Promotional Information

This book is a much needed new analysis of the General Principles of International Law.

Table of Contents

Summary of Contents
Introduction
1. A Framework for Analysing General Principles
I. Introduction: A Tetrahedral Framework
II. Jurisprudential Legitimacy: A Brief Consideration of Positivism and Natural Law
III. Function: A Binding Source of International Law?
IV. Type
V. Methodology
VI. Conclusion
2. History of Article 38(1)(c)
I. Introduction
II. Development Pre-World War I
III. Development Post-World War I
IV. Article 38(1)(c) and the PCIJ
V. Conclusion: Applying the Tetrahedral Framework
3. Consideration of Article 38(1)(c) by the PCIJ
I. Introduction: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
II. Cases in Chronological Order
4. Development of Article 38(1)(c): 1945–91
I. Introduction
II. Historical Development: PCIJ to ICJ
III. Cases
IV. Conclusion
5. Development of Article 38(1)(c) by the ICJ: 1992–2019
I. Introduction
II. Cases (Except for the Separate and Dissenting Opinions of Judges Weeramantry and Cançado Trindade)
III. Contributions of Judge Weeramantry
IV. Contributions of Judge Cançado-Trindade
V. Conclusion
6. General Principles in Other Courts and Tribunals
I. Introduction
II. International Criminal Tribunals
III. International Economic Law
IV. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
V. Regional Bodies
VI. Conclusion
7. Commentary in Context
I. Article 38(1)(c) as a Norm-Creating Source of International Law
II. The Rule/Principle Distinction
III. Judicial Discretion
IV. Where are General Principles Drawn From?
V. Content of General Principles
8. Global General Principles
I. Types of Legal Systems
II. Perspectives on General Principles
III. The Comparativist’s Warning
IV. Global General Principles in the Information Age
9. A Model of General Principles
I. A Tale of Two Sources: Illegitimate Duality
II. General Principles and Legitimate Duality
III. The Future of General Principles

About the Author

Imogen Saunders is Lecturer in Law at the Australian National University, Canberra.

Reviews

This is a book that is far, far more than an examination of one paragraph of a section of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. It is a book that examines the very nature of international law and, beyond that, of law itself. It is a stunning work in the finest traditions of the greatest international law thinkers.
*Justice James Edelman, High Court of Australia*

In this book, Imogen Saunders takes us on a quest and the whole field benefits as a result. She searches for a better way of explaining what general principles are and how they can be found and justified. She is driven by the questions of why and how, she searches for deeper understanding and coherence. Saunders' explanation meets a need that the field has long felt and is particularly timely given that the ILC has picked up this topic. This book will stand the test of time as an important contribution to any international lawyer's library. Citations to Bin Cheng's famous book on the subject will now need to be matched by citations to Imogen Saunders’s book.
*Professor Anthea Roberts, The Australian National University*

It is a truly impressive achievement: it’s not only an exhaustive study of the doctrine of general principles in international law but also an ambitious theoretical enterprise.
*Professor Hilary Charlesworth, The University of Melbourne*