Jan Klabbers

The constitutionalization of international law

Setting the scene / Jan Klabbers -- Institutions and competences / Geir Ulfstein -- Law-making and constitutionalism / Jan Klabbers -- The International judiciary / Geir Ulfstein -- Membership in the global constitutional community / Anne Peters-- Dual democracy / Anne Peters -- Conclusion / Anne Peters.

The Undesirability of Soft Law

This article investigates some of the drawbacks of the notion of soft law, with special reference to the European Union context. The author argues that soft law, useful as it may seem at first sight, is conceptually awkward, and in particular when emanating from administrative authorities may give rise to some undesirable consequences.

The Right to be Taken Seriously: Self-Determination in International Law

This article suggests that viewing the right to self-determination as an enforceable right possibly leading up to secession is no longer tenable, if it ever was. Instead, courts and quasi-judicial tribunals have reconceptualized self-determination as a legal principle rather than a right and have severed the connection with secession. Hence, this article argues that self-determination has been turned into a procedural norm; and this reconceptualization can be defended in terms of republican political theory.

The Relative Autonomy of International Law or the Forgotten Politics of Interdisciplinarity

It goes without saying (but probably needs to be said) that the Foreign Office lawyer preparing a draft declaration on, say, the right to development, should have some understanding of development theory: she would be well-advised to know that there are various theories, not easily reconcilable with each other, on how development is best to be achieved. By the same token, it goes without saying (but might need to be said) that the practicing trade lawyer who does not have a grasp of the basic economics of international trade might not be best-placed to advise her clients. Likewise, it goes without saying (but perhaps needs to be said) that the practitioner at a Ministry of Defense contemplating whether or not to treat prisoners of war decently would enhance the quality of her decisions if she were to have an understanding of such things as game theory and reciprocity.

The Bridge Crack'd: A Critical Look at Interdisciplinary Relations

In 1993, Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote one of the classic pieces of the decade, strongly advocating that international lawyers and international relations scholars collaborate: theirs was, as she put it, a ‘dual agenda’. Two years later, she explained why: the disciplines of international law and international relations occupy what she referred to as the ‘same conceptual space’. And yet a little later, with the help of two co-authors, she renewed those vows. Fast-forward a few years. In 2004, this tireless advocate of interdisciplinary scholarship involving international law and international relations published her anxiously awaited book A New World Order, a brilliant diagnostic of how international cooperation is increasingly taking place outside the regular diplomatic channels, and making use of forms other than the traditional formal treaty. While the book is not without its problems, at the very least it demonstrates a workable form of interdisciplinary scholarship: it concerns a lucid analysis of international relations by someone who knows her international law, and who takes it seriously. Or does she? The back cover suggests something else: she is portrayed as an international relations scholar through and through; her past appointments and honours are all but ignored. One would think that being able to boast past positions as law professor at august institutions such the Law Schools of Chicago and Harvard would not hurt sales; one would imagine that being a former president of the American Society of International Law would not be a bad credential for someone writing about international affairs. Yet none of this is reproduced: she is listed as politics professor at Princeton, and that is it. The quotes from the reviews on the paperback version are mainly taken from policy-oriented journals in the fi eld of international relations, written predominantly by political scientists or policy-makers, and the word ‘law’ is mentioned only once. This could not be avoided, as one of the quotes is taken from a review in the Harvard Law Review; the Review thus had to be acknowledged. There is a strong symbolism at work here: the most noted proponent of interdisciplinary scholarship positions herself as an international relations expert, blotting out everything in her past that reeks of affi nity with legal studies, despite the fact that the book demonstrates a rich understanding of international law and could well be positioned as a prime example of how to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship. And yet, chiding Slaughter (or her publisher, more likely) for a cheap commercial move would be too easy and, importantly, beside the point. What makes the symbolism so strong is not the pious wish to sell more books; instead, what makes it so strong is

The Meaning of Rules

This article examines the interpretation of rules as an essential part of their meaning. It starts with some of the most foundational rules – pacta sunt servanda, for instance – and points to their contested nature. It looks at some of the causes of this inherent contestability and its effects on the international system. It concludes by noting that appeals to rules never settle a debate, but only begin the interpretative process that constitutes the international system. While this interpretative licence does not lead to complete anarchy, it does leave open a wide range of outcomes in rule-governed systems.

International Legal Histories: The Declining Importance of Travaux Préparatoires in Treaty Interpretation?

The editors of this Review have had the felicitous idea to mark its 50th anniversary with a special issue devoted to the time factor in international law, with one contribution devoted to the apparently declining importance of travaux preparatoires in the interpretation of treaties. Under Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the preparatory works of a treaty are only to be consulted in a limited number of circumstances, and then only as supplementary means of interpretation: when application of the general rule (combining a textual approach with an interpretation in light of the treatys object and purpose) does not lead to satisfactory results. Under Article 31, paragraph 2, of the Vienna Convention, travaux preparatoires do not even qualify as part of a treatys context; clearly, the Vienna Convention envisages but a very limited role for a treatys preparatory works. Yet, most international lawyers will almost automatically include a discussion of preparatory works in legal argument, and will consider it vital to do so: an argument without paying due regard to a treatys drafting history is an incomplete argument. It is this ambivalence which I hope to explore.

Research handbook on the law of international organizations

Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Contending Approaches to International Organizations: Between Functionalism and Constitutionalism Jan Klabbers PART II: GENERAL ISSUES 2. Personality of International Organizations Tarcisio Gazzini 3. Reasoning on Powers of Organizations Viljam Engstrom 4. Membership in International Organizations Konstantinos D. Magliveras 5. Financing International Institutions Thordis Ingadottir 6. Privileges and Immunities August Reinisch 7. International Organiazations - Institutions and Organs Inger A-sterdahl 8. International Organizations as Law-makers Jan Wouters and Philip de Man 9. Decision-making Procedures Nigel D. White 10. Dispute Settlement Kirsten Schmalenbach 11. International Organizations and Treaties: Contractual Freedom and Institutional Constraint Catherine Brolmann 12. Preparing Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations: does the International Law Commission take International Organizations Seriously? A Mid-term Review Niels M. Blokker 13. Dissolution and Succession: The Transmigration of the Soul of International Organizations Ramses Wessel PART III: SPECIAL ISSUES 14. Ultra Vires Acts of International Organizations Enzo Cannizzaro and Paolo Palchetti 15. Deformalization of International Organizations Law Jarna Petman 16. Reflections on Institutional Design - Especially Treaty Bodies Geir Ulfstein 17. The EU as (More Than) an International Organization Joxerramon Bengoetxea 18. The United Nations Sabine von Schorlemer 19. The Internal Law of International Organizations: Nature, Characteristics and Current Developments Riikka Koskenmaki Index

The Internationalization of Law and Legal Education

Preface.- Notes on Contributors.- 1. The Internationalization of Law and Legal Education Mortimer Sellers.- 2. Reflections on Globalization and University Life Jan Klabbers.- 3. Building the World Community Through Legal Education Claudio Grossman.- 4. Integrating Practical Training and Professional Legal Education James Maxeiner.- 5. Internationalizing the American Law School Curriculum (in Light of the Carnegie Foundations Report) Larry Cata Backer.- 6. Resolving Multicultural Legal Cases: A Bottom Up Perspective on the Internationalization of Law Wibo Van Rossum.- 7. Maternity Leave Laws in the United States in the Light of European Legislation Candace Kovacic-Fleisher.- 8. Convergence and Mutual Recognition in European Asylum Law Ida Staffans.- 9. Copyright Protection for Works of Foreign Origin Tyler Ochoa.- 10. The Internationalization of Internet Law Paul Przemyslaw Polanski.- Index.

Possible Islands of Predictability: The Legal Thought of Hannah Arendt

This essay explores the legal thought of Hannah Arendt, and is one of the first to do so. Having presented an Arendtian view on law and its relations to politics, it subsequently discusses how an Arendtian view might yield insights on some topical international issues, in particular the much-discussed issue of constitutionalism in international law.