Abstract / Description of output
This collection of essays on the theory of international law addresses the question whether, in light of contemporary legal, economic and political challenges which the state faces, state sovereignty can continue to be viewed meaningfully as a legal principle, the legitimacy of which is generated merely by the factual condition of a state's existence; or whether in fact the international legal system is now better viewed as a self-generating and increasingly sovereign force, founded upon an incipient 'international legal community' which has in large measure redefined state sovereignty as a lower order principle both contingent upon and attenuated by the normative authority inherent in this nascent 'community'. Can we now speak of international law as an embryonic 'quasi-constitutional' system, generated by an international legal community? If so, has this community, although finding its historical origins in the aggregated will of states, assumed a new and immanently-generated legitimacy which is no longer dependent upon state consent for its validity and authority?
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | British Institute of International and Comparative Law |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| ISBN (Print) | 090306779X, 9780903067799 |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |