CLAT PG question bank
CLAT PG International Law questions 126-150 of 225, with answer keys and explanations covering sources, treaties, State responsibility, recognition, jurisdiction, law of the sea, the United Nations, use of force, and human rights.
Coverage
Revise core LLB subjects through CLAT PG MCQs, passage-led questions, answer keys, explanations, statutes, and exam-oriented legal principles.
The United Nations system distributes authority among distinct organs. The Security Council has primary responsibility for international peace and security, while the General Assembly remains an important deliberative and recommendatory body. Chapter VII decisions may bind member states. The International Court of Justice decides contentious cases only with state consent, but also gives advisory opinions at the request of authorised organs and agencies. Recent practice confirms the legal force of provisional measures and the continuing importance of advisory opinions in disputed and politically sensitive settings.
General Assembly
Security Council
Trusteeship Council
ECOSOC
Correct answer: B. Security Council
The passage assigns primary responsibility to the Security Council.
Source note: UN Charter; ICJ Statute; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
A permanent criminal court
A deliberative and recommendatory organ
A military alliance
A treaty registration office only
Correct answer: B. A deliberative and recommendatory organ
The passage describes the Assembly in deliberative and recommendatory terms.
Source note: UN Charter; ICJ Statute; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Be binding on member states
Apply only to corporations
Eliminate the UN Charter
Bind courts but not states
Correct answer: A. Be binding on member states
The passage expressly notes the possible binding force of Chapter VII measures.
Source note: UN Charter; ICJ Statute; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Consent of the states concerned
A request by any private person
Approval of journalists
Support from a commercial tribunal
Correct answer: A. Consent of the states concerned
State consent remains the foundation of contentious ICJ jurisdiction.
Source note: UN Charter; ICJ Statute; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
They are merely symbolic
They are legally serious and binding in effect
They belong only to advisory proceedings
They can be ignored without consequence
Correct answer: B. They are legally serious and binding in effect
The passage points to the legal force of provisional measures in modern ICJ jurisprudence.
Source note: UN Charter; ICJ Statute; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of states. Article 51 preserves the inherent right of self-defence if an armed attack occurs, but any response must remain necessary and proportionate. Debate continues over anticipatory self-defence, intervention by invitation, and the legal status of humanitarian intervention without Security Council authorisation. State practice remains central, but the Charter framework continues to define the baseline prohibition.
Territorial integrity or political independence of states
Only military treaties
Only commercial shipping
Only border taxation
Correct answer: A. Territorial integrity or political independence of states
That is the classic wording reflected in the passage.
Source note: UN Charter; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Collective punishment
Self-defence
Annexation
State succession
Correct answer: B. Self-defence
Article 51 preserves the inherent right of self-defence.
Source note: UN Charter; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Necessary and proportionate
Popular and profitable
Secret and indefinite
Purely symbolic
Correct answer: A. Necessary and proportionate
The passage states those as continuing legal constraints.
Source note: UN Charter; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Anticipatory self-defence
Whether treaties exist
Whether states have territory
Whether the UN Charter was adopted
Correct answer: A. Anticipatory self-defence
The passage specifically flags anticipatory self-defence as debated.
Source note: UN Charter; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Completely obsolete
The baseline legal framework despite ongoing debate
Relevant only to Europe
Only a moral document
Correct answer: B. The baseline legal framework despite ongoing debate
That is the central conclusion drawn in the passage.
Source note: UN Charter; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
The modern law of state responsibility asks whether conduct is attributable to a state and whether that conduct breaches an international obligation. Once responsibility is established, consequences may include cessation, assurances of non repetition, and full reparation. Reparation may take the form of restitution, compensation, satisfaction, or a combination. Countermeasures are not ordinary punishment. They are structured responses by an injured state intended to induce compliance and are constrained by proportionality and other limits.
A breach of an international obligation
A domestic election result
A treaty among private citizens
A press release
Correct answer: A. A breach of an international obligation
The passage gives attribution and breach as the two basic steps.
Source note: ARSIWA; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Cessation
Automatic annexation
Private criminal sentencing
Trade embargo by individuals
Correct answer: A. Cessation
The passage lists cessation as one of the classic consequences.
Source note: ARSIWA; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Restitution
Compensation
Satisfaction
Abolition of the United Nations
Correct answer: D. Abolition of the United Nations
The passage lists restitution, compensation, and satisfaction as forms of reparation.
Source note: ARSIWA; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Ordinary punishment
Structured responses intended to induce compliance
Permanent severance of all relations
A purely judicial remedy
Correct answer: B. Structured responses intended to induce compliance
The passage emphasises that countermeasures are instrumental, not simply punitive.
Source note: ARSIWA; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Countermeasures
Recognition of states only
Nationality law only
Consular relations only
Correct answer: A. Countermeasures
It expressly notes that countermeasures are constrained by proportionality and other limits.
Source note: ARSIWA; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Post-war international law greatly expanded the legal position of individuals. Human rights treaties established monitoring bodies, reporting processes, and in some cases complaints procedures. Refugee law and broader human rights law both reinforce the principle of non refoulement, which restrains return to places of persecution or serious prohibited harm. Derogation clauses do not authorise the suspension of every right, and some guarantees remain non derogable even in times of emergency.
Only states
Individuals
Only shipping corporations
Only military commanders
Correct answer: B. Individuals
The human rights turn of international law is described in terms of the individual's enhanced legal position.
Source note: Human rights and refugee law; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Reporting processes
Private navies
Automatic constitutional amendment everywhere
Territorial conquest review boards
Correct answer: A. Reporting processes
The passage lists reporting and complaints style supervision.
Source note: Human rights and refugee law; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Returning a person to a place of persecution or serious prohibited harm
Checking immigration documents
Issuing passports
Collecting customs duties
Correct answer: A. Returning a person to a place of persecution or serious prohibited harm
That is the central protective content given in the passage.
Source note: Human rights and refugee law; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Competition law
Broader human rights law
Law of the sea only
Corporate insolvency
Correct answer: B. Broader human rights law
It expressly places the principle in both frameworks.
Source note: Human rights and refugee law; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Every right can be suspended in emergencies
Some rights remain non derogable even during emergencies
Derogation clauses are always invalid
Emergency law replaces treaty law entirely
Correct answer: B. Some rights remain non derogable even during emergencies
The passage clearly states that some guarantees remain non derogable.
Source note: Human rights and refugee law; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
International humanitarian law governs armed conflict through rules such as distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack. Civilians and civilian objects may not be directly targeted. Incidental civilian harm is unlawful when excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. Occupation law applies where territory is placed under the authority of hostile armed forces. The legal framework is functional and factual, not dependent on formal annexation.
Civilians and combatants
Only allies and neutrals
Only police and army officers
Only permanent and temporary residents
Correct answer: A. Civilians and combatants
That is the essence of distinction in the passage.
Source note: Geneva law and customary IHL; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Registered
Directly targeted
Repaired
Inspected
Correct answer: B. Directly targeted
This is one of the basic IHL protections expressly stated in the passage.
Source note: Geneva law and customary IHL; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Unexpected in any degree
Excessive relative to the anticipated military advantage
Less than property damage
Connected to a siege
Correct answer: B. Excessive relative to the anticipated military advantage
That is the proportionality test described in the passage.
Source note: Geneva law and customary IHL; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Friendly forces invited by all residents
Hostile armed forces
An international bank
A cultural mission
Correct answer: B. Hostile armed forces
The passage defines occupation in functional terms by reference to hostile military authority.
Source note: Geneva law and customary IHL; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law
Formal annexation
Presence of roads
Population density
Length of the coastline
Correct answer: A. Formal annexation
The final sentence of the passage states exactly that point.
Source note: Geneva law and customary IHL; Malcolm N Shaw, International Law