BOOK: Eirik Bjørge and Cameron A. Miles, eds., Landmark cases in Public International Law (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2017). £120.00. ISBN 9781849467889

(Source: Hart Publishing)

Hart Publishing has published a book last month on some of the landmark cases in international law over the past 200 years:

ABOUT

The past two hundred years have seen the transformation of public international law from a rule-based extrusion of diplomacy into a fully-fledged legal system. Landmark Cases in Public International Law examines decisions that have contributed to the development of international law into an integrated whole, whilst also creating specialised sub-systems that stand alone as units of analysis. The significance of these decisions is not taken for granted, with contributors critically interrogating the cases to determine if their reputation as 'landmarks' is deserved. Emphasis is also placed on seeing each case as a diplomatic artefact, highlighting that international law, while unquestionably a legal system, remains reliant on the practice and consent of states as the prime movers of development.

The cases selected cover a broad range of subject areas including state immunity, human rights, the environment, trade and investment, international organisations, international courts and tribunals, the laws of war, international crimes, and the interface between international and municipal legal systems. A wide array of international and domestic courts are also considered, from the International Court of Justice to the European Court of Human Rights, World Trade Organization Appellate Body, US Supreme Court and other adjudicative bodies. The result is a three-dimensional picture of international law: what it was, what it is, and what it might yet become.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

Eirik Bjorge and Cameron Miles

2. The Charming Betsy and The Paquete Habana (1804 and 1900)

William S Dodge

3. Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions (Greece v Great Britain) (1924–27)

Michael Waibel

4. Factory at Chorzów (Germany v Poland) (1927–28)

Chester Brown

5. SS Lotus (France v Turkey) (1927)

Douglas Guilfoyle

6. Island of Palmas (Netherlands v United States of America) (1928)

Eirik Bjorge

7. Legal Status of Eastern Greenland (Denmark v Norway) (1933)

Rolf Einar Fife

8. Trail Smelter (United States of America/Canada) (1938 and 1941)

Duncan French

9. Trial Before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (1945–46)

Katherine O'Byrne and Philippe Sands

10. The Early United Nations Advisory Opinions (1948–62)

Thomas D Grant and Rowan Nicholson

11. The South West Africa Cases (1949 to 1971)

James Crawford and Paul Mertenskötter

12. North Sea Continental Shelf (Federal Republic of Germany v Netherlands; Federal Republic of Germany v Denmark) (1969)

Nikiforos Panagis and Antonios Tzanakopoulos

13. Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company (Belgium v Spain) (1970)

Giorgio Gaja

14. Tyrer v United Kingdom (1978)

Nigel Rodley

15. Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v United States of America) (1984 to 1986)

Robert Kolb

16. Tadic v Prosecutor (1995)

Sarah MH Nouwen and Michael A Becker

17. The Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinions (1996)

Surabhi Ranganathan

18. Gabcíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia) (1997)

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Makane Moïse Mbengue

19. Vivendi v Argentina (1997–2010)

Sam Luttrell

20. US-Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products (1998)

Callum Musto and Catherine Redgwell

21. LaGrand (Germany v United States of America) (2001)

Cameron Miles

22. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2004)

John Dugard

23. Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy;Greece intervening) (2012)

Omri Sender and Michael Wood

More information on the website of the publisher