The Limits of International LawInternational 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. |
From inside the book
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Page 13
... law. These models do not exhaust the possibilities of international interaction. But they provide a simple and useful framework for evaluating a range of international legal ... sense, endogenous to state interests. It is not a check on state ...
... law. These models do not exhaust the possibilities of international interaction. But they provide a simple and useful framework for evaluating a range of international legal ... sense, endogenous to state interests. It is not a check on state ...
Page 14
... legal rhetoric demonstrates the efficacy of international law that cannot be explained in instrumental terms. We argue that this claim is wrong and show why it would be ... sense of legal obligation” that makes customary 14 Introduction.
... legal rhetoric demonstrates the efficacy of international law that cannot be explained in instrumental terms. We argue that this claim is wrong and show why it would be ... sense of legal obligation” that makes customary 14 Introduction.
Page 15
Jack L. Goldsmith, Eric A. Posner. opinio juris (the “sense of legal obligation” that makes customary international law binding) and pacta sunt servanda (the rule that treaties must be obeyed). Theoretically, the assumption is expressed ...
Jack L. Goldsmith, Eric A. Posner. opinio juris (the “sense of legal obligation” that makes customary international law binding) and pacta sunt servanda (the rule that treaties must be obeyed). Theoretically, the assumption is expressed ...
Page 21
... law besides treaties: customary international law. Customary international law is usually defined as the customary practices that states follow from a sense of legal obligation. It has the same legal force under international law as ...
... law besides treaties: customary international law. Customary international law is usually defined as the customary practices that states follow from a sense of legal obligation. It has the same legal force under international law as ...
Page 23
... sense of legal obligation (Restatement 1987, § 102[2]). This definition contains two elements: there must be a widespread and uniform practice of states, and states must engage in the practice out of a sense of legal obligation. This ...
... sense of legal obligation (Restatement 1987, § 102[2]). This definition contains two elements: there must be a widespread and uniform practice of states, and states must engage in the practice out of a sense of legal obligation. This ...
Contents
3 | |
19 | |
Part 2 Treaties | 79 |
Part 3 Rhetoric Morality and International Law | 163 |
Conclusion | 225 |
Acknowledgments | 227 |
Notes | 229 |
References | 235 |
Index | 253 |
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argue behavioral regularity belligerent benefits bilateral Britain British chapter cheap talk citizens claim coastal fishing vessels coercion coincidence of interest collective action problems commitment compliance comply with international consent coordination game cosmopolitan cosmopolitan action cosmopolitan duties cosmopolitan sentiments costs Court customary international law democratic diplomatic diplomatic immunity domestic law enforcement engage evidence example explain fishing vessel exemption foreign policy free ships GATT human rights abuses human rights law human rights treaties ICCPR individuals institutions international relations leaders legal obligation liberal democracies ment military moral obligation multilateral treaties navy negotiations neutral ships nonlegal agreements norms opinio juris other’s Paquete Habana parties payoffs preferences ratify rational choice rational choice theory reason reflect regime retaliation RUDs self-interest sense of legal slave trade Soviet Union state’s talk tariffs ternational territorial sea three-mile rule tions trade barriers trade treaties U.S. Civil War United vessel exemption rule violate voters