Contains papers from a conference on De iure praedae, held in June 2005 at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

In 1604-1605 Hugo Grotius wrote De iure praedae, a commentary on the law of booty and prize and a first step towards the Law of War and Peace of twenty years later. Not published in his own times, rediscovered in 1864, and subsequently published, it has been over-interpreted and under-studied. The sixteen essays in this volume discuss De iure praedae, its intellectual sources, personal and political circumstances and over-all consequences, exploring how Grotius as a humanist, theologian, jurist and politician proceeded in this his first exercise in the theory of natural law and rights. The essays are written by an international and interdisciplinary team of specialists, based on papers delivered at a conference at NIAS in Wassenaar in 2005. Originally published as Volumes 26 (2005), 27 (2006) and 28 (2007) of Brill's journal Grotiana.

This book takes the concept of piracy as a starting point to discuss the instability of property as a social construction and how this is spatially situated. Piracy is understood as acts and practices that emerge in zones where the construction and definition of property is ambiguous. Media piracy is a frequently used example where file-sharers and copyright holders argue whether culture and information is a common resource to be freely shared or property to be protected. This book highlights that this is not a dilemma unique to immaterial resources: concepts such as property, ownership and the rights of use are just as diffuse when it comes to spatial resources such as land, water, air or urban space. By structuring the book around this heterogeneous understanding of piracy as an analytical perspective, the editors and contributors advance a trans-disciplinary and multi-theoretical approach to place and property. In doing so, the book moves from theoretical discussions on commons and property to empirical cases concerning access to and appropriation of land, natural and cultural resources. The chapters cover areas such as maritime piracy, the philosophical and legal foundations of property rights, mining and land rights, biopiracy and traditional knowledge, indigenous rights, colonization of space, military expansionism and the enclosure of urban space. This book is essential reading for a variety of disciplines including indigenous studies, cultural studies, geography, political economy, law, environmental studies and all readers concerned with piracy and the ambiguity of property.

This pioneering research brings into focus the Islamic contribution and influence in the development of the modern law of the sea.

"Authoritative and comprehensive, this multivolume set includes hundreds of articles in the field of criminal justice. Impressive arrays of authors have contributed to this resource, addressing such diverse topics as racial profiling, money laundering, torture, prisoner literature, the KGB, and Sing Sing. Written in an accessible manner and attractively presented, the background discussions, definitions, and explanations of important issues and future trends are absorbing. Interesting sidebars and facts,reference lists, relevant court cases, tables, and black-and-white photographs supplement the entries. Appendixes cover careers in criminal justice, Web resources, and professional organizations. A lengthy bibliography lists relevant works."--"The Best of the Best Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2003.

A Search for Sovereignty approaches world history by examining the relation of law and geography in European empires between 1400 and 1900. Lauren Benton argues that Europeans imagined imperial space as networks of corridors and enclaves, and that they constructed sovereignty in ways that merged ideas about geography and law. Conflicts over treason, piracy, convict transportation, martial law, and crime created irregular spaces of law, while also attaching legal meanings to familiar geographic categories such as rivers, oceans, islands, and mountains. The resulting legal and spatial anomalies influenced debates about imperial constitutions and international law both in the colonies and at home. This study changes our understanding of empire and its legacies and opens new perspectives on the global history of law.

This powerful reworking of the liberal tradition of international law uses Grotius as the vehicle for understanding coming challenges to the global commons. Fundamental problems of scarcity, sovereignty, anachronistic thinking, and territorial temptation are interwoven in historical and contemporary contexts to illuminate the tendency among states to share resources, but only when necessary.