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The Cambridge Companion to International Law

The Cambridge Companion to International Law

The Cambridge Companion to International Law

James Crawford, University of Cambridge
Martti Koskenniemi, University of Helsinki
March 2012
Available
Paperback
9780521143080

    This intellectually rigorous introduction to international law encourages readers to engage with multiple aspects of the topic: as 'law' directing and shaping its subjects; as a technique for governing the world of states and beyond statehood; and as a framework within which several critical and constructivist projects are articulated. The articles situate international law in its historical and ideological context and examine core concepts such as sovereignty, jurisdiction and the state. Attention is also given to its operation within international institutions and in dispute settlement, and a separate section is devoted to international law's 'projects': protecting human rights, eradicating poverty, the conservation of resources, the regulation of international trade and investment and the establishment of international order. The diverse group of contributors draws from disciplinary orientations ranging from positivism to postmodernism to ensure that this book is informed theoretically and politically, as well as grounded in practice.

    • Introduction to international law from traditional and critical perspectives will benefit those working in or studying in the field
    • Chapters provide politically and theoretically informed overviews while avoiding technical or specialised vocabularies
    • Transcends the key divides in international law to provide multiple insights into the main issues

    Reviews & endorsements

    "From the title alone one might anticipate a weighty and perhaps a somewhat dry collection. The opposite is the case. The eighteen-chapter book is by no means lightweight in its intellectual content but especially in paperback form, is extremely reader-friendly … an excellent resource for students perhaps alongside one of the better cases and materials options. Our students want to know how international law fits in with, and either challenges or contributes to, the world’s problems. For them as well as for practitioners, researchers and the interested wider public, this is an excellent collection and a timely reminder that international law is on the map just as so many Australian scholars are contributing to the discipline."
    John R Morss, Deakin University Law School, Newsletter of International Law Association

    "What makes the book exceptional is the fact that the authors of each chapter present political and theoretical issues from both traditional and critical perspectives, providing valuable insight for a public interested in each field of international law."
    CEU Political Science Journal

    "What the Cambridge Companion will do is to introduce the reader to international law’s underlying contradictions, to its regressive tendencies, and to its liberating potential. International law, like all law, is a tool - and as a "science of the superstructure" it is a tool used mainly to conserve and perpetuate the status quo; the Cambridge Companion comes at it from a decidedly critical (read: progressive) bend, exposes its biases, but also demonstrates how "small change" may realise its power to liberate and protect."
    Antonios Tzanakopoulos, British Yearbook of International Law

    See more reviews

    Product details

    March 2012
    Paperback
    9780521143080
    484 pages
    229 × 152 × 23 mm
    0.76kg
    3 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction James Crawford and Martti Koskenniemi
    • Part I. The Contexts of International Law:
    • 1. International law in diplomatic history Gerry Simpson
    • 2. International law in the world of ideas Martti Koskenniemi
    • 3. International law as law Frédéric Mégret
    • Part II. International Law and the State:
    • 4. Statehood: territory, people, government Karen Knop
    • 5. Sovereignty as a legal value James Crawford
    • 6. Exercise and limits of jurisdiction Bruno Simma and Andreas Müller
    • 7. Lawfare and warfare David Kennedy
    • Part III. Techniques and Arenas:
    • 8. Law-making and sources Hilary Charlesworth
    • 9. International courts: uneven judicialisation in global order Benedict Kingsbury
    • 10. International institutions Jan Klabbers
    • 11. International law and the relativities of enforcement Dino Kritsiotis
    • Part IV. Projects of International Law:
    • 12. Constituting order Anne Orford
    • 13. Legitimating the international rule of law B. S. Chimni
    • 14. Human rights in disastrous times Susan Marks
    • 15. Justifying justice Sarah Nouwen
    • 16. Regulating trade, investment and money Hélène Ruiz Fabri
    • 17. Divided against itself: aspiration and reality of international law Thomas Pogge
    • 18. Conserving the world's resources? Sundhya Pahuja
    • Guide to electronic sources of international law Lesley Dingle.
      Contributors
    • James Crawford, Martti Koskenniemi, Gerry Simpson, Frédéric Mégret, Karen Knop, Bruno Simma, Andreas Muller, David Kennedy, Hilary Charlesworth, Benedict Kingsbury, Jan Klabbers, Dino Kritsiotis, Anne Orford, B. S. Chimni, Susan Marks, Sarah Nouwen, Helène Ruiz-Fabri, Thomas Pogge, Sundhuya Pahuja

    • Editors
    • James Crawford , University of Cambridge

      James Crawford is Whewell Professor of International Law and a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. He was a member of the United Nations International Law Commission from 1992 to 2001 and Special Rapporteur on State Responsibility from 1997 to 2001. He has also been a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission. In addition to scholarly work on statehood, self-determination, collective rights and international responsibility, he has appeared frequently before the International Court of Justice and other international tribunals and is actively engaged as expert, counsel and arbitrator.

    • Martti Koskenniemi , University of Helsinki

      Martti Koskenniemi is Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki and Director of the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights. He worked as diplomat with the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1978 to 1994, representing Finland in a number of international institutions and conferences. As member of the UN International Law Commission (2002–6) he chaired the Study group on the 'Fragmentation of International Law'. He has written widely on international law topics and his present research interests cover the theory and history of the field.