국제법상 원칙, 규범, 규칙의 법적 의의

Legal Significance of Principle, Norm and Rule in International Law - Focusing on International Environmental Law -

The most general and fundamental moral precept underlying law is principle. For the purposes of this argument, we shall assume that a principle is a moral precept of a general nature that has no definitive factual content but is applicable to many fact situations as a standard upon which to judge possible applications of the law. Principles can be moral, legal, or both. If a principle becomes more widely accepted as a standard of social cooperation and legal decisionmaking, then one can define it as a norm of action. The sociological character of a norm is built upon the normative pedigree of its core principle. A norm might be said to have more concrete or specific content than a principle but must also have a wider acceptance by the community, as the basis for the creation of a valid positive law, and by the institutions, which are called on to apply that law over time. Rules are ground level law, and they are the most concrete stage in the concept hierarchy we have laid out. Rules create specific rights, obligations, and responsibilities that states must respect and fulfill under international law. While a right or obligation may arise from a number of norms based upon an even greater number of principles, the rules sort out the balance and create the law.