The editors and contributors have formed this collection to honor Louis Henkin in his 80th year. He has contributed greatly to the fields of international and constitutional law, to teaching and scholarship, to the international community and to each of the contributors and editors personally. They wanted to acknowledge his outstanding work and they wanted to inspire the next generation of international lawyers by highlighting the impact of Henkin's contribution to international and constitutional scholarship. The editors believe the essays in this collection demonstrate tangibly what can be...

The world is poised for another important transition. The United States is dealing with the impact of the Afghan and Iraq wars, the use of torture and secret detention, Guantanamo, climate change, nuclear proliferation, weakened international institutions, and other issues related directly or indirectly to international law. The world needs an accurate account of the important role of international law and The Power and Purpose of International Law seeks to provide it.

Mary Ellen O'Connell explains the purpose of international law and the power it has to achieve that purpose....

The world is poised for another important transition. The United States is dealing with the impact of the Afghan and Iraq wars, the use of torture and secret detention, Guantanamo, climate change, nuclear proliferation, weakened international institutions, and other issues related directly or indirectly to international law. The world needs an accurate account of the important role of international law and The Power and Purpose of International Law seeks to provide it.

Mary Ellen O'Connell explains the purpose of international law and the power it has to achieve that purpose....

With considerable insight and analysis, the editors and contributors to the book--the world's leading ethicists, political scientists and international lawyers--investigate the use of force since the end of the Cold War and, simultaneously, what changes have or should occur with respect to sovereignty and the law in the 21st century. Redefining Sovereignty has resulted from three groundbreaking workshops on international law and the use of force: the first was held in Rome soon after NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo; the second took place in Frankfurt after the U.S.-led invasion of...

International law has lacked a widely-accepted definition of armed conflict despite the essential human rights and other rules that depend on such a definition. During armed conflict, government forces have "combatant immunity" to kill without warning. They may detain enemy forces until the end of the conflict without the requirement to provide a speedy and fair trial. Governments may have asylum obligations or neutrality obligations based on the existence of armed conflict. To fill this gap in our knowledge of the law, the International Law Association's Committee on the Use of Force...

This volume of "The Library of Essays in International Law" focuses on the classic procedures of peaceful settlement: negotiation, good offices, inquiry, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement and agencies for dispute resolution.