Public International Law looks vast, but its questions follow a pattern: sources, subjects, jurisdiction, treaties, and specific regimes. This is the unit-wise list of the most important questions for the TU LL.B. Public International Law paper (LAW 303).
Who is this for? TU LL.B. 1st Year (Public International Law, LAW 303) students — and B.A.LL.B. students of Public International Law-I (LAW 5205) and II (LAW 5302).
Unit-wise important questions
Unit 1: Introduction
- Define international law. Is it true law? Answer Austin’s objection with reasons. (10)
- Trace the origin and development of international law from Grotius to the United Nations. (15)
Unit 2: Sources of International Law and Codification
- Explain the sources of international law under Article 38 of the ICJ Statute. (15)
- What is international custom? Explain its elements with reference to the North Sea Continental Shelf cases and the persistent-objector rule. (15)
Unit 3: Subjects of International Law
- What is international legal personality? Discuss the criteria of statehood under the Montevideo Convention and the effectiveness-legality debate. (15)
- Explain the concept of sovereignty in international law. How does modern law qualify it? (10)
Unit 4: Recognition
- Define recognition. Explain its types and theories, and state which theory the Montevideo Convention supports. (15)
- Distinguish recognition of state from recognition of government. Explain the Estrada and Tobar doctrines. (10)
Unit 5: Nationality, Asylum, Extradition and State Responsibility
- Define nationality and explain the modes of its acquisition and loss. Discuss the genuine-link doctrine with reference to Nottebohm. (15)
- Explain Nepal’s constitutional response to the dual-nationality demand — the NRN citizenship category. (10)
Unit 6: Jurisdiction
- Define jurisdiction and explain the Lotus principle and its modern qualifications. (10)
- Explain the principles on which a state’s jurisdiction is based, illustrating each. (15)
Unit 7: Immunities and Privileges
- Explain the theories of immunity and the functional-necessity doctrine. (10)
- Trace the evolution of state immunity from the Schooner Exchange to the restrictive doctrine, naming the statutory exceptions. (15)
Unit 8: Statehood and State Succession
- Define state succession and distinguish it from government succession. Explain the theories of succession with the practice of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. (15)
- Explain the rules of succession to treaties, property, debts and nationality. What is the clean-slate doctrine? (15)
Unit 9: The Law of Treaties
- Define a treaty and explain its types and importance in international law. (10)
- Explain pacta sunt servanda, jus cogens and rebus sic stantibus with the Vienna Convention’s provisions. (15)
Unit 10: Settlement of International Disputes
- Classify the means of settling international disputes with Article 33’s scheme. (10)
- Distinguish good offices, mediation and conciliation. Explain inquiry with the Dogger Bank case. (15)
Unit 11: Use of Force and War
- Distinguish jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus contra bellum. Why must jus in bello apply equally to all parties? (10)
- Trace the historical evolution of the laws of war from the Lieber Code to the Rome Statute’s aggression definition. (15)
Unit 12: International Humanitarian Law (Laws of Armed Conflict)
- Explain the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols, with Common Article 3’s special position. (15)
- Who is a combatant? State the criteria and the POW’s rights under GC III. (10)
How to answer Public International Law questions well
- Sources first: treaty, custom, general principles — know Article 38’s list and be ready to apply it to any ‘source’ question.
- Give the Nepal angle. Where the question allows, connect the doctrine to Nepal’s treaty practice and positions — it turns a bookish answer into an applied one.
- Define the regime, then the rules: for sea, air, or human-rights questions, name the governing instruments before explaining the rules.
- Structure matters: introduction → sources/subjects → rules → application → conclusion; examiners reward visible organization.
Free resources before you buy anything
Start with the free Unit 1: Public International Law Unit 1 (free). Unit 1 of every subject is free on this site; when you want every unit, prescribed cases, exam focus boxes and model answers, see the complete notes packages (Rs 300 per semester/year, instant eSewa payment).