Justice among Nations

A History of International Law

Stephen C. Neff

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780674725294
• eBook ISBN: 9780674727878
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: International Law
• Index: Law

Justice among Nations tells the story of the rise of international law and how it has been formulated, debated, contested, and put into practice from ancient times to the present. Stephen Neff avoids technical jargon as he surveys doctrines from natural law to feminism, and practices from the Warring States of China to the international criminal courts of today.

Ancient China produced the first rudimentary set of doctrines. But the cornerstone of later international law was laid by the Romans, in the form of natural law—a universal law that was superior to early laws and governments. As medieval European states came into contact with non-Christian peoples, from East Asia to the New World, practical solutions had to be devised to the many legal quandaries that arose. In the wake of these experiences, international legal doctrine began to assume its modern form in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

New challenges in the nineteenth century encompassed the advance of nationalism, the rise of free trade and European imperialism, the formation of international organizations, and the arbitration of disputes. Innovative doctrines included liberalism, the nationality school, and solidarism. The twentieth century witnessed the formation of the League of Nations and a World Court, but also the rise of socialist and fascist states and the advent of the Cold War. Yet the collapse of the Soviet Union brought little respite. As Neff makes clear, further threats to the rule of law today come from environmental pressures, genocide, and terrorism.

Notes

Abbreviations

ABA J.		American Bar Association Journal
A.C.		Appeal Cases (Great Britain)
AdR		Archiv des Völkerrechts
AJIL		American Journal of International Law
Am. J. Philology		American Journal of Philology
Am. Pol. Sci. Rev.		American Political Science Review
ASIL Procs.		Proceedings of the American Society of International Law
AU		African Union
BFSP		British and Foreign State Papers
Brooklyn J. Int’l L.		Brooklyn Journal of International Law
BYBIL		British Year Book of International Law
Cal. L. Rev.		California Law Review
Canadian Y.B. Int’l L.		Canadian Yearbook of International Law
Chicago J. Int’l L.		Chicago Journal of International Law
Crim. L. F.		Criminal Law Forum
C. Rob.		Christopher Robinson’s Admiralty Reports (Great Britain)
CTS		Consolidated Treaty Series
Digest		The Digest of Justinian, 4 vols., trans. Alan Watson (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998)
Dumont		Jean Dumont, Corps universel diplomatique du droit des gens, 8 vols (Amsterdam: P. Brunel et al, 1726–31)
EHR		English Historical Review
EHRR		European Human Rights Reports
EJIL		European Journal of International Law
Eng. Hist. Rev.		English History Review
Fordham Int’l L. J.		Fordham International Law Journal
FRUS		Foreign Relations of the United States
GAOR		General Assembly Official Records (UN)
G.A. Res.		General Assembly Resolution (UN)
Georgetown L. J.		Georgetown Law Journal
German L. J.		German Law Journal
Grotius Soc. Trans.		Transactions of the Grotius Society
GYBIL		German Yearbook of International Law
Harvard Int’l L. J.		Harvard International Law Journal
Harvard L. Rev.		Harvard Law Review
Hay & M.		Hay and Marriott’s Admiralty Reports (Great Britain)
ICC		International Criminal Court
ICJ Rep.		Reports of the International Court of Justice
ICLQ		International and Comparative Law Quarterly
ICTR		International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
IDI Annuaire		Yearbook of the Institut de Droit International
ILA		International Law Association
ILM		International Legal Materials
ILR		International Law Reports
Int’l Hist. Rev.		International History Review
Int’l J. Ethics		International Journal of Ethics
Int’l Legal Theory		International Legal Theory
Int’l L. Q.		International Law Quarterly
Int’l Military Trib.		International Military Tribunal
Int’l Rel.		International Relations
J. Asian Stud.		Journal of Asian Studies
J. Comp. Leg. and Int’l L.		Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law
J. Ec. Hist.		Journal of Economic History
JHIL		Journal of the History of International Law
J. Hist. Ideas		Journal of the History of Ideas
J. Latin Am. Stud.		Journal of Latin American Studies
JLE		Journal of Law and Economics
J. Military Ethics		Journal of Military Ethics
J. Mod. Hist.		Journal of Modern History
J. Theoretical Biology		Journal of Theoretical Biology
L. and Cont. Prob.		Law and Contemporary Problems
Leiden J. Int’l L.		Leiden Journal of International Law
LN Off. J.		League of Nations Official Journal
LNTS		League of Nations Treaty Series
LQR		Law Quarterly Review
Miskole J. Int’l L.		Miskole Journal of International Law
MLR		Modern Law Review
NAS		National Academy of Sciences (United States)
Nordic J. Int’l L.		Nordic Journal of International Law
NYBIL		Netherlands Yearbook of International Law
N.Y. Rev. of Books		New York Review of Books
NYU J Int’l L. and Pol.		New York University Journal of International Law and Politics
NYULQR		New York University Law Quarterly Review
OAU		Organization of African Unity
Osgoode Hall L. J.		Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Pace Int’l L. Rev.		Pace International Law Review
PCIJ		Reports of the Permanent Court of Internatio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Epigraphs
• Introduction
• I: Law and Morality Abroad (to ca. AD 1550)
• II: Reason and Its Rivals (ca. 1550–1815)
• III: A Positive Century (1815–1914)
• IV: Between Yesterday and Tomorrow (1914–)
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliographic Essay
• Index