ABSTRACT
The idea of a world ethical order may be conceived in terms of a basic structure, the fundamental or ethically primary units of which are either individual human beings, or individual states. However, whether we start, ethically speaking, from individuals or states, there may still be an important, if subordinate place, for the other type of ethical entity. Thus in a world ethical order composed primarily of individual human beings, states and states’ rights may be thought to be necessary forms through which the ends of that order have the best chance of being approached; while in a states-based order individual humans may nevertheless come to be recognized in international law as being the bearers of legitimate claims in their own person.
