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7 Int'l & Comp. L.Q. 468 (1958)
Estoppel in International Law

handle is hein.journals/incolq7 and id is 484 raw text is: ESTOPPEL IN INTERNATIONAL LAW By I. C. MAcGIBBON * I MORE than thirty years ago it was observed that the doctrine of estoppel 1 did not appear to have received much attention in the sphere of international law.2 A certain reluctance to invoke estoppel may have been justified at that time, but the marked increase since then in international judicial and arbitral activity has provided substantial grounds for the modern tendency to consider estoppel as one of the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations. 3 The question whether the juridical basis of the doctrine of estoppel is to be found in customary international law rather than in the general principles of law is not free from difficulty; and it is not the purpose of this article to suggest that it can be satisfactorily answered.' It would seem that a convincing solution must wait on both a comparative investigation into the operation of the concept in municipal systems of law and a more widespread review of State practice than the present writer has been able to attempt. The scope of the present article is limited to drawing attention to some of the aspects of estoppel which have been noted or suggested by publicists and expressed in State pleadings before international tribunals, in diplomatic correspon- dence, and particularly in advice tendered to the British Govern- ment by the Law Officers of the Crown. Underlying most formulations of the doctrine of estoppel in international law is the requirement that a State ought to be consistent in its attitude to a given factual or legal situation. Such a demand may be rooted in the continuing need for at least a M.A., PH.D.(Cantab), Lecturer in Public Law, UniversitT of Aberdeen. The Anglo-American terminology which has gained wide acceptance is used throughout. Where the Anglo-American lawyer refers to estoppel, the con- tinental jurist will usually say that the party is 'precluded ' (Lauterpacht, Private Law Sources and Analogies of International Law (1927), p. 204). The concept is known to Scots lawyers as personal bar. 2 See McNair, The Legality of the Occupation of the Ruhr, in British Year Book of International Law, 5 (1924), pp. 17 et seq., at p. 34. 3 Thus, the concept of estoppel finds a place in the study by Dr. Bin Cheng entitled General Principles of Law as applied by International Courts and Tribunals, at pp. 137 et seq. 4 See, however, below, pp. 470, 478 and 512-513. 468