Article 38 of the statute of international court of justice summaries in longer and simpler version

Article 38 of the statute of the International Court of Justice outlines the sources of law that the court will use to make its decisions. These sources include international conventions, international custom, general principles of law recognized by civilized nations, and judicial decisions and scholarly writings. The court may also consider the teachings of highly qualified publicists as a supplementary means for determining the rules of law.