The Unruly Notion Of Abuse Of Rights

Challenges the claim to elevate the theory of abuse of rights to the status of a general principle of law.

Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) plays an indispensable role in promoting stable relations amongst States by obliging them to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of pending treaties. However, for more than 50 years since its adoption, Article 18 has lingered in a state of legal uncertainty. This book offers a complete guide to the precise scope and content of Article 18 VCLT by analysing its particular elements. Of relevance to scholars, practitioners, and postgraduate students of international law, it applies Article 18 VCLT to contemporary events in international law. It showcases the vitality and direct relevance of the provision in today’s international legal order, while offering concrete arguments for its effective application.

This book questions whether investment law influences the wider field of general international law, and more specifically, whether approaches adopted by tribunals in investment arbitrations have radiated, or should radiate, into other fields of international law.

The principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of states is one of the most venerable principles of international law. Although not expressly mentioned in the Charter of the United Nations, at least as an inter-state prohibition, the principle currently appears in a plethora of treaties and UN General Assembly resolutions and has been invoked like a mantra by states of all geographical and political denominations. Despite this, the determination of its exact content has remained an enigma. International Law and the Principle of Non-Intervention: History, Theory, and Interactions with Other Principles solves this enigma by exploring what constitutes an 'intervention' in international law and when interventions are unlawful. These questions are approached from three different perspectives, which are reflected in the book's structure: historical, theoretical, and systematic. Through a comprehensive survey of primary documents and of over 200 cases of intervention from the mid-18th century to the present day, as well as an extensive literature search, this work provides an in-depth analysis of the principle of non-intervention which links it to fundamental notions of international law, including sovereignty, use of force, self-determination, and human rights protection.

This book provides a systematic analysis of the principle of non-intervention from a historical, theoretical, and systematic perspective. Roscini argues that the principle is strictly linked to some fundamental notions of international law, such as sovereignty, use of force, self-determination, and human rights protection.

Although considered a somewhat ‘hazy’ concept (particularly in common law), good faith may nevertheless be defined as a duty incumbent on a person negotiating or performing an agreement. Thus, it may be understood as obligatory on all parties in the conduct of arbitral proceedings. In this collection of expert chapters, notable jurists and legal academics from around the world fully investigate the multifaceted notion of good faith in international arbitration. All the following aspects of the matter are covered: detailed analysis of good faith in both common law and civil law traditions as reflected in doctrine, scholarship, and case law; good faith implications in treaty interpretation; using good faith as a negative defence against claims or as a positive basis for claims; good faith in the specific field of international investment arbitration; procedural aspects of the parties’ obligation to act in good faith during pre-arbitral negotiations, conciliation, and mediation, as well as during the arbitral proceedings; the duty of arbitrators and arbitral institutions to act in good faith; and the role of good faith in actions to set aside. As an authoritative survey and analysis of how the concept of good faith has been applied in international arbitration – and defined in the case law relevant to it – this matchless book provides invaluable guidance to parties involved in international arbitral proceedings.

General international law is part and parcel of investor-state arbitration. This is the case not only regarding treaty law and state responsibility, but also with respect to matters such as state succession, the international minimum standard, and state immunity, all of which feature regularly in investor-state arbitration. Yet, although general international law issues arise in almost every investment case and often require extensive research, no systematic exploration of the relationship between the two exists. This Commentary is the first to fill this gap, providing a comprehensive treatment of the role of general international law in international investment law. It engages in detail with central matters of general international law, including in the practice of investment arbitration tribunals, moving beyond existing works which focus solely on procedural and institutional provisions. The Commentary's forty-six chapters do not focus on a single source or subject. Instead, each concentrates on a specific, relevant article from a particular source of public law - such as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) or the International Law Commission's Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001), among others. The entries combine detailed analysis with an examination of procedural and substantive aspects - such as nationality and unjust enrichment - and respond to the following questions: how have investment tribunals interpreted and applied the specific rule of general international law? To what extent and why does such interpretation and application align with or deviate from the practice by other international courts or tribunals? How could and should investment tribunals interpret and apply rules that have yet to feature in investment arbitration? This unique format means this commentary will serve as a central guide for all relevant case law and scholarship on international investment law.

The world's energy structure underpins the global environmental crisis and changing it will require regulatory change at a massive level. Energy is highly regulated in international law, but the field has never been comprehensively mapped. The legal sources on which the governance of energy is based are plentiful but they are scattered across a vast legal expanse. This book is the first single-authored study of the international law of energy as a whole. Written by a world-leading expert, it provides a comprehensive account of the international law of energy and analyses the implications of the ongoing energy transformation for international law. The study combines conceptual and doctrinal analysis of all the main rules, processes and institutions to consider the past, present and likely future of global energy governance. Providing a solid foundation for teaching, research and practice, this book addresses both the theory and real-world policy dimension of the international law of energy.