International Organizations As Law-makers (Oxford Monographs in International Law)

New
Paperback
2006
$59.99

International Organizations as Law-makers addresses how international organizations with a global reach, such as the UN and the WTO, have changed the mechanisms and reasoning behind the making, implementation, and enforcement of international law. Alvarez argues that existing descriptions of international law and international organizations do not do justice to the complex changes resulting from the increased importance of these institutions after World War II, and especially from changes after the end of the Cold War. In particular, this book examines the impact of the institutions on international law through the day to day application and interpretation of institutional law, the making of multilateral treaties, and the decisions of a proliferating number of institutionalized dispute settlers. The introductory chapters synthesize and challenge the existing descriptions and theoretical frameworks for addressing international organizations. Part I re-examines the law resulting from the activity of political organs, such as the UN General Assembly and Security Council, technocratic entities within UN specialized agencies, and international financial institutions such as the IMF, and considers their impact on the once sacrosanct 'domestic jurisdiction' of states, as well as on traditional conceptions of the basic sources of international law. Part II assesses the impact of the move towards institutions on treaty-making. It addresses the interplay between negotiating venues and procedures and interstate cooperation and asks whether the involvement of international organizations has made modern treaties 'better'. Part III examines the proliferation of institutionalized dispute settlers, from the UN Secretary General to the WTO's dispute settlement body, and re-examines their role as both settlers of disputes and law-makers. The final chapter considers the promise and the perils of the turn to formal institutions for the making of the new kinds of 'soft' and 'hard' global law, including the potential for forms of hegemonic international law.

Synopsis

International Organizations as Law-makers addresses how international organizations with a global reach, such as the UN and the WTO, have changed the mechanisms and reasoning behind the making, implementation, and enforcement of international law. Alvarez argues that existing descriptions of international law and international organizations do not do justice to the complex changes resulting from the increased importance of these institutions after World War II, and especially from changes after the end of the Cold War. In particular, this book examines the impact of the institutions on international law through the day to day application and interpretation of institutional law, the making of multilateral treaties, and the decisions of a proliferating number of institutionalized dispute settlers. The introductory chapters synthesize and challenge the existing descriptions and theoretical frameworks for addressing international organizations. Part I re-examines the law resulting from the activity of political organs, such as the UN General Assembly and Security Council, technocratic entities within UN specialized agencies, and international financial institutions such as the IMF, and considers their impact on the once sacrosanct 'domestic jurisdiction' of states, as well as on traditional conceptions of the basic sources of international law. Part II assesses the impact of the move towards institutions on treaty-making. It addresses the interplay between negotiating venues and procedures and interstate cooperation and asks whether the involvement of international organizations has made modern treaties 'better'. Part III examines the proliferation of institutionalized dispute settlers, from the UN Secretary General to the WTO's dispute settlement body, and re-examines their role as both settlers of disputes and law-makers. The final chapter considers the promise and the perils of the turn to formal institutions for the making of the new kinds of 'soft' and 'hard' global law, including the potential for forms of hegemonic international law.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 714
Edition: New e.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
Published: 29 Jun 2006
ISBN 10: 0198765630
ISBN 13: 9780198765639

Media Reviews

Jose Alvarez is a rare bird in the scholarly aviary of international organization: he moves effortlessly between politics and the law. International Organizations as Law-makers is authoritative but easy to read, an exceptional text for courses in international relations as well as international law. * Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor and Director, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The CUNY Graduate Center *
As an authoritative observer of the prominent role played by international institutions in the global arena ,Professor Alvarez has undertaken a challenging task:fully taking account of the specific tasks and features of the individual organizations which now operate in all major areas of human endeavor ,he has distilled principles and procedures common to their law-making and dispute-settlement activities.With proper attention to history,theory,doctrine and practice,the book should become a standard item on reading lists not only for specialized courses on international institutional law but on general international law as well,given the impact of these institutions on traditional doctrine. * Eric Stein, Hessel E.Yntema Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Michigan *
Jose Alvarez has written a tour de force that will endure for years to come as the definitive treatise on law-making, in all its forms, by international organizations. He has combined theory with a solid grasp of organizations' practice as he explains and analyzes the law-making activities of such disparate organizations as the United Nations, its many specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization, including judicial and judicialized bodies that exercise jurisdiction and make law across a broad subject-matter spectrum. Anyone with an interest in international law and organizations will do well to read this book and keep it handy on a nearby reference shelf. * Frederic L. Kirgis, Washington and Lee University School of Law *
The world is increasingly dense with international organizations, yet they receive surprisingly little attention from international lawyers. Arguing that we are in the age of IOs, Jose Alvarez offers a comprehensive treatment of the topic that skillfully melds theory, practice, and history. Deftly weaving together insights and evidence from both international law and international relations, International Organizations as Law-Makers provides one-stop shopping for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of international organizations. * Professor Kal Raustiala, UCLA Law School *

Author Bio

Jose E. Alvarez is Professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches courses on international law, foreign investment, international legal theory, and international organizations, and is executive director of the Center on Global Legal Problems. Prior to entering academia in 1989, Professor Alvarez was an attorney adviser with the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. While in the State Department, he worked on arbitrations before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, served on the negotiation teams for bilateral investment treaties and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and was legal adviser to the administration of justice program in Latin America coordinated by the Agency of International Development. Professor Alvarez has also been in private practice and served as a judicial clerk on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is President of the American Society of International Law.