How satisfactorily do the elements of state practice and opinio juris Essay

How satisfactorily do the elements of state practice and opinio juris explain the process of customary international law formation - Essay Example Therefore this essay shows that though there is a distinction between state practice and opinio juris but the element of both these (i.e. state practice and opinio juris) assists in the formation of customary international law. The actions are the state practice whereas the statements are opinio juris. Hence, custom can be formed by the actions only when these actions are came with a juncture of the action’s legality. Opinio juris relates statements of belief instead of real beliefs.3 In addition to this, opinio juris is presented by the resolutions and pacts as both of these are the statements regarding the activity’s lawfulness, instead of cases of that action. The information used for this essay is taken from different websites by using the search engines. In this essay we will first assess customary international law and then we will discuss how does state practice and opinio juris are used for the formation of customary international law. In general, it is accepted that two components that are necessary for the presence of customary international law are state practice and an impression that this practice is mandatory, allowed or prohibited, based on the type of the regulation, as a question of law (opinio juris). According to international justice court â€Å"It is naturally self-evident that the object of customary international law is to be searched mainly in the state’s real practice and opinio juris.†4 After the assessment of customary international we continue our essay and start assessing the one of the element of customary international law i.e. state practice. For this purpose the source the use is the book name â€Å"Legal Personality in International Law,† written by Roland Portmann. The content related to the state practice taken from this book is discussed below; To assess the state practice, it has to be considered whether