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When war is being waged, man is inclined to ask himself whether only force is governing the relations between States. War, it is argued, rests on a fact, not on law, and so the existence of international law, asa body of rules applicable to the relations between States or to the relations between States and international institutions, is called into question. Is international law-both the law of peace and of war-really based on general principles of law, such as domestic law, or is it but a conception of the spirit? The problem of the significance of general principles in international law has already been examined bi; many authors, especially in relation to article 38 3 of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which Court is to apply, apart from international conventions and custom, the general principles of law recognized bij civilized nations.
The purpose of this study was to construct a new method of inquiry into the general principles, upon which international law is based. International law is unwritten law. Its positive rules must be sought in treaty texts, diplomatic correspondence, or decisions of interna- tional tribunals. The latter material will be especially used in this study, so as to avoid data of a rather political and subjective nature. Moreover, the international judge or arbitrator is mostly asked to 1 apply general rules of international law.
