International Law MCQs - 2025

Extradition is the formal surrender of a fugitive by one state to another for prosecution, governed by treaties and domestic laws.

Modern international law (e.g., the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, 1957) prohibits automatic loss or change of nationality due to marriage. States now grant women autonomy in retaining citizenship.

The Third Geneva Convention (1949) specifically protects prisoners of war (POWs), revising earlier treaties post-World War II to strengthen humanitarian standards.

Reprisals are retaliatory acts (e.g., armed attacks) against an enemy, permissible under international law if proportionate and after prior wrongdoing. Retorsion (A) refers to non-forcible retaliation (e.g., sanctions).

John Austin, a legal positivist, argued that international law lacks a sovereign authority to enforce it, making it more akin to "positive morality" rather than true law.

Consuls are representatives of the sending state's government, not the head of state or foreign office. Their primary role is to protect the interests of their nationals and facilitate trade and commerce, unlike diplomats who represent the head of state.

The Genocide Convention (1948, effective 1951) criminalizes acts intended to destroy ethnic, racial, religious, or national groups, including minorities.

The Rome Statute (1998) established the ICC, adopted at the UN Diplomatic Conference in Rome. It entered into force in 2002.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) renounced war as an instrument of national policy, though it lacked enforcement mechanisms. It was later referenced in Nuremberg Trials to criminalize aggressive war.

Georg Hegel, in Philosophy of Right (1820), conceptualized the modern state as a sovereign entity with defined territory, population, and governance, influencing later legal definitions.

Arbitration is a binding form of dispute resolution where parties agree in advance to abide by the arbitrator's decision, distinguishing it from non-binding mediation or conciliation.

Hugo Grotius (Grotious) is often called the "father of international law" for his foundational work De Jure Belli ac Pacis (On the Law of War and Peace), which laid the groundwork for modern international legal principles.

The Alabama Claims Arbitration (1872) settled disputes between the U.S. and Britain over British-built Confederate warships (like the Alabama) used against the Union. It established key principles of neutrality and state responsibility during war.

Objective Territoriality allows a state to prosecute crimes completed within its territory (e.g., counterfeit dollars circulating in the U.S.), even if initiated abroad.

The UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 as Resolution 217A, establishing foundational human rights standards.

A Chargé d’Affaires (usually a lower-ranking diplomat) reports to the sending state’s foreign office, not the head of state/government.

The USSR facilitated the Tashkent Agreement as a mediator, helping India and Pakistan negotiate peace after the 1965 war. Unlike arbitration, mediation is non-binding and relies on third-party assistance.

A truce is a temporary cessation of hostilities (ceasefire), distinct from a peace treaty (B), which permanently ends war, or POW exchanges (C).

The ICJ’s jurisdiction is consent-based—states must accept it via treaties, declarations, or ad hoc agreements (Article 36, ICJ Statute).

he 1965 Indo-Pak war was never formally declared a "war" under international law, making it a non-war armed conflict despite large-scale military engagements.