Multi-Sourced Equivalent Norms in International Law


Book Description

Recent decades have witnessed an impressive process of normative development in international law. Numerous new treaties have been concluded, at global and regional levels, establishing far-reaching international legal and regulatory regimes in important areas such as human rights, international trade, environmental protection, criminal law, intellectual property, and more. New political and judicial institutions have been established to develop, apply and adjudicate these rules. This trend has been accompanied by the growing consolidation of treaty norms into international custom, and increased references to international law in domestic settings. As a result of these developments, international relations have now reached an unprecedented level of normative density and intensity, but they have also given rise to the phenomenon of 'fragmentation'. The debate over the fragmentation of international law has largely focused on conflicts: conflicts of norms and conflicts of authority. However, the same developments that have given rise to greater conflict and contradiction in international law, have also produced a growing amount of normative equivalence between rules in different fields of international law. New treaty rules often echo existing international customary norms. Regional arrangements reinforce undertakings that already exist at the global level; and common concerns and solutions appear in many international legal fields. This book focuses on such instances of normative parallelism, developing the concept of 'multisourced equivalent norms' in international law, with contributions by leading international law experts exploring the legal and political implications of the concept in a variety of contexts that span the full spectrum of international legal norms and institutions. By concentrating on situations governed by a multitude of similar norms, the book emphasizes the importance of legal contexts and institutional settings to international law-interpretation and application.




Multi-Sourced Equivalent Norms in International Law


Book Description

Recent decades have witnessed an impressive process of normative development in international law. Numerous new treaties have been concluded, at global and regional levels, establishing far-reaching international legal and regulatory regimes in important areas such as human rights, international trade, environmental protection, criminal law, intellectual property, and more. New political and judicial institutions have been established to develop, apply and adjudicate these rules. This trend has been accompanied by the growing consolidation of treaty norms into international custom, and increased references to international law in domestic settings. As a result of these developments, international relations have now reached an unprecedented level of normative density and intensity, but they have also given rise to the phenomenon of 'fragmentation'. The debate over the fragmentation of international law has largely focused on conflicts: conflicts of norms and conflicts of authority. However, the same developments that have given rise to greater conflict and contradiction in international law, have also produced a growing amount of normative equivalence between rules in different fields of international law. New treaty rules often echo existing international customary norms. Regional arrangements reinforce undertakings that already exist at the global level; and common concerns and solutions appear in many international legal fields. This book focuses on such instances of normative parallelism, developing the concept of 'multisourced equivalent norms' in international law, with contributions by leading international law experts exploring the legal and political implications of the concept in a variety of contexts that span the full spectrum of international legal norms and institutions. By concentrating on situations governed by a multitude of similar norms, the book emphasizes the importance of legal contexts and institutional settings to international law-interpretation and application.




Conflict of Norms in Public International Law


Book Description

One of the most prominent and urgent problems in international governance is how the different branches and norms of international law interact and what to do in the event of conflict. With no single 'international legislator' and a multitude of states, international organisations and tribunals making and enforcing the law, the international legal system is decentralised. This leads to a wide variety of international norms, ranging from customary international law and general principles of law, to multilateral and bilateral treaties on trade, the environment, human rights, the law of the sea, etc. Pauwelyn provides a framework on how these different norms interact, focusing on the relationship between the law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other rules of international law. He also examines the hierarchy of norms within the WTO treaty. His recurring theme is how to marry trade and non-trade rules, or economic and non-economic objectives at the international level.




The Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts


Book Description

The Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts assesses the growing role of domestic courts in the interpretation of international law. It asks whether and if so to what extent domestic courts make use of the international rules of interpretation set forth in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Given the expectation that rules of international law are to have a uniform interpretation and application throughout the world, the practice of domestic courts is considerably more diverse. The contributions to this book analyze three key questions: first, whether international law requires a coherent interpretive approach by domestic courts. Second, whether a common or convergent methodological outlook can be found in domestic court practice. Third, whether a common interpretive approach is desirable from a normative perspective. The book identifies a considerable tension between international law's ambition for universal and uniform application and a plurality of different approaches. This tension between unity and diversity is analyzed by a group of leading international lawyers from a wide range of geographical, disciplinary and methodological approaches. Drawing on domestic practice of number of jurisdictions including, among others, Colombia, France, Japan, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, the book puts the interpretative practice of domestic courts in a wider context. Its chapters offer doctrinal, practical as well as theoretical perspectives on a central question for international law.




The Oxford Handbook on the Sources of International Law


Book Description

This Oxford Handbook examines the sources of international law, how the understanding of sources changed throughout the history of international law; how the main legal theories understood sources; the relationship between sources and the legitimacy of international law; and how sources differ across the various sub-areas of international law.




The WTO and the New Generation EU FTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms


Book Description

This book explores interactions between the new generation EU FTA and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, adopting an innovative, comprehensive approach. It investigates how the mechanisms potentially could and actually do compete, conflict, and cooperate, focusing not only on the potential negative consequences of fragmentation, but also on how synergies could be enhanced. Thus, unlike the existing literature, which chiefly focuses on conflicting interactions, it considers positive and negative interactions alike. Moreover, the book explores the topic in light of the most recent changes in and challenges to the international trade law regime. Particular attention is paid to how the multilateral and bilateral mechanisms studied interact with regard to the current WTO dispute settlement crisis and the EU-backed multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement. Thus, the book provides up-to-date answers to compelling questions. It also examines in detail the new generation EU FTA dispute settlement mechanisms, an aspect which has not been the subject of thorough research to date.The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining legal methodology, international relations and political science theories with interviews. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers and scholars whose work involves international trade law issues. However, it will also be of interest to general international law academics, as it touches upon such issues as fragmentation, forum shopping, and general rules of interpretation. Furthermore, by analysing and presenting proposals with regard to the new generation EU FTAs, it will also be pertinent to the work of EU policymakers and researchers studying EU trade law.




Legal Monism


Book Description

In response to a climate in which respect for international law and the law of the European Union is rapidly losing ground, Paul Gragl advocates for the revival of legal monism as a solution to potentially irresolvable normative conflicts between different bodies of law. In this first comprehensive monograph on the theory as envisaged by the Pure Theory of Law of the Vienna School of Jurisprudence, the author defends legal monism against the competing theories of dualism and pluralism. Drawing on philosophical, epistemological, legal, moral, and political arguments, this book argues that only monism under the primacy of international law takes the law and the concept of legal validity seriously. On a practical level, it offers policy-makers and decision-makers methods of dealing with current problems and a means to restore respect for international law and peaceful international relations. While having the potential to revive and elicit further interest and research in monism and the Pure Theory of Law, the comprehensiveness and scope of the book also make it a choice text for inter-disciplinary scholars.




Fragmentation in International Human Rights Law


Book Description

This book explores the effects of institutional fragmentation in international human rights law, by comparing the rights jurisprudence of three human rights courts and bodies, namely the European Court for Human Rights, the Inter-American Court for Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee. Contributions cover the areas of freedom of expression (journalism and the media), right to privacy, freedom of assembly and freedom of association (political parties), and measure the extent of fragmentation of human rights protection. Moreover, the volume argues that, while the conflict of laws approach, favoured by the International Law Commission, might work in avoiding outright conflict in obligation, in practice it is not an approach that presents a viable research agenda when it comes to understanding the causes and consequences of institutional fragmentation. This is especially evident in areas like international human rights, where the possibility of a silent drift between the jurisprudence of the three courts is a real possibility. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights.




International Economic Law


Book Description

An examination of the core principles, landmark disputes, and modern developments in IEL reflecting a global approach.




A Landscape of Contemporary Theories of International Law


Book Description

This rich and remarkable volume offers an overview of the most important schools, movements and trends which make up the theoretical landscape of contemporary international law, as well as the works of over 500 authors. It moves beyond generalization and examines how the relevant literature deals with the basic issues of the international legal system, such as international obligations, legitimacy, compliance, unity and universality, the rule of law, human rights, use of force and economics. It offers insights into the addressees (the state, international organizations, individuals and other private persons), and the construction of international law, including law-making, the relationship between norms, and interpretation. Moreover, it widens the discourse by addressing old, yet enduring, as well as new concerns about the functioning of the international legal system, and presents views of non-international lawyers and political scientists regarding that system. It is a valuable analysis for researchers, students, and practitioners.