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....

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.