The Three Pillars system of the European Union was intended to give flexibility to, and ultimately to extend the area over which the EU could exert its influence. Each of the pillars reflects a different level of integration and centralization, with the result that although the EU can't legislate in all areas, it can still have input into the more politically sensitive and complex policy areas. This analytical examination of the combination of public international law methods and Community methods at work in the EU is essential reading for all those with an interest in the future development...

The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations has for over 50 years been central to diplomacy and applied to all forms of relations among sovereign States. Participation is almost universal. The rules giving special protection to ambassadors are the oldest established in international law and the Convention is respected almost everywhere. But understanding it as a living instrument requires knowledge of its background in customary international law, of the negotiating history which clarifies many of its terms and the subsequent practice of states and decisions of national courts which...