Interpretation has always been a cornerstone of international adjudication. This book offers a comprehensive analysis, both on a theoretical and a practical level, of where the principles of interpretation enshrined in Articles 31-33 of the VCLT currently stand.

International law scholarship has not adequately recognised the magnitude of the role of 'global civil society' in 'global governance' and 'international lawmaking.' Building upon theoretical, historical and legal scholarship and presenting studies of GCS actor practice in a wide range of lawmaking processes, including treaty-making, conferences, international organisations and adjudicatory mechanisms, this book convincingly demonstrates that GCS actors have created and influenced the creation of norms of binding public international law and influential non-binding 'soft' or non-law. It...

This book explores the philosophical, theoretical and legal bases that underpin the linkage between human rights and the environment. Such linkage, grounded in reality, is an innovative way of addressing environmental issues through the lens of a well-established international human rights system. The book argues that a new set of environmental rights is gradually forging its way into international law and suggests a re-configuration of the human rights system in the context of sustainable development and the notion of solidarity rights. In doing so, two sets of concepts are considered:...

In The Juridical Nature of Unilateral Acts of States in International Law Eva Kassoti explores the question of the legal nature of unilateral acts by focusing on their essential characteristics, namely unilateralism and the manifest intention to be bound. By analysing the legal and factual context surrounding the making of unilateral acts, this volume offers a list of indicators of the elements of unilateralism and manifest intention that will facilitate the determination of the existence of a unilateral juridical act in practice. Kassoti explores the legal nature of unilateral acts...

The drive for harmonisation of environmental criminal standards at both the international and European level emerges from the increasing recognition of the scale and seriousness of environmental crime, the need to strengthen mechanisms of police and judicial interstate cooperation to combat cross-border crime, and the objective to ensure fair competition in a global economy and an integrated EU common market. The harmonisation of environmental criminal law requires a competent institutional framework able to convey the need for criminalisation of environmental harm while not overriding...

The question of whether a global constitution exists or is emerging, and if so, what form it takes, is one of the most intriguing and controversial topics of recent international theory. This book examines public international law contributions to the debate, specifically taking a step back to enquire about the underlying assumptions that inform this debate. While contemporary contributors declare the idea of global constitutionalism to be global, this book reveals and interrogates the underlying liberal democratic themes that define prevailing approaches, thus calling universality into...

Marine living resources are currently under severe threat from unsustainable use. International law urges a precautionary approach in the use of remaining fish stocks, necessitating rational domestic management of coastal fisheries and requiring foreign nations accessing these stocks to cooperate to this end. The manner in which bilateral fishing relations between the EU and various West African states have historically played out, however, has not followed this route. This book is a legal study of these relations from an inter-disciplinary and contextual perspective with particular reference...

This volume offers an overview of several emerging trends and structural patterns in the development of international law, highlighting its evolution over the course of time. While the focus lies on leading principles, these are analysed within a broader context and through various different thematic lenses. Consequently, the chapters at the heart of this book contain comprehensive surveys of a number of specialised topics and particular sub-domains. The result is an original series of reflections, painting a chequered picture of pivotal changes and longitudinal shifts in the global legal...

International administrative law, or more precisely the law of the international civil service, has been the focus of increased attention in recent years. A part of the discussion has focused on the design of the justice mechanisms of international organizations, exemplified by the overhaul of the internal justice system of the United Nations in 2009. The internal justice systems of some international organizations have been subjected to scrutiny before some national courts, and the role and contribution of international administrative tribunals to the development of the law continue to be an...

In Provisionally Applied Treaties: Their Binding Force and Legal Nature, Anneliese Quast Mertsch examines the binding force and legal nature of treaties during the period of their provisional application, a subject whose significance in practice is not reflected in the relatively limited attention it receives in academic writing. She analyses academic opinion and international practice (including especially the manifestations of the intentions of the parties) on the subject. Whilst commonly considered as being in a class of their own, the book instead suggests that provisionally...