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8 - The formal conception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2010

Roland Portmann
Roland Portmann
Affiliation:
Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Universität St Gallen, Switzerland
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Summary

The formal conception articulates no presumption for a particular entity to be an international person. The international legal system is declared completely open: anyone being the addressee of an international norm (right, duty or capacity) is an international person. Consequently, international personality is an a posteriori concept. In principle, there are also no direct legal consequences attached to being an international person. In particular, the capacity to create international law does not follow from personality. Hans Kelsen formulated the formal conception as part of his pure theory of law. It has been advocated, among others, by Paul Guggenheim, D. P. O'Connell and, perhaps most prominently, Julio A. Barberis. The main legal manifestations of the conception are the LaGrand and Avena decisions of the ICJ as well as mixed claims under BITs and human rights treaties in general.

Basic propositions

The formal conception declares personality in international law an essentially open concept. There are no limits as to which entities can be international persons:

Examinant le domaine de validité personnel du droit international, il convient de se demander pour quels sujets vaut cet ordre, à qui il s'adresse, c'est-à-dire quels sont les sujets dont il règle la conduite, les droits et les devoirs. Nous aurons à montrer qu'à cet égard la validité du droit international ne connaît pas de limites.

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Legal Personality in International Law , pp. 173 - 207
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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References

LaGrand Case (Germany v. United States), Judgment, 2001 ICJ Reports 466, para. 77
Jurisdiction of the Courts of Danzig (Advisory Opinion), 1928 PCIJ Series B No. 15, at 17–18
Questions Concerning Acquisition of Polish Nationality (Advisory Opinion), 1923 PCIJ Series B No. 7, at 20
Right to Information on Consular Assistance in the Framework of the Guarantees of the Due Process of Law (Advisory Opinion OC-16/99), 1999 IACHR Series A No. 16, paras 85–7.
Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States), 2004 ICJ Reports 12, para. 40.
Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon (US Supreme Court), 548 U.S. (2006).
Mondev International Ltd. v. United States (Award, 2002), 42 ILM 85, para. 116.
Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) v. Republic of the Philippines (Decision on Objections to Jurisdiction, 2004), 8 ICSID Reports 518, para. 154.
Amco Asia Corporation and Others v. The Republic of Indonesia (Resubmitted Case: Award on the Merits, 1990), 1 ICSID Reports 569, paras 37–40.
Amco Asia Corporation and Others v. The Republic of Indonesia (Award on the Merits, 1984), 1 ICSID Reports 413, paras 147–8.
Amco Asia Corporation and Others v. The Republic of Indonesia (Decision on Annulment, 1986), 1 ICSID Reports 509, paras 38–44.
Klöckner Industrie-Anlagen GmbH and Others v. Republic of Cameroon (Decision on Annulment, 1985), 2 ICSID Reports 95, paras 122–5, and 156.

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