Product Description
The municipal codes of well over a dozen countries expressly provide for the application of the general principles of law in the absence of specific legal provisions or of custom, and the Statute of the International Court of Justice stipulates that 'the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations' constitute one of the sources of international law to be applied by the Court; but the exact meaning and scope ofthis section of the Statute have always been a subject of controversy amongst international lawyers. In this printing of his classic 1953 work, Professor Bin Cheng inquires into the practical application of these principles by international courts and tribunals since the beginning of modern international arbitration with the Jay Treaty of 1794, and presents them as a coherent body of fundamental principles that in fact furnish the international legal system with its juridical basis. Citations from nearly 600 international arbitral and judicial decisions amply testify to the role of these principles in the international legal system and illustrate their application in practically every important field of international law. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

General Principles of Law as applied by International Courts and Tribunals
Despite the fact, that the book was originally press in 1953, it is a contemporary classic. The new edition by Cambridge is a good source of research on a difficult area. It is the most important book on the subject. Highly recommend by anyone who wants to study International Law and its application by international Courts.
Dr. Juan Carlos Sainz-Borgo
Chair Professor in International Law
Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas

A "Gap-Filler" and Genuine Classic of International Law
Very few monographs on international lawcan claim to be "indispensible." However, Dr. Cheng's book on General Principles of Law [The "general principles of law recognized by civilized nations" Art. 38(1)c Statute of the PCIJ and ICJ, primarily used as gap-fillers], first published in the middle of the last century, is remains the only comprehensive treatment of one of the four categories of the sources of international law provided by Article 38 of the Statute of the International of Justice. His stated purpose is "to determine what they are in substance and the manner in which they have been applied by international tribunals." Generations of international lawyers, including myself, have found this book a necessary starting point when inquiring into the content of general principles (for me, it was the principle of "salus populi" in reference to internal strife). ... Read more

Product Description
Events such as the legal arguments surrounding the 2003 Iraq War and the creation of the International Criminal Court highlight the significance of international law in the contemporary world. This new textbook provides an introduction to the relationship between international law and international relations. David Armstrong, Theo Farrell and Hélène Lambert explore the evolution, nature and function of international law in world politics and situate international law in its historical and political context. They propose three interdisciplinary 'lenses' through which to view the role of international law in world politics: realist, liberal and constructivist. These lenses offer different ways of looking at international law in terms of what it is, how it works and how it changes. Topics covered include the use of force, human rights, international crimes, international trade and the environment, and each chapter features discussion questions and guides to further reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Book
Informative and well written.A necessary read for political science majors and anyone interested in Law. ... Read more

Product Description
This book explores the whole of the large and controversial subject of the use of force in international law; it examines not only the use of force by states but also the role of the UN in peacekeeping and enforcement action, and the growing importance of regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security.

Since the publication of the second edition of International Law and the Use of Force the law in this area has continued to undergo a fundamental reappraisal. Operation Enduring Freedom carries on against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan six years after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Can this still be justified as self-defense in the 'war on terror'? Is there now a wide right of pre-emptive self-defense against armed attacks by non-state actors? The 2006 Israel/Lebanon conflict and the recent intervention of Ethiopia in Somalia raise questions about whether the 'war on terror' has brought major changes in the law on self-defense and on regime change. The 2003 invasion of Iraq gave rise to serious divisions between states as to the legality of this use of force and to talk of a crisis of collective security for the UN. In response the UN initiated major reports on the future of the Charter system; these rejected amendment of the Charter provisions on the use of force. They also rejected any right of pre-emptive self-defense. They advocated a 'responsibility to protect' in cases of genocide or massive violations of human rights; the events in Darfur show the practical difficulties with the implementation of such a duty. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good account of international law on the use of force
Christine Gray, a Reader in International Law at Cambridge University, has written an excellent account of current international law on the use of force by states. She examines the laws banning the use of force, civil wars, self-defence, collective self-defence, the use of force against terrorism, the UN and the use of force, Security Council authorisation for the use of force, and regional peacekeeping and enforcement actions.

International law depends on the defence of nations' rights to self-determination, sovereignty and independence. She shows that the UN remains committed to the prohibition of any forcible intervention in the internal affairs of any nations.

Gray maintains that the reasoning of the International Court of Justice in Nicaragua's case against the USA in 1986 is of paramount importance in this area because it is the Court's first extended discussion of the law on the use of force. The Court found that Nicaragua had not attacked anybody, but that the US government had illegally used force and intervened in Nicaragua. The Court rejected the US claim that its Contra war was justified as `humanitarian' intervention. The US state has refused to accept the verdict.

Gray shows that the similar recent US/British attacks on Iraq and Yugoslavia were also illegal: "The use of the doctrine of implied authorization by the Security Council to justify the military action by the USA and the UK in Iraq in 1993 and 1998, by NATO in Kosovo and most recently by the USA, the UK and Australia in Operation Iraqi Freedom shows lip-service to the authority of the UN, but an unwillingness actually to accept the decisions of the Security Council."

As UN Secretary-General Kofi Anna said in 1999, "enforcement actions without Security Council authorisation threaten the very core of the international security system." On 16 September 2004, he stated that the war on Iraq was illegal. Recent UN Resolutions have not endorsed the war as legal. The illegal invasion has now become an illegal belligerent occupation.

... Read more

Product Description
This volume is intended to help readers understand the relationship between international law and international relations (IL/IR). As a testament to this dynamic area of inquiry, new research on IL/IR is now being published in a growing list of traditional law reviews and disciplinary journals. The excerpted articles in this volume, all of which were first published in International Organization, represent some of the most important research since serious social science scholarship began in this area more than twenty years ago. They are important milestones toward making IL/IR a central concern of scholarly research in international affairs. The contributions cover some of the main topics of international affairs to provide readers with a range of theoretical perspectives, concepts, and heuristics that can be used to analyze the relationship between international law and international relations. ... Read more

Product Description
International law is much debated and discussed, but poorly understood. Does international law matter, or do states regularly violate it with impunity? If international law is of no importance, then why do states devote so much energy to negotiating treaties and providing legal defenses for their actions? In turn, if international law does matter, why does it reflect the interests of powerful states, why does it change so often, and why are violations of international law usually not punished?
In this book, Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner argue that international law matters but that it is less powerful and less significant than public officials, legal experts, and the media believe. International law, they contend, is simply a product of states pursuing their interests on the international stage.It does not pull states towards compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what it can achieve are limited.It follows that many global problems are simply unsolvable.
The book has important implications for debates about the role of international law in the foreign policy of the United States and other nations. The authors see international law as an instrument for advancing national policy, but one that is precarious and delicate, constantly changing in unpredictable ways based on non-legal changes in international politics. They believe that efforts to replace international politics with international law rest on unjustified optimism about international law's past accomplishments and present capacities.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

incentives play a huge role in international law
G+P offer a very refreshing new approach to international law. they suggest that compliance is largely contributed to incentives and not enforcement. states obey international law not because they fear punishment but out of their own interest. ex. most people dont drink and drive not because they fear getting caught but they just simply do not want to risk dying a bloody death. very interesting book. i highly recommend.

Another Neo-Conservative con-job

I agree with Ben and Sean - this book is an intellectual sham.

As noted by Michael Scharf in an interview he did with Scott Horton, "Goldsmith and Posner based their conclusions on selective use of anecdotal case studies, and their identification of the motivations of the decision makers is based entirely on conjecture." "Goldsmith and Posner, along with University of California Berkeley Law Professor John Yoo, were part of a group of scholars whose self-proclaimed agenda was to convince government officials, political elites, and the general public that it is permissible for policy makers to ignore international law whenever they perceive it to be in their interest to do so, especially in the context of the war on terror."

The United States only invokes international law as binding law when it wants to constrain other nations. This is another classic case of "American exceptionalism" gone awry.

Astonishing that it was ever published
Without repeating the many (!) deeply critical reviews at length, suffice it to say that this is a poorly researched, badly written and ideologically blinkered polemic. The authors proceed from a simplistic conception of international law to a series of methodologically flawed case studies to draw unsupported conclusions. In particular, while claiming to advance a more rigorous and empirically-based analytical approach to questions of compliance, the authors barely address any of the substantial empirical compliance literature that has developed over the past decade: readers will, for example, look in vain for any reference to Oran Young, Benedict Kingsbury, Michael Byers or other serious scholars who have actually managed to advance more rigorous approaches.

Does international law exist?
What is international law?Most international lawyers will tell you that there are principles of international legality that are larger than any specific treaty and these principles of legality bind states, sometimes even against their will; there is something called customary international law which is international law that evolved in a decentralized fashion as a matter of custom; and there are human rights norms that are part of customary international law and bind states even if those states never explicitly agreed to them.

In this short, sharp book, Jack Goldmsith and Eric Posner explain why this is nonsense. International law, they argue, is a part of international politics. States enter into treaties and other international legal institutions when doing so serves their interests. Any cooperation among states is a byproduct of that rational act. On the whole, the Goldsmith and Posner are quite convincing.

The theory of the book is, nevertheless, incomplete without a discussion of how nations actually identify and develop their interests in the first place. On this, the authors are silent. Why does Britain feel it is in its interest to sign the Kyoto Protocol? Why do totalitarian regimes sign human rights treaties? Why enter into international agreements at all? This book lacks a theory that explains or predicts the amount of international law. If there is no moral or legal obligation to obey international law, is there even such a thing as international law?

Don't waste your time
I was very disappointed with this book. While claiming to be an academic book, the text reads more like a neconservative, ideological condemnation of international law. The authors seem to be denying a substantial body of evidence, and that is not an issue if they had made their arguements using case study or better yet strong empirical study. I actually tend to agree with many of their points, but they are really not the first ones who are making these arguements. A whole school of thought in international relations has made these arguements for decades, and frankly with much more clarity than this book and highly more complex and fine logic.

The authors should have also recognized that this is a contentious issue in international relations and international law. If you come out with strong claims like this, you better back your ideas with fine reasoning (which the book lacks) and evidence. Otherwise, as I believe will be the case with this book, your book will end up in the back stacks of university libraries after a while. ... Read more

Product Description
<p>Highly respected educator-scholars Elizabeth Van Schaack and Ronald C. Slye highlight and summarize the major concepts and themes of International Criminal Law with clear, informal language in this concise paperback text.</p><p><b>Van Schaack and Slye provide a general overview of International Criminal Law that includes</b>: </p><ul><li>a <b>straightforward introductory chapter</b></li><li><b>explanation and descriptions</b> of the major international crimes, including:<ul><li><b>war crimes</b></li><li><b>crimes against humanity</b></li><li><b>genocide</b></li><li><b>aggression</b></li><li><b>terrorism</b></li></ul></li></ul><ul><li><b>coverage of individual rights</b> and <b>protections</b> and the <b>major defenses available to International Criminal Law defendants</b></li><li><b>references to decisions from outside of the usual Western canon </b>such as those from African, Asian, and Central and South American source</li><li><b>discussion of the growing body of international jurisprudence</b> being generated through <b>international tribunals, hybrid tribunals</b>, and <b>other sources</b></li></ul><p>If you’re thinking about teaching a course on International Criminal Law, you’ll want to examine this timely, brief, and conceptually organized introductory text, written by two of the leading authorities in the field.</p><p></p> ... Read more

Product Description
International Criminal Law and Philosophy is the first anthology to bring together legal and philosophical theorists to examine the normative and conceptual foundations of international criminal law. In particular, through these essays the international group of authors addresses questions of state sovereignty; of groups, rather than individuals, as perpetrators and victims of international crimes; of international criminal law and the promotion of human rights and social justice; and of what comes after international criminal prosecutions, namely, punishment and reconciliation. International criminal law is still an emerging field, and as it continues to develop, the elucidation of clear, consistent theoretical groundings for its practices will be crucial. The questions raised and issues addressed by the essays in this volume will aid in this important endeavor. ... Read more

Product Description
Urban environments pose many difficulties for those planning and conducting military operations within the boundaries of international law and self-imposed political constraints.Whereas the speed and agility of air power, plus its ability to deliver firepower precisely (and with relatively low risk to U.S. personnel), may make it the instrument of choice, the heightened risk of collateral damage when operating in urban environments partially offsets U.S. technological superiority. ... Read more

Product Description
In recent years, instruments and institutions for dispute settlement have multiplied. They now cover almost all areas of international law ranging from international economic law and international criminal law to more traditional fields such as arbitration procedures. Given this development, it became necessary, if not mandatory, to envisage a revised, updated and considerably enlarged second edition of the standard compilation of texts and materials on dispute settlement in public international law, which was first published in 1984 under the auspices of the Heidelberg Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Continuing that tradition, the second edition has largely retained the purpose and concept of the publication, namely to make available to researchers, scholars and practitioners a comprehensive collection of more than 150 different instruments which are otherwise sometimes rather difficult to find elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description
The new edition of this well-established and highly regarded work has been fully updated to encompass the major changes and developments in the law, including the newly finalized Rome II Regulation. The book is invaluable for the practitioner as well as being one of the leading students' textbooks in the field, giving comprehensive and accessible coverage of the basic principles of private international law, a popular law school option.

It offers students, teachers and practitioners not only a rigorous academic examination of the subject, but also a practical guide to the complex subject of private international law. Written by academics who both previously worked as solicitors, there is extensive coverage of commercial topics such as the jurisdiction of various courts and their limitations, stays of proceedings and restraining foreign proceedings, the recognition and enforcement of judgments, the law of obligations with respect tocontractual and non-contractual obligations. There are also sections on the various aspects of family law in private international law, and the law of property, including the transfer of property, administration of estates, succession and trusts. ... Read more

Product Description
International law has recently emerged as the subject-matter of an exciting new field of philosophical investigation. The Philosophy of International Law contains 29 cutting-edge essays by leading philosophers and international lawyers, all published here in English for the first time, that address the central philosophical questions about international law.

The volume's overarching theme is the moral and political values that should guide the assessment and development of international law and institutions. Some of the essays tackle general topics such as the sources and legitimacy of international law, the nature of international legal adjudication, whether international law can or should aspire to be 'democratic', and the significance of state sovereignty. The other contributions address philosophical problems arising in specific domains of international law, such as human rights law, international economic law, international criminal law, international environmental law, and the laws of war.

This volume is the most up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of the philosophy of international law in existence. It is also distinguished by its 'dialogical' methodology: there are two essays on each topic, with the second author engaging with the arguments of the first. It is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the nature and value of international law. ... Read more

Product Description
See international law in action with FUNDAMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL LAW. Comprehensive yet easy-to-understand, this political science text enhances your understanding of key topics in international law through a mix of cases, articles, documents, text, charts, tables, and questions. Edited cases from many countries followed by notes and questions illustrate major concepts. The author?s continually updated website contains recent cases, maps, career opportunities, links to documents, and a research guide making it easy for you stay on top of recent updates in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

overpriced and simplistic
For the price of this book there should be no mistakes.There was constant grammatical errors, and there were multiple errors where the author made a statement and then contradicted it later, sometimes this would happen multiple times concerning the same statement.The book is a very simple look at International law more for the highschool level. The author left out many important subjects and treaties like Kyoto. For the money this poorly written book was a complete dissappointment.

The most amazing book on International Law
The author has achieved a feat of Herculean proportions by his extremely lucid and perspicacious analysis of the very difficult and inaccessible subject of International law. International law is next only to Qunatum Field Theory in its profundity and deep conceptual underpinnings. The veryfact that an ignoramus like me can understand and appreciate this work ofgenius goes to show that everyone even remotely interested in the fieldshould read this book. ... Read more

Product Description

Issues of corruption turn up with disturbing frequency in commercial arbitration. Yet there is no uniformity in arbitral practice to tackle this phenomenon, despite a constant chorus of condemnation from all quarters. This important book attempts to explain the discrepancy between the mountain condemnation of corruption in international trade and public procurement and the persistent resistance to such condemnation. It specifically describes how corruption uses duplicity in practice, and how such practice challenges the imperativeness of condemnation.

In the process of developing theory in this area, the book analyzes relevant cases and other legal materials, and thus provides both theoretical and practical guidance in such matters as the following:

Product Description
The International Law of Investment Claims considers the distinct principles governing the prosecution of a claim in investment treaty arbitration. The principles are codified as 54 'rules' of general application on the juridical foundations of investment treaty arbitration, the jurisdiction of the tribunal, the admissibility of claims and the laws applicable to different aspects of the investment dispute. The commentary to each proposed rule contains a critical analysis of the investment treaty jurisprudence and makes extensive reference to the decisions of other international courts and tribunals, as well as to the relevant experience of municipal legal orders. Solutions are elaborated in respect of the most intractable problems that have arisen in the cases, including: the effect of an exclusive jurisdiction clause in an investment agreement with the host state; reliance on the MFN clause in relation to jurisdictional provisions; and, the legitimate scope of derivative claims by shareholders. ... Read more

Product Description
In the freshest international law text in 20 years, Christopher C. Joyner offers a critical assessment of international legal rules in the early 21st century as they are applied by governments to the real world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This book is wonderful.
I teach International Law for Political Science students and this is my absolute favorite book.

Obfuscation of the subject appears to be the authors goal
Dr. Joyner, while having a great academic reputation, especially in the area of international law and Antarctica, appears to have either thrown this text together simply to produce one, or allowed his publisher's editors to so maul his text as to make if a painful experience to read.

In topic after topic, the discussion of the material is overly redundant and circular in nature.Either Dr. Joyner believes his readership is so woefully ignorant as to require the same idea be restated several paragraphs in a row in order for them to achieve comprehension, or he was given bad editorial advice to do so.Whatever the reason may be, much of the text is subjected to this treatment... paragraph after paragraph of circular discussion around an idea that could just have easily been stated clearly in a single, concise paragraph, if not sentence.This makes the reading of his text laborious at best.It also detracts from its primary purpose, the educating of students in the subject of International Law.The treatment is such that one has to question whether the text could have been more concisely rendered as a pamphlet.

I do not say these things lightly, nor with malice towards Dr. Joyner.I compared this text to a 1st Edition copy of Law Among Nations: An Introduction to Public International Law by Dr. Gerhard von Glahn (deceased), Professor Emeritus in Political Science, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota (now in its 7th edition; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0205189946/002-9957070-9244802?v=glance).Dr. von Glahn's text, by contrast, was very concise and clear.

Perhaps this edition of International Law in the 21st Century: Rules for Global Governance is just a dud; an early stage of a work in progress.I cannot, however, find any redeeming quality about the book that would warrant recommendation of it beyond that is is a newer publication then most of its peer texts.Unfortunately, its recent publication is not enough to overcome its obvious communications flaws.Hopefully this will be remediated in future editions. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite numerous efforts since the 1920s, the international community has failed to define or criminalize 'terrorism' in international law. This book first explores the policy reasons for defining and criminalizing terrorism, before proposing the basic elements of an international definition. Terrorism should be defined and criminalized because it seriously undermines fundamental human rights, jeopardizes the State and peaceful politics, and may threaten international peace and security. Definition would also help to distinguish political from private violence, eliminating the overreach of the many 'sectoral' anti-terrorism treaties. A definition may also help to confine the scope of UN Security Council resolutions since 11 September 2001, which have encouraged States to pursue unilateral and excessive counter-terrorism measures.

Defining terrorism as a discrete international crime normatively recognizes and protects vital international community values and interests, symbolically expresses community condemnation, and stigmatizes offenders. Any definition of terrorism must also accommodate reasonable claims to political violence, particularly against repressive governments, and this book examines the range of exceptions, justifications, excuses, defenses and amnesties potentially available to terrorists, as well as purported exceptions such as self-determination struggles, 'State terrorism' and armed conflicts.

While this book seeks to minimize recourse to violence, it recognizes that international law should not become complicit in oppression by criminalizing legitimate forms of political resistance. In the absence of an international definition, the remainder of the book explores how the international community has responded to terrorism in international and 'regional' treaties, the United Nations system, and in customary law. The final part of the book explores the distinctive prohibitions and crime of 'terrorism' in armed conflict under international humanitarian law. ... Read more

Product Description
A critical and systematic re-examination of important parts
of the traditional body of international law and its
application. ... Read more

Product Description

In today’s globalised world, an understanding of international trade is essential for those studying and practising law, business, banking and finance. International Trade Law offers a comprehensive and informed analysis of the complexities of an international sale transaction through case law, policy documents, legislation, international conventions and rules adopted by international organisations such as the ICC. Focusing on international sales of goods and the various relations that arise as a result of sale contract, this book considers and discusses: 

• standard trade terms, the Convention on International Sales of Goods 1980 and the UNIDROIT Principles for International Commercial Contracts 2004
• issues relating to E-Commerce including electronic transport documents, especially electronic bills of landing
• international transportation of cargo, both unimodal (sea, air, land and rail) and multimodal, the various conventions affecting such transportation and the proposed new convention drafted by UNCITRAL and CMI
• insurance and payment mechanisms, in particular letters of credit and the recently adopted UCP 600
• dispute resolution including issues of jurisdiction, applicable law, arbitration and mediation
• corruption as a major challenge to conducting business and the various anti-corruption conventions, in particular the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention 1997 and the UN Convention Against corruption 2003.

Accessible to students encountering this often challenging area of the law for the first time, International Trade Law clarifies a range of topics through tables and diagrams, and directs the reader to relevant further reading, online resources, and journal articles throughout.

Product Description
Counter-Terrorism Law and Practice provides in a single volume the core documents in international law relating to terrorism along with analytical commentary. The detailed narrative provides the reader with an understanding of issues likely to arise in practice, for example: competing jurisdiction; the impact of human rights law and practice; extradition; handling of MLA requests; and countering the financing of terrorism. The book also includes the key international and regional counter-terrorism instruments and coverage on the approach of other jurisdictions, particularly important when dealing with issues of international co-operation. The materials cover relevant case law from a range of jurisdictions as well as key documents from international organizations such as FATF. This text provides in a single volume the core documents in international law relating to terrorism and ... Read more

Product Description
As conservation of the environment plays an increasingly important role within society, International Law and the Environment continues to be the essential read for students and practitioners alike.

International Law and the Environment, while remaining rooted within the substantive law, places legislation on the protection of the environment firmly at the core of its current context.Written by three of the foremost experts in this field, the authors employ sharp and thorough analysis of the laws, allowing them to share their extensive knowledge and experience with the reader. The authors provide a unique perspective on the implications of International regulation, promoting a wider understanding of the pertinent issues impacting upon the law.

This edition features extended treatment of Genetically Modified Organisms and biotechnology as well as the implications of ethics and the environment.It also benefits from new material covering the role of the International Maritime Organization and Non-Governmental Organizations, which continue to grow in their influence over legislative provisions.These revisions ensure that not only does International Law and the Environment remain at the forefront of developments but continues to provide the most complete coverage of the growing subject of environmental law. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good resource
I used this book as a resource for my LLM thesis and it proved very useful.It provides good background knowledge on the evolution of environmental law in international law.I wish it had some case summaries though.

Exhaustive and Complete
This is simply an outstanding addition to the field.There are other good resources out there but I found Birnie & Boyle's work one of the best.It continues to be one of my basic references - despite having become slightly dated.I recommend it with only one reservation: the authors use of endnotes rather than footnotes is aggravating.Perhaps the next edition will address this irksome problem? ... Read more