Lotus case

The Lotus decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice ( StIGH ) from September 7, 1927 dealt with basic questions regarding the sovereignty of states and led the so-called " Lotus " principle in international law a.

Facts

On 2 August 1926, the French mail boat collided with the Lotus - Boz Kurt on the high seas. Since the collision eight sailors Turkish nationality were killed, Turkey condemned the watchkeeping French officer of Lotus, Captain Demons to 80 days in jail after he had gone to Constantinople Opel ashore. Against France complained before StIGH. The reason led to the French side, the Turkish court is to convict not responsible because the law let see no such competence.

Judgment

The StIGH sat fundamentally with the sovereignty issue apart and coined this the following formulation:

Consequently, examined the StIGH in this particular case - contrary to the claims of France - not the presence of a positive competence standard, but went only to the question of whether an international law norm prohibiting the Turkish jurisdiction set limits. Since this was to be denied, rejected the StIGH the action of France.

Reference

Under current law, the case in accordance with the provisions of the Convention ( UNCLOS) should be assessed.