International organizations play an increasingly important role in facilitating relationships between sovereign nations. These organizations often serve as administrators of specific international treaties and sometimes also serve as arbitrators of disputes arising under their respective agreements. For a more comprehensive list of international organizations and related resources, see Northwestern University Library's LibGuide: International Resources by Theme.
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The Advancement of International Law
by
Any talk of the advancement of international law presupposes that two objections are met. The first is the 'realist' objection which, observing the state of international relations today, claims that when it comes down to the important things in international life-war and peace, and more generally power politics among states-no real advancement has been made: international society remains a society of sovereign states deciding matters with regard solely to their own best interests and with international law all too often being no more than a thin cloak cast over the precept that 'might is right'. Against this excessive scepticism stands excessive optimism: international law is supposedly making giant strides forward thanks especially to the tremendous mass of soft law generated by international organisations over the past sixty years and more. By incautiously mixing all manner of customs, treaties, resolutions and recommendations, a picture of international law is painted that has little to do with the 'real world'. This book is arranged into three sections. The first purports to show from the specific example of international investment law that the past half-century has seen the invention of two genuinely new techniques in positive law: state contracts and transnational arbitration without privity. This is 'advancement' in international law not because the techniques are 'good' in themselves (one may well think them 'bad') but because they have introduced legal possibilities into international law that did not exist heretofore. The second section examines the theoretical consequences of those new legal techniques and especially the way they affect the theory of the state. The third widens the field of view and asks whether European law has surpassed international law in a move towards federalism or whether it represents a step forward for international law. These reflections make for a clearer theoretical understanding of what constitutes true advancement in international law. Such an understanding should give pause both to those who argue that hardly any progress has been made, and to those who are overly fanciful about progress.
The Individual in the International Legal System
by
Kate Parlett's study of the individual in the international legal system examines the way in which individuals have come to have a certain status in international law, from the first treaties conferring rights and capacities on individuals through to the present day. The analysis cuts across fields including human rights law, international investment law, international claims processes, humanitarian law and international criminal law in order to draw conclusions about structural change in the international legal system. By engaging with much new literature on non-state actors in international law, she seeks to dispel myths about state-centrism and the direction in which the international legal system continues to evolve.
Conflict of Laws
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This authoritative text covers jurisdiction and interstate and international private litigation in torts, contracts, business planning, family law (marriage, same-sex relationships, property rights, support, child custody), property, succession and estate administration, and the recognition of sister-state and foreign judgments. The text examines in depth the development and current state of approaches to choice of law. It also addresses issues of jurisdiction and applicable law in private litigation in federal court.
The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law
by
In countless ways we are affected by international environmental norms: some social, others legal; some quite general, others very specific. For example, the norms limiting the refrigerants used in air conditioners have been agreed upon in legal form internationally, and are mandated and enforced by national governments. The sustainable fishery and forestry standards used by Carrefour and Ikea were developed more informally by environmental groups and businesses, and are applied to producers through supply-chain contracts, without any government involvement. The reluctance to eat tuna fish or own elephant ivory reflects more general social norms, disseminated through education and culture.How and why do these norms arise? In what ways do they affect behavior? Do they change what states and individuals actually do and, if so, why? How effective are they in solving international environmental problems? In the second edition of The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law, Daniel Bodansky and Harro van Asselt explore these and other questions.Revisions cover the numerous developments spanning the 13 years since the first edition was published. New chapters address the growing role of environmental NGOs and the increasingly complex architecture of environmental law involving multiple institutions, levels of governance, and actors. Recent research has been incorporated on treaty design and policy implementation and effectiveness, and greater attention has been given to the role of the judiciary in standard-setting, implementation, and enforcement.A sophisticated yet highly readable introduction to how international environmental law works (and sometimes doesn't work), this book is essential reading for a wide audience.
War Law
by
International law governing the use of military force has been the subject of intense public debate. Under what conditions is it appropriate, or necessary, for a country to use force when diplomacy has failed? Michael Byers, a widely known world expert on international law, weighs these issues in War Law. Byers examines the history of armed conflict and international law through a series of case studies of past conflicts, ranging from the 1837 Caroline Incident to the abuse of detainees by U.S. forces at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Byers explores the legal controversies that surrounded the 1999 and 2001 interventions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and the 2003 war in Iraq; the development of international humanitarian law from the 1859 Battle of Solferino to the present; and the role of war crimes tribunals and the International Criminal Court. He also considers the unique influence of the United States in the evolution of this extremely controversial area of international law. War Law is neither a textbook nor a treatise, but a fascinating account of a highly controversial topic that is necessary reading for fans of military history and general readers alike.
War
by
War: Contemporary Perspectives on Armed Conflicts around the World presents a broad variety of interdisciplinary and social scientific perspectives on the causes, processes, cultural representations, and social consequences of the armed conflicts between and within nations and other politically organized communities. This book provides theoretical views of armed conflict and its impact on people and institutions around the world.
The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law
by
Now in a comprehensively updated edition, this indispensable handbook analyzes how international humanitarian law has evolved in the face of these many new challenges. Central concerns include the war on terror, new forms of armed conflict and humanitarian action, the emergence of international criminal justice, and the reshaping of fundamental rules and consensus in a multipolar world. ThePractical Guide to Humanitarian Law provides the precise meaning and content for over 200 terms such as terrorism, refugee, genocide, armed conflict, protection, peacekeeping, torture, and private military companies--words that the media has introduced into everyday conversation, yet whose legal and political meanings are often obscure. The Guide definitively explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries. Written from the perspective of victims and those who provide assistance to them, the Guide outlines the dangers, spells out the law, and points the way toward dealing with violations of the law. Entries are complemented by analysis of the decisions of relevant courts; detailed bibliographic references; addresses, phone numbers, and Internet links to the organizations presented; a thematic index; and an up-to-date list of the status of ratification of more than thirty international conventions and treaties concerning humanitarian law, human rights, refugee law, and international criminal law. This unprecedented work is an invaluable reference for policy makers and opinion leaders, students, relief workers, and members of humanitarian organizations. Published in cooperation with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.
Cassese's International Criminal Law
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The third edition of Cassese's International Criminal Law provides a clear account of the main substantive and procedural aspects of international criminal law. Adopting a combination of the classic common law and more theoretical approaches to the subject, it discusses:* the historical evolution of international criminal law; * the legal definition of the so-called core crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide) plus aggression, torture and terrorism;* the forms and modes of criminal responsibility; and * the main issues related to the prosecution and punishment of international crimes at the national and international level, including amnesties, statutes of limitations and immunities. Cassese guides the reader through a vast array of cases and materials from a number of jurisdictions, providing thought-provoking analysis that brings the political and human contexts to the fore.The International Criminal Court and all the other modern international criminal courts are fully covered, both as regards their structure, functioning and proceedings and as far as their case law is concerned.Online Resource Centre* Case materials: Key international documents and foreign legislation relating to chapters of the textbook * Your questions answered: responses to questions from international law students * Web links: Links to web sites relating to topics within the text
The Individual in International Law
by
Shifts across the corpus of international law have brought the international legal system into a closer alignment with the interests of the individual. This has led to a great and growing interest in the roles and status of individuals in international law, and provided new impulses for debate. The Individual in International Law is an exploration of what is described as the humanisation of international law. It examines how international law has accommodated individuals, and how individual status, rights, and obligations have become denser and more important in the international legal system. Split into two parts, the book analyses the humanisation of international law in different historical periods and from various theoretical perspectives. The first part focuses on the historical evolution of international law, exploring how the interests of individuals have shaped the development of the legal system from antiquity to 1945, providing a counterpoint to State-centric readings of international law's history. The second part contains theoretical debates, critical approaches, and interdisciplinary investigations, offering perspectives from ius positivism and ius naturalism, Marxism, TWAIL, feminism, global law, global constitutionalism, law and economics, and legal anthropology. The book aims to stimulate further research on the humanisation and dehumanisation of new fields ranging from the ius contra bellum to climate law. The editors' introduction and conclusion frame the contributions, draw together their findings, and address critiques comprehensively. Written by a team of acknowledged experts in their fields, this volume elucidates how the interests, rights, obligations, and responsibilities of individuals have shaped international norms and regimes, and suggests how a reoriented transformative humanism can inform and develop international law in an era of profound ideological, ecological, and technical challenge.This is an open access title. It is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International licence. It is available to read and download as a PDF version on the Oxford Academic platform.
Landmark Cases in Public International Law
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The past two hundred years have seen the transformation of public international law from a rule-based extrusion of diplomacy into a fully-fledged legal system. Landmark Cases in Public International Law examines decisions that have contributed to the development of international law into an integrated whole, whilst also creating specialised sub-systems that stand alone as units of analysis. The significance of these decisions is not taken for granted, with contributors critically interrogating the cases to determine if their reputation as 'landmarks' is deserved. Emphasis is also placed on seeing each case as a diplomatic artefact, highlighting that international law, while unquestionably a legal system, remains reliant on the practice and consent of states as the prime movers of development.The cases selected cover a broad range of subject areas including state immunity, human rights, the environment, trade and investment, international organisations, international courts and tribunals, the laws of war, international crimes, and the interface between international and municipal legal systems. A wide array of international and domestic courts are also considered, from the International Court of Justice to the European Court of Human Rights, World Trade Organization Appellate Body, US Supreme Court and other adjudicative bodies. The result is a three-dimensional picture of international law: what it was, what it is, and what it might yet become.
International Law, Power, Security and Justice
by
These collected essays deal with the evolutions and immutabilities of international society and international law during the last 25 years, a period during which these fields of study have undergone many changes. The starting point is that far from operating at different levels or being in conflict, international law and politics are closely intertwined. The book addresses the many different aspects of international law: the role and concept of the State, and the position of States in the international system; the bases, principles and evolution of public international law; questions of international security that still govern international relations; classic and current systems of peace and security maintenance; the standing, role and actions of the UN Security Council; arms control and limitation of armaments; unilateral uses of armed force and the legality of war; and humanitarian law and international criminal justice. The perspective of these essays is not a theoretical or dogmatic vision of international law and politics; rather they are based upon the practices of States in the international arena, and the ways in which the guiding legal rules are elaborated and implemented. These texts have been selected from Professor Sur's various books and numerous articles on international law and relations.
Private International Law Essentials
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Your guide to the conflicts and harmonies between private international law, UK law and Scots law EU law has greatly influenced national law in Scotland, the UK and the rest of Europe. As a result, private international law is an essential area of study and of increasing importance to lawyers throughout the EU. Private International Law Essentials is the concise guide to private international law that you need, whether you're studying, revising or a practicing lawyer looking for a summary the law in UK jurisdictions. David Hill looks at the key elements and issues of private international law, as well as the statutes and conventions (e.g. Brussels, Lugano) and EU Regulations that apply throughout the UK.
Human Rights and International Criminal Law
by
This book examines the importance of international criminal law in promoting and defending human rights as well as its relationship with law and international politics. It highlights criminal cases at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, and the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. The book considers human rights approaches to crimes from a theoretical and practical perspective, analyses various crimes under international law, and examines the application, implementation and enforcement of international criminal law. This book will serve as an important reference for students, teachers, scholars and lawyers specialising in international human rights, international criminal law and international humanitarian law.
The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts
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Combining perspectives from law and the social sciences, this book provides an account of the origins and evolution of six regional human rights courts. In each of these cases, judges sought to overcome political forces and legal obstacles that threatened to render the regime stillborn. Alec Stone Sweet and Wayne Sandholtz focus on the struggle to raise standards of rights protection within multi-level "transnational systems of justice." A transnational system of justice is comprised of three components: a charter of rights; a court tasked with enforcing the charter; and the right of individuals to petition the court with a claim that their rights have been violated. The book analyzes the law and politics of such systems in diverse areas, including torture, inhuman treatment, non-discrimination, due process and access to justice, free expression, privacy and family, and other freedoms. In some cases, state officials have at times strongly supported enhancing the effectiveness of rights protections. In others, the activities of the courts have generated significant political "backlash," leading state officials to act to curb the court's authority, or to exit the regime altogether. The book describes and evaluates these attempts, the results of which have been mixed, with most court-curbing exercises failing.
The Development in International Law of Articles 23 and 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the Labor Rights Articles
by
The human rights enunciated in Articles 23 and 24 of the UDHR concern aspects of rights related to work. This part of international human rights law is often neglected in human rights textbooks and teaching, and indeed is often omitted from the work done by national human rights institutes and by NGOs concerned with human rights, as though it were a separate discipline that did not fall properly into the human rights field. This volume addresses this commonly held, but erroneous, misconception. There are aspects of labor-related rights in all the major human rights instruments and systems. While the International Labor Organization (ILO) is the primary body in this field, labor-related rights are also dealt with by the United Nations, the major regional organizations (such as the OAS and the EU), and the development banks (the World Bank and its regional counterparts). There are also provisions on labor rights in all the major international instruments, or they have been read to cover labor-related questions. This volume, which reviews the development and implementation of Articles 23 and 24 of the UDHR, will spend most attention on the ILO, which is the premiere organization in this field, both chronologically and substantively. However, since a thorough and complete picture of human rights cannot be drawn without considering labor-related rights as an aspect of the broader human rights canon, the rest of the international system will also be brought in. This book is the fifth volume in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Series. The Series will consist of approximately 20 volumes, each dealing with a substantive right (or group of rights) set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Each volume is authored by an expert in human rights generally and in the particular subject addressed. Without losing sight of the political context in which the implementation of human rights must occur, each book provides a comprehensive, legally-oriented analysis of the rights concerned, including an examination of the legislative history of the text of each right as adopted in 1948, the right's subsequent articulation and interpretation by international bodies and in subsequent international instruments, and a survey of state practice in defining and enforcing the right.
Implementing International Environmental Law and Policy
by
This book introduces a novel discourse, based on socio-legal theory of compliance with international environmental law, which addresses the overarching question: when can international environmental law and policy achieve implementation, compliance and be effective? Offering an important contribution to academic and practical understandings of implementation and compliance with international environmental obligations, the book firstly critiques existing multidisciplinary theories of law and then brings together international and domestic legal theories to highlight their symbiotic relationship. It also stresses the importance of interactions between domestic and international legal and policy processes. This pioneering discourse is argued to be transformative to international environmental regimes and offers a way for them to be truly normative and to achieve compliance. The book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of socio-legal studies and international environmental law and policy.
War
by
War: Contemporary Perspectives on Armed Conflicts around the World presents a broad variety of interdisciplinary and social scientific perspectives on the causes, processes, cultural representations, and social consequences of the armed conflicts between and within nations and other politically organized communities. This book provides theoretical views of armed conflict and its impact on people and institutions around the world.
Non-Binding Norms in International Humanitarian Law
by
This monograph examines and analyses the phenomenon of non-binding instruments (also known as 'soft law') in the law of armed conflict, or international humanitarian law. In the past 30 years, there have been several non-binding instruments created, designed as either 'best practice' guidelines, or (re)statements of applicable law. These instruments are not treaties, but they nevertheless put themselves forward as authoritative statements of what the law is and, in some instances, what the law should be. Soft law instruments can be dynamic, prompt, and responsive measures to address pressing issues in armed conflicts. By drawing on the skill of a small group of experts, these instruments can be debated and drafted in a timelier manner than if these issues were to be left to the international community of 194 States to resolve. Furthermore, because these instruments do not have to be sent for debate to an international conference of States, it means that the provisions are not subject to the usual revisions, reservations, and dilutions that come with attempting to reach consensus. However, there are potential and actual problems with these instruments and the processes that bring them to fruition, and how they are received in practice by States and other stakeholders. This volume looks at the benefits and drawbacks for States and non-State actors with regards to soft law, whether they are effective additions to the law of armed conflict, analysing the development through the lens of theories of legitimacy and legality in international law.
The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law
by
Now in a comprehensively updated edition, this indispensable handbook analyzes how international humanitarian law has evolved in the face of these many new challenges. Central concerns include the war on terror, new forms of armed conflict and humanitarian action, the emergence of international criminal justice, and the reshaping of fundamental rules and consensus in a multipolar world. ThePractical Guide to Humanitarian Law provides the precise meaning and content for over 200 terms such as terrorism, refugee, genocide, armed conflict, protection, peacekeeping, torture, and private military companies--words that the media has introduced into everyday conversation, yet whose legal and political meanings are often obscure. The Guide definitively explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries. Written from the perspective of victims and those who provide assistance to them, the Guide outlines the dangers, spells out the law, and points the way toward dealing with violations of the law. Entries are complemented by analysis of the decisions of relevant courts; detailed bibliographic references; addresses, phone numbers, and Internet links to the organizations presented; a thematic index; and an up-to-date list of the status of ratification of more than thirty international conventions and treaties concerning humanitarian law, human rights, refugee law, and international criminal law. This unprecedented work is an invaluable reference for policy makers and opinion leaders, students, relief workers, and members of humanitarian organizations. Published in cooperation with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.
International Humanitarian Law and Justice:
by
In the last decade, there has been a turn to history in international humanitarian law and its accompanying fields. To examine this historization and to expand the current scope of scholarship, this book brings together scholars from various fields, including law, history, sociology, and international relations. Human rights law, international criminal law, and the law on the use of force are all explored across the text's four main themes: historiographies of selected fields of international law; evolution of specific international humanitarian law rules in the context of legal gaps and fault lines; emotions as a factor in international law; and how actors can influence history. This work will enhance and broaden readers' knowledge of the field and serve as an excellent starting point for further research.
International Criminal Law in Context
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International Criminal Law in Context provides a critical and contextual introduction to the fundamentals of international criminal law. It goes beyond a doctrinal analysis focused on the practice of international tribunals to draw on a variety of perspectives, capturing the complex processes of internationalisation that criminal law has experienced over the past few decades. The book considers international criminal law in context and seeks to account for the political and cultural factors that have influenced - and that continue to influence - this still-emerging body of law. Considering the substance, procedures, objectives, justifications and impacts of international criminal law, it addresses such topics as: * the history of international criminal law; * the subjects of international criminal law; * transitional justice and international criminal justice; * genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression; * sexual and gender-based crimes; * international and hybrid criminal tribunals; * sentencing under international criminal law; and * the role of victims in international criminal procedure. The book will appeal to those who want to study international criminal law in a critical and contextualised way. Presenting original research, it will also be of interest to scholars and practitioners already familiar with the main legal and policy issues relating to this body of law.
Transnational Legal Practice
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This book explores the 'backstage' of transnational legal practice by illuminating the routines and habits that are crucial to the field, yet rarely studied. Through innovative discussion of practices often considered trivial, the book encourages readers to conceptualise the 'backstage' as emblematic of transnational legal practice. Expanding the focus of transnational legal scholarship, the book explores the seemingly mundane procedures which are often taken for granted, despite being widely recognized as part of what it means to 'do transnational law'. Adopting various methodologies and approaches, each chapter focuses on one specific practice: for example, mooting exercises for law students, international travel, transnational time, the social media activities of lawyers and legal scholars, and the networking at the ICC's annual Assembly of States Parties. In and of themselves, these chapters each provide unique insights into what happens before the curtain rises and after it falls on the familiar 'outputs' of transnational law. It does more, however, than provide a range of different practices: it takes the next step in theorizing on the importance of the marginal and the everyday for what we 'know' to be 'the law' and what the international legal field looks like. Furthermore, by interrogating undiscussed academic practices, it provides students with a candid view on the perils and promises of transnational legal scholarship, inviting them to join the discussion and to practice their discipline in a more reflexive way. Written in an accessible format, containing a readable collection of personal and recognizable accounts of transnational legal practice, the book provides an everyday insight into transnational law. It will therefore appeal to international legal scholars, alongside any reader with an interest in transnational law. r 'outputs' of transnational law. It does more, however, than provide a range of different practices: it takes the next step in theorizing on the importance of the marginal and the everyday for what we 'know' to be 'the law' and what the international legal field looks like. Furthermore, by interrogating undiscussed academic practices, it provides students with a candid view on the perils and promises of transnational legal scholarship, inviting them to join the discussion and to practice their discipline in a more reflexive way. Written in an accessible format, containing a readable collection of personal and recognizable accounts of transnational legal practice, the book provides an everyday insight into transnational law. It will therefore appeal to international legal scholars, alongside any reader with an interest in transnational law.
Comparative Law As Transnational Law
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In Comparative Law as Transnational Law: A Decade of the German Law Journal, Russell A. Miller and Peer C. Zumbansen have assembled the works of scholars from around the world, forming a richly contextual demonstration of the increasing encounters and tensions among legal cultures. In recognizing the lack of consensus on how to define transnational law, Miller and Zumbansen have carefully selected works that originally appeared in the German Law Journal in order to help readers to grasp the challenges of defining transnational law, and to appreciate the differing approaches towards it. Some, for example, maintain that the processes of transnationalization has created a space for a new, discrete corpus of law--a field in its own right that is the equal of public international law or conflict of laws. Others understand the perceived transnational phenomena to be illustrations of an emerging legal culture that no longer fits the traditional distinction between national and international jurisdictions. In offering different approaches to such an understanding of transnational law, these works also bring out the important consequences of a more global outlook in legal scholarship, legal practice, and legal education.
HeinOnline- Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes)
HeinOnline- Canada Supreme Court Reports
HeinOnline- European Centre for Minority Issues
HeinOnline- Foreign & International Law Resources Database
HeinOnline- International & Non-U.S. Law Journals
HeinOnline- Revised Statutes of Canada
Provides official government statistics for over 70 countries. This collection includes statistical abstracts and yearbooks from national statistical offices worldwide, plus global and regional compendia from international organizations like the United Nations. Contains the complete Statistical Abstract of the U.S. alongside country-level data covering demographics, economics, health, education, and social indicators.
Archive of essential primary sources from the House of Commons and House of Lords documenting U.K.'s transformation from imperial power to modern democracy from 1660 to present. Through bills, reports, debates, and public petitions, these working documents reveal how Parliament shaped policy across three centuries of governance.