International Law, Power, Security and Justice

Essays on International Law and Relations

Serge Sur

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781841139821
• eBook ISBN: 9781847316080
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: International Law
• Index: Law

These collected essays deal with the evolutions and immutabilities of international society and international law during the last 25 years, a period during which these fields of study have undergone many changes. The starting point is that far from operating at different levels or being in conflict, international law and politics are closely intertwined. The book addresses the many different aspects of international law: the role and concept of the State, and the position of States in the international system; the bases, principles and evolution of public international law; questions of international security that still govern international relations; classic and current systems of peace and security maintenance; the standing, role and actions of the UN Security Council; arms control and limitation of armaments; unilateral uses of armed force and the legality of war; and humanitarian law and international criminal justice. The perspective of these essays is not a theoretical or dogmatic vision of international law and politics; rather they are based upon the practices of States in the international arena, and the ways in which the guiding legal rules are elaborated and implemented. These texts have been selected from Professor Sur's various books and numerous articles on international law and relations.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Prelims
• Series Editor's Preface
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• Part I States
• 1 Power as a Regulator of International Relations
• 2 On American ‘Hegemony’
• 3 The United Kingdom: A Comeback after the Decline?
• 4 Imperialism and International Law in Europe and the United States
• 5 The State between Fragmentation and Globalisation
• 6 ‘Failed States’: More Problems than Solutions
• Part II The International Legal System
• 7 Utopia and the International Legal System
• 8 Some Observations on International Legal Norms
• 9 Acts, Norms and Law in 1500 Words or Less
• 10 International Custom: Its Life, Its Craft
• 11 Interpretation in Public International Law
• 12 Changing Fashions in International Law
• Part III International Security A. Systems and Doctrines
• 13 Classic Security Systems
• 14 Collective Security
• 15 Weapons of Mass Destruction and International Security
• 16 The UN Charter and International Security: Present and Future
• Part III International Security B. The UN Security Council
• 17 The UN Security Council: Blockage, Renewal, Future
• 18 In Praise of the Security Council
• 19 Security Council Resolution 1441 and the Iraq Case: A Missed Opportunity
• 20 Security Council Resolution 1540: The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Terrorism and Non-State Actors
• 21 Post-September 11 UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Measures
• Part III International Security C. Arms Control, Limitation of Armaments and Disarmament
• 22 Disarmament and International Law
• 23 On the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: The United States between Unilateralism and Multilateralism
• 24 At Risk: Disarmament within the New International Security Context
• 25 Non-Proliferation Initiatives and the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review: An Introduction
• Part III International Security D. Unilateral Uses of Armed Force
• 26 The Legality of Armed Conflict in International Law
• 27 Legal Aspects of the Intervention of NATO Member States in Kosovo
• 28 The Kosovo Affair and International Law: Points and Counterpoints
• 29 About the Preventive War Doctrine
• Part IV International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Justice
• 30 Towards an International Criminal Court: The Rome Statute, NGOs and the UN Security Council
• 31 International Criminal Law: Between the State and International Society
• 32 The Responsibility to Protect and the Crisis of Humanitarian Law
• Index