The Academy is a prestigious international institution for the study and teaching of Public and Private International Law and related subjects. The work of the Hague Academy receives the support and recognition of the UN. Its purpose is to encourage a thorough and impartial examination of the problems arising from international relations in the field of law. The courses deal with the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject, including legislation and case law. All courses at the Academy are, in principle, published in the language in which they were delivered in the "Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law .

This collection of essays gathers contributions from leading international lawyers from different countries, generations and angles with the aim of highlighting the multifaceted history of international law. This volume questions and analyses the origins and foundations of the international legal system. A particular attention is devoted to Hugo Grotius as one of the founding fathers of the law of nations. Several contributions further question the positivist tradition initiated by Vattel and endorsed by scholars of the 19th Century. This immersion in the intellectual origins of international law is enriched by an inquiry into the practice of the law of nations, including its main patterns and changing evolution as well as the role of non-western traditions and the impact of colonization. Le présent ouvrage réunit les contributions de juristes internationaux reconnus en vue d’éclairer les multiples facettes de l’histoire du droit international public. L’ouvrage analyse et questionne les origines et les fondements de l’ordre juridique international. Une attention toute particulière est dédiée à Hugo Grotius l’un des pères fondateurs du droit international. D’autres contributions questionnent également la tradition positiviste initiée par Vattel et confortée par la doctrine du 19ème siècle. Cette immersion dans les origines doctrinales du système juridique international est enrichie par l’étude de la pratique du droit international public, son évolution ainsi que le rôle des traditions non-occidentales et l’impact de la colonisation.

This collection of essays celebrating the work of Professor Marcelo Kohen brings together the leading scholars and practitioners of public international law from different continents and generations to explore some of the most challenging issues of contemporary international law. The volume is a testimony of esteem and friendship from colleagues and former students, and it covers a vast expanse, reflecting the width and diversity of Professor Kohen’s own contribution. Written in English, French and Spanish, the essays in this volume will appeal to a broad public of academics, practitioners and students of international law from around the world.

Just how International and European Community Law is being integrated into domestic legal systems is as yet not too well known. To gain a clear overview of this grey area requires more than knowing about the various constitutional rules. What is also needed is a study of little-known administrative practices and the attitudes of the national courts, where case-law is often as complex as it is diverse. When all these elements are taken into account, the general picture that emerges is a much more subtle one, transcending the classical positions based on the theories of monism and dualism. To grasp this reality and go beyond preconceived ideas, it seemed indispensable to make a thorough analysis of national practices. To this end, the International Law Centre of the University of Paris XIII (Cedin Paris XIII) took the initiative, in 1990, of setting up a network of European international lawyers to work on the theme International norms and legal barriers'. This book presents the outcome of the network's programme. The research was organized on the basis of a single questionnaire which provided the outline of a common workplan, to which each of the contributors has adhered. Detailed comparisons of national practices can now be made, relating in particular to international treaties, acts of international organisations and of the European Communities, and to unwritten international law. This is the first time that such a comprehensive and detailed survey has been made of all thirteen countries. Reading the national reports one after the other provides complete information on domestic practices; reading them crosswise gives a direct comparison between the different countries on specificissues.

Sovereign Equality of States in International Law, R.P. Anand R.P. Anand, Professor at the Jawaharlal University of New Delhi, points out in the introduction of his course that the principle of sovereign equality of States refers to two twin principles which are accepted as unimpeachable norms of modern international law which cannot be questioned: the principles of equality and of sovereignty of States. Taking this as his starting point, the author first discusses the sovereignty of States in an interdependent world. He then examines the principle of equality of States in an unequal world from a historical perspective. Finally, Professor Anand tackles the questions of equality of States in a hierarchical world order, and mini-States and equality of rights. La Méthode de la Référence à l'Ordre juridique compétent en Droit international privé, Paolo Picone Paolo Picone, Professor at the University of Naples, notes in the introduction to his course that contemporary international law, such as it evolved during the 19th century, developed different methods of coordination. One method has nevertheless been neglected, which consist in choosing not the applicable law, but the competent legal system. After discussing the crisis in private international law, the author examines the method of coordination of legal systems based on the applicable law, followed by one that is based on reference to the @@@competent legal system. @@@He describes the functioning of the latter method in the case of the creation of legal situations in the @@@for, and in the case of recognition of foreign legal situations in the for. Professor Picone finishes his course by investigating the use of this method in solving the problem of preliminary matters in private international law, the method's area of application and its future prospects.

Georges Abi-Saab began his writing and teaching at a time when the process of decolonization, and thereafter the quest for emancipation, began to make its far-reaching impact on the international scene, producing significant changes in the international environment, both quantitatively in increasing the number of nation-States and qualitatively in changing patterns of interests and claims. This was bound to result in new pressures on the international legal system itself and in a questioning of the traditional Eurocentric content of international law. In his work and teaching Professor Abi-Saab viewed the dynamics of international law as a function of two driving forces: the emergence of the third world and the sense of injustice. In his view, the first driving force - the emergence of the third world - raised the problem of exclusion: exclusion from participation in the elaboration of international law and the decision-making process, and exclusion as beneficiaries of the resulting rules of international law. At the same time, this new force introduced diversity into the international scene, reflecting the richness of the international community in its different facets. This process remains relevant today, reflecting the contemporary problem of exclusion of new actors as well as their quest for participation. The second driving force - the sense of injustice - posed a teleological problem for him, that of defining community values in order that they capture the different facets of justice, whether formal or distributive. So long as there is no effective organic structure, international law in his view will continue to remain effectiveness-oriented, reflecting rather than impacting on the structures of power. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that there is an on-going process of development of community values and interests; as Georges Abi-Saab wrote with reference to international crimes: 'law, like all social phenomena, is a continuous unfolding, a continuous process of elaboration'. He has also considered that the dynamics of the international legal process itself can be captured from the perspective of international organizations as vehicles for change in the international system. From his early writings, Georges Abi-Saab approached the United Nations Charter as a blueprint - both normative and institutional - for a certain type of international society. International institutions with all their imperfections, continue for him to be the means of realization of the law of cooperation which lies at the heart of his concept of the international system. The themes selected for this volume in honour of Professor Georges Abi-Saab are intended to reflect his unique and pioneering contribution to the field of international law. The contributors are drawn from what he has always considered to be his large 'family' of former students: in his forty years of teaching, Georges Abi-Saab has acted as mentor to generations of students from all over the world who have benefited from his vision, insights, originality and creative and stimulating use of language. The contributors also include colleagues and friends who share a similar vision of the international legal system.

Le droit de la famille, dans sa dimension civiliste, fortement ancré dans les cultures nationales des États membres, est une matière qui ne relève pas, en principe, du droit de l’Union européenne. Pourtant, il n’est plus possible d’affirmer que la matière échappe dans son entier au droit de l’Union. De nombreux aspects de la famille sont sous influence européenne, au point que l’on voit se dessiner les contours d’une « famille européenne ». L’ouvrage propose de mettre en lumière l’acquis européen en matière de droit de la famille, au prisme du droit matériel (citoyenneté européenne, politique sociale de l’Union, fonction publique européenne...), comme du droit international privé. Le droit de la famille de l’Union s’identifie alors comme un «droit spécial» complétant la diversité des droits nationaux de la famille. Sa signification théorique et politique dans l’Union est débattue par les auteurs, autant que son devenir. Loin de demeurer fragmentaire à côté des droits nationaux des États membres, il a probablement vocation à se densifier pour offrir aux citoyens et résidents européens un droit commun de la famille au sein de l’Union. Family law, with its civil law tradition, and strong roots in the national cultures of the Member States, does not normally fall within the scope of European law. However, it is no longer possible to argue that family law is outside European law entirely. There are many aspects of the family which are subject to European influence, to the point that the outlines of a «European family» are starting to emerge. This book is intended to highlight the European experience of family law and its substantive (i.e. European citizenship, EU social policy, EU civil service...) and private international law aspects. Union law therefore contains a form of «special» family law which is shared between the Member States and supplements their national family laws. Its theoretical and political importance in the Union, as well as its future, are discussed by the authors. Far from remaining fragmented alongside the national laws of Member States, it will likely develop to offer European citizens and residents a common family law within the EU.