The freedom of the seas -- meaning both the oceans of the world and coastal waters -- has been among the most contentious issues in international law for the past four hundred years. The most influential argument in favour of freedom of navigation, trade, and fishing was that put forth by the Dutch theorist Hugo Grotius in his 1609 'Mare Liberum'. "The Free Sea" was originally published in order to buttress Dutch claims of access to the lucrative markets of the East Indies. It had been composed as the twelfth chapter of a larger work, "De Jure Praedae" ('On the Law of Prize and Booty'), which Grotius had written to defend the Dutch East India Company's capture in 1603 of a rich Portuguese merchant ship in the Straits of Singapore. This new edition publishes the only translation of Grotius's masterpiece undertaken in his own lifetime -- a work left in manuscript by the English historian and promoter of overseas exploration Richard Hakluyt (1552-1616). This volume also contains William Welwod's critque of Grotius (reprinted for the first time since the seventeenth century) and Grotius's reply to Welwod. Taken together, these documents provide an indispensable introduction to modern ideas of sovereignty and property as they emerged from the early-modern tradition of natural law. -- Back cover.

The Law of the Sea (LOS) treaty resulted from some of the most complicated multilateral negotiations ever conducted. Difficult bargaining produced a remarkably sophisticated agreement on the financial aspects of deep ocean mining and on the financing of a new international mining entity. This book analyzes those negotiations along with the abrupt U.S. rejection of their results. Building from this episode, it derives important and subtle general rules and propositions for reaching superior, sustainable agreements in complex bargaining situations. James Sebenius shows how agreements were possible among the parties because and not in spite of differences in their values, expectations, and attitudes toward time and risk. He shows how linking separately intractable issues can generate a zone of possible agreement. He analyzes the extensive role of a computer model in the LOS talks. Finally, he argues that in many negotiations neither the issues nor the parties are fixed and develops analytic techniques that predict how the addition or deletion of either issues or parties may affect the process of reaching agreement.

One of the first attempts to present a comprehensive study of legal translation, this book is an interdisciplinary study in law and translation theory. It is not bound to any specific languages or legal systems, although emphasis is placed on translation between common law and civil law jurisdictions. The main focus is on the translation of texts which are authoritative sources of the law; examples are cited primarily from statutes, codes and constitutions (Canada, Switzerland and Belgium), as well as instruments of the European Union and international treaties and conventions. Dealing with theoretical as well as practical aspects of the subject matter, the author analyses legal translation as an act of communication in the mechanism of the law, thus making it necessary to redefine the goal of legal translation. This book is intended for both lawyers and linguists, translation theorists, legal translators and drafters, legal lexicographers, as well as teachers and students of translation.

This textbook on the law of the sea sets the subject in the context of public international law. It comprehensively covers the principal topics of the course, from the legal regimes governing the different jurisdictional zones, to international co-operation for protection of the marine environment and marine living resources.

Transcribed by William E. Butler into English for the first time, from Du Ponceau's hand, a translation of Gérard de Rayneval's On the Freedom of the Sea. A previously overlooked and unpublished contemporary translation by Peter S. Du Ponceau of the classic treatise by Joseph-Mathias Gérard de Rayneval, De la liberté des mers (Paris, 1811), edited with an extensive introduction by William E. Butler. Successor two centuries later to Grotius' classic writings on the freedom of the seas, Gérard de Rayneval's work affirmed the principles of natural and positive law applicable to naval warfare, privateers, the law of prize, the deep seabed and high seas, neutrality, and international straits from a French perspective deeply sympathetic to American views of the time. Gérard de Rayneval cherished the hope that Napoleon might be inspired by the work to draft a code of maritime law. This treatise informed negotiations that led to the 1856 Declaration of Paris and was widely cited by continental jurists during the 19th century. "Professor William Butler's careful scholarship and clear presentation bring to life an important translation of Gérard de Rayneval's work on the law of the sea, a topic of continuing interest to scholars and mariners alike in the 21st century. Professor Butler's detailed introduction and editing of Du Ponceau's translation offer essential background for familiar maritime concepts and adds richness to the body of work explaining the legal regimes surrounding the use of the world's seas." --James W. Houck Vice Admiral, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Interim Dean and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Penn State, The Dickinson School of Law WILLIAM E. BUTLER is the John Edward Fowler Distinguished Professor of Law, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Law, University of London, Foreign Member, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine. JOSEPH-MATHIAS GÉRARD DE RAYNEVAL (1736-1812) was First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and an international lawyer. He was a significant mediator in Anglo-French relations who composed an important memorandum of French strategy for secret assistance to the Americans entitled "Reflections on the Situation in America" (1776). He was a key negotiator in the commercial Eden Treaty (1786), which was signed by him on behalf of France. In 1804 he was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor for his contributions to the literature of international law. PETER STEPHEN DU PONCEAU (1760-1844) was a Franco-American jurist who came to America at the age of 17 and lived in Philadelphia, where he practiced international law until his death. He was president of the American Philosophical Society. In 1810 he published a translation of Bynkershoek's A Treatise on the Law of War.

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