论国际法渊源之“一般法律原则”

The General Legal Principle of the International Law

《国际法院规约》第38条第1款被认为是概括了国际法的主要渊源。但对其中的"一般法律原则"是否是国际法渊源却存在着诸多争议。本文认为,"一般法律原则"意在法院法官的"自由裁量权"与各国意志之间寻求合理的平衡,以便在缺乏确切的国际条约和国际习惯依据时,法官可以在各国国内法的基础上归纳出可以裁判案件的法律原则。抽象性是"一般法律原则"的特点而不应该理解为是其弱点,在施加严格适用条件的情况下,它拥有其他国际法渊源所不具备的独特功能。尽管适用机会不多,但北海大陆架案是其适用的实例。

Statute of the International Court of Justice （ICJ） article 38 （1） is considered to summarize the primary sources of the international law. But there are many disputes over whether its ＂general legal principle＂ is among the origins of the international law. This paper argues that the ＂general legal principle＂ is intended to achieve balance between the ICJ judges＇ discretionary power and each country＇s opinion, so that the judges can generalize the feasible principles of law on the basis of all countries＇ national laws, whenever there is no exact international treaty or conventional practice to follow. Abstraction is a characteristic of the general law, and should not be understood as its weaknesses, for it has a unique function which other international laws do not possess under some hugely proper circumstances. Although there are few applicative cases, it can be applicable to the North Sea continental shelf case.