Chance, Order, Change: The Course of International Law, General Course on Public International Law by J. Crawford The course of international law over time needs to be understood if international law is to be understood. This work aims to provide such an understanding. It is directed not at topics or subject headings — sources, treaties, states, human rights and so on — but at some of the key unresolved problems of the discipline. Unresolved, they call into question its status as a discipline. Is international law “law” properly so-called? In what respects is it systematic? Does it — can it — respect the rule of law? These problems can be resolved, or at least reduced, by an imaginative reading of our shared practices and our increasingly shared history, with an emphasis on process. In this sense the practice of the institutions of international law is to be understood as the law itself. They are in a dialectical relationship with the law, shaping it and being shaped by it. This is explained by reference to actual cases and examples, providing a course of international law in some standard sense as well.

This work is primarily aimed at the law student, although it may also be of relevance to those studying international relations. It covers the main topics of public international law and is designed to serve both as a textbook and as a case and materials book.

This volume consists of a carefully edited version of the General Course on Public International Law delivered at the Hague Academy of International Law to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations. The author brings to them not only his background of academic distinction, but his experience as a practitioner concerned with major international legal issues. The rule of law in international affairs is a question of perennial concern but it is of greater moment these days for a number of reasons. The active agenda of the Security Council and its relative solidarity creates a paradox. Its increased political power is a source of hope but the modalities of the exercise of power present problems of principle and of legal concern. Another area of concern is the International Court, which has had a successful record since the early eighties and provides one of the guarantees of the maintenance of legality. Recent successes of the Court include the effective resolution of the territorial dispute between Chad and Libya. The general level of compliance with its decisions by States is impressive. Yet its success is matched not by encouragement and enhancement of its facilities but by United Nations financial constraints which hinder its work and, ultimately, may threaten its independence in relation to the political organs of the United Nations.