This book offers a systematic study of the interpretation of investment-related treaties - primarily bilateral investment treaties, the Energy Charter Treaty, Chapter XI NAFTA as well as relevant parts of Free Trade Agreements. The importance of interpretation in international law cannot be overstated and, indeed, most treaty claims adjudicated before investment arbitral tribunals have raised and continue to raise crucial and often complex issues of interpretation. The interpretation of investment treaties is governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The disputes relating to these treaties, however, are rather peculiar as they place multinational companies (or natural person) in opposition to sovereign governments. Fundamental questions dealt with in the study include: Are investment treaties a special category of treaty for the purpose of interpretation? How have the rules on interpretation contained in the VCLT been applied in investment disputes? What are the main problems encountered in investment-related disputes? To what extent are the VCLT rules suited to the interpretation of investment treaties? Have tribunals developed new techniques concerning treaty interpretation? Are these techniques consistent with the VCLT? How can problems relating to interpretation be solved or minimised? How creative have arbitral tribunals been in interpreting investment treaties? Are States capable of keeping effective control over interpretation?

This volume of essays examines the development of political and legal thinking regarding the use of force in international relations. It provides an analysis of the rules on the use of force in the political, normative and factual contexts within which they apply and assesses their content and relevance in the light of new challenges such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and cyber-attacks. The volume begins with an overview of the ancient and medieval concepts of war and the use of force and then concentrates on the contemporary legal framework regulating the use of force as moulded by the United Nations Charter and state practice. In this regard it discusses specific issues such as the use of force by way of self-defence, armed reprisals, forcible reactions to terrorism, the use of force in the cyberspace, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect. This collection of previously published classic research articles is of interest to scholars and students of international law and international relations as well as practitioners in international law.

International law is not merely a set of rules or processes, but is a professional activity practised by a diversity of figures, including scholars, judges, counsel, teachers, legal advisers and activists. Individuals may, in different contexts, play more than one of these roles, and the interactions between them are illuminating of the nature of international law itself. This collection of innovative, multidisciplinary and self-reflective essays reveals a bilateral process whereby, on the one hand, the professionalisation of international law informs discourses about the law, and, on the other hand, discourses about the law inform the professionalisation of the discipline. Intended to promote a dialogue between practice and scholarship, this book is a must-read for all those engaged in the profession of international law.

International law is not merely a set of rules or processes, but is a professional activity practised by a diversity of figures, including scholars, judges, counsel, teachers, legal advisers and activists. Individuals may, in different contexts, play more than one of these roles, and the interactions between them are illuminating of the nature of international law itself. This collection of innovative, multidisciplinary and self-reflective essays reveals a bilateral process whereby, on the one hand, the professionalisation of international law informs discourses about the law, and, on the other hand, discourses about the law inform the professionalisation of the discipline. Intended to promote a dialogue between practice and scholarship, this book is a must-read for all those engaged in the profession of international law.

The changing rules on the use of force in international law considers the main legal issues concerning the use of force by international organisations and states. It assesses the achievements and failures of the United Nations' collective security system, and discusses the prospects ahead. It also deals with the use of force by states in self-defence and on other legal grounds. The book discusses to what extent the rules on the use of force have evolved since the end of the Cold War in order to meet the needs of the international community. It focuses in particular on the military operations directed against terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. The research is developed from the standpoint of the sources of international law. It rejects a static vision of the rules on the use of force, including those enshrined in the UN Charter. Rather, it highlights the interaction between conventional and customary international law and the exposure of both sources to state practice. -- .