Book Review: International Law: India's International Disputes
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900114 |
| Author | Michael Brecher |
| Published date | 01 March 1964 |
| Date | 01 March 1964 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
Raviows
89
munity
bureaucracy.
Some
English-language reviewers have
elsewhere
objected
to
Dr.
Bebr's
use,
or
else
baldly
literal
translation,
of
distinc-
tively
Civil
Law concepts
and
terms
like
ddtournement
de
pouvoir,
exception of
illegality, and
the
like.
This
is,
I
fear,
inevitable,
granted
the
essentially
Civil
Law
intellectual
roots
of
the
court
and
of
the
legal
structure
of
the
European
Community
as
a
whole. The
Common
Law
jurist
who
aspires
to
advise
on,
or
write
about,
the
developing
law
of
the
new
European
Community, will simply
have
to
take
the
trouble
to
acquire
some
training
in
the
elements
of
the
Civil
Law,
preferably
of
both
the
French
and
German
Civil
Codes.
For
those
who
take
this
trouble,
Dr.
Bebr's
detailed and
painstaking
survey
of
the
principles
of
the
organisation,
procedure, and practice
of
the
Court
of
Justice
of
the
European
Community will
become
an indispensable
professional
tool.
University
of
Toronto
EDWARD
McWHINNKY
INDIA'S
INTERNATIONAL
DispuTEs.
A
Legal
Study.
By
J.
S.
Bains.
1962.
(London:
Asia
Publishing
House.
vii,
21
9
pp.
28/-)
This
is
a
substantial
contribution
to
the
legal
literature
on
eight
international
disputes
in
which
India
is involved.
The
"readers"
include
many
eminent
international
law
scholars
of
this
generation.
The
docu-
mentation
is
impressive.
And
Dr.
Bains'
interpretation
of
complex issues
is
often, though
not
always, persuasive.
Certainly
these papers
reveal
a
thorough
knowledge of
the
classics
of
international
law and
of
many
primary
sources
on
India's
most
important external
disputes:
with
South
Africa
and
Ceylon,
on
the
treatment
of
persons
of
Indian
origin;
with
Pakistan,
over
Kashmir
and
Canal
Waters;
with China,
concern-
ing
Tibet
and
the
Himalayan borders;
and
with
Portugal,
regarding
the
enclaves
and
Goa.
As
such,
this
is
a welcome
volume,
to
be
read
with
care.
The
gravest
shortcoming
is
a
pronounced
bias
in favour
of
India's
claims.
Closely
related
is
the
frequent
intrusion
of
the
tone
of
an
advocate,
instead
of
an
analyst.
Thus
Dr.
Bains
makes
the
following
overall assessment:
"A
study
of
India's international
disputes reveals
that
in
all
these
cases,
India's
position
can
be
successfully
vindicated
on
the
basis
of
the prevalent
rules
of
international
law".
(p.
209,
italics
added).
Indeed,
there
are
only
two
lapses
from a
nationalist
legal
view:
there
is,
he
says,
doubtful
legality
to
India's
claims
to
the western
sector
of
the
'border
dispute with
China,
i.e.,
in
Ladakh
(p.
162);
and
to
the
right
of
those
residents
of
Ceylon
who
are or
become
Indian
citizens
to
remain
in
Ceylon
contrary
to
the
wishes of
the
Ceylon
Government
(p.
107-8).
Apart
from these
cases,
however,
Dr.
Bains'
book is
a
"vindication" of
India's
position
on
these
disputes.
His
central
theme
on
the
South Africa
problem
is
correct,
namely,
that
this
"is
an
item
which
may legitimately
be
dealt
with
by
the
United
Nations"
(p.
27),
but
he
does
not
prove
that
South Africa
is
legally
bound
to
act
in
accordance
with
United
Nations
recommenda-
tions;
in
fact,
he
evades
the
point and
relies
on
quasi-moral
arguments
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