THE QUESTION OF SOURCES OF LAW CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL WATERCOURSES

Parry explains the practical dimension of the different interpretations of the sources of international law as follows: “The ultimate purpose of such an enquiry [as to what the sources of international law are] is to find out what international law is. It is an essential preliminary step in that enquiry because, if attention be directed to the wrong sources, it is impossible to discover what international law is or, what is perhaps more important, what is not international law.