The Status In International Law: Re-Evaluation in Light of the Developments of Contemporary International

Abstract

The individual has remained away from the scope of international law for. long time for various reasons. However, the international community has witnessed in the last two decades some important events that have had clear impact on the elements of the international legal system as a whole. What is striking here is that individuals were the sources of those events. The international community reacted to these events in order to address them in specific legal framework, in which the target was the individual in his personal capacity. For this reason, re-evaluation of the legal status of the individual within the international legal system has become an important issue. The paper will try to identify the status of the individual in light of recent developments, and the impact of those developments in enhancing the status of the individual within the international legal system, and discuss the possibility of regarding the individual as subject of International Law, and the extent to which an individual can benefit or be subjected to the rules of International Law.