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This article examines the interpretation of rules as an essential part of their meaning. It starts with some of the most foundational rules – pacta sunt servanda, for instance – and points to their contested nature. It looks at some of the causes of this inherent contestability and its effects on the international system. It concludes by noting that appeals to rules never settle a debate, but only begin the interpretative process that constitutes the international system. While this interpretative licence does not lead to complete anarchy, it does leave open a wide range of outcomes in rule-governed systems.

The Cambridge Companion to International Organizations Law illuminates, from a legal perspective, what international organizations are, what makes them 'tick' and how they affect the world around them. It critically discusses such classic issues as the concept of international organization and membership, as well as questions of internal relations, accountability and how they make law, set standards and otherwise affect both their member states and the world around them. The volume further discusses the role of international organizations in particular policy domains, zooming in on domains which are not often discussed through international organizations, including disarmament, energy, food security and health. Eventually, a picture emerges of international organizations as complex phenomena engaging in all sorts of activities and relationships, the operation and authority of which is underpinned by the rules and regulations of international law.

Since rules - legal, ethical or otherwise - cannot determine their own application, they require persons of flesh and blood to interpret and apply them in concrete cases. Presidents and prime ministers, judges, prosecutors, mediators, leaders of international organizations, and even religious leaders and public intellectuals make decisions on how best to understand rules and how best to apply them. It stands to reason that their character traits influence the sort of decisions they take. This book provides the first systematic framework for discussing global governance in terms of the virtues, and illustrates it with a number of detailed examples of concrete decision-making in specific situations. Virtue in Global Governance combines insights from law, ethics, and global governance studies in developing a unique approach to global governance and international law.

This concise collection of the most important international law instruments is an essential resource for all students of international law. In addition to standard instruments such as the UN Charter, human rights documents and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the volume also features topics not usually included in similar collections, such as international labour instruments, the work of the G20, and bilateral and unilateral instruments. Taking a global approach, the collection incorporates American, African and Asian instruments alongside UN, EU and other international documents, to reflect the diverse nature of international law courses. The two-colour design aids student navigation through the materials, and lengthier documents such as UNCLOS and the ICC statute are presented in shortened form, making the volume concise and clear. An ideal companion for students of international law, the book is also valuable for students of international human rights law, international relations, global governance and international politics.

Open to contributions from all over the world, the Finnish Yearbook stands out as a forum for theoretically informed, high-quality publications on all aspects of public international law, including the international relations law of the European Union

The Finnish Yearbook publishes in-depth articles and shorter notes, commentaries on current developments, book reviews and relevant overviews of Finland's state practice. While firmly grounded in traditional legal scholarship, it is open for new approaches to international law and for work of an interdisciplinary nature

Introduction -- Understanding treaty conflict -- The pre-Vienna Convention regime -- Drafting the Vienna Convention -- Post-Vienna Convention developments -- The EC and anterior treaties -- The UN Charter and the European Convention -- Posterior treaties: conceptual issues -- Posterior treaties: practice -- Conclusions.

Abstract
This contribution discusses the way the academic international law industry is organized and the impact this has on scholarship, which is often expected to be inter-disciplinary, with all the pitfalls this entails. These include ethical challenges, with the contribution offering a response to some of these. In the process, it briefly sketches the Nordic academic landscape.