The Legal Personality of the Individual as Subject of International Law

Abstract

The consolidation of the legal personality and capacity of the individual as subject of international law constitutes the most precious legacy of the international legal thinking of the second half of the XXth century. Such thinking overcame the exclusion of the individual from the international legal order by State legal positivism, and achieved the rescue of the individual as subject of International Law. In considering the position of individuals in International Law, the thinking of the so-called founding fathers of the law of nations is not to pass unnoticed. In the initial period of formation of International Law the influence exercised by their writings was indeed considerable, understandably, given the need of articulation and systematization of the matter. The consolidation of the international legal personality of individuals, as active as well as passive subjects of International Law, enhances accountability in International Law for abuses perpetrated against human beings.Keywords:international law; international legal order; law of nations; legal personality; legal positivism