Theory of International Law

This book seeks to analyse various aspects of international law, the link being how they structure and marshal the different forces in the international legal order. It takes the following approaches to the matter. First, an attempt is made to determine the fundamental characteristics of international law, the forces that delineate and permeate its applications. Secondly, the multiple relations between law and policy are analysed. Politics are a highly relevant factor in the implementation of every legal order (and also a threat to it); this is all the more true in international law, where the two forces, law and politics, have significant links. Thirdly, the discussion focuses on a series of fundamental socio-legal notions: the common good, justice, legal security, reciprocity (plus equality and proportionality), liberty, ethics and social morality, and reason.

Part One: The Main Pillars of the Legal System 1. History and Characteristics of International Law? 2. Foundation, Sources and Structural Principles of International Law? 3. The Subjects of International Law? 4. Questions of Method and the Structure of Rules in International Law? 5. The 'Lotus Rule' on Residual State Freedom? 6. The Effectiveness of International Law? 7. International Society or International Community?? Part Two: International Law and Politics 8. The Relationship Between International Law and Politics? Part Three: International Law and Certain Fundamental Legal-Political Notions 9. The Relationship of International Law with Certain Cardinal Legal Notions