Responsibility of International Organizations


Book Description

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Law Commission's articles on the responsibility of international organizations, bringing to conclusion not only nearly ten years of reflection by the Commission, governments and organizations on this specific topic, but also decades of study of the wider subject of international responsibility, which had initially focused on State responsibility. Parallel to this reflection by the Commission, diplomats and public officials, the body of international case-law and literature on the many facets of the topic has steadily been growing. Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie contributes to the body of international literature by collecting a broad spectrum of different and sometimes differing perspectives from well-known experts in the field, ranging from the bench to the Commission, academia, and the world of in-house counsel. The book is also a memorial to the renowned Sir Ian Brownlie, himself a former Chairman of the International Law Commission who, as a leading scholar and practitioner, greatly contributed to the reflection on international responsibility, including the responsibility of international organizations. Edited by Maurizio Ragazzi, a former pupil of Sir Ian, the book is an ideal companion to International Responsibility Today, a collection of essays on international responsibility which the same editor presented in 2005 in memory of Oscar Schachter, and to which Sir Ian Brownlie had contributed. The essays collected in Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, conveniently grouped by the editor under broad areas for the reader's benefit, will be relevant not only to all those interested in this specific subject but also, more generally, to all those engaged in the field of international law and the law of international organizations.




Yearbook of the International Law Commission 2006, Vol. II, Part 1 (Addendum 2)


Book Description

The International Law Commission was established in 1947 with a view to carrying out the responsibility of the General Assembly, under article 13(1)(a) of the Charter of the United Nations, to “initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of ... encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.” Since its first session in 1949, the Commission has considered a wide-range of topics of international law and made a number of proposals for its codification and progressive development, some of which have served as the basis for the subsequent adoption of major multilateral treaties. The Yearbook of the International Law Commission contains the official records of the Commission and is an indispensable tool for the preservation of the legislative history of the documents emanating from the Commission, as well as for the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of the efforts undertaken by the Commission in the progressive development of international law and its codification. Volume II (Part One) reproduces the edited versions of the official documents considered by the Commission at the respective annual session.




Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens)


Book Description

Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens): Disquisitions and Dispositions is a collection of contributions on various aspects of jus cogens in international law.




The International Law Commission's Draft Articles on State Responsibility


Book Description

This volume contains a consolidated reproduction of Part One (articles 1 to 35) of the Draft Article on State Responsibility and their important Commentaries, prepared by the International Law Commission in the period ending in 1980. These articles deal with the origin of international responsibility, including general principles, the act of State, breach of an international obligation, and circumstances precluding wrongfulness. They were drawn up on the basis of eight reports submitted by the Special Rapporteur, Professor, now Judge Roberto Ago. An introduction written by Shabtai Rosenne traces the history of the official codification of the topic of State Responsibility since the League of Nations first broached the matter in 1924. State Responsibility is central to the daily practice of international law, and its systematic treatment is central to the codification process. The International Law Commission is continuing work on the topic. In the meantime, the articles of Part One, now concentrated for the first time in a single volume, are the major starting point for this work. This volume will be of great value to practitioners, teachers and students of international law. Shabtai Rosenne was a member of the International Law Commission from 1962 to 1971, when the basic decisions regarding the approach to the current phase of the work were taken.




Is International Law International?


Book Description

This book challenges the idea that international law looks the same from anywhere in the world. Instead, how international lawyers understand and approach their field is often deeply influenced by the national contexts in which they lived, studied, and worked. International law in the United States and in the United Kingdom looks different compared to international law in China and Russia, though some approaches (particularly Western, Anglo-American ones) are more influential outside their borders than others. Given shifts in geopolitical power and the rise of non-Western powers like China, it is increasingly important for international lawyers to understand how others coming from diverse backgrounds approach the field. By examining the international law academies and textbooks of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Roberts provides a window into these different communities of international lawyers, and she uncovers some of the similarities and differences in how they understand and approach international law.




Making Better International Law


Book Description

This publication contains the texts of the papers presented at the UN Colloquium, together with a record of those presentations and of the discussions which took place around them.




Cynical International Law?


Book Description

Analysing international law through the prism of “cynicism” makes it possible to look beyond overt disregard for international law, currently discussed in terms of a backlash or crisis. The concept allows to analyse and criticise structural features and specific uses of international law that seem detrimental to international law in a more subtle way. Unlike its ancient predecessor, cynicism nowadays refers not to a bold critique of power but to uses and abuses of international law that pursue one-sided interests tacitly disregarding the legal structure applied. From this point of view, the contributions critically reflect on the theoretical foundations of international law, in particular its relationship to power, actors such as the International Law Commission and international judges, and specific fields, including international human rights, humanitarian, criminal, tax and investment law.