Towards an International Law of Co-Progressiveness


Book Description

Centered on progressiveness, these essays rigorously address some philosophical, conceptual and structural issues relating to the international legal system, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the international criminal tribunals. These include: the concept of the international law of co-progressiveness, opinio juris and customary international law, the rule of law, the interpretation of the ICJ Statute, law and expedience at the ICJ, the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the Security Council, the definition of crimes against humanity, guilty plea fairness, defenses to international crimes, constitutions of international organizations, September 11 and international law, international experiment in national constitution-making, discretionary function and foreign sovereign immunities, and the concept of human rights in Asia. This book is valuable to critical thinkers and scholars in international law and relations, policy-makers and international judges, practitioners and NGO advocates. This collection includes fourteen essays both new and previously published in fine journals such as European JIL (Oxford), ICLQ (Oxford), German YIL, Max Planck YUNL, Columbia LR, Leiden JIL (Cambridge) and Chinese JIL.




Towards an International Law of Co-progressiveness, Part II


Book Description

Expanding upon the normative position of co-progressiveness elaborated in Towards an International Law of Co-progressiveness (Martinus Nijhoff, 2004), this volume explores membership, leadership, and responsibility in the international system and how these matters reflect and inform international law. Issues discussed include: (1) the recognition and role of States, civilizations, and regions in the international system and how these entities are influenced by factors such as declarations of independence, intrinsic and instrumental values, diversity, and public opinion; (2) the distribution of power among States, its legitimacy, and the consequent influence this distribution has on the international system and world politics; and (3) member responsibility for acts of international organizations as well as the possibility of establishing and enforcing universal jurisdiction as a tool for implementing responsibility across the world.




How to Do Things with International Law


Book Description

A runner-up for the 2018 Chadwick Alger Prize, International Studies Association's International Organization Section, this provocative reassessment of the rule of law in world politics examines how and why governments use and manipulate international law in foreign policy.




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.




Towards an International Law of Co-progressiveness


Book Description

Centered on progressiveness, these essays rigorously address some philosophical, conceptual and structural issues relating to the international legal system, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the international criminal tribunals. These include: the concept of the international law of co-progressiveness, opinio juris and customary international law, the rule of law, the interpretation of the ICJ Statute, law and expedience at the ICJ, the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the Security Council, the definition of crimes against humanity, guilty plea fairness, defenses to international crimes, constitutions of international organizations, September 11 and international law, international experiment in national constitution-making, discretionary function and foreign sovereign immunities, and the concept of human rights in Asia. This book is valuable to critical thinkers and scholars in international law and relations, policy-makers and international judges, practitioners and NGO advocates. This collection includes fourteen essays both new and previously published in fine journals such as European JIL (Oxford), ICLQ (Oxford), German YIL, Max Planck YUNL, Columbia LR, Leiden JIL (Cambridge) and Chinese JIL.




Progress in International Law


Book Description

"Progress in International Law" is a comprehensive accounting of international law for our times. Forty leading international law theorists analyze the most significant current issues in international law and their critical assessments draw diverse conclusions about the current state and future prospects of international law. The material is grouped under the headings: The History and Theory of International Law; The Sources of International Law and Their Application in the United States; International Actors; International Jurisdiction and International Jurisprudence; The Use of Force and the World's Peace; and The Challenge of Protecting the Environment and Human Rights. The book draws its inspiration from a similar survey undertaken in 1932 by Harvard Law Professor and PCIJ Judge Manley O. Hudson. In his book "Progress in International Organization," Hudson sought to demonstrate that what he perceived as an emerging international infrastructure, and as moves toward the rule of law in international affairs, were sure signs of human progress towards peace and cooperation. "Progress in International Law" critically engages with that claim as a normative matter and, at the same time, presents the evidence by which a judgment about our own progress towards peace and cooperation might be judged.




Global Governance, Conflict and China


Book Description

Global Governance, Conflict and China sheds a unique perspective on China’s normative behaviour in the realm of collective security, peacekeeping, arms control, the war on terror and post-conflict justice. This analysis engages with an Asian epistemological framework whose relational thought borrows from the context – space and time alike – that informs China’s principle-driven conduct on the international plane. Through the lens of relational governance, this work develops a new theory on the relational normativity of international law (TORNIL) that identifies the interdependent sources that underpin China’s international legal argument, i.e. norms, values and relationships. Without a fertile soil in which those conflicting relationships between share- and stakeholders can be rebuilt, international laws governing (post-conflict) violence cannot restore and maintain peace, humanity and accountability.







Human Rights in Eastern Civilisations


Book Description

Based on the author's first-hand experience as a UN Special Rapporteur, this thought-provoking and original book examines the values of Eastern civilisations and their contribution to the development of the UN Human Rights agenda. Rejecting the argument based on “Asian Values” that is often used to undermine the universality of human rights, the book argues that secularism, personal liberty and universalism are at the heart of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.




Making Human Dignity Central to International Human Rights Law


Book Description

In recent years, there has been an explosion of writing on the topic of human dignity across a plethora of different academic disciplines. Despite this explosion of interest, there is one group – critical legal scholars – that has devoted little if any attention to human dignity. This book argues that these scholars should attend to human dignity, a concept rich enough to support a whole range of progressive ambitions, particularly in the field of international law. It synthesizes certain liberal arguments about the good of self-authorship with the critical legal philosophy of Roberto Unger and the capabilities approach to agency of Amartya Sen, to formulate a unique conception of human dignity. The author argues how human dignity flows from an individual’s capacity for self-authorship as defined by the set of expressive capabilities s/he possesses, and the book demonstrates how this conception can enrich our understanding of international human rights law by making the amplification of human dignity its fundamental orientation.