ABSTRACT
International personality refers to the capacity to be a bearer of rights and duties under public international law. The traditional view is that the only subjects of international law are sovereign states. They alone have capacity to make claims on the international plane in respect of breaches of international law, capacity to make treaties and other binding international agreements, and enjoy privileges and immunities from national jurisdiction. This traditional view has been challenged with the development and proliferation of international organisations. As a result, it is now accepted that international organisations can have a measure of international personality. However, international personality is unlimited only in respect of sovereign states. Limited international personality applies to dependent states or international organisations. The International Court of Justice has recognised the diversity of international personality by stating that ‘the subjects of law in any legal system are not necessarily identical in their nature or in the extent of their rights’: Advisory Opinion in Reparations for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations (1949) ICJ Rep 174.
