CLAT PG question bank
CLAT PG International Law questions 176-200 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 law of sources in international law is less mechanical than a statutory hierarchy. Article 38 of the ICJ Statute lists treaties, custom, general principles, and subsidiary means such as judicial decisions and scholarly writings. Custom requires both state practice and opinio juris, but the evidence of these elements may come from varied materials including diplomatic conduct, domestic legislation, pleadings, voting patterns, and institutional declarations. Soft law instruments are not binding merely because they are influential, yet they may shape behaviour and provide evidence of legal belief. Peremptory norms occupy a different plane. A jus cogens norm cannot be displaced by treaty, persistent objection, or ordinary consent. The examiner's task is therefore to separate binding law, evidence of law, and non-derogable legal limits.
A source-analysis framework used by the Court.
A complete world penal code.
A domestic constitutional schedule.
A rule only about maritime zones.
Correct answer: A. A source-analysis framework used by the Court.
The passage describes Article 38 as listing materials used in legal source analysis.
Source note: ICJ Statute Article 38; VCLT Article 53; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Only political convenience.
Opinio juris.
Only academic approval.
Only a Security Council veto.
Correct answer: B. Opinio juris.
The two classic elements identified are practice and opinio juris.
Source note: ICJ Statute Article 38; VCLT Article 53; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Automatically invalidate all treaties.
Always bind as criminal law.
Shape conduct and provide evidence of legal belief.
Replace state practice in every case.
Correct answer: C. Shape conduct and provide evidence of legal belief.
The passage carefully distinguishes influence and evidentiary relevance from automatic binding force.
Source note: ICJ Statute Article 38; VCLT Article 53; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
It exists only in private contracts.
It is always non-legal policy.
It applies only to WTO disputes.
It cannot be displaced by ordinary consent or persistent objection.
Correct answer: D. It cannot be displaced by ordinary consent or persistent objection.
The passage highlights non-derogability as the distinctive feature of peremptory norms.
Source note: ICJ Statute Article 38; VCLT Article 53; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Binding law, evidence of law, and non-derogable limits.
Treaties, taxes, and torts.
Domestic pleadings and private emails only.
Military power and population size.
Correct answer: A. Binding law, evidence of law, and non-derogable limits.
That is the analytical distinction expressly drawn in the passage.
Source note: ICJ Statute Article 38; VCLT Article 53; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Treaty law begins with consent, but international law does not leave consent unstructured. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides rules on capacity, authority, signature, ratification, reservations, interpretation, invalidity, and termination. Pacta sunt servanda requires performance in good faith. A state may not ordinarily rely on its internal law to escape treaty performance. Interpretation begins with ordinary meaning in context and in light of object and purpose, while preparatory work may supplement that analysis. Reservations allow participation in multilateral treaties, but they are not unlimited. A reservation incompatible with the treaty's object and purpose is legally problematic. Consent is also limited by doctrines of error, fraud, corruption, coercion, and conflict with jus cogens.
Completely outside legal control.
Legally structured by rules of treaty law.
Relevant only to private contracts.
Automatically invalid in every case.
Correct answer: B. Legally structured by rules of treaty law.
The passage says consent is central but shaped by the VCLT framework.
Source note: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Only when politically convenient.
Only after domestic courts approve each act.
In good faith.
Without any legal obligation.
Correct answer: C. In good faith.
Good faith performance is the core of pacta sunt servanda.
Source note: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Military convenience.
Private negotiating gossip only.
Domestic tax law.
Object and purpose.
Correct answer: D. Object and purpose.
That is the Article 31 method described in the passage.
Source note: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
The object and purpose of the treaty.
The font used in the treaty.
A later press conference.
The nationality of a judge.
Correct answer: A. The object and purpose of the treaty.
The object and purpose test is identified in the passage.
Source note: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Consent always defeats jus cogens.
Consent cannot validate every apparent treaty obligation.
Fraud strengthens treaty validity.
Coercion is irrelevant to treaty law.
Correct answer: B. Consent cannot validate every apparent treaty obligation.
The passage lists doctrines that limit or invalidate consent.
Source note: Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Statehood is often introduced through the Montevideo criteria: permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states. These criteria do not operate like a checklist detached from political reality. Recognition affects the practical ability of an entity to act internationally, even if one adopts a declaratory view of statehood. Recognition of a government is a different question from recognition of a state. Self-determination adds another layer, particularly in decolonisation and situations of serious denial of representative rights. State succession then asks what happens to treaties, property, archives, debts, boundaries, and nationality when sovereignty changes. Stability and fairness pull the doctrine in different directions.
Membership of the Security Council.
A democratic constitution.
Capacity to enter into relations with other states.
Universal recognition.
Correct answer: C. Capacity to enter into relations with other states.
The passage lists capacity for international relations as a Montevideo criterion.
Source note: Montevideo Convention; Namibia Advisory Opinion; state succession doctrine
The colour of a national flag only.
The existence of gravity.
Only private employment contracts.
The practical ability of an entity to act internationally.
Correct answer: D. The practical ability of an entity to act internationally.
The passage distinguishes formal theory from practical international operation.
Source note: Montevideo Convention; Namibia Advisory Opinion; state succession doctrine
Who represents an existing state.
Whether land exists.
Whether all treaties are void.
Whether a sea zone is 12 nautical miles.
Correct answer: A. Who represents an existing state.
The passage expressly distinguishes recognition of state from recognition of government.
Source note: Montevideo Convention; Namibia Advisory Opinion; state succession doctrine
Ordinary commercial arbitration.
Serious denial of representative rights.
Consular fee disputes.
Private succession law only.
Correct answer: B. Serious denial of representative rights.
Those are the two contexts identified in the passage.
Source note: Montevideo Convention; Namibia Advisory Opinion; state succession doctrine
Only strict arithmetic.
Only domestic criminal law.
Tension between stability and fairness.
Complete absence of principle.
Correct answer: C. Tension between stability and fairness.
The passage closes by identifying competing pulls in succession doctrine.
Source note: Montevideo Convention; Namibia Advisory Opinion; state succession doctrine
Jurisdiction translates sovereignty into legal authority, but cross-border conduct complicates the analysis. Territorial jurisdiction remains the strongest basis, yet states also rely on nationality, passive personality, the protective principle, and universal jurisdiction in limited cases. Prescriptive jurisdiction must be distinguished from enforcement jurisdiction: a state may prescribe rules with an accepted connection, but it generally cannot enforce those rules in another state's territory without consent. Immunity doctrine then imposes additional limits. Diplomatic immunity protects mission functions. State immunity increasingly follows a restrictive theory, separating sovereign acts from commercial acts. Official immunities require careful distinction between status-based personal immunity and conduct-based immunity for official acts.
Universal jurisdiction in every case.
Private nationality of a lawyer.
General Assembly attendance.
Territorial jurisdiction.
Correct answer: D. Territorial jurisdiction.
The passage expressly calls territorial jurisdiction the strongest basis.
Source note: Lotus principle; VCDR; Arrest Warrant Case; state immunity doctrine
Essential state security or governmental interests.
Only private convenience.
Only family property.
Only the weather.
Correct answer: A. Essential state security or governmental interests.
That is the recognised basis of protective jurisdiction.
Source note: Lotus principle; VCDR; Arrest Warrant Case; state immunity doctrine
Treaty interpretation.
Enforcement jurisdiction.
Recognition of governments.
Refugee status.
Correct answer: B. Enforcement jurisdiction.
The key distinction is between making rules and physically enforcing them.
Source note: Lotus principle; VCDR; Arrest Warrant Case; state immunity doctrine
Treaties from custom only.
Nationals from aliens only.
Sovereign acts from commercial acts.
Ports from airports only.
Correct answer: C. Sovereign acts from commercial acts.
That distinction is the central point of restrictive immunity.
Source note: Lotus principle; VCDR; Arrest Warrant Case; state immunity doctrine
Maritime delimitation.
Dual nationality.
Treaty registration.
Conduct-based immunity for official acts.
Correct answer: D. Conduct-based immunity for official acts.
Status-based immunity and conduct-based official acts immunity are the two categories highlighted.
Source note: Lotus principle; VCDR; Arrest Warrant Case; state immunity doctrine
The law of the sea divides maritime space into zones with different legal consequences. The territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles and carries coastal-state sovereignty subject to innocent passage. The contiguous zone allows limited control connected with customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws. The exclusive economic zone is not full sovereignty; it gives sovereign rights for resources and certain jurisdiction while preserving navigation freedoms of other states. Continental shelf rights are inherent and concern seabed and subsoil resources. The high seas remain open to all states and cannot be appropriated. Doctrines such as hot pursuit and piracy show that enforcement at sea is permitted only within carefully defined limits.
12 nautical miles.
24 nautical miles as full sovereignty.
200 nautical miles as full sovereignty.
350 nautical miles in all cases.
Correct answer: A. 12 nautical miles.
The passage states the standard UNCLOS breadth of the territorial sea.
Source note: UNCLOS; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Outer space mining.
Sanitary laws.
International criminal trials.
Diplomatic recognition.
Correct answer: B. Sanitary laws.
Those four categories are listed in the passage.
Source note: UNCLOS; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
A right to annex islands.
Complete control of resources.
Navigation freedoms and other lawful uses.
A right to close all ports.
Correct answer: C. Navigation freedoms and other lawful uses.
The passage contrasts resource rights with continuing freedoms of other states.
Source note: UNCLOS; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Only diplomatic property.
Only refugee status.
Only air routes.
Seabed and subsoil resources.
Correct answer: D. Seabed and subsoil resources.
The continental shelf is legally connected to seabed and subsoil resource rights.
Source note: UNCLOS; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
Permitted within defined legal limits.
Completely unlimited.
Only a matter of private contract.
Never regulated by international law.
Correct answer: A. Permitted within defined legal limits.
The passage frames both doctrines as carefully limited enforcement powers.
Source note: UNCLOS; North Sea Continental Shelf Cases