France v. Turkey
E851637
case of the Permanent Court of International Justice
international court case
landmark decision in international law
France v. Turkey, known as the Lotus case, is a landmark 1927 decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice that shaped principles of jurisdiction and state sovereignty in international law.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| France v. Turkey (Lotus case) | 0 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
case of the Permanent Court of International Justice
ⓘ
international court case ⓘ landmark decision in international law ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Lotus case NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| applicableLaw | customary international law ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
criminal jurisdiction
ⓘ
law of the sea ⓘ public international law ⓘ |
| bindingOnParties | yes ⓘ |
| citation | Publications of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A, No. 10 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dateDecided | 1927-09-07 ⓘ |
| decidingCourt | Permanent Court of International Justice NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dissentingJudges | several judges of the Permanent Court of International Justice ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | considered a foundational case on state jurisdiction in international law ⓘ |
| influenced |
development of customary international law on jurisdiction
ⓘ
later jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice ⓘ scholarly debates on the nature of international legal obligations ⓘ |
| involvedState |
French Republic
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Republic of Turkey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| involvedVessel |
S.S. Boz-Kourt
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
S.S. Lotus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| keyHolding |
Turkey did not act in conflict with international law by instituting criminal proceedings against the French officer
ⓘ
in absence of a prohibitive rule of international law, a state may exercise jurisdiction ⓘ |
| languageOfProceedings | French ⓘ |
| legalIssue | whether Turkey could exercise criminal jurisdiction over a French officer for a collision on the high seas ⓘ |
| locationOfCourt | The Hague NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatingIncident | collision between French ship S.S. Lotus and Turkish ship S.S. Boz-Kourt GENERATED ⓘ |
| originatingIncidentDate | 1926-08-02 GENERATED ⓘ |
| originatingIncidentLocation | high seas in the Mediterranean ⓘ |
| parties |
France
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Turkey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| principleArticulated |
Lotus principle
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
permissive nature of international law regarding state jurisdiction unless expressly prohibited ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | dispute submitted by special agreement between France and Turkey ⓘ |
| relatedCaseBody | International Court of Justice (as successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice) GENERATED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
flag state jurisdiction
ⓘ
objective territoriality ⓘ territorial principle of jurisdiction ⓘ |
| resultForFrance | claims rejected in major part ⓘ |
| resultForTurkey | jurisdiction upheld ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
criminal jurisdiction on the high seas
ⓘ
international jurisdiction ⓘ state sovereignty ⓘ |
| subsequentDevelopment | later conventions on the law of the sea limited the broad Lotus approach to jurisdiction ⓘ |
| temporalContext | interwar period ⓘ |
| voteOutcome | majority decision ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1927 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.