scholarly journals The Idea of Effective International Law: Continuing the Discussion

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 91-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Padmanabhan
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Panel Discussion ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Empirical Question ◽  
Biennial Conference ◽  
American Society

The joint 108th American Society of International Law (ASIL) Annual Meeting and 76th International Law Association (ILA) Biennial Conference was organized under the theme “The Effectiveness of International Law.” In conjunction with this theme, the ASIL Legal Theory Interest Group hosted a panel discussion exploring the theoretical dimensions of the concept of “effectiveness” as understood in international law. Panelists discussed three related questions: (1)Is the effectiveness of international law an empirical question measured through evaluating compliance with international legal norms?(2)What conceptions of effectiveness might exist beyond compliance? Could such conceptions be captured in theoretical or moral terms?(3)Why is international law concerned with effectiveness at all?

The Influence of Utopian Projects on the Interpretation of International Law and the Healthy Myth of Objectivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 515-538
Author(s):  
Severin Meier
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Social Darwinism ◽  
Legal Interpretation ◽  
World War ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Critical Legal Theory ◽  
State Consent

Social Darwinism as a utopian project had a decisive influence on the interpretation of the ius ad bellum before World War I. This contribution tries, among others, to draw parallels to the way today’s utopian visions of democracy and the rule of law affect international law. Approaches to legal interpretation influenced by critical legal theory are used to explain how such extra-legal considerations can play a role in the interpretation of international legal norms. Such approaches maintain that international law cannot be objective, i.e. simultaneously based on State consent and on extra-consensual standards. The article further asks how international law should be understood if it cannot be objective. In other words, it discusses the practical consequences if international law has to rely on extra-legal considerations, such as the belief in Social Darwinism or the desire to spread democracy, in order to reach solutions to legal problems. It is argued that upholding the belief in international law’s objectivity is preferable to its alternatives.

62nd Annual Meeting of the Society

1968 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-148
Author(s):  
E. H. F.
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Property Evaluation ◽  
American Society ◽  
Hilton Hotel

The American Society of International Law will hold its 62nd annual meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D. C from April 25 to April 27, 1968.The meeting will open on Thursday, April 25, 1968, at 2:15 p. m. Two simultaneous panel discussions will then consider the implementation and enforcement of international decisions, under the chairmanship of Oscar Sehachter, and the taking of property : evaluation of damages, under the chairmanship of James N. Hyde. Michael Eeisman and Blame Sloan will deliver addresses on the implementation and enforcement of international decisions. Commentators on those addresses will be Henry Darwin, Ambassador Shabtai Rosenne and John Lawrence Hargrove.

The Purpose of International Law Is to Advance Justice—and International Law Has No Value Unless It Does So

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 301-305
Author(s):  
Mortimer N.S. Sellers
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
No Value ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
Central Topic ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
American Society

The central topic of this year's annual meeting of the American Society of International Law has been “What International Law Values,” restated more forcefully in the title of this panel, “The Value and Purpose of International Law.” Notice the underlying assumption: that international law has value and serves some useful purpose. This premise is important because it supplies the basis on which international law seeks to secure our obedience and respect. We have no reason to obey or respect international law unless international law has some value or serves some useful purpose. This leads us to consider what this value and purpose might be. Which values and what purpose does international law exist to serve? Or, more important, which values and purpose would international law have to serve or advance if it were to deserve our obedience or respect? The answer can be given in one word: justice. Justice is the value that justifies or could justify international law, and justice is the purpose that international law properly seeks to serve and protect.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document