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The United Nations held a week-long Congress on Public International Law at its headquarters in New York in 1995 - the year of the celebration of the Organization's fiftieth anniversary - under the general theme `Towards the Twenty-first Century: International Law as a Language for International Relations'. The purpose of the Congress was thus to assist the international community, and in particular the legal profession, to meet the challenges and expectations of the present-day world. Views were expressed, and exchanged, on the codification, progressive development and implementation of public international law, both in theory and in practice, as well as on its teaching and dissemination. The Proceedings of the United Nations Congress contain the presentations and lectures of well-known jurists and professors - in the language given (English, French or Spanish) - as well as discussions that took place after the lectures. Subject matter includes: (1) The principles of international law: theoretical and practical aspects of their promotion and implementation; (2) Means of peaceful settlement of disputes between States, including resort to and full respect for the International Court of Justice; (3) Conceptual and practical aspects of the codification and progressive development of international law: new developments and priorities; (4) New approaches to research, education and training in the field of international law and its wider appreciation; and (5) Towards the twenty-first century: new challenges and expectations

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Glossary -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- L -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- 1 The Development and Nature of International Law -- Introduction -- The Historical Development of International Law -- The Binding Nature of International Law -- The Enforcement of International Law -- Centralized enforcement machinery -- Extra-legal considerations -- The enforcement of international law by individual states -- 2 The General Principles of International Law -- States as Sovereign Entities -- What is a state? -- State sovereignty and international law -- States as the Primary Subjects of International Law -- International organizations -- Individuals -- The Sources of International Law -- Customary international law -- Treaties as sources of international law -- Other sources of international law -- 3 International Relations Perspectives on International Law -- The Approach of International Relations Theories to International Law -- Realism -- Institutionalism -- Liberalism -- Constructivism -- Recent Interdisciplinary Work on the Role of International Law -- Byers: custom, power and the power of rules -- Koh: why nations obey -- Arend: do international rules matter? -- Conclusions -- 4 Preventing the Use of Force by States: Korea, the Gulf Conflict and Beyond -- Introduction -- Korea (1950) -- The Gulf Conflict (1990-1) -- The Legality of Subsequent 'Enforcement' Actions -- Iraq (1998) -- Kosovo (1999) -- Conclusions -- 5 Diplomacy and the Threat of Force -- Introduction -- The Threat of Force as a Tool of International Diplomacy -- The Legality of the Threat of Force -- Permissible Threats of Force -- The Legality of the Threat of Force in the Gulf Conflict -- Conclusions -- 6 Extraditing Pinochet -- Introduction -- The Issues -- The Decision in Ex parte Pinochet -- Extraditable crimes.

Is there an intersection between the application of Public International Law with the political conduction of international relations? Should International Law, International Order and International Rules be redefined? How can such an intersection be found? The investigation seeks to extrapolate new definitions and an International Law axiom by utilizing sundry approaches to the state of the question which is properly laid out as well as some terms defined previous to the discussion by utilizing "approaches." The investigation is carried out by using the Cartesian method or that of Descartes and followers and the formal and material logical structures. Eventually new definitions and an axiom by extrapolating analyses categories are laid out. Hence, approaches such as the "legalistic" one, the "natural law" one, the "religious," the "extra-legal" one, the "eclectic" one, the "effective" one and the "UN proposed" one are analyzed in-depth upon observing the experience and current factual situation even though noting that those approaches are neither mutually exclusive nor "pure," but representative as the examples supporting them show. The paper's bottom line is no other than zeroing in on one of the oldest of International Law's wounds: That of its effectiveness. But by pointing out various moot points and by reflecting on the different reality stages, one can conclude that the material mission of the law as well as the aims of international order are eventually attained. Nonetheless in concluding and setting out the axioms and new definitions, the existing political power within a democratic framework should not be overlooked as the praxis of International Law meets that of international power to form then a juxtaposition. So, regardless of some international instruments being deemed as substantial law, one has to ask whether what the international community calls "breaking of law," is rather a breaking of procedures or adjective mandates. ; ¿Existe un punto de equilibrio o balance entre lo que es la aplicación del derecho internacional público y el manejo político de las relaciones internacionales? ¿Deben los conceptos de Derecho Internacional, Orden Internacional y Reglas Internacionales ser redefinidos? ¿Cómo se puede encontrar un punto de equilibrio? Esta investigación busca la extrapolación de nuevas definiciones y de un axioma de Derecho Internacional utilizando para ello varias aproximaciones al estado de la cuestión que es presentada así como términos previamente definidos en forma anterior al inicio de la discusión que utiliza las denominadas "aproximaciones." La investigación se lleva a cabo usando el método cartesiano y las estructuras de la lógica formal y material. Al final, nuevas definiciones y un axioma son presentadas usando para ello distintas categorías de análisis. Así, "aproximaciones" como la "religiosa o teocrática," o la "extra-legal," o la "legalista," o la "efectiva," o la del "derecho natural," la "ecléctica," la del "deber ser" y finalmente la "efectiva" son analizadas en profundidad a través de la observación de la experiencia y la situación actual, aun cuando haciendo notar que dichas aproximaciones no son mutuamente excluyentes, no tampoco "puras," pero sí representativas como los ejemplos que las soportan muestran. La idea subyacente de la investigación no es otra que centrarse en uno de los temas más importantes del derecho internacional: su efectividad. Pero al señalar varios puntos de discusión y a través de la reflexión de los diferentes escenarios reales, se puede concluir que la misión material del derecho internacional al final se cumple. No obstante, al concluir y al trazar el axioma y nuevas definiciones, no puede olvidarse el poder político existente dentro de un marco democrático por cuanto la praxis del derecho internacional se encuentra con la del poder internacional para formar una intersección. De tal manera, que independientemente de que algunos instrumentos internacionales se tengan como norma sustantiva, debe preguntarse uno si lo que la comunidad internacional llama "violación del derecho" no es una pero de meras reglas adjetivas.

Baleck reviews 'The Political Discourse of Anarchy: A Disciplinary History of International Relations' by Brian C. Schmidt.

International news.

Since 1965, when it decided to create a Secretariat, the Commonwealth has increasingly been seen as a formal international organization, rather than the informal family or community of like-minded states that characterized its earlier self-identification. Notwithstanding very modest assumptions about what its role should be, the Secretariat itself has done much to encourage this tendency. Yet, given its lack of both a constitution & very clear functions, there is still room to question what kind of IGO the Commonwealth is & whether it can find a distinctive niche in the ever-expanding universe of IGOs. At different times since 1965, the Commonwealth has assumed five different kinds of identities. It is argued here that a combination of three of these, together with what remains of its community traditions, could provide it with a valuable, if limited, role in an era of globalization. Adapted from the source document.