This book examines some of the most prominent contemporary theories of compliance with international law. It is argued that these theories ultimately rely on some political philosophy and that therefore their strengths and weaknesses can be traced back to those of the respective philosophical background. The approach finally taken is based on some recent empirical and theoretical research undertaken and as such provides new insights to the major works of the authors that are at the core of the discussion.

The second edition of this leading reference work provides a comprehensive discussion of the dynamic and important field of international law concerned with environmental protection. It is edited by globally-recognised international environmental law scholars, Professor Lavanya Rajamani and Professor Jacqueline Peel, and features 67 chapters authored by 76 renowned experts in their fields. The Handbook discusses the key principles underpinning international environmental law, its relevant actors and tools, and rules applying in its substantive sub-fields such as climate law, oceans law, wildlife and biodiversity law, and hazardous substances regulation. It also explores the intersection of international environmental law with other areas of international law, such as those concerned with trade, investment, disaster, migration, armed conflict, intellectual property, energy, and human rights. The Handbook sets its discussion of international environmental law in the broader interdisciplinary context of developments in science, ethics, politics and economics, which inform the way in which environmental rules are made, implemented, and enforced. It provides an introduction to the foundations of international environmental law while also engaging with questions at the frontiers of research, teaching, and practice in the field, including the role of Global South perspectives, the contribution made by Earth jurisprudence, and the growing role of a diverse range of actors from indigenous peoples to business and industry. Like the first edition, this second edition of the Handbook is an essential reference text for all engaged with environmental issues at the international level and the applicable governance and regulatory structures.

Filling a conspicuous gap in the legal literature, Andrew T. Guzman's How International Law Works develops a coherent theory of international law and applies that theory to the primary sources of law, treaties, customary international law, and soft law. Starting where most non-specialists start, Guzman looks at how a legal system without enforcement tools can succeed. If international law is not enforced through coercive tools, how is it enforced at all? And why would states comply with it?--Publisher.

A theory of international courts that assumes member states can ignore international agreements and adverse rulings, and that the court does not have informational advantages.

Offers a theory of compliance and authority that wouild be applicable to behavior concerning economic contracts, law, enforcement, and international relations. It examiones the problem of compliance in centralized (e.g. national and state laws) and decentralized (international treaties) systems. Applies the theory to explain the level of compliance with Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty anf the International North Pacific Fisheries Convention. Originally published in 1979

Monograph on law enforcement of national level compliance with international law - considers conventional law enforcement theory based on sanctions as a means of international dispute settlement and encouraging compliance but suggests international agreements and treatys, reciprocal reaction to noncompliance, enlightened self- interest and integration of international law into national legislation are more effective, and looks at the role of international organizations and international and domestic courts. References.

The book explores the main characteristics of contemporary theory in international law. It examines in an analytical fashion 32 schools, movements, and trends as well as the works of more than 500 authors on substantive issues of international law.

The thesis highlights some of the directions in which a constructivist study of compliance with international law ought to proceed in order to fulfill its potential for a true reckoning with cultural diversity. It advances a discourse approach to the long term construction of a global community, complemented by an "interactional" theory of international lawmaking, and explores the crucial roles that civil society actors may play in the construction of such a community.The thesis examines the treatment of cultural difference in theories of compliance with international law, and shows how diversity is often overlooked in the study of state behaviour. The study of norm compliance in both international law (IL) and international relations (IR) disciplines proceeds as an empirical project from which policy prescriptions are drawn, while many fundamental questions remain unexplored: What is the nature of the change that local cultures are undergoing in a globalized world and what role does (or should) international law play in this process? What is the feasible (and the desired) degree of social cohesion in a culturally diverse "global community"? What is the nature of the interaction between the social (both state and non-state) actors involved?The answers to these questions, while often not considered or contemplated, always underlie theories of compliance in both IL and IR literatures. The thesis explains why the answers to these questions are crucial for developing a coherent theory of compliance with international law, and begins to outline a conceptual roadmap for exploring them.The discussion begins by showing why views of cultures as either inescapably separate or manifestly converging are deeply problematic and advances a conception that appreciates the inevitable hybridity of cultural formations in the age of globalization. The thesis then provides a critical assessment of the empirical and the conceptual contributions to the compliance debate by excavating the assumptions regarding human action, community and culture underlying each. Special attention is given to the constructivist approach in IL and IR literatures. Constructivism's potential for a full engagement with cultural diversity is evident, but this potential has not yet been fully realized.

International law is much debated and discussed, but poorly understood. Does international law matter, or do states regularly violate it with impunity? If international law is of no importance, then why do states devote so much energy to negotiating treaties and providing legal defenses for their actions? In turn, if international law does matter, why does it reflect the interests of powerful states, why does it change so often, and why are violations of international law usually not punished? In this book, Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner argue that international law matters but that it is less powerful and less significant than public officials, legal experts, and the media believe. International law, they contend, is simply a product of states pursuing their interests on the international stage. It does not pull states towards compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what it can achieve are limited. It follows that many global problems are simply unsolvable. The book has important implications for debates about the role of international law in the foreign policy of the United States and other nations. The authors see international law as an instrument for advancing national policy, but one that is precarious and delicate, constantly changing in unpredictable ways based on non-legal changes in international politics. They believe that efforts to replace international politics with international law rest on unjustified optimism about international law's past accomplishments and present capacities.

Examining the fulfilment of international obligations by subjects of this law, this book explores the normative and functional links between the sources and rules of international law on the one hand, and the responsibility for violating international law on the other. In the sphere of law-making, the theory of obligations allows for a more precise and considered formulation of international obligations. It has the potential to enable subjects of international law to behave more rationally, allowing deeper reflection on whether to take on obligations and how to properly perform them. This book proposes a new approach to the issue of the proper operation of international law, with the theory of obligations at its heart. Linking the institutions and concepts of international law into a rational whole, the book offers an analysis of the operation of international law and the behaviour of its subjects to develop a framework for ensuring the ultimate effectiveness of international law. Analysing sources of law including treaties and common law, alongside the resolutions of international organisations, this book demonstrates the practical application of the subject with reference to the jurisprudence of international courts and other bodies. The volume will be of interest to scholars, students, and practitioners concerned with international law – its creation, performance, application, compliance, and enforcement.