International Law

by Vaughan Lowe

International Law is both an introduction to the subject and a critical consideration of its central themes and debates. The opening chapters of the book explain how international law underpins the international political and economic system by establishing the basic principle of the independence of States, and their right to choose their own political, economic, and cultural systems. Subsequent chapters then focus on considerations that limit national freedom ofchoice (e.g. human rights, the interconnected global economy, the environment).Through the organizing concepts of territory, sovereignty, and jurisdiction the book shows how international law seeks to achieve an established set of principles according to which the power to make and enforce policies is distributed among States.

Genres: Law

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting overview of international law, from a lot of different perspectives, looks at the concepts, such as opino juris and jus cogens, and jus in bello, jus ad bellum, as well as the parameters of international law, treaties, conventions, customary law. Then, he goes through a variety of applications of IL, including for states, within states, for the global economy, armed conflict, environment, and human, social and economic rights. One thing I really liked was the use of case law and case studies, like the Trail Smelter Case- which was the founding principle for the idea of polluter pays, or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which established exclusive economic zones (EEZ) for 200 miles off the coast of maritime states.
Two concepts I definitely agree with is that a) international law is changing- more and more non-state actors and IOs are becoming more important. This goes for both the global economy, where the World Bank, and IMF play integral roles, but also for law of armed conflict, where even the nature of combatants, not as state actors but as rebels, militias or guerrillas, are more important now than ever before. The scope, Lowe says, of international law is broader than ever before, encompassing a wide variety of subjects.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

technical.