SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

The question of who can possess rights and duties under public international law is central to understanding the structure of the international legal system. Traditionally, States were treated as the primary and, in practical terms, almost exclusive subjects of international law. This position reflected a system built around sovereignty, territorial authority and relations between governments. However, developments in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have made that traditional account incomplete. International organisations now possess legal personality for the performance of their functions; individuals may hold rights under international human rights law and incur direct responsibility for international crimes; and peoples have acquired important rights, particularly the right to self-determination. At the same time, corporations, non-governmental organisations and other non-State actors influence the creation, implementation and enforcement of international norms, although their legal personality remains limited or contested. This paper examines the meaning and tests of international legal personality and traces the movement from a State-centred model towards a more pluralistic international legal order. It analyses States as original and general subjects, international organisations as functional subjects, individuals as holders of rights and bearers of duties, and peoples as rights-holders in the context of self-determination. It also considers the position of multinational corporations, non-governmental organisations, national liberation movements and other non-State actors. Through leading decisions, including the *Reparation for Injuries* advisory opinion, *Barcelona Traction*, *Nottebohm* and *Prosecutor v. Tadić*, the paper explains that international legal personality is not an all-or-nothing status. Its content depends on the rights, duties, powers and procedural capacities conferred by international law. The paper argues that contemporary international law is best understood as a differentiated system of legal personality: States remain central, but they no longer monopolise international legal relevance. A realistic account must distinguish between being an actor in international relations and being a subject with legally recognised rights or obligations. Keywords: Public International Law; International Legal Personality; States; International Organisations; Individuals; Self-Determination; Non-State Actors