Economic foundations of international law / Eric A. Posner and Alan O. Sykes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Posner, Eric A.

Contributor:

Sykes, A. O.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International law--Economic aspects.

International law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (376 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

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.

Contents:

Introduction

Fundamentals of international law

Economic analysis of international law : the essentials

Sovereignty and attributes of statehood

Customary international law

Treaties

International institutions

State responsibility

Remedies

The intersection between international law and domestic law

Treatment of aliens, foreign property, and foreign debt

The use of force

The conduct of war

Human rights

International criminal law

International environmental law

The law of the sea

International trade

International investment, antitrust and monetary law.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-353) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9780674071520

0674071522

9780674067639

0674067630

OCLC:

1013943738