Lotus case
E47945
The Lotus case was a landmark 1927 decision by the Permanent Court of International Justice that shaped principles of jurisdiction in international law, particularly affirming states’ freedom to act unless expressly prohibited by international rules.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
international court case
ⓘ
judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice ⓘ landmark decision ⓘ |
| applicantState | France ⓘ |
| citation | Publications of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A, No. 10 ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
insufficient attention to sovereignty of other states
ⓘ
overly permissive view of state jurisdiction ⓘ |
| decidedBy | judges of the Permanent Court of International Justice sitting in plenary formation ⓘ |
| decidingCourt | Permanent Court of International Justice ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1927-09-07 ⓘ |
| geographicalContext | Mediterranean Sea ⓘ |
| historicalContext | interwar period of the League of Nations ⓘ |
| involvedState |
France
ⓘ
Turkey ⓘ |
| keyIssue |
criminal jurisdiction over incidents on the high seas
ⓘ
extent of a state’s jurisdiction in the absence of prohibitive rules of international law ⓘ permissive nature of international law ⓘ |
| languageOfProceedings | French ⓘ |
| legalField |
international law
ⓘ
jurisdiction in international law ⓘ law of the sea ⓘ |
| legalSignificance |
foundational case on jurisdiction in public international law
ⓘ
influential in debates on the permissive versus restrictive nature of international law ⓘ |
| officialName | The Case of the S.S. "Lotus" ⓘ |
| originatingIncidentLocation | high seas ⓘ |
| originatingIncidentType | collision between ships on the high seas ⓘ |
| originatingVessel |
French steamship Lotus
ⓘ
Turkish collier Boz-Kourt ⓘ |
| partyRoleOfFrance | complainant ⓘ |
| partyRoleOfTurkey | respondent ⓘ |
| principleAffirmed |
effects doctrine in jurisdiction
ⓘ
no general rule prohibiting a state from exercising jurisdiction over acts committed abroad that have effects within its territory ⓘ states are free to act unless there is a prohibitive rule of international law ⓘ territoriality principle in criminal jurisdiction ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | contentious case submitted by special agreement between France and Turkey ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Lotus principle
ⓘ
effects doctrine ⓘ flag state jurisdiction ⓘ jurisdictional competence of states ⓘ territorial jurisdiction ⓘ |
| respondentState | Turkey ⓘ |
| result | Turkey was not obliged to discontinue criminal proceedings against the French officer ⓘ |
| shortName | S.S. Lotus ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | criminal prosecution of a French officer by Turkish courts ⓘ |
| subsequentInfluence |
cited in later International Court of Justice jurisprudence
ⓘ
discussed extensively in international law scholarship ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1927 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.