scholarly journals The Politics of International Law and the Perils and Promises of Interdisciplinarity

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
TANJA E. AALBERTS
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Plural Identity ◽  
Theory Section ◽  
The One ◽  
Academic Debate

In the previous editorial, Larissa van den Herik and Jean d'Aspremont referred to LJIL's ‘special plural identity’. On the one hand, this plurality shows in its table of contents; on the other hand, the plural identity is equally – if not even more – treasured in terms of appreciating the plurality of voices within the legal discipline, as the editors-in-chief also highlight. Diversity and heterogeneity are an asset for academic debate, and LJIL as such seeks to provide a forum for scholars from different ‘paradigms’. The appreciation of diversity and plurality is also reflected in the interest of LJIL to look beyond the confines of the legal discipline itself and engage with external perspectives to foster discussions about international law. It is in light of this open-mindedness and the wish to reach out to non-legal audiences, and to the international relations community in particular, that I was invited to join the LJIL team some years ago. Whereas there is a growing audience of IR scholars genuinely interested in (theorizing) international law, LJIL is not very well known as a journal with that profile for its International Legal Theory section. As a leading scholar in IR once remarked: ‘LJIL is the best kept secret in IR’. So when the request came for me to write an editorial, it seemed only apt to reflect upon some of the perils and promises of interdisciplinarity from my experience as an IR scholar within the LJIL editorial board.

Grotian Moments and Peremptory Norms of General International Law: Friendly Facilitators or Fatal Foes?

Grotiana ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-353
Author(s):  
Dire Tladi
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The One ◽  
Jus Cogens ◽  
The Right ◽  
Peremptory Norms ◽  
Law Making

Abstract The concept of a Grotian moment remains rather obscure in international law. On the one hand, it can refer simply to an empirical fact which galvanises the ordinary law-making processes, whether treaty-making or State practice, resulting in major shifts in international law. On the other hand, a Grotian moment might be seen as an event so significant that it results in an extraordinary shift in international law without full adherence to the processes for law-making. The former understanding has little legal significance, while the latter, which would be legally significant, would be controversial and without legal basis. Against this background the article discusses the intersections between peremptory norms and Grotian Moments. It does this by looking at the intersection between the two concepts as well as the intersection between Grotian Moments, on the one hand and, on the other hand, particular jus cogens norms. With respect to the former, for example, the article will consider whether the high threshold of peremptory status facilitates and hinders Grotian moments. With respect to the latter, the article will consider particular norms that have been said to have shifted on account of the Grotian moments, namely the right to use of force in self-defence as well humanitarian intervention.

International Law Obligations Arising in relation to Nationally Determined Contributions

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Nationally Determined Contributions ◽  
The One

AbstractThis article analyzes the international law obligations that arise in relation to nationally determined contributions (NDCs). It argues that distinct and concurrent obligations arise from two separate sources. On the one hand, treaty obligations arise under the Paris Agreement, which imposes an obligation of conduct on parties: they must take adequate measures towards the realization of the mitigation targets contained in their NDCs. On the other hand, communications such as NDCs may constitute unilateral declarations that also create legal obligations. These unilateral declarations impose obligations of various types, which may extend beyond mitigation. For example, they may specify measures of implementation or demand the achievement of a particular result. The potential ‘double-bindingness’ of NDCs should be a central consideration in the interpretation of international law obligations regarding climate change.

Part 1 Refugees, 2 Refugees Defined and Described

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane ◽  
Dunlop Emma
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
The Other ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Local Protection ◽  
Ordinary Usage ◽  
The One ◽  
Prompt Response

This chapter defines and describes refugees. The term ‘refugee’ is a term of art, that is, a term with a content verifiable according to principles of general international law. In ordinary usage, it has a broader, looser meaning, signifying someone in flight, who seeks to escape conditions or personal circumstances found to be intolerable. For the purposes of international law, States have further limited the concept of the refugee. Defining refugees may appear an unworthy exercise in legalism and semantics, obstructing a prompt response to the needs of people in distress. On the one hand, States have nevertheless insisted on fairly restrictive criteria for identifying those who benefit from refugee status and asylum or local protection. On the other hand, the definition or description may facilitate and justify aid and protection, while satisfying the relevant criteria ought in practice to indicate entitlement to the pertinent rights or benefits. In determining the content in international law of the class of refugees, therefore, the traditional sources—treaties and the practice of States—must be examined, also taking into account the normative impact of the practice and procedures of the various bodies established by the international community to deal with the problems of refugees.

Part I Histories, Ch.6 The Ottoman Empire, the Origins of Extraterritoriality, and International Legal Theory

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Özsu Umut
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
International Law ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The One ◽  
Intellectual Production

This chapter argues that it was partly through engagement with the Ottoman Empire, particularly its tradition of extraterritorial consular jurisdiction, that nineteenth-century European and American jurists came to view China, Japan, and a number of other states as ‘semi-civilized’, setting them against ‘civilized’ states on the one hand and ‘savage’ peoples on the other. These states on the ‘semi-periphery’ exercise a greater degree of agency in international law, given their closeness to dominant centers of economic and intellectual production that had come under their influence, as well as their possession of national traditions and state institutions resilient enough to resist formal colonization. These traits are especially evident in the case of the Ottoman Empire, a powerful state that made a point of modifying its profile for different audiences.

Political World

1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
Brian Langille
Keyword(s):  
Ludwig Wittgenstein ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political World ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Status ◽  
Critical Legal Theory ◽  
The One

It is not transparently obvious why legal theorists are increasingly attracted to the ideas and methods of Ludwig Wittgenstein. After all, Wittgenstein’s writings are notoriously difficult and he said almost nothing, and certainly nothing sustained, about law. And why would self-proclaimed legal theorists be attracted to someone who was quite explicitly hostile to “theory”, who viewed philosophy as a sort of therapy, and who said, famously, “philosophy leaves everything as it is”? But a still more interesting question is, why has Wittgenstein received such curious and conflicting treatment at the hands of the critical legal theorists? On the one hand critical legal theory celebrates Wittgenstein’s work as a key to the dismantling of traditional jurisprudence, but on the other hand critical scholars bemoan his alleged debilitating endorsement of the status quo. It is this last question upon which this essay is focussed.

Treaties on Transit of Energy via Pipelines and Countermeasures

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azaria Danae
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Competing Interests ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Energy Charter Treaty ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
The One ◽  
Bilateral Treaties ◽  
The Relationship

This monograph examines the relationship between treaties providing for uninterrupted energy transit and countermeasures under the law of international responsibility. It analyses the obligations governing energy transit through pipelines in multilateral and bilateral treaties, looking at the WTO Agreement, the Energy Charter Treaty, and sixteen bespoke pipeline treaties. It argues that a number of transit obligations under these treaties are indivisible, reflecting the collective interests of states parties. The analysis is placed in the historical and normative landscape of freedom of transit in international law. After setting out the content and scope of obligations concerning transit of energy, it distinguishes countermeasures from treaty law responses, and examines the dispute settlement and compliance supervision provisions in these treaties. Building on these findings, the work discusses the availability and lawfulness of countermeasures as, on the one hand, a means of implementing the transit state’s responsibility for interruptions of energy transit via pipelines; and, on the other hand, circumstances that preclude the wrongfulness of the transit state’s interruptions of transit. The competing interests of the transit state and those of the states dependent on the pipeline make this question one of the most controversial aspects of modern international law.

Switzerland and Détente: A Revised Foreign Policy Characterized by Distrust

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Bott ◽  
Janick Marina Schaufelbuehl
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Face ◽  
The One

This chapter illustrates how Switzerland aimed to redefine its neutrality in international relations in the first half of the 1970s. On the one hand, Switzerland maintained its traditional Cold War maxims of armed defense, neutrality, and solidarity. On the other hand, in the face of détente and the perception of a new global context, the Swiss Federal Council, inspired by the Federal Political Department, embarked on a more active foreign policy that aimed to rebrand Swiss neutrality by renewing “goodwill” and trust toward it. Although this reorientation was not entirely successful, it was driven by a profound distrust of previous alliance systems and the process of détente, which eventually led Switzerland to a more globally oriented and defensive posture in international relations.

Exactitude and Indemonstrability in Kant’s Doctrine of Right

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Katrin Flikschuh
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

The chapter states that while the Doctrine of Right is often seen as Kant’s contribution to legal theory, it is primarily a work in political philosophy. Flikschuh argues for a reading of the Doctrine of Right as a work that includes a concern with law but is not confined to that concern alone. She claims, however, that the state is a less comprehensive idea for Kant than it is for some of his immediate predecessors and successors on the one hand, and for most contemporary political philosophers on the other hand.

The Judicialization of International Law

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
International Courts ◽  
General Frame ◽  
Future Potential ◽  
The One ◽  
Law Making

International relations are increasingly judicialized by the increasing number of international courts and tribunals. On the one hand this judicialization of international law is hailed as a glimmer of more effective and legitimate world governance promoting human rights, justice, and peace. On the other hand critics highlight how sovereignty is increasingly constrained by international courts, and question the effectiveness, legitimacy, and future potential of these courts and tribunals. This book maps and assesses this development and the mixed reactions thereto, presenting the aspirations which international courts and tribunals (ICs) are living up to, and where they fall short. The first Part provides a general frame for these legitimacy concerns. It discusses the general functions of ICs; how they are governed; and possible alternatives to ICs. The second Part considers how the ICs appear to present their judgments in ways that legitimize them vis-à-vis states and other stakeholders; their inner workings; as well as their law-making role. The following Parts consider the various forms of backlash several of the ICs experience, and how the ICs, states, and civil society seek to respond to these challenges. The last Part deals with the fragmentary character of the international judiciary. An epilogue looks to the future of international judicialization.

Review Essay– Erich K. Before the Law: Reflections on Degenhardt's Study of Erich Kaufmann - Book Review of Frank Degenhardt, Zwischen Machtstaat und Völkerbund. Erich Kaufmann (1880–1972). Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2008, pp. 244. Price: 54,- €

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-456
Author(s):  
Reut Yael Paz
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
German Identity ◽  
The One

This article is a review-essay of Frank Degenhardt's Zwischen Machtstaat und Völkerbund. Erich Kaufmann (1880–1972), published in 2008. While this review discusses Degenhardt's achievements, it pays much attention to the different academic contexts this research implies: On the one hand this review-essay contextualizes Degenhartds' own research endeavors, and discusses howZwischen Machtstaat und Völkerbundis part and parcel of the growing historical analysis in international law both in Germany and elsewhere. On the other hand, it pays attention to Erich Kaufmann's historical context both on a personal and professional level. Furthermore, this review-essay examines Degenhardt's book dedicated to Kaufmann's contributions to international law in light of Kaufmanns' Jewish German identity that was a lifelongLeitmotivreflected both in his theoretical and practical work.

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