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tempts to impose international norms under the guise of of the legal principles, despite their formal similarity, have, in some in-
customary law. 118 Accordingly, the Soviet approach stances, different meanings in the legal systems of socialist and capitalist
1 toward customary law has had great appeal to African and states. Therefore, it can be said with full justification that paragraph "c"
of Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of the U.N. was
Asian states. and remains for all intents and purposes a dead letter. 125
d. General principles. Paragraph 1 (c) of article 38 of
the Statute of the I.C.J. authorizes the Court to apply "the (4) The Western interpretation that general princi-
general principles of law recognized by civilized nations" ples include domestic legislation is dismissed by the Soviet
in deciding, in accordance with international law, the dis- Union as simply a Western attempt to impose the
putes submitted to it. Various meanings have been at- bourgeois system of law upon socialist states and the
tributed to this article, with the Western view being that newly evolved countries of Africa and Asia. 126
"general principles'' are a true, if subsidiary, source of in- e. Soviet auxiliary "sources" of international law.
ternational law. 119 The general reluctance on the part of Rather than speaking in terms of "evidences" of interna-
the Soviet Union to expand the competence and impor- tional law, Soviet jurists recognize the existence of auxil-
tance of international tribunals has resulted in its rejection iary "sources" of international jurisprudence (e.g., resolu-
of general priiciples as an independent source of interna- tions of international organizations, decisions of interna-
tional law. tional courts, and domestic legislation). These are more
(1) In the Soviet view, article 38 does not purport to precisely described as auxiliary processes for the
establish general principles as a source of international manifestation of the agreement of states (i.e., other than
law, nor to empower the I.C.J. to create law on the basis through treaties or the acceptance of custom): 127
of such principles: There are also auxiliary processes (resolutions and decisions of inter-
national organizations, international courts, and courts of arbitration;
In [Article 381 it is clearly stated that the Court decides disputes "on national legislation; and the decisions of domestic courts) which are a
the basis of international law. . . ." The Court does not create interna- definite stage in the process of the formation of norms but do not ac-
tional law, it applies it. 120 tually result in their formation. With rare exception, the process of norm
The majority of Soviet authors are of the view that paragraph 1 (c) of formation in general international law takes the form of a treaty or an in-
Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court does not contemplate ternational custom. 128
a special source of international law or a special method of creating
norms of international law. The "general principles of law" can only be (1) With regard to resolutions of international
principles of international law. 121 organizations, it is said that ". . . resolutions of the
(2) The requirement that the court decide disputes General Assembly, adopted unanimously or by a two-
"on the basis of international law" is viewed as support thirds majority where that majority includes socialist and
for the view that paragraph 1 (c) of article 38 does not con- capitalist states . . . are binding on the members of the
template the application of domestic law, but only interna- U.N. and, therefore, have juridical force." 129 This, it is
argued, does not conflict with the view that the agreement
tional law: 122
of states is the sole source of international law, as such a
The International Court of Justice can in addition to international
conventions and international customs apply "the general principles of resolution constitutes, at the very least, an oral agree-
law recognized by civilized nations" [Article 38(c), Statute of Intema- ment. 130
tional Court]. Many of these principles are still of great importance for (2) Soviet commentaries treat domestic law as an
the development and affiation of democratic rules of international auxiliary source in the context of the general view that, to
law. They are realized either through the appropriate international
treaties or through international custom and are in fact their generaliza- become normative as "general principles," domestic law
tion. Principles reflected neither in international treaties nor in interna- must be agreed to by states:
tional custom cannot be considered "general principles." 123 National legislation (for example, laws regarding state monopolies of
(3) Additionally, the Soviets claim that general prin- foreign trade, etc.) exerts a great influence on the formation of Rules of
International Law. But national legislation acquires the status of a source
ciples of domestic law 124 do not exist, despite formal of International Law only when it is recognized as a Rule of Interna-
similarities in the various legal systems; the laws of tional Law either through international treaty or through international
socialist and capitalist states have a different class basis custom. National legislation cannot therefore be considered as an inde-
and, as a consequence, potentially different substantive pendent source of International Law. 131
content: The agreement of states is considered the key to the juridi-
In the world there are states with two [different] social-economic cal effectiveness of international judicial decisions and
systems and, as a consequence, two types of legal systems. The majority legal treaties, i.e., "[albsent the agreement of states, deci-

118. G. Tunkin, supra note 86, at 103. 125. P.Lukin, supra note 101, at 100.
119. H. Briggs, The Law of Nations 48 (2d ed. 1952). 126. G. Tunkin, supra note 86, at 154.
120. G. Tunkin, supra note 86, at 147-148. See also Kozhevnikov, 127. Id. at 157.
Inter~tional Court at the Crossroads, 36 New Times 3 (Sept. 7, 1966). 128. Id. at 157-158.
121. Id. at 152. 129. Shurshalov, review of N.M. Minasian, Sushchnost' Sovremen-
122. Id. at 15.5. novo Mezhdunarodnovo Prava [The Essence of Contemporay Inlerna-
123. MOSCOW:Foreign Languages Publishing House, Intermtio~l tional Lad, 5 SGIP 159 (1964).
Law 12 (n. d.). 130. Id.
124. G. Tunkin, supra note 86, at 155. 131. International Law, supra note 123, at 12-13.