BOOK: Robert MCQUORDALE & Jean-Pierre GAUCI (eds.), British Influences on International Law, 1915-2015. Leiden/Boston: Martinus Nijhoff/Brill, 2016, XVIII + 524 p. ISBN 9789004284166, €225

 (image source Brill)

Book abstract:

This book considers British influences on the development of international law over 100 years from 1915. This century has been marked by unprecedented developments in international law, not least the setting up of an array of international organisations, including the United Nations and the League of Nations, and international courts and tribunals (including the International Court of Justice and its predecessor the Permanent Court of International Justice, as well as the International Criminal Court). Two world wars, complex transboundary issues and increased globalisation have shown the importance of international law. This volume addresses these developments – domestic, regional and international - and looks at how Britain and British people (broadly defined) have influenced these changes.
The contributors to the book have examined an array of different issues. These include British influences on treaty-making, recognition and immunity, as well as on specific fields of international law, such as armed conflict, criminal law, environment and human rights. It has commentary on the British influence on the sources of international law, including by its courts and Foreign Office, in the development of the European Union and in the idea of a professional international lawyer. There are also reflections on many of the key people over the century.
The book provides a novel perspective, which surveys and appraises the contributions of British people and institutions in domestic and international legal forums and their key role in the development, interpretation and application of international law.

 Table of contents:

• Robert McCorquodale & Jean-Pierre Gauci, From Grotius to Higgins: British Influences on International Law from 1915–2015
• Antonios Tzanakapoulos, The Influence of English Courts on the Development of International Law
• Kate Jones, Marking Foreign Policy by Justice: The Legal Advisers to the Foreign Office, 1876–1953
• Philip Allott, Britain and Europe: Managing Revolution
• Stephen Samuel, British Influences on the Ideals of International Lawyers
• Kasey McCall-Smith, British influence on the law of treaties
• Martin Clark, British Contributions to the concept of recognition during the inter-war period: Williams, Baty and Lauterpacht
• Philippa Webb, British Contribution to the Law of State Immunity
• David H. Anderson, British Influence on the Law of the Sea 1915–2015
• Mario Prost & Yoriko Otomo, British influences on international environmental law: the case of wildlife conservation
• Merris Amos, The Influence of British Courts on the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
• Nigel S. Rodley, The Contribution of British NGOs to the Development of International Law
• Amina Higgins & Noelle Adanan, Britain’s Influence on the Regulation of the Slave Trade in the Twentieth Century
• Nicholas Tsagourias, Contribution of British International Lawyers to the Law on the Use of Force
• Matthew Garrod, The British Influence on the development of the laws of war and the punishment of war criminals: from the Grotius Society to the United Nations War Crimes Commission
• Shavana Musa, The British and the Nuremburg Trials
• James Upcher, Neutral and Beligerent Rights: the development of a British Position?
• Anne Marie Brennan, Historical Reflections on the Criminalisation of Terrorism under International Law from the League of Nations to R v. Mohammed Gul: How Britain has Swollen the Tide of Obscurity
• Richard Collins, The Progressive Conception of International Law: Brierly and Lauterpacht in the Interbellum Period
• Robert Cryer, International Law and the Illusion of Novelty: Georg Schwarzenberger
• Gerry Simpson, Juridical Intervention: Martin Wight as International Lawyer
• Philippe Sands & Arman Sarvarian, The Contribution of the UK Bar to International Courts

More information on the Brill website.
Source: International Law Reporter.