Economic Foundations of International Law

by Posner, Eric A.; Sykes, Alan O.

• ISBN13: 9780674066991
• ISBN10: 0674066995
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-01-15
• Publisher: Belknap Pr

Summary

The ever-increasing exchange of goods and ideas among nations, as well as cross-border pollution, global warming, and international crime, pose urgent questions for international law. Here, two respected scholars provide an intellectual framework for assessing these pressing legal problems from a rational choice perspective. The approach assumes that states are rational, forward-looking agents which use international law to address the actions of other states that may have consequences for their own citizens, and to obtain the benefits of international cooperation. It further assumes that in the absence of a central enforcement agency-that is, a world government-international law must be self-enforcing. States must believe that if they violate international agreements, other states will retaliate. Consequently, Eric A. Posner and Alan O. Sykes devote considerable attention to the challenges of enforcing international law, which begin with the difficulties of determining what it is. In the absence of an international constitution, the sources for international law are vague. Lawyers must rely on statements contained in all manner of official documents and on simple observation of states' behavior. This looseness leads international institutions such as the United Nations to deliver conflicting interpretations of the law's most basic principles. The authors describe the conditions under which international law succeeds or fails, across a wide range of issues, including war crimes, human rights, international criminal law, principles of state responsibility, law of the sea, international trade regulation, and international investment law.

Table of Contents

Basics
Introduction	p. 3
Fundamentals of International Law	p. 6
Economic Analysis of International Law-the Essentials	p. 12
General Aspects of International Law
Sovereignty and Attributes of Statehood	p. 39
Customary International Law	p. 50
Treaties	p. 63
International Institutions	p. 79
State Responsibility	p. 113
Remedies	p. 126
The Intersection between International Law and Domestic Law	p. 139
Traditional Public International Law
Treatment of Aliens, Foreign Property, and Foreign Debt	p. 155
The Use of Force	p. 163
The Conduct of War	p. 190
Human Rights	p. 198
International Criminal Law	p. 209
The Environment
International Environmental Law	p. 225
The Law of the Sea	p. 233
International Economic Law
International Trade	p. 263
International Investment, Antitrust, and Monetary Law	p. 288
Notes	p. 329
Acknowledgments	p. 355
Index	p. 357
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