ABSTRACT
A subject of international law can be defined as an entity capable of possessing international rights and duties and having capacity to protect its rights by bringing international claims. Under the traditional view the only subjects of international law were sovereign States. They alone had 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 the ability to enjoy privileges and immunities from national jurisdiction. With the development of international law entities other than States have been granted recognition as subjects of international law. These are:
• entities which can potentially become States (e.g. de facto regimes, insurgents and belligerents, and national liberation movements which represent peoples entitled to exercise their right to self-determination);
• entities with State-like qualities such as the Holy See and the Order of Malta;
• intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), within which States are co-operating at an international level; and
• individuals.
