scholarly journals Compliance with International Law: Theoretical Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Liaquat A Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

Abstract not available Dhaka University Law Journal, Vol. 31, 2020 P.15-28

Emergency, War and International Law – Another Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 29-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
State Behaviour ◽  
Emergency Responses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Experience

AbstractThis article evaluates a spectrum of emergency responses by states. We are interested in exploring the variety of contexts in which states respond to internal and external crisis, and the manner in which international law contextualises and responds to the use of extreme measures by states. While international lawyers have become attuned to the prerogatives of states in derogating from their international human rights treaty obligations, we contend that this constitutes only one aspect of state emergency responses. We explore the extent to which states resort to extra-ordinary measures in multiple ways. In particular, we explore the relationship between war and emergency, from a theoretical point of view. Both classic inter-state conflicts are examined, as are the multiple situations of internal armed conflict, that frequently escape precise legal definition under international law. We take the view that international law has taken a limited and unrepresentative view of the scope and breadth of the emergency phenomena in state practice. From this general position some general observations follow. First, we identify the tendency of legal scholars to assert that clear dichotomies exist between normal and extreme conditions, when such clear-cut distinctions are not present. From this, we argue that `war' and `emergency', are not unique and entirely distinct phenomena. In short, we submit that emergency and its associated practices is a far more wide-spread and pervasive aspect of state experience and action than has generally been accepted by legal scholars and political thinkers. The consequence of this rethinking is a need to redefine the resort to the extraordinary in our perception of state behaviour and to modify our theoretical perspectives accordingly.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Gregor P. Hofmann ◽  
Lisbeth Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Major Field ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

Contestation is currently one major field of research on international norms: does contestation strengthen or weaken a norm? What role does international law play in this regard? How do norm proponents and norm challengers change their strategies in norm contestation processes? Drawing on constructivist perspectives as well as on international law, the articles in this Special Issue explore the effects of norm contestation and its dynamics by analysing the Responsibility to Protect ( R2P ) and the responsibility to prosecute from different theoretical perspectives.

International law and its discontents: Exploring the dark sides of international law in International Relations

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryder McKeown
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Political Responsibility ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Decision Making Processes

AbstractInternational law is generally considered to be a good thing. With important exceptions, such as Critical Legal Studies, scholarship in both International Relations (IR) and International Law (IL) reinforces this ‘nice law’ assumption and therefore overlooks or underestimates the law’s negative aspects. In contrast, this article assumes the power of international law to examine how international law can have effects that are unintended, unhelpful, or even perverse. In particular, I argue that international law distorts policy- and decision-making processes in liberal democracies by eroding personal responsibility and decreasing accountability; legal expertise and legal virtues crowd out important virtues of statecraft and prudence while shrinking our capacity for sophisticated moral and political thought; and an excessive focus on law can lead to suboptimal foreign policy outcomes. Rather than law being a bad thing per se, I examine the significant strategic and moral limits of international law. This raises the need to lower our expectations of international law, carefully examine the relationship between power and international law, and political responsibility and legal ethics, and more fully embrace our own personal responsibility. The article closes by suggesting a research programme on the dark sides of international law from various theoretical perspectives.

Testing Compliance Theories: Towards US Obedience of International Law in the Avena Case

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIRK PULKOWSKI
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Impact

Eyal Benvenisti and Moshe Hirsch (eds.), The Impact of International Law on International Cooperation: Theoretical Perspectives, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0521835542, 330 pp., £55.00 (hb).Markus Burgstaller, Theories of Compliance with International Law, Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff, 2005, ISBN 9004141936, 244 pp., €98.00 (hb).Constanze Schulte, Compliance with Decisions of the International Court of Justice, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0199276722, 500 pp., £75.00 (hb).Science is organized common sense where many a beautiful theory was killed by an ugly fact.Thomas H. Huxley

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document