Word.ws English Dictionary

Lotus principle

Lotus principle proper noun: the principle, in international law, that sovereign states may act in any way they wish as long as they do not contravene an explicit prohibition.

Proper noun

the Lotus principle

  1. The principle, in international law, that sovereign states may act in any way they wish as long as they do not contravene an explicit prohibition.

Origin of Lotus principle

After the Lotus case, a criminal trial resulting from a 1926 collision between between French and Turkish ships, in which the applicable jurisdiction was disputed.

Questions about Lotus principle

What does Lotus principle mean?
Lotus principle means the principle, in international law, that sovereign states may act in any way they wish as long as they do not contravene an explicit prohibition.
What part of speech is Lotus principle?
Lotus principle is a proper noun.

Words near Lotus principle in the dictionary

  1. lotus lands
  2. lotus nut
  3. lotus nuts
  4. lotus position
  5. lotus positions
  6. Lotus principle
  7. lotus seed
  8. lotus seeds
  9. lotus shoe
  10. lotus shoes
  11. Lotus Sutra

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Lotus principle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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