The world has changed radically since 1989, when the General Assembly declared the period from 1990 to 1999 as the United Nations Decade of International Law. During that time, the international community claimed some major achievements as reflected by the adoption of conventions and treaties. This publication presents a collection of essays from legal advisers of States and international organizations, all of whom are among those committed to promoting respect for international law. Their contribution provides a practical perspective on international law, viewed from the standpoint of those involved in its formation, application and administration.

This unique book presents an in-depth analysis of the provision of legal advice at international organizations. It elucidates the dual role of legal advisers as representatives of their organization and as international civil servants acting as protectors and promoters of international law.

Throughout his career, Michael Reisman emphasized law’s function in shaping the future. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, major thinkers in the international legal field address the goals of the twenty-first century and how international law can address the needs of the world community.The result is a volume of outstanding scholarship that will appeal to all those – lawyers, political scientists, and educated laymen— interested in international law, legal theory, human rights, international investment law and commercial arbitration, boundary issues, law of the sea, and law of armed conflict.

This unique book presents an in-depth analysis of the provision of legal advice at international organizations. It elucidates the dual role of legal advisers as representatives of their organization and as international civil servants acting as protectors and promoters of international law. Analysing the effects of internal and external factors on the work of advisers, including organizational specificity, political influences, and institutional position, this book identifies and examines common legal practices across organizations. Chapters discuss case studies of legal advisers working at various global organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group, as well as regional and cross-regional organizations such as NATO and the European Space Agency. Contributors emphasise the importance of collegiality and networking between legal advisers and analyse the differences in the delivery of legal services within both governmental and private contexts. Presenting a broad perspective on the work of legal advisers at international organizations, this book will be vital reading for students, scholars, and practitioners of global governance, international law and political science. It will also be beneficial to legal advisers working for international organizations, lawyers, politicians and sociologists.

The Role of Legal Advisers in International Law sheds light on the position, activities and influence of legal advisers in the domain of international law. This is a novel and edifying perspective in that it surveys and appraises important undertakings of legal advisers in domestic and international legal forums and their role in the development, interpretation and application of international law. Building upon their extensive knowledge and experience, contributors to the book analyse themes such as influence of various legal traditions (including the British) on the work of legal advisers, their position in the diplomatic decision-making process, the role of ethics in providing legal advice, and their contributions – in various forms – to the development and strengthening of the international legal system. Please also see the following related titles: - British Influences on International Law, 1915-2015 - British Contributions to International Law, 1915-2015

This collection of essays provides a comprehensive study of the theory and practice on the contribution of international organisations and non-state actors to the formation of customary international law. It offers new practical and theoretical perspectives on one of the most complex questions about the making of international law, namely the possibility that actors other than states contribute to the making of customary international law. Notwithstanding the completion by the International Law Commission of its work on the identification of customary international law, the making of customary international law remains riddled with acute practical and theoretical controversies that continue to be intensively debated. Making extensive reference to the case-law of international law courts and tribunals while also engaging with the most recent scholarly work on customary international law, this new volume provides innovative tools and guidance to legal scholars, researcher in law, law students, lecturers in law, practitioners, legal advisers, judges, arbitrators, and counsels as well as tools to address contemporary questions of international law-making. This volume includes a contribution by Michael Wood, the Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission on the identification of customary international law, a contribution by Iris Müller, legal advisor of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as chapters from some of the most authoritative and established experts on the sources of international law.

With the rising relevance of international organizations in international affairs, and the general turn to litigation to settle disputes, international institutional law issues have increasingly become the subject of litigation, before both international and domestic courts. The judicial treatment of this field of international law is addressed in Judicial Decisions on the Law of International Organizations through commentary on excerpts of the most prominent international and domestic judicial decisions that are relevant to the law of international organizations, providing in-depth analysis of judicial decisions. The commentaries written and edited by leading experts in the field of international institutional law, they are opinionated and critically engage with the decision in question, with commentators' and stakeholders' reactions thereto, and with later decisions, codifications, and reports.