An Introduction To Public International Law

Provides an accessible, balanced, and nuanced introduction to public international law, with examples of how the law applies in practice.

Written for students working in a range of disciplines, this textbook provides an accessible, balanced, and nuanced introduction to the field of public international law. It explains the basic concepts and legal frameworks of public international law while acknowledging the field's inherent complexities and controversies. Featuring numerous carefully chosen and clearly explained examples, it demonstrates how the law applies in practice, and public international law's pervasive influence on world affairs, both past and present. Aiming not to over-emphasize any particular domestic jurisprudence or research interest, this textbook offers a global overview of public international law that will be highly valuable to any student new to the study of this very significant field.

"Public international law represents the legal architecture of international affairs. Often this architecture is hidden behind world events such as a prime minister's apology to another state, a foreign minister's assertion that the military acted proportionately, or claims by foreign investors that they have been treated unfairly by the states where they operate. Sometimes, however, the language of international law is in plain view, such as when individuals assert their human right to a fair trial, or when one state accuses the other of violating the laws governing international trade"--

National judges are a sort of propelling force behind international law to the extent that they perceive the need to realize that international solidarity which is too often lacking at the level of governments. Hence they are the principal addressees of this book.

Offering a more accessible alternative to casebooks and historical commentaries, Law Among Nations explains issues of international law by tracing the field's development and stressing key principles, processes, and landmark cases. This comprehensive text eliminates the need for multiple books by combining discussions of theory and state practice with excerpts from landmark cases. The book has been updated in light of the continuing revolution in communication technology, the dense web of linkages between countries that involve individuals and bodies both formal and informal; and covers important and controversial areas such as human rights, the environment, and issues associated with the use of force. Renowned for its rigorous approach and clear explanations, Law Among Nations remains the gold standard for undergraduate introductions to international law. New to this Edition: Added or expanded coverage of timely issues in international law: Drones and their use in the air and in space Immigration Islamic views of international law Inviolability and the difference between diplomatic immunity and sovereignty, in light of the Benghazi attack Overhauled chapters on areas with great change: International criminal law Just war and war crime law New cases on many subjects

Offering a more accessible alternative to casebooks and historical commentaries, Law Among Nations explains issues of international law by tracing the field's development and stressing key principles and processes. This comprehensive text eliminates the need for multiple books by combining discussions of theory and state practice with excerpts from landmark cases. Renowned for its rigorous approach and clear explanations, Law Among Nations remains the gold standard for undergraduate introductions to international law. Learning Goals Trace the development of International Law through key principles and processes. Illustrate important issues and theories using excerpts from landmark cases.

This book in its entirety as well as in each of its parts is an outline of the problems under discussion. The subject matter of some eighty sections of the book is extensive; it could, indeed, be presented by ex perts in as many volumes. This study offers an attempt to formulate a synthesis, however difficult, of the vast amount of available material. Unlike the well-known standard Introductions to International Law which deal with all the major fields of international law, this book treats exclusively the present conceptions of that law as expressed in legal literature, international treaties and other agreements, inter national judgements and awards, governmental and diplomatic state ments and the like. Special attention is devoted, in several chapters of the book, to the "teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations" which are considered by Article 38 paragraph 1 (d) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice as "subsidiary means for the determination ofrules of law. " An endeavor is made to ascertain whether in certain fields of the theory of international law a "Communis opinio doctorum" has either been reached or is in the process of achievement. Some readers may consider that there are too many quotations from writings of publicists; others will certainly feel - as does this writer - that too many outstanding international lawyers have not been included.