Book review; Leiden Journal of International Law No 2, 2018 (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Transcivilizational Perspective on International Law
2010
* the order of names is given according to the proper way respective of culture. Japanese names appear therefore with the family name preceding given name(s). 24 Onuma Yasuaki ** the term "transcivilizational" is a neologism. I first used the term "intercivilizational", which is also a neologism, in 1981 when I gave a paper at the 75th anniversary convocation of the american Society of International law. Both terms express basically the same idea. yet, with the lapse of time, there have been some minor changes, based on the reflections on my own ideas.
Final draft published in Asian Journal of International Law, 9, 2019
In Onuma Ysauaki's research international law must, as a necessary condition, be interpreted from a historical perspective. The historical reconstruction enables him to point out a precise relation between the past and the future of international law, highlighting the distance that separates the age of natural law and the subsequent positivist period from the instability of the current international legal order. At the root of this instability is the crisis of the West-centricity of the contemporary international order, suggesting the need to rethink this order from a transcivilizational perspective. But what is the meaning of this concept? According to Onuma the transcivilizational perspective charts a middle course between two opposite perspectives-one of them West-and state-centric, the other instead centred on the role of the actors in civil society who view themselves as representatives of the "global community." It constructs a "cognitive and evaluative framework based on the recognition of the plurality of civilisations and cultures that have long existed throughout human history." Onuma adds that if we take account 1 of civilisations and the cultures they consist of, we need to take a relativistic and functionalistic approach. This means that there are always cultural and civilizational factors that shape international law. A fundamental question thus arises: in what way have civilisations historically influenced the successive normative orders of international law? By taking this perspective Onuma can clearly point out the twofold aim of his book: on the one hand, he sets out to analyse the functioning of international law conceived as a "social construct," proceeding from a precise concept of the law as historically determined and from the values espoused by the members of the international society; at the same time, he seeks to present a corrected concept of international law in view of which to rectify erroneous historical interpretations of it, outlining a normative standpoint from which to shed light on realities that reveal themselves to be unjust or illegitimate. In order to see how Onuma works toward this twofold aim, it helps to highlight three aspects of his work: (1) his historical approach and his discussion of (2) the relation between globalisation and international human rights law and (3) the question of war and the use of force.
Introduction to "Symposium on Cosmopolitan Law and the Courts" - Transnational Legal Theory 2016
The thesis of a "cosmopolitan turn" of a state's constitutionalism has quite extensively influenced the debate over the contemporary transformation of international law. 1 A Copernican revolution of sorts, it has consisted not only of a phenomenological shift, but also of the creation of a new paradigm for the definition of legitimate domestic orders. The cosmopolitan turn has also run parallel to the constitutionalization of international law. Here, constitutionalization is neither simply a process of legalization nor, obviously, a constitution as such. 2 This is due to the fact that constitutionalization implies a number of processes which international law undergoes together with a multiplicity of purposes that are served therewith. It indicates the transformation of bilateral or multilateral agreements into higher order principles of wider scope. In order for this transformation to be possible, a shift in reasoning should precede, one moving away from an instrumental, technocratic form into a value-based approach of legal reasoning. This value inclusion within legal thinking is what the term "constitutionalism" aims to capture. As a mode of reasoning -as a "mindset" -constitutionalism subordinates laws to values such as those of equality, human dignity, or freedom. 3 Constitutionalism though indicates also a process of self-reflexivity. It
Living in International Law (2012)
Essay in Reading Modern Law. Critical methodologies and sovereign formations: Essays in honour of Peter Fitzpatrick Edited by Ruth Buchanan, Stewart Motha, and Sundhya Pahuja (Routledge 2012)
LEX HUMANA, 2023
Transdisciplinarity has started to attract attention in teaching and research, including in international law, because finding the most appropriate solutions is a current challenge in the context of the dynamism given to international society by the chromatic of numerous mutations, global crises and developments. New technologies and discoveries in biology and medicine can lead to new and disciplinarily complex situations that require an adapted legal response. Sustainable development often expressed through the alternative concept of living well within integral development and modern technologies have changed the way people work and business is conducted, producing an increase in inter-connectivity and collaboration against issues of adaptation to different cultures, age differences, perceptions and ways of working, characteristics that are beginning to circulate in research and education. Our proposals and conclusions concern the adaptation of international academic work and in essence truly herald the season of change for which the key is multi-and transdisciplinary preparation for this new era. For the elaboration of this article, we used the exploratory method, based on primary and secondary sources.