HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT FORM OF UNWRITTEN SOURCES OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

The article deals with the historical development, legal nature and contemporary significance of three unwritten sources of public international law – international custom, general principles of law and tacit international agreements. The aim is to assess their position in the context of the growing dominance of treaty law and to identify trends in their further development. The research is based on qualitative legal analysis using historical, comparative, normative and teleological methods, with an emphasis on the views of the international law science, the case law of the International Court of Justice and the codification outputs of the UN International Law Commission. The authors conclude that despite the expansion of written sources, unwritten sources remain relevant and irreplaceable parts of the international legal order, especially in filling gaps in written sources of international law, its interpretation and ensuring its flexibility.