Subjects and actors

Abstract

States and international organisations are by tradition the main legal subjects of international law. In addition, a number of actors can also be identified that display limited features of international legal personality. In recent decades an acknowledgment has grown ever stronger that a range of actors in addition to States and international organisations can perform various regulatory functions. This pluralisation of the conception of international legal actors blurs the conventional distinction between subjects and objects of international law. This chapter in a first step introduces the concepts of legal personality and legal subjectivity to then discuss in more depth a number of actors in international law. These include the traditional as well as more recent or possibly emerging subjects of international law. In addition, the chapter will touch upon actors which even though not possessing formal legal personality play a role in making, interpreting, and enforcing international law.