Originally published by Hersch Lauterpacht in 1947, this book presents a detailed study of recognition in international law, examining its crucial significance in relation to statehood, governments and belligerency. The author develops a strong argument for positioning recognition within the context of international law, reacting against the widely accepted conception of it as an area of international politics. Numerous examples of the use of law and conscious adherence to legal principle in the practice of states are used to give weight to this perspective. This paperback re-issue in 2012 includes a newly commissioned Foreword by James Crawford, Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.

Based on an analysis of the diplomatic practice of States, and decisions by national and international courts, this book explores the two central questions of the recognition of governments. These are namely: what are the meanings of the term 'recognition' and its variants in internationallaw; and what is the effect of recognition on the legal status of foreign authorities, and in particular of authorities in exile recognized as governments. The book is comprehensive in its analysis of the issues, and covers material which is of significant historical interest, as well as highlytopical material such as recent developments in Angola, Kuwait and Haiti. Thus Talmon's book will hold great appeal for international law scholars and practitioners alike. It may also be of interest to diplomats and civil servants working in organizations such as the United Nations.

The Oxford ILDC online database, an online collection of domestic court decisions which apply international law, has been providing scholars with insights for many years. This ILDC Casebook is the perfect companion, introducing key court decisions with brief introductory and connecting texts. An ideal text for practitioners, judged, government officials, as well as for students on international law courses, the ILDC Casebook explains the theories and doctrines underlying the use by domestic courts of international law, and illustrates the key importance of domestic courts in the development of international law.

The bibliography lists the literature and State practice on the question of recognition in international law for the last two hundred years. It contains books and articles, ie. contributions to journals and other collected works such as Festschriften and Encyclopaedias, as well as (published and unpublished) theses, pamphlets, compilations of diplomatic documents and case notes. As many of the monographs on recognition in international law will not be available in all libraries, book reviews have been included in the bibliography in order to enable the user to decide whether it may be advisable to order a certain work by inter-library loan. Its 4,500 entries are arranged systematically according to subject categories in fourteen main sections. Each main section is further subdivided with ever-increasing specificity into sub-sections on codification, codification attempts, general studies, studies of certain recognition questions and studies of specific recognition cases. The bibliography employs a broad meaning of recognition. It is not restricted to the question of status of an authority or entity in international law but encompasses also the question of relations with it. As many of the recognition cases must be considered, and can only be understood, against their historic, political and sometimes even economic background, the bibliography includes not only purely legal treaties but also publications of a primarily historical, political or economic content which incidentally deal with aspects of recognition in international law. This is reflected by the titles of the 730 journals from more than 50 countries in 20 different languages which have been used to compile the bibliography. The bibliography contains both an author and a comprehensive subject index to enable users to locate works of a particular writer or a specific problem.

Thomas D. Grant examines the Great Debate over state recognition, tracing its eclipse, and identifying trends in contemporary international law that may explain the lingering persistence of the terms of that debate. Although writers have generally accepted the declaratory view as more accurate than its old rival, the judicial sources often cited to support the declaratory view do not on scrutiny do so as decisively as commonly assumed. Contemporary doctrinal preference requires explanation. Declaratory doctrine, in its apparent diminution of the role state discretion plays in recognition, is in harmony, Grant asserts, with contemporary aspirations for international law. It may seem to many writers, he believes, that international governance functions better in a conceptual framework that reduces the power of states to legislate what entities are states. Grant proceeds from this analysis of the contemporary status of the old debate to ask what questions now take center stage. In place of doctrine, Grant argues, process is the chief issue concerning recognition today. Whether to recognize unilaterally or in a collective framework; whether to acknowledge legal rules or to let recognition be controlled by political calculus—as Grant points out, such questions concern how states recognize, not the theoretical nature of recognition. This is an important analysis for scholars and researchers of international law and relations and contemporary European politics.

Interest in international law has increased greatly over the past decade, largely because of its central place in discussions such as the Iraq War and Guantanamo, the World Trade Organisation, the anti-capitalist movement, the Kyoto Convention on climate change, and the apparent failure of the international system to deal with the situations in Palestine and Darfur, and the plights of refugees and illegal immigrants around the world. This Very Short Introduction explains what international law is, what its role in international society is, and how it operates. Vaughan Lowe examines what international law can and cannot do and what it is and what it isn't doing to make the world a better place. Focussing on the problems the world faces, Lowe uses terrorism, environmental change, poverty, and international violence to demonstrate the theories and practice of international law, and how the principles can be used for international co-operation.

Beyond Human Rights, previously published in German and now available in English, is a historical and doctrinal study about the legal status of individuals in international law.

This collection of essays focusses on the following concepts: sovereignty (the unique, intangible and yet essential characteristic of states), statehood (what it means to be a state, and the process of acquiring or losing statehood) and state responsibility (the legal component of what being a state entails). The unifying theme is that they have always been and will in the future continue to form a crucial part of the foundations of public international law. While many publications focus on new actors in international law such as international organisations, individuals, companies, NGOs and even humanity as a whole, this book offers a timely, thought-provoking and innovative reappraisal of the core actors on the international stage: states. It includes reflections on the interactions between states and non-state actors and on how increasing participation by and recognition of the latter within international law has impacted upon the role and attributes of statehood.

Provides a systematic comparison of legal scholars' views and governments' practice regarding the occasions for, criteria for, and effects of recognition. It traces the evolution from the 19th century practice basing recognition mainly on effective rule to more frequent use of additional criteria in the interwar and early Cold War, to the reassertion of the primacy of effective rule since 1970 and places it in the context of contemporaneous changes in world politics.