members of the Organization.”

This principle applies only to valid agreements. This means that the principle under consideration applies only to international treaties concluded voluntarily and on the basis of equality. Any unequal international treaty first of all violates the sovereignty of the state and as such violates the UN Charter , since the United Nations is “based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members,” which, in turn, have committed themselves to “develop friendly relations between nations based on respect the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. ”

It is believed that the principle has arisen since 1648 ( Westphalian Peace after the Thirty Years War ), when state representatives gathered at a round table as equal participants.

The principle of inviolability of state borders

This principle governs the relations of states regarding the establishment and protection of the border dividing their territory and the resolution of contentious issues in connection with the border. The idea of ​​the inviolability of borders was first legalized in an agreement between the USSR and the FRG of August 12, 1970 , and then in agreements between the NDP , the GDR, and Czechoslovakia with the FRG . Since that time, the inviolability of borders has become the norm of international law. The content of the principle and its development trends can also be traced by resolutions, declarations of international organizations. These include, first of all, acts of UN bodies, in particular, the Declaration of Principles on Friendly Relations of States of 1970, as well as the Declaration and Document on Confidence Building Measures of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which are dedicated to the institution of confidence building measures that is new for the principle under consideration. . “The participating States regard as inviolable all the borders of each other, as well as the borders of all states in Europe, and therefore they will refrain now and in the future from any encroachment on these borders.” The right of states in accordance with this principle is to demand the absolute inviolability of the established borders, the illegality of their change without coordination or under pressure, using force and the threat of force. States themselves determine the border crossing regime, the procedure for establishing or removing any restrictions on border crossing by individuals, goods, services, and so on. In light of this, the basic obligations of states are determined - strict observance of established borders, dividing or demarcation lines, including ceasefire lines, resolution of border disputes only by peaceful means, failure to render assistance to states violating the principle. The main content of the principle of inviolability of borders is reduced to three elements:

• recognition of existing borders as legally established in accordance with international law;
• refusal of any territorial claims at the moment or in the future;
• refusal of any other encroachment on these borders, including the threat or use of force.

The principle of territorial integrity of states

This principle was affirmed with the adoption of the UN Charter, which banned the threat of force or its use against the territorial integrity (inviolability) and political independence of any state.

The next step in the development of this principle was the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975 , which contains a separate and most comprehensive formulation of the principle of territorial integrity of states: “The participating States will respect the territorial integrity of each of the participating States. Accordingly, they will refrain from any action incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, against the territorial integrity, political independence or unity of any State party, and, in particular, from any such actions constituting the use of force or the threat of force. . The participating States will equally refrain from turning each other's territory into an object of military occupation or other direct or indirect measures of the use of force in violation of international law or into an object of acquisition through such measures or the threat of their implementation. No occupation or acquisition of this kind will be recognized as legal. ”

The principle of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms

The establishment of this principle as one of the main international legal principles is directly related to the adoption of the UN Charter . In the preamble of the Charter , UN members reaffirmed "faith in fundamental human rights ... in the equal rights of men and women ..." In Art. 1 as a goal of the members of the Organization, they speak of cooperation between them "in the promotion and development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of race, gender, language and religion." According to Art. 55 of the Charter "The United Nations promotes: a) raising the standard of living, full employment and conditions of economic and social progress and development; ... c) universal respect and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all ..." In Art. 56 provides that “all Members of the Organization undertake to take joint and independent actions in cooperation with the Organization to achieve the goals specified in art. 55. " The content of this principle is most precisely specified in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . Direct regulation and protection of human rights and freedoms are an internal affair of every state. The overwhelming majority of international human rights norms cannot be applied directly on the territory of the state and require certain steps for their implementation .

• United Nations Charter
• Declaration of Principles of International Law Relating to Friendly Relations and Cooperation between States in accordance with the United Nations Charter of October 24, 1970
• Final Act of the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
• UN Declarations - International Law