Lotus principle
E851641
The Lotus principle is a foundational concept in international law asserting that states are free to act as they wish unless explicitly restricted by international law, as articulated in the S.S. Lotus case.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
legal doctrine
ⓘ
principle of international law ⓘ |
| appliedInContext | criminal jurisdiction over incidents on the high seas ⓘ |
| appliesTo | sovereign states ⓘ |
| articulatedBy | Judge Basdevant (majority opinion) of the Permanent Court of International Justice NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| articulatedIn | Judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice in S.S. Lotus (1927) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| concerns |
allocation of jurisdiction between states
ⓘ
residual freedom of states ⓘ |
| contrastsWith | presumption in favor of restrictions on state action ⓘ |
| coreClaim |
Restrictions upon the independence of states cannot be presumed
ⓘ
States are free to act unless there is a prohibitive rule of international law ⓘ What is not prohibited by international law is permitted to states ⓘ |
| criticizedBy | many contemporary international law scholars ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
insufficient attention to community interests in international law
ⓘ
overemphasis on state freedom ⓘ |
| formulatedBy | Permanent Court of International Justice NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| formulatedInCase | S.S. Lotus (France v. Turkey) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| formulatedYear | 1927 ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Lotus presumption
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lotus rule NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasImplication |
burden of proof lies on those alleging a prohibition under international law
ⓘ
in absence of a prohibitive rule, states may extend jurisdiction ⓘ |
| historicalContext | interwar development of international law ⓘ |
| influenced |
doctrine of permissive rules in international law
ⓘ
subsequent debates on jurisdiction in international law ⓘ |
| influencedBy | classical positivism in international law ⓘ |
| keyPhrase |
“International law leaves to States a wide measure of discretion which is only limited in certain cases by prohibitive rules.”
ⓘ
“Restrictions upon the independence of States cannot therefore be presumed.” ⓘ |
| legalDomain | public international law ⓘ |
| namedAfter | S.S. Lotus case NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedFromDisputeBetween |
France
GENERATED
ⓘ
Turkey GENERATED ⓘ |
| relatedCase | S.S. Lotus (France v. Turkey), PCIJ Series A No. 10 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatesToConcept |
consent in international law
ⓘ
customary international law ⓘ freedom of action of states ⓘ jurisdiction of states ⓘ prohibitive rules of international law ⓘ sources of international law ⓘ state sovereignty ⓘ |
| statusInModernLaw |
contested
ⓘ
partly superseded by more restrictive understandings of state powers in some areas ⓘ |
| stillCitedIn |
international court and tribunal decisions
ⓘ
international law scholarship ⓘ |
| supportsView | presumption in favor of state freedom ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.