Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10

E851647

case of the Permanent Court of International Justice international court judgment landmark case in international law

Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10 is a landmark 1927 judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice that articulated the “Lotus principle” on the permissibility of state jurisdiction in the absence of prohibitive rules of international law.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Case of the S.S. Lotus (France v. Turkey)	1
Lotus (France v. Turkey) judgment	1
Lotus (France v. Turkey) judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice	1
Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10 canonical	1
S.S. "Lotus" (France v. Turkey), Judgment, 1927 P.C.I.J. (ser. A) No. 10	1
S.S. Lotus (France v. Turkey), PCIJ Series A No. 10	1
The Case of the S.S. "Lotus" (France v. Turkey)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T10259584 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10
Context triple: [Publications of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A, No. 10, citedAs, Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10]

A. International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953)
The International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953) was a territorial dispute in which the ICJ adjudicated sovereignty over the Channel Islands groups of Les Écréhous and Minquiers between the two states.
B. Court of Cassation of Turkey
The Court of Cassation of Turkey is the country’s highest court of appeals for civil and criminal cases, responsible for ensuring the uniform application of law across lower courts.
C. Matter of France
The Matter of France is the body of medieval legends and epic literature centered on Charlemagne and his paladins, forming one of the principal cycles of European chivalric romance.
D. Contracting Parties to the Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Contracting Parties to the Permanent Court of Arbitration are the states that have acceded to the PCA’s founding conventions and thereby participate in and support its intergovernmental framework for international dispute resolution.
E. Court of Cassation of Lebanon
The Court of Cassation of Lebanon is the country’s highest judicial authority, serving as the supreme court of appeal that ensures uniform interpretation and application of Lebanese law.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10
Target entity description: Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10 is a landmark 1927 judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice that articulated the “Lotus principle” on the permissibility of state jurisdiction in the absence of prohibitive rules of international law.

A. International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953)
The International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953) was a territorial dispute in which the ICJ adjudicated sovereignty over the Channel Islands groups of Les Écréhous and Minquiers between the two states.
B. Court of Cassation of Turkey
The Court of Cassation of Turkey is the country’s highest court of appeals for civil and criminal cases, responsible for ensuring the uniform application of law across lower courts.
C. Matter of France
The Matter of France is the body of medieval legends and epic literature centered on Charlemagne and his paladins, forming one of the principal cycles of European chivalric romance.
D. Contracting Parties to the Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Contracting Parties to the Permanent Court of Arbitration are the states that have acceded to the PCA’s founding conventions and thereby participate in and support its intergovernmental framework for international dispute resolution.
E. Court of Cassation of Lebanon
The Court of Cassation of Lebanon is the country’s highest judicial authority, serving as the supreme court of appeal that ensures uniform interpretation and application of Lebanese law.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	case of the Permanent Court of International Justice ⓘ international court judgment ⓘ landmark case in international law ⓘ
applicantState	France ⓘ
areaOfLaw	customary international law ⓘ jurisdiction of States ⓘ public international law ⓘ
caseNumber	No. 10 ⓘ
citationStyle	S.S. "Lotus" (France v. Turkey), Judgment, 1927 P.C.I.J. (ser. A) No. 10 ⓘ linked to: Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10
consequence	French officer Lieutenant Demons was prosecuted in Turkey ⓘ
contains	dissenting opinions ⓘ separate opinions ⓘ
court	Permanent Court of International Justice ⓘ
dateOfJudgment	1927-09-07 ⓘ
decisionType	judgment on the merits ⓘ
disputeType	inter-state dispute ⓘ
factSummary	a Turkish national vessel sank and Turkish nationals died following a collision with the French vessel S.S. Lotus ⓘ
FranceArgument	only the flag State of the vessel on which the accused served had jurisdiction ⓘ
fullName	The Case of the S.S. "Lotus" (France v. Turkey) ⓘ linked to: Lotus (France v. Turkey), P.C.I.J. Series A No. 10
holding	States may exercise jurisdiction unless there is a prohibitive rule of international law to the contrary ⓘ Turkey did not act in conflict with international law by instituting criminal proceedings against the French officer ⓘ
influenced	doctrine on permissive versus prohibitive rules in international law ⓘ subsequent jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice ⓘ
isConsidered	a classic authority on State jurisdiction ⓘ
keyPrinciple	Lotus principle ⓘ
languageOfJudgment	French ⓘ
legacy	often cited for the proposition that what is not prohibited in international law is permitted for States ⓘ subject to later qualification by developments in the law of the sea and human rights law ⓘ
legalIssue	concurrent jurisdiction of flag State and coastal or national State ⓘ scope of criminal jurisdiction over incidents on the high seas ⓘ
originatingIncident	collision on the high seas between the French steamer S.S. Lotus and the Turkish collier Boz-Kourt ⓘ
originatingIncidentDate	1926-08-02 ⓘ
originatingIncidentLocation	high seas in the Aegean Sea ⓘ
parties	France ⓘ Turkey ⓘ
proceduralPosture	case submitted to the Court by special agreement between France and Turkey ⓘ
ratioDecidendi	in international law, restrictions upon the independence of States cannot be presumed ⓘ in the absence of a prohibitive rule, a State is free to extend its jurisdiction ⓘ
respondentState	Turkey ⓘ
series	P.C.I.J. Series A ⓘ linked to: P.C.I.J. Series A, No. 10
shortName	Lotus case ⓘ
subjectMatter	criminal jurisdiction ⓘ jurisdiction in international law ⓘ law of the sea ⓘ
TurkeyArgument	Turkey could exercise criminal jurisdiction over offences producing effects on a Turkish ship and Turkish nationals ⓘ
vote	decision by a narrow majority ⓘ
yearDecided	1927 ⓘ