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* Associate Professor, Centre for International Legal Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi [
].
1.
Introduction
The emphasis on European contributions to the development of modern international law tends to overshadow those of other states and entities to the evolution of norms relating to the conduct of states. Many global societies outside Europe, however, developed norms defining the contours of the state, thereby extending its scope to diverse legal relationships.1 For example, certain norms regulating state conduct were in vogue on the Indian subcontinent from early times and these were strictly adhered to.2 The idea of sovereignty distinguished the origin of European notions of international law from others, and it dominated global affairs for centuries.3 Much later, the end of Second World War brought significant and far-reaching changes in the composition and evolution of the international community, with scores of new states joining it. These new states hoped for the creation of a more equitable and egalitarian world order.4 The realization of such an order was not easy. At the other end of the scale, the establishment of a viable domestic legal structure that would effectively deal with varied internal political and socio-economic tensions was also an enormous challenge to these new states. Reformulation of the colonial legal structures inherited by these states from their previous regimes was simply not feasible. Accordingly, these new states continued with the existing legal structures, hoping to transform them gradually. The features of the Indian legal system, as it exists today, are essentially a British legacy. While the structures of Indian courts retained this colonial legacy, the response of the political establishment of the new India towards international law was anti-colonial. In this setting, India resisted acceptance of certain international legal norms in whose formulation it had had no role to play. Joining with other Asian and African countries, India sought to question the legality of some of the basic principles of international law, and consistently argued that it in essence remained at the periphery of the international legal system.5
The British and other European powers came to India armed with their specific notions of law and justice. They firmly believed that...