Question:medium

‘Jus gentium’ is a body of:

Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • International Statutes
  • Decisions of ICJ
  • International Conventions
  • International Customs
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Jus gentium has Roman law roots; it originally described rules the Romans applied to relations between Romans and foreigners, rules seen as common to all peoples rather than specific to one state's own statutes. That "common to all nations" character is the thread that carried into international law.

  1. International Statutes: would need a common international legislature producing binding statutes, which does not exist, so this does not describe jus gentium.
  2. Decisions of ICJ: are judicial rulings on specific disputes, a modern institutional feature, not the older, unwritten body of shared practice the term refers to.
  3. International Conventions: are formally negotiated and signed instruments between states, a different and more modern source of law than the customary rules jus gentium describes.
  4. International Customs: captures it correctly, jus gentium is the law of nations built up through practices and usages that nations generally recognised as binding among themselves over time.

The correct answer is International Customs, since jus gentium refers to the body of customary rules of conduct historically recognised as common to nations.

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