Part VI International Transactions, 18 Unilateral Acts; Estoppel

Subject(s):

Unilateral acts — Estoppel — Armed forces

This chapter discusses the concepts of unilateral acts and estoppel, and the relation between the two. The two institutions were imported in international law from the systems of civil and common law respectively, and grew up separately, shading into each other. While both are rooted in the principle of good faith, unilateral acts are in their essence statements or representations intended to be binding and publicly manifested as such, whereas estoppel is a more general category, consisting of statements or representations not intended as binding nor amounting to a promise, whose binding force crystallizes depending on the circumstances.