GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW AND STATE SOVEREIGNTY: CONTRIBUTION OF A FORGOTTEN SOURCE IN CONSTRUCTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

According to the Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice، the General Principles of Law constitute one of the formal sources of International legal order. Despite this article، it is difficult to draw a clear view from this notion during the history of International law. Because of this ambiguities، it is legitimate to ask what do we mean by «general principles of law» and what is the real role of them in construction of our modern law And what is the relation between the general principles and the sovereignty? This article tries to find an answer to these fundamental questions.