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Sociology and international law: some historical connections
2009
Sociology and international law are closely related. Both fields were formalised as disciplines in the second half of the nineteenth century, though this is not the source of their closeness. Rather, they are closely related because of their joint reliance on the notion of the social. Both made much use of an organic-communitarian understanding of the social and in both a counter-current arose against this direction, around a distinctly politico-legal understanding. In building its organic-communitarian tradition, international law actually borrowed heavily from the sociological discourses of the time, particularly from the work of Durkheim. The borrowings concerning the politico-legal tradition, however, ran the other way, with sociology borrowing from those public law discourses about sovereignty that informed most discourses of international law. The paper sketches the main method involved, sets out each of the two aforementioned rival understandings of the social, discusses inte...
DOCTRINAIRE TRENDS IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SUBjECTIVITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Rivista della Cooperazione Giuridica Internazionale, 2018
1. Introduction. – 2. Sovereignty and international subjectivity. – 3. The alleged legal personality of international organizations. – 4. Individuals in international law: the standing to sue. – 5. The individual in international law: the capacity to be sued. – 6. The responsibility of the individual in the international criminal system. – 7. Conclusions. 1. In recent years, the tendency to give a central role to the individual in the field of international law has developed in doctrine. In this regard, this approach reasons in terms of " humanisation " of international law with specific reference to the influence that the growing trend towards the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, on the one hand, and the rules of international criminal law, on the other hand, have on the evolution of international law. Hence, there would be an " evolution " of international law by a law of (and for the) States to a law of (and for) individuals. The premise of the asserted international subjectivity of individuals would be the existence of rights of the individuals directly detectable by international law and susceptible of protection before international jurisdictions as well as the existence of (" original ") international criminal rules from which the imputability of the individual as such on an international level would derive. We do not adhere to the theory of the individual subjectivity of the individual considering, on the contrary, the pre-eminent, indeed, exclusive role of the States under the profile of the said subjectivity of international law. This also because of the fact that the rules of international law are the result of the complex of economic, cultural, social and political relations between States. In other words, international law understood as a set of rules endowed with compulsory force aimed at regulating the relations between the States, that is, of those independent and sovereign entities 1 (superiorem non recognoscens), regulates the conduct of the States and not of the individuals. 2. Traditionally, international subjectivity is considered as descended from the typical characteristics of the States, even if, for some time now, part of the doctrine asks whether this quality can also be found in international organizations, while for individuals the problem has been posed in terms of their capacity to be direct recipients (beneficiaries) of rules of international law.
Introduction: The Sociological Dimension of International Law
The Sociological Dimension of International Law Moshe Hirsch Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Faculty of Law Invitation to the Sociology of International Law (OUP, 2015) This article is the introduction to the book 'Invitation to the Sociology of International Law' (OUP, 2015). International law is deeply embedded in various sociological factors and processes. Numerous international legal rules reflect and affect societal factors and processes such as norms, socialization, identity, and collective memory. Political and economic dimensions of international law are overlain with a sociological dimension, but this study focuses on the sociological dimension of international law. While the idea that international law and other societal processes are profoundly interlinked is not new, international legal literature habitually pays only scant attention to socio-cultural aspects of international law. In light of the underlying interrelationships between international law and other social factors, the book invites international law specialists to analyse international legal rules in their wider social context, and incorporate sociological tools into mainstream international law scholarship. The book aims to introduce readers to some key sociological elements and major theoretical approaches, and illustrates their valuable contribution to international legal scholarship. To exemplify the properties of the sociological analysis, the book employs sociological tools to explore diverse topics in contemporary international law, including the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rules regulating regional trade agreements; legal fragmentation and the interaction between international investment law and human rights law; impartiality of adjudicators; compliance with and breach of international law; and the European Union's rules concerning economic and monetary cooperation. Keywords: international law, international legal theory, sociology, international relations
The Sociology of International Law: Invitation to Study International Rules in Their Social Context
University of Toronto Law Journal, 2005
† I am deeply indebted to my teachers on sociological theories, Gad Yair and Vered Vinitzki-Seroussi of the Hebrew University Department of Sociology, who also contributed helpful comments on earlier drafts. I would like to thank Joseph Weiller, who encouraged me to explore this fascinating topic and with whom I consulted. I am grateful to Robert Howse for insightful comments on an earlier draft. I have also greatly benefited from inspiring discussions with Robert Howse, Edith Brown-Weiss, Anthony Arend, Benedict Kingsbury, and Yuval Shany. This study is largely based on research I conducted as a visiting scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center in spring 2003. I am grateful to the Center for the excellent facilities provided to me during that period. Thanks to Hadar Gonen for valuable research assistance. 1 Peter Berger, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1963) at 20-1 [Berger, Invitation]. 2 Thus, for instance, the sociological perspective was not included in the seven major methods of international legal scholarship that were presented in the 1999 Symposium on Methods in International Law published as a special issue of the American Journal of International Law: Steven R. Ratner & Anne-Marie Slaughter, eds., Symposium on Method in International Law: Appraising the Methods of International Law-A Prospectus for Readers (1999) 93 A.J.I.L. 291. 3 The relatively few scholars who wrote on the sociology of international law hardly employed sociological theories. For a concise discussion of this rudimentary socio-legal literature, see Edda Blenk-Knocke, 'Sociology of International Law' in Encyclopedia of Public International Law, vol. 4 (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2000) 449. These early studies will be dealt with further below. (2005), 55 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LAW JOURNAL Moshe Hirsch* * THE SOCIOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: INVITATION TO STUDY INTERNATIONAL RULES IN THEIR SOCIAL CONTEXT † An intellectual activity derives excitement from the moment it becomes a trail of discovery. ... The fascination of sociology lies in the fact that its perspective makes us see in a new light the very world in which we have lived all our lives. 1
Derecho internacional: impugnación normativa en el ámbito de la delincuencia
Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI, 2011
Internacional es un campo dinámico y flexible que puede servir como un ejemplo de cómo las leyes son impugnados, negociadas y aprobadas sin la presencia de una autoridad suprema con poderes coercitivos (un Leviatán). Una mayor comprensión de la relación entre el derecho internacional y la amplia gama de actores que operan actualmente en los intersticios del sistema transnacional, provocados por la globalización, puede ofrecer una perspectiva valiosa sobre cómo las leyes se crean y se legitiman a través de las pautas de socialización y del diálogo que conducen a un entendimiento intersubjetivo compartido. Este breve ensayo pretende conectar algunos aspectos importantes de la antropología jurídica con la labor de los estudiosos constructivista estudiando el régimen de formación y creación de instituciones en el creciente campo de los estudios internacionales.
Revista da Faculdade de Direito, Universidade de São Paulo, 2017
Resumo: O artigo objetiva analisar criticamente o discurso da fragmentação do Direito Internacional por meio de uma análise detalhada dos documentos da Comissão de Direito Internacional da ONU, verificando suas diferenças e inconsistências. A partir da crítica desta perspectiva que vislumbra na expansão do Direito Internacional motivos para o seu enfraquecimento, o trabalho destaca a visão sistêmica do Direito Internacional e sua relevância para o sistema jurídico contemporâneo. Embora a teoria da fragmentação seja base para diversos trabalhos acadêmicos na atualidade, faz-se relevante e necessário um exame detido sobre as diferentes nuances dos próprios documentos da Comissão que difundiram tal discurso, e por isso o trabalho se justifica. Adicionalmente, a atividade dos tribunais internacionais pode se dar de modo a harmonizar o sistema jurídico internacional e reforçar o papel do Direito Internacional como um instrumento universal.
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: A PROBLEMATIC AND/OR A HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP?
Yearbook of the Faculty of Philosophy , 2018
The paper focuses on the relationship between International Law and International Relations, i.e. on their interconnectedness as a substantial issue both from a theoretical and practical point of view. The starting premise is that although they constitute distinct academic disciplines, the objects of their interest can hardly be analysed in isolation from each other. Even those who disagree with the thesis of their academic synergy, acknowledge that with no international law there could be no international relations; also, the practice of international politics is a ground that breeds international legal norms. In the analysis of this rather complex relationship, a special emphasis is placed on the need for deconstruction of the wide-spread myth that international law is by default ‘good’ (i.e. positive in a normative sense of the word), while the international politics is to be blamed for all the bad things that happen in the international arena. Instead, we make an attempt to shed some light on the most important strategic and moral limits of the international law, in order to induce a more critical viewpoint on the relations between power, politics and law in the international arena. The paper ends with some suggestions about the need for development of an innovative research agenda in elaboration of this relationship.