General principle of law or general legal principle refers to a principle that is recognized in all kinds of legal relations, regardless of the legal system to which it belongs. It can also be a principle that is widely recognized by people whose legal order has attained a certain level of sophistication. In International law, it refers to a principle that gives rise to international legal obligations. The adjective ‘general’ indicates that they are principles which are applied generally in all cases of the same kind which arise in international law. For example, the principle of nonintervention.