The world has changed radically since 1989, when the General Assembly declared the period from 1990 to 1999 as the United Nations Decade of International Law. During that time, the international community claimed some major achievements as reflected by the adoption of conventions and treaties. This publication presents a collection of essays from legal advisers of States and international organizations, all of whom are among those committed to promoting respect for international law. Their contribution provides a practical perspective on international law, viewed from the standpoint of those involved in its formation, application and administration.

Throughout his career, Michael Reisman emphasized law’s function in shaping the future. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, major thinkers in the international legal field address the goals of the twenty-first century and how international law can address the needs of the world community.

Professor Suy occupies a prominent place in international law, both as an academic lawyer as well as the former Under-Secretary-General & Legal Counsel of the United Nations. His activities as a teacher, scholar, UN Legal Counsel, keynote speaker on many occasions & as a legal advisor to Belgian & foreign governmental authorities naturally led to the sub-divisions of this volume, such as the law of international organizations, the law of the European Union, the law of armed conflict, & the peaceful settlement of disputes. The contributions, all by friends of Eric Suy, present the vast panorama of his intellectual pursuits.

This collection of essays pays homage to the multifarious and enduring work of Kalliopi K. Koufa, the first woman to become Professor of International Law in Greece. The volume brings together 37 contributions of renowned international law scholars from all over the world on a wide spectrum of important contemporary theoretical and practical issues. The essays reflect the multiple faces, the expanding scope and diversity of contemporary international law. Areas covered include the use of force, dispute settlement, international criminal law, international environmental law and, most notably, terrorism and human rights, areas on which the work of Professor Koufa in the United Nations and elsewhere has been particularly influential.

In 1983, when he was 80 years old, Leo Gross compiled 45 of his essays which had been published in scholarly journals and other collections from 1945 to 1984. The collection was published in two volumes by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and Transnational Publishers in 1984, with a Preface by Judge Stephen M. Schwebel of the International Court of Justice. The collection has been out of print for some time. In response to many requests, the Publishers have now decided to issue a shorter, one-volume collection, the selection from the 1984 books having been carried out by Professor Alfred P. Rubin, who occupied the office adjoining that of Leo Gross in the Fletcher School for no less than seventeen years. In his impressive and illuminating Introduction to this one-volume collection, Alfred Rubin pays tribute to his former colleague and points to a number of the most impressive features of the Gross essays. In discussing the criteria of his choice, he concludes: `Tough choices had to be made to present the reader with the widest and deepest selection of the works of a wide and deep mind. The bottom line was always the utility of the selection to the next generation of students of public international law and organization. '