Equity And International Law

Drawing on a large and varied body of judicial and arbitral case law, this book provides a comprehensive, original, and up-to-date account of the role of equity in international law.

When a claimant demands an interpretation of a right in international law that goes beyond existing conventional, statutory or customary norms, proceedings enter the uncharted area of equity in international law. This original book tackles this complex subject with precision and authority. Evaluating past applications of equity, it contributes to improving the record of judicial performance in controversies for which equity is alleged to be relevant. Any decisionmaker confronted with a claim to apply equity will benefit greatly from this book. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

An exploration of human choice in international legal and political decision making that investigates the neurobiology of choice and the history of how it has affected international peace and security.

Georges Abi-Saab began his writing and teaching at a time when the process of decolonization, and thereafter the quest for emancipation, began to make its far-reaching impact on the international scene, producing significant changes in the international environment, both quantitatively in increasing the number of nation-States and qualitatively in changing patterns of interests and claims. This was bound to result in new pressures on the international legal system itself and in a questioning of the traditional Eurocentric content of international law. In his work and teaching Professor Abi-Saab viewed the dynamics of international law as a function of two driving forces: the emergence of the third world and the sense of injustice. In his view, the first driving force - the emergence of the third world - raised the problem of exclusion: exclusion from participation in the elaboration of international law and the decision-making process, and exclusion as beneficiaries of the resulting rules of international law. At the same time, this new force introduced diversity into the international scene, reflecting the richness of the international community in its different facets. This process remains relevant today, reflecting the contemporary problem of exclusion of new actors as well as their quest for participation. The second driving force - the sense of injustice - posed a teleological problem for him, that of defining community values in order that they capture the different facets of justice, whether formal or distributive. So long as there is no effective organic structure, international law in his view will continue to remain effectiveness-oriented, reflecting rather than impacting on the structures of power. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that there is an on-going process of development of community values and interests; as Georges Abi-Saab wrote with reference to international crimes: `law, like all social phenomena, is a continuous unfolding, a continuous process of elaboration'. He has also considered that the dynamics of the international legal process itself can be captured from the perspective of international organizations as vehicles for change in the international system. From his early writings, Georges Abi-Saab approached the United Nations Charter as a blueprint - both normative and institutional - for a certain type of international society. International institutions with all their imperfections, continue for him to be the means of realization of the law of cooperation which lies at the heart of his concept of the international system. The themes selected for this volume in honour of Professor Georges Abi-Saab are intended to reflect his unique and pioneering contribution to the field of international law. The contributors are drawn from what he has always considered to be his large `family' of former students: in his forty years of teaching, Georges Abi-Saab has acted as mentor to generations of students from all over the world who have benefited from his vision, insights, originality and creative and stimulating use of language. The contributors also include colleagues and friends who share a similar vision of the international legal system.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2006 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: B+, University of Dar es Salaam (Faculty of Law), course: Law of the Sea, language: English, abstract: Equity as a legal concept is a direct emanation of the idea of justice. It was however a long time, before this understanding broke way in municipal law, let alone that it became accepted by a majority in Public International Law, as the lawyers [in England] had a maxim that they would tolerate a ‘mischief’ [a failure of substantial justice in a particular case] rather than an ‘inconvenience’ [a breach of legal principle]. The parties to the case were however mostly not satisfied with such ‘inconvenience’ resulting from the ‘hard nosed’ municipal Common Law and started to seek redress from a higher authority — in this case the King of England. This (royal) remedy is based on the concept of ‘Equity,’ which — as understood in this paper — was applied to correct unjust outcomes and referred to considerations of fairness, and reasonableness. Eventually, the foremost municipal concept of Equity found entry into international jurisprudence. However, mostly civil law countries — whose approach towards Equity was and is more reluctant — were challenging this understanding, arguing that the Court “should work on the basis of existing rights,” in Public International Law a distinction of different ‘Equities’ was developed. As will be shown, the usage of some of these ‘Equities’ is highly controversial, whereas others are today nearly commonly accepted as part of today’s Public International Law.

Intergenerational Equity: Environmental and Cultural Concerns tackles intergenerational equity from various perspectives with a view to understanding what is fair and/or just within and among generations.

Sustainable development requires consideration of the quality of life that future generations will be able to enjoy, and as the adjustment to sustainable lifestyles gathers momentum, the rights of future generations and our responsibility for their wellbeing is becoming a central issue. In this, the first book to address this emerging area of international law, leading experts examine the legal and theoretical frameworks for representing and safeguarding the interests of future generations in current international treaties. This unique volume will be required reading for academics and students of international environmental law and policy. Emmanuel Agius is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology and Coordinator of the Future Generations Programme at the Foundation for International Studies, University of Malta. Salvino Busuttil is former Director General of the Foundation for International Studies. Future Generations and International Law is the seventh volume in the International Law and Sustainable Development series, co-developed with FIELD. The series aims to address and define the major legal issues associated with sustainable development and to contribute to the progressive development of international law. Other titles in the series are: Greening International Law, Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, Property Rights in the Defence of Nature, Improving Compliance with International Environmental Law, Greening International Institutions and Quotas in International Environmental Agreements. 'A legal parallel to the Blueprint series - welcome, timely and provocative' David Pearce Originally published in 1997