Talk:Public International Law/Subjects and Actors in International Law

Review: May 19th, 2023
Dear Viljam,

Thanks for this great introduction. The difficulty of this small chapter of course is that it has been written before all of the chapters mentioned in it were delivered. I think there is now a bit of overlap that can be shortened (especially with regards to the individuals chapter and the section on IO resolutions as sources beyond art. 38 ICJ statute in the sources chapter).

In my opinion, in the very first paragraph the relevance of the concept of personhood could be made a bit clearer: Per definition, IL is the law regulating the relationship between the subjects of international law. Definition of legal subjectivity/personality: capability of having international rights and/or duties

Furthermore, it could be made a bit clearer that traditionally, states are the original and only plenary subjects of IL Other subjects: no full personality, only limited in scope and „conferred“ by states Legal personality not binary; different degrees possible No „numerus clausus“, but until today limited number of subjects of IL

Finally, I wonder whether it is necessary to explain a little bit why we term the entire chapter "subjects and actors". We did so because we include actors such as corporations, cities, and women that are not traditionally considered to possess international legal personality, but who nonetheless play, and have played, a role in shaping the International order. Already in this title lies a criticism of the - too narrow - concept of subjects. Do you think it would be possible to include these more general considerations that are important for the "golden thread"/overall narrative of the book in your text?

Best, Raffaela --Raffaela Kunz (discuss • contribs) 15:51, 19 May 2023 (UTC)

Review: May 16, 2023
Your chapter provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of the various actors that play a role in international law. This introduction to the following sections was particularly well-written, providing a clear and concise overview of the topic and the issues that will be explored. You did an excellent job of framing the discussion by highlighting the importance of understanding the various actors in international law, as well as the challenges that arise in defining and categorizing them. One aspect of the chapter that I appreciated was the numerous links to other sections of the textbook. Overall, I found the chapter on subjects and actors in international law to be a valuable introduction for the following section.

Some minor things:

- You will find some comments in your chapter in which I elaborate on something more specifically. To view these comments, just open you chapter page and click on "Edit" in the top-right toolbox.

- Note that I have made some linguistic improvements to the text

Max Milas (discuss • contribs) 07:08, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Dear Viljam, Thank you for your first outline! In my opinion, this provides a good indroduction. Here some additional thoughts and suggestions:

1) Rather than speaking of "States as the main actors in IL", I would use the wording "main subjects". Our main title "Actors in IL" is probably a bit confusing here; however, after some discussion in our group we will rename it into "Actors and Subjects". The idea is that actors is broader than subjects, but in relation to states, I find it more conniving to speak of subjects. Overall, however, I would find it very interesting to hear your thoughts about the usefulness of the concept of "subjects". Would it make more sense to broaden the focus and discuss actors instead? See also the Speaking of actors, I find very interesting the debate about the role of cities in international law, see also the recently published handbook by Aust and Nijman. 2) Under the Westphalia heading, we should probably insert links to the first part of the book on the founding myths. 3) I find it very useful to have a sub-section on legal personality in this introduction. 4) Maybe under A you could add a small section on further "classic" subjects of IL, such as the Holy See or thee Red Cross.

Best, Raffaela

--Raffaela Kunz (discuss • contribs) 18:42, 31 October 2021 (UTC)