This book is an updated version of the General Course on public international law given by the author in French at the Hague Academy of International Law in 1988. It provides an outline of the Law of Nations in a perspective that focuses on its application and development through domestic courts and other `legal actors'. It is based on the idea that international law is no longer the exclusive province of diplomats but must evolve under the guidance of all State organs charged with applying the law.

This work investigates the permissibility and viability of property rights on the - lestial bodies, particularly the extraterrestrial aspects of land and mineral resources ownership. In lay terms, it aims to ?nd an answer to the question “Who owns the Moon?” The ?rst chapter critically analyses and dismantles with legal arguments the issue of sale of extraterrestrial real estate, after having perused some of the trivial claims of celestial bodies ownership. The only consequence these claims have on the plane of space law is to highlight the need for a better regulation of extraterrestrial landed property rights. Next, thebook addresses theapparent silenceofthelawinthe?eldofextraterr- trial landed property, scrutinizing whether the factual situation on the extraterrestrial realms calls for legal regulations. The sources of law are examined in their dual dimension – that is, the facts that have caused and shaped the law of extraterrestrial real estate, and the norms which express this law. It is found that the norms and rules regarding property rights in the celestial realms are rather limited, failing to de?ne basic concepts such as celestial body.

This is the first monograph to scrutinize the relationship between the concept of international legal personality as a theoretical construct and the position of the ultimate subject, the individual, as a matter of positive international law. By testing the four main theoretical conceptions of international legal personality against historical and existing norms of positive international law that regulate the conduct of individuals, the book argues that the common narrative in contemporary scholarship about the development of the role of the individual in the international legal system is flawed. Contrary to conventional wisdom, international law did not apply to states alone until World War II, only to transform during the second half of the 20th century so as to include individuals as its subjects. Rather, the answer to the question of individual rights and obligations under international law is - and always was - strictly empirical. It follows, of course, that the entities governed by a particular norm tell us nothing about the legal system to which that norm belongs. Instead, the distinction between international law and national law turns exclusively on whether the source of the norm in question is international or national in kind. Against the background of these insights, the book shows how present-day international lawyers continue to allow an idea, which was never more than a scholarly invention of the 19th century, to influence the interpretation and application of international law. This state of affairs has significant real-world ramifications as international legal rights and obligations of individuals (and other non-state entities) are frequently applied more restrictively than interpretation without presumptions regarding 'personality' would merit.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to French contract law with a focus on the role of consent and the evolution of consensualism, considering its immediate historical sources. The book provides a clear, in-depth, and analytical discussion of the contingency of consensualism and how the development of consensual ideas across time and transnational geographical settings has specifically underpinned modern French contract law, which has inspired other legal systems and continues to do so. It also challenges the macro-narratives of European legal history and redefines consensualism so that it may be properly understood, addressing its manifest contemporary misinterpretations. Thorough, engaging, well-structured and inventive, there is no other English-language scholarly work that offers a similar analysis. “This monograph makes an evident contribution to the field by offering an original interpretation of several provisions in the Code Civil which relate to the law of contract. The author demonstrates an impressive grasp of Latin, French and English sources as well as knowledge of Roman law, legal history, and contemporary French law. It is well-referenced and offers an extensive bibliography”. – Dr Stephen Bogle, Senior Lecturer in Private Law, University of Glasgow, UK “The author brings a critical perspective to bear throughout the monograph and develops a clear and quite sophisticated position on the interaction between consensualism and formalism in Roman and French law and the intervening European ius commune”. – Prof Hector MacQueen, Emeritus Professor of Private Law, University of Edinburgh, UK