General Principles of International Law: From Rules to Values?

The paper analyzes the issue of general principles of international law as a distinct concept from that of general principles of law recognized in foro domestico. The authors maintain that any discussion on the nature and the functions of these principles in contemporary international law must consider, on the one hand, the framework of general theories of law and, on the other, the role that general principles of international law play in a structurally changed legal system, which is becoming increasingly based upon the recognition of common values. The conclusions drawn (Sect. 5) confirm that general principles of international law derive both from abstraction/induction from existing customary norms and from the general recognition by the international community, broadly understood. In the authors’ view, the second category of principles is more relevant and prevailing in the most recent international practice. Such a category confirms that recently a process of widening the foundations of general international law has occurred, with reference to certain shared and fundamental values emerging from the consensus of the international community. Most of these values tend towards goals of global justice.