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THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHINGS OF PUBLICISTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2016

Sandesh Sivakumaran
Sandesh Sivakumaran*
Affiliation:
Professor of Public International Law, University of Nottingham, [email protected].
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Abstract

This article considers the influence of teachings of publicists on the development of international law. The category of ‘teachings of publicists’ is not a homogeneous one. The article argues that it can be divided into: entities that have been empowered by States to conclude teachings, such as the International Law Commission; expert groups, such as the Institut de Droit International; and ‘ordinary’ publicists. The teachings of ordinary publicists are also of different types and include digests, treatises, textbooks, monographs, journal articles, and blog posts. Only by breaking down the category into its various types can the influence of the teaching of publicists on the development of international law be properly gauged. Even then, it can prove rather difficult to pin down the notion of ‘influence’. Standard assessments of influence focus on the extent to which teachings are cited by courts and tribunals, in particular by the International Court of Justice. However, that approach privileges the role of courts and tribunals in the development of international law and overlooks the role of other actors. As such, the present article offers a different assessment of influence. It identifies the actors that comprise the community of international lawyers and analyses the various interactions that take place between these actors and the teachings of publicists. It is through this interaction, of which citation is but part, that the influence of the teachings of publicists can properly be determined.

Keywords

Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justicedevelopment of international lawlaw-makingsources of international lawteachings of publiciststextbooks
Type
Articles
Information
International & Comparative Law Quarterly , Volume 66 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 1 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © British Institute of International and Comparative Law 2016 

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References

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65 Procès-Verbaux (n 10) 323, 336, 337.

66 Parry (n 1) 108, has suggested that ‘it is as difficult to decide who “the most highly qualified publicists” are as it is to say what is a peace-loving nation within the meaning of the Charter of the United Nations’.

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134 Prosecutor v Tadić, Appeals Chamber, Judgment, IT-94-1, 15 July 1999, para 93.

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156 See <https://www.icrc.org/en/international-review/overview>.

157 Tieya and Yee (n 154) iii.

158 Bederman (n 146) 58. See further Kirgis (n 151) 574.

159 See eg then Editor-in-Chief of the Leiden Journal of International Law, van den Herik, L, ‘Introduction: LJIL in the Age of Cyberspace’ (2012) 25 LJIL 1, 6Google Scholar, noting that ‘law journals cannot compete with blogs as information providers’.

160 M Milanovic, ‘Some Thoughts on the Serdar Mohammed Appeals Judgment’, EJIL: Talk! Blog, 10 August 2015, available at <http://www.ejiltalk.org/some-thoughts-on-the-serdar-mohammed-appeals-judgment/>, indicating that the UK Government argued before the Court of Appeal that the Court should not refer to blog posts, as the lack of blind peer review makes posts less rigorous.

161 B Leiter, ‘Why Blogs are Bad for Legal Scholarship’, YaleLJ Forum, 19 September 2006, available at <http://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/why-blogs-are-bad-for-legal-scholarship>. See also J d'Aspremont, ‘In Defense of the Hazardous Tool of Legal Blogging’ EJIL: Talk! Blog, 6 January 2011, available at <http://www.ejiltalk.org/in-defense-of-the-hazardous-tool-of-legal-blogging/>, who ultimately concludes that the hazards are outweighed by the virtues of blogging.

162 See eg R Goodman and S Vladeck, ‘Welcome to Just Security!’, Just Security Blog, 23 September 2013, available at <https://www.justsecurity.org/965/security/>, in which the authors note that they hope the blog will ‘become a ready resource for decision-makers, analysts, and practitioners who address difficult U.S. national security law issues, and an invaluable reference for those simply trying to stay abreast of the daily developments in this ever-moving field.’

163 For example, they are not infrequently cited by courts and tribunals. See eg Serdar Mohammed (n 14) paras 197, 208 and 241.

164 The focus on teachings in written form seems to be due to the use of the term ‘writings of publicists’ as interchangeable with ‘teachings of publicists’, as well as the difficulties in becoming aware of teachings in oral form prior to changes in technology. Historically, it would also have been more difficult to prove that the view of a publicist was X if the view had not been expressed in writing.

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170 See, from a different perspective, d'Aspremont (n 5) 210.

171 Waibel (n 168) 152–60.

172 See also Tobin, J, ‘Seeking to Persuade: A Constructive Approach to Human Rights Treaty Interpretation’ (2010) 23 HarvHumRtsJ 1, 8–10Google Scholar.

173 Simma (n 7) 319.

174 Sohn (n 72) 399–401.

175 ibid 401. Sohn, at 399, also argues that international law is made by ‘the professors, the writers of textbooks and casebooks, and the authors of articles in leading international law journals’.

176 The point has been noted by former government legal advisors. See eg Wood (n 6) para 16; M Lachs, ‘Teachings and Teaching of International Law’ (1976-III) 151 RdC 161, 218–19.

177 See eg Memorandum Opinion on the Geographic Scope of the Convention Against Torture and Its Application in Situations of Armed Conflict, from Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of State, 21 January 2013, available at <https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/state-department-cat-memo.pdf>.

178 See eg United States Department of Defense, Law of War Manual (June 2015).

179 See section IV.B.1.

180 eg O'Connell (n 4) 35.

181 See Twining et al. (n 165) 931.

182 The Paquete Habana (n 8) 701. Kent continued, in a more questionable manner: ‘and no civilized nation that does not arrogantly set all ordinary law and justice at defiance will venture to disregard the uniform sense of the established writers on international law’.

183 The Case of the S.S. ‘Lotus’, PCIJ Ser A No 10, at 26.

184 Case of the S.S. ‘Wimbledon’, PCIJ Ser A, No 1, at 28.

185 LaGrand Case (Germany v United States of America), Provisional Measures [2001] ICJ Rep 466, 501 (referring to ‘extensive controversy in the literature’).

186 Lachs (n 176) 225. See also Stahn and De Brabandere (n 17) 4.

187 See eg PCIJ: The Case of the S.S. ‘Lotus’, PCIJ Ser A No 10, at 26; Certain German Interests in Polish Upper Silesia, PCIJ Ser A No 6, at 20. See also ICJ: Nottebohm Case (Leichtenstein v Guatemala) (Second Phase) [1955] ICJ Rep 4, 22; Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons [1996] ICJ Rep 226, 259, para 85.

188 Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras; Nicaragua intervening) [1992] ICJ Rep 351, 593, para 394 (referring to the successive editors of Oppenheim's International Law and to G Gidel, Le droit international public de la mer (1934)); Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro) [2007] ICJ Rep 43, 125 (referring to R Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (1944)).

189 See generally, Peil, M, ‘Scholarly Writings as a Source of Law: A Survey of the Use of Doctrine by the International Court of Justice’ (2012) 1 Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law 136 Google Scholar. The work of the ILC is cited heavily also by international investment tribunals. See Cole (n 141) 305.

190 Thirlway (n 143) 127.

191 Crespi, GS, ‘The Influence of Two Decades of Contract Law Scholarship on Judicial Rulings: An Empirical Analysis’ (2004) 57 SMULRev 105, 106Google Scholar.

192 Crawford (n 9) 43.

193 Kammerhofer, J, ‘Lawmaking by Scholars’ in Brolmann, C and Radi, Y (eds), Research Handbook on the Theory and Practice of International Lawmaking (Edward Elgar 2016) 305, 322Google Scholar.

194 Duxbury (n 166) 14–15.

195 Kammerhofer (n 193) 323.

196 See section II.C.

197 See section II.A.

198 See section II.B.

199 Bellinger, JB III and Haynes, WJ II, ‘A US Government Response to the International Committee of the Red Cross Study Customary International Humanitarian Law ’ (2007) 89 IRRC 443 Google Scholar.

200 See section II.C.

201 Twining (n 165) 927. See also, on the international level, Lachs (n 176) 214.

202 DJ Bederman, ‘Review Essay, International Law Casebooks: Tradition, Revision, and Pedagogy’ (2004) 98 AJIL 200, 200.

203 de Mestral (n 105) 553 (emphasis added).

204 Bederman (n 202) 206. See further AE Roberts, Is International Law International? (OUP forthcoming 2017).

205 See Roberts, ibid.

206 Duxbury (n 166) 104, referring to Max Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, II, 784–808.

207 See Roberts (n 204).

208 Duxbury (n 166) 20–1.

209 It has been noted that the ‘organization’ of Gengsheng, Zhou, Guoji Fa (International Law) (Shangwu Yinshuguan 1981)Google Scholar ‘is primarily based on Oppenheim's treatise on international law, edited by H Lauterpacht’. See Gross, L and Chiu, H, Book Review (1983) 77 AJIL 977, 978Google Scholar.

210 See, for example, Mälksoo (n 155) 60–1, noting that there was ‘a tradition of translating prominent West European works on international law … until the late nineteenth century’.

211 Hernández (n 168).

212 ibid.

213 Duxbury (n 166) 5.

214 Compare, for example, Cassese, A, ‘Terrorism as an International Crime’ in Bianchi, A (ed), Enforcing International Law Norms Against Terrorism (2004)Google Scholar with Interlocutory Decision on the Applicable Law: Terrorism, Conspiracy, Homicide, Perpetration, Cumulative Charging, Case No STL-11-01/I, 16 February 2011.

215 See section II.C.

216 See Donnelly (n 54) 474.

217 See the comment of S Ratner, to the blog post by M Milanovic, ‘The ICRC's Functional Approach to Occupation’ EJIL: Talk!, 18 November 2015, available at <http://www.ejiltalk.org/the-icrcs-position-on-a-functional-approach-to-occupation/>.

218 UNHCR, Procedural Standards for Refugee Status Determination under UNHCR's Mandate (2005) 1–4 and Annex 1-1; M Alexander, ‘Refugee Status Determination Conducted by UNHCR’ (1999) 11 IJRL 251, 254.

219 See Lachs (n 176) 218.

220 See Vrdoljak, AF, ‘Human Rights and Genocide: The Work of Lauterpacht and Lemkin in Modern International Law’ (2009) 20 EJIL 1163, 1189Google Scholar.

221 Thomas, JC, ‘Reflections on Article 1105 of NAFTA: History, State Practice and the Influence of Commentators’ (2002) 17 ICSID Review 21, 51–2Google Scholar, referring to Mann, FA, ‘British Treaties for the Promotion and Protection of Investments’ (1981) LII BYBIL 241, 243Google Scholar.

222 Thomas (n 221) 58, referring to Mann, FA, The Legal Aspects of Money (4th edn, 1982) 510 Google Scholar, expressing the same position as the third edition of the work, 1971, at 532.

223 Thomas (n 221) 58.

224 ibid 59.

225 Mortensen, J, ‘The Meaning of “Investment”: ICSID's Travaux and the Domain of International Investment Law’ (2010) 51 HarvIntlLJ 257, 272Google Scholar. Compare Salini Costruttori S.P.A. and Italstrade S.P.A. v Kingdom of Morocco, Case No ARB/004, Decision on Jurisdiction, para 52 ((2003) 42 ILM 609), with CH Schreuer, The ICSID Convention: A Commentary (CUP 2001) 140.

226 Malaysian Historical Salvors Sdn, Bhd v The Government of Malaysia, ICSID Case No ARB/05/10, Award on Jurisdiction, para 74.

227 See eg Mr Saba Fakes v Republic of Turkey, ICSID Case No ARB/07/20, Award, para 103.

228 Schreuer, CH et al. , The ICSID Convention: A Commentary (CUP, 2nd edn, 2009) 133 Google Scholar.

229 Duxbury (n 166) 15.

230 Attributed to Bin Cheng: Cheng, B, ‘United Nations Resolutions on Outer Space: “Instant” International Customary Law?’ (1965) 5 IJIL 23 Google Scholar.

231 Originating out of the idea that ‘as the number of parties to a treaty increases, it becomes more difficult to demonstrate what is the state of customary international law dehors the treaty’. Baxter, RR, ‘Treaties and Custom’ (1970) 129 Recueil des Cours 27, 64Google Scholar.

232 Duxbury (n 166) 15.

233 Hernández (n 168) 6. See further d'Aspremont, J, ‘Wording in International Law’ (2012) 25 LJIL 575, 586–7Google Scholar.

234 Charlesworth, H, Chinkin, C and Wright, S, ‘Feminist Approaches to International Law’ (1991) 85 AJIL 613 Google Scholar.

235 Chinkin, C, Wright, S and Charlesworth, H, ‘Feminist Approaches to International Law: Reflections from Another Century’ in Buss, D and Manji, A (eds), International Law: Modern Feminist Approaches (Hart Publishing 2005) 17, 17–18Google Scholar. See also Charlesworth, H, ‘Alienating Oscar? Feminist Analysis of International Law’ in Dallmeyer, DG (ed), Reconceiving Reality: Women and International Law (ASIL 1993) 1 Google Scholar.

236 Postcolonial or Third World Approaches to International Law did not feature in the leading AJIL symposium on method in international law, an omission that was put down to an ‘error of ignorance rather than deliberate exclusion’. See Richardson, HJ III, ‘Correspondence’ (2000) 94 AJIL 99 Google Scholar and the reply thereto, at 101. See further Anghie, A and Chimni, BS, ‘Third World Approaches to International Law and Individual Responsibility in Internal Conflicts’ (2003) 2 ChineseJIL 77 Google Scholar.

237 Anghie and Chimni, ibid, 87.

238 Hernández (n 168) 27.

239 Charlesworth, H, ‘Feminist Ambivalence about International Law’ (2005) 11 International Legal Theory 1, 2Google Scholar.

240 Cited in Schwartz, DL and Petherbridge, L, ‘The Use of Legal Scholarship by the Federal Court of Appeals: An Empirical Study’ (2011) 96 CornellLRev 1345, 1347Google Scholar. See also Edwards, HT, ‘The Growing Disjunction between Legal Education and the Legal Profession’ (1992–93) 91 MichLRev 34 Google Scholar.

241 Hernández (n 168).

242 Stahn and De Brabandere (n 17) 4.

243 Wolfke (n 3) 76.