Who's Afraid of International Law?

Description

Is there such a thing as an 'international law' of which to be afraid? Can international law be seen as a coherent set of norms? Or is it, rather, something experienced radically differently by different individuals and groups in different parts of the world? And what do the different sets of international law seek to change or justify today? In Who's Afraid of International Law? Raimond Gaita and six other noted authorities in this field respond to Gaita's invitation to explore ways in which international law constitutes a certain way of talking and being; one that might have both ameliorative and malign effects. The result is an extended and rich conversation about international law's aspirations and limitations, its nuances and rigidities, achievements and failures, relevance and irrelevance.

Raimond Gaita is Professorial Fellow in the Melbourne Law School and The Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne and Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy at King's College London. His books, which have been widely translated, include: Good and Evil: An Absolute Conception, the award winning Romulus, My Father, A Common Humanity: Thinking About Love & Truth & Justice, A Sense for Humanity, and The Philosopher's Dog. Gerry Simpson holds the Kenneth Bailey Chair of Law at Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne, where he is Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, and convener of The Global Justice Studio. He is a Visiting Professor of Public International Law at the London School of Economics, where he held a Chair until 2009, and is currently an AFP/Open Society Fellow (based in Tbilisi, Georgia).