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2 results

  • Introduction

  • Rossana Deplano, University of Leicester
  • Book:
    Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on International Law
    Published online:
    21 July 2022
    Print publication:
    04 August 2022, pp 1-24

  • Summary

    The Introduction provides an overview of the four streams of thought about the legal significance of resolutions. It shows that General Assembly resolutions do not fit the paradigm of Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice and, in any case, the traditional signposts contained in that provision do not explain the basis of legal obligation in the contemporary international society. It provides an argument for developing an empirically grounded analysis of how resolutions acquire legal significance in different contexts through state practice. It subsequently outlines the structure of the analysis, which culminates with the formulation of an original theory of legal significance of resolutions. The latter develops in three different contexts – namely, at the adoption stage, within domestic law and in international practice.

Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on International Law
  • How States Use the UN General Assembly to Create International Obligations
  • Rossana Deplano
  • Published online:
    21 July 2022
    Print publication:
    04 August 2022
  • The book examines the processes through which the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly acquire legal significance through state practice. By using an empirically-grounded method of inquiry, it examines how states attribute legal significance to resolutions in three different contexts: at the time of adoption, within domestic law and in international practice. The book shows that, contrary to the existent theories on the legal significance of resolutions, the General Assembly is not a unitary actor. It also demonstrates that the concept of legal significance of resolutions is not predetermined or static. While resolutions are often framed in normative language, they acquire legal significance only to the extent that states find it desirable or convenient, depending on context and circumstances. Consequently, the attribution of legal significance to resolutions turns out to be a manifestation of state will to abide by their content, not the will of the General Assembly.