Abstract
In international legal disputes, there is limited discussion of jurisdiction, leading to an inadequate understanding of the precise boundaries of an international court or tribunal’s jurisdiction and the meaning of the term ‘jurisdiction’. As the limits of the term ‘jurisdiction’ is relatively unclear, the line between ‘jurisdiction’ and ‘applicable law’ is necessarily blurred. The distinction between jurisdiction and applicable law is significant to determining the precise scope of the jurisdiction and applicable law to decide questions under other branches of public international law. This paper attempts to develop a clearer picture of the distinction between these two concepts to help us to come to a greater understanding of the intersection between international trade and investment law and other branches of public international law.