Professor Cançado Trindade develops his Leitmotiv of identification of a corpus juris increasingly oriented to the fulfillment of the needs and aspirations of human beings, of peoples and of humankind as a whole. With the overcoming of the purely inter-State dimension of the discipline of the past, international legal personality has expanded, so as to encompass nowadays, besides States and international organizations, also peoples, individuals and humankind as subjects of International Law. The growing consciousness of the need to pursue universally-shared values has brought about a fundamental change in the outlook of International Law in the last decades, drawing closer attention to its foundations and, parallel to its formal sources, to its material source (the universal juridical conscience). He examines the conceptual constructions of this new International Law and identifies basic considerations of humanity permeating its whole corpus juris, disclosing the current processes of its humanization and universalization. Finally, he addresses the construction of the international rule of law, acknowledging the need and quest for international compulsory jurisdiction, in the move towards a new jus gentium, the International Law for humankind.
This volume is an updated and revised version of the General Course on Public International Law delivered by the Author at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2005. Professor Cançado Trindade, Doctor honoris causa of seven Latin American Universities in distinct countries, was for many years Judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and President of that Court for half a decade (1999-2004). He is currently Judge of the International Court of Justice; he is also Member of the Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law, as well as of the Institut de Droit International, and of the Brazilian Academy of Juridical Letters.
"This volume is a fascinating, thorough exposition of the Judge's vision which has largely been influenced by his prior experience as President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Professor of International Law. He is strongly committed to the view that international judges have a particular role in defending the international rule of law and ensuring protection of vulnerable interests, including women, migrants, indigenous peoples and the environment...This is truly an inspiring book which may be considered a new classic within international law. It contains an encyclopedic wealth of references to literature, case law, and conventions. It is highly recommended for scholars, practitioners, and students whom the author classifies as "the new generations of international lawyers" dedicated to universalization and humanization." – Cecilia Marcela Baillet, in: Nordic Journal of International Law 81/2 (2012)
"Judge Cancado Trindade's challenging venture - appearing in the prestigious series of the Hague Academy of International Law Monographs - is much more than an updated and revised version of his 2005 General Course. His book is assuredly a significant attempt at reinstatiing the whole international corpus iuris as an obligatory, normative framework of today's world community within its dynamics and potentialities of the future, having all the features of a treatise. The author offers a consummate summa magna of views and reflections he has pondered through and carefully crafted in his academic publications of the teacher, his opinions and advice of the jurisconsult and diplomat, as well as his jurisprudential contribution of the judge." – Christophe Swinarski, in: International Humanitarian Legal Studies 2/2011
Excerpt of table of contensts:
Glossary of Abbreviations; Introduction: Preliminary Considerations;
Part I Prolegomena;
Chapter I The Evolution towards a New Jus Gentium: The International Law for Humankind;
Chapter II Time and Law Revisited: International Law and the Temporal Dimension;
Part II Foundations of International Law;
Chapter III Foundations of International Law: The Role and Importance of Its Basic Principles;
Chapter IV The Primacy of International Law over Force;
Part III Formation of International Law;
Chapter V Contemporary International Law-making: A Reassessment of the Theory of Formal “Sources” of International Law;
Chapter VI The Material Source of International Law: Manifestations of the Universal Juridical Conscience;
Part IV Subjects of International Law;
Chapter VII States as Subjects of International Law and the Expansion of International Legal Personality;
Chapter VIII International Organizations as Subjects of International Law;
Chapter IX The Legal Personality of the Individual as Subject of International Law;
Chapter X The Legal Capacity of the Individual as Subject of International Law;
Chapter XI Humankind as a Subject of International Law;
Part V Construction of the International Law for Humankind;
Chapter XII Conceptual Constructions: Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes;
Chapter XIII Conceptual Constructions: Common Heritage of Mankind and Common Concern of Mankind;
Chapter XIV Conceptual Constructions: The Right to Peace and The Right to Development;
Chapter XV Conceptual Constructions: Responsibility for International Crimes and Universal Jurisdiction;
Part VI Humanization of International Law;
Chapter XVI Basic Considerations of Humanity in the Corpus Juris of International Law;
Chapter XVII Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to Disarmament;
Chapter XVIII Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to the Law of Treaties;
Chapter XIX Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to State Responsibility;
Chapter XX Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to State Succession;
Chapter XXI Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to Territory;
Chapter XXII Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to Diplomatic and Consular Law;
Chapter XXIII Basic Considerations of Humanity in Relation to the Convergences of Regimes of Protection of the Human Person;
Part VII Settlement of Disputes;
Chapter XXIV Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes: Current State and Perspectives;
Chapter XXV International Rule of Law: The Need and Quest for International Compulsory Jurisdiction;
Part VIII Perspectives;
Chapter XXVI The Legacy of the Recent Cycle of World Conferences of the United Nations;
Chapter XXVII Codification and Progressive Development of a Universal International Law;
Chapter XXVIII Conclusions: International Law for Humankind – Towards a New Jus Gentium;
Select Bibliography; Table of Cases; Index.