This concise book is an introduction to the role of international law in international relations. Written for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, the book first appeared in 1928 and attracted a wide readership. This new edition builds on Brierly's scholarship and his idea that law must serve a social purpose. Previous editions of The Law of Nations have been the standard introduction to international law for decades, and are widely popular in many different countries due to the simplicity and brevity of the prose style.
Providing a comprehensive overview of international law, this new version of the classic book retains the original qualities and is again essential reading for all those interested in learning what role the law plays in international affairs. The reader will find chapters on traditional and contemporary topics such as: the basis of international obligation, the role of the UN and the International Criminal Court, the emergence of new states, the acquisition of territory, the principles covering national jurisdiction and immunities, the law of treaties, the different ways of settling international disputes, and the rules on resort to force and the prohibition of aggression.

The international law on the use of force is one of the oldest branches of international law. It is an area twinned with the emergence of international law as a concept in itself, and which sees law and politics collide. The number of armed conflicts is equal only to the number of methodological approaches used to describe them. Many violent encounters are well known. The Kosovo Crisis in 1999 and the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 spring easily to the minds of most scholars and academics, and gain extensive coverage in this text. Other conflicts, including the Belgian operation in Stanleyville, and the Ethiopian Intervention in Somalia, are often overlooked to our peril. Ruys and Corten's expert-written text compares over sixty different instances of the use of cross border force since the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, from all out warfare to hostile encounters between individual units, targeted killings, and hostage rescue operations, to ask a complex question. How much authority does the power of precedent really have in the law of the use of force?

As climate change makes the Arctic a region of key political interest, so questions of sovereignty are once more drawing international attention. The promise of new sources of mineral wealth and energy, and of new transportation routes, has seen countries expand their sovereignty claims. Increasingly, interested parties from both within and beyond the region, including states, indigenous groups, corporate organizations, and NGOs and are pursuing their visions for the Arctic. What form of political organization should prevail? Contesting the Arctic provides a map of potential governance options for the Arctic and addresses and evaluates the ways in which Arctic stakeholders throughout the region are seeking to pursue them.

As Israel's control of the Occupied Palestinian Territory nears its fiftieth anniversary, The Writing on the Wall offers a critical perspective on the international law of occupation. Advocating a normative and functional approach to occupation and to the question of when it exists, it analyzes the application of humanitarian and human rights law, pointing to the risk of using the law of occupation in its current version to legitimize new variations of conquest and colonialism. The book points to the need for reconsidering the law of occupation in light of changing forms of control, such as those evident in Gaza. Although the Israeli occupation is a main focal point, the book broadens its compass to look at other cases, such as Iraq, Northern Cyprus, and Western Sahara, highlighting the role that international law plays in all of these cases.

Territorial disputes refer to disputes over territories that are claimed by two or more independent countries. The disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by competition of resource exploitation. Ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world. Disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflicts. Other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land. Issues pertaining to the territorial control of seawaters have long been the subject of international law. This book sets out to present a guide to resource management in disputed areas throughout the world.

This collection, with an introduction by Professor Lucius Cafilsch (Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva), contains selected articles written by Professor Bourne on international water law, complete with a new concluding chapter surveying recent changes in the law. One of the drafters of the ILA Helsinki Rules, Professor Bourne has established himself as an authority in this area of international law. This book is recommended reading for anyone seriously interested in the law of international waterways. It evidences a constant scholarly preoccupation with almost all aspects of that law.

This study presents an account of the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction by Britain in the Arab Gulf States during the period before they gained full sovereignty and independence. This work provides a valuable analysis of the working of the British Court System in the Arab context. The material is based on the author's original research among the juridical records of the British Court for Bahrain and on interviews with judges and lawyers of the period. This publication is priced as a specialised academic monograph and is a relevant acquisition for law libraries and Middle East history collections.