The Perplexities of Modern International Law the Perplexities of Modern International Law

This is a revised and updated version of the General Course on Public International Law delivered at the Hague Academy of International Law in the year 2001. The century just ended has seen the greatest transformation of human society in all of recorded history. With that, the pattern of international relations and international law based on the sovereign nation State and the Peace of Westphalia (1648) has also witnessed radical transformation. The whole system that existed one hundred years ago has been swept away in a series of bloody wars, revolutions and social upheavals (violent and non-violent), but the new system is not yet firmly established and in place. Every 'precedent', whether legal or other, must first be placed in its historical and temporal context before we can see if it is applicable in new circumstances and the historical evolution of any notion or concept is important for an understanding of its current implications. Through a close linkage between law and history, the author takes us through the evolution of international law to where it stands today.