Is the nature of international law today essentially different from the past five centuries, or does it reflect a gradual transformation within certain basic principles that remain unaltered? This book considers the profound structural changes of international law, in line with the requirements of globalization, and tracks the law’s evolution over the centuries with special regard to the dichotomy between idealism and pragmatism.
International law was the vocation and passion of Francisco Orrego Vicuña, who dedicated his life to the observation, study, teaching and practice of this important legal discipline. He was a privileged witness of the great advances and changes that international law has undergone in the last 50 years, and this book – with an Introduction by Rüdiger Wolfrum and Michael Wood and the assistance of Simon C. Milnes - is the result of years of work and research. It is, posthumously, his magnum opus.
Francisco Orrego Vicuña (PhD, London School of Economics and Policial Science) taught at the Universidad de Chile and was a visiting professor at various Universities and The Hague Academy of International Law. In his illustrious career as arbitrator and expert, he acted as ad hoc judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice, and was appointed as President of the Institut du Droit International and of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Monetary Fund. He passed away in 2018.
Preface
1 International Law in a Global Society: Tradition and Modernization in the Nature of International Law
2 The Role of Consent in the Formation of International Law
3 Customary International Law: the Limits of Flexibility
4 General Principles of Law and Equity: Their Use and Abuse under International Law
5 State Acts, Resolutions and Subsidiary Means: Are They Real Sources of International Law?
6 International Law in Domestic Law Dualism, Monism, Absolutism
7 The Continuing Role of the Sovereign State
8 Ensuring the Rule of Law in International Organizations
9 The Protection of the Rights of the Individual under International Law: Ensuring Universality, Objectivity and Non-selectivity
10 The Regulation of the Use of Force under International Law: Responding to the Security Interests of the Community
11 In Search of a Dispute Settlement System for Contemporary International Law
12 Jurisdictional Principles and Immunities under International Law: Rightful Evolution and Artificial Constructions
13 Oceans, Antarctica and the Environment: Traditional International Cooperation and New Approaches to Move Forward
14 The Law of State Responsibility: the Changing Entitlement to Claim
15 International Law and World Order: In Search of Rebalance
Practitioners and scholars of international law, commercial arbitration, and investment arbitration.