Book Review: International Law and Organization: The Law and Practice of the International Court
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206602100316 |
| Date | 01 September 1966 |
| Published date | 01 September 1966 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
378
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
What
he
finds
by
way
of
general
conclusion
is
that
the
Council
(in
the
overwhelming
majority
of
instances)
has
carefully
selected
the
most
appropriate
techniques
for
ameliorating the
specific
issues
at
hand,
and
that,
though
this
selection
(for
rather
obvious
reasons)
has
tended
to
exclude
court
settlement,
the
Council
has
not
ignored
relevant
legal
claims
nor
found
itself
pursuing
an
"anarchical"
path
simply
because
circumstances
have prevented
it
from
sharing its
responsibilities
in
any
notable
way
with
the
International
Court
of
Justice.
The
permanent
members
particularly
have
tried
"to
bring
into
a reasonable
balance
the
legal
elements
involved
with the
need
of
peaceful
settlement
of
disputes and
situations-which
is
largely
a
function
of
politics
and
not
of
law
[and]
the
overall
pattern
of
the
Council's
handling
indicates
a
fairly
high
degree
of
objectivity
despite
the
clear default
of
its
responsibility
in
the
Guatemalan
case.
This
conclusion,
though
hardly
revolutionary
is
nevertheless
very
important
at
the
present
time,
and
this
for
at
least
two
reasons.
In
the
first
place,
it
puts
to
rest
the
misplaced
charge
that
the
Security
Council
is by-passing
the
court
and replacing
the
"rule
of
law" with the
"rule
of
the majority",
and,
in
the
second
place,
it
is
supported
by
such
a
wealth
of
detail,
culled
with
great
skill
from
an
incredible
mass
of
rather
dreary
ma-
terials,
as
to
make
unanswerable the
view
that
international
society
is
simply
not
ready
for
the
kind
of
judicial
review
that
Larsen
and
others
of
that
persuasion
have
been
suggesting.
As
a
demonstration
of
the
Council's
recognition
that
balance
and
a
sense
of
proportion
are
necessary
if
decision-making
is
to
be
rational
and
effective,
Kahng's
book
will
stand
as
a
timely
and valuable
refer
ence
for
students
of
international
law and
organization.
No
fundamental
criticism
of
his
accomplishment
is
implied
by
the
observation
that
he
has
understimated
the
degree
to
which
Charter
power
has
been
redistri-
buted
through
the
media
of
regional
organizations,
the
meaning
of
this
development
for
the
traditional,
centralized
concept
of
the
United
Na-
tions,
and
the
extent
to
which
the
Council
already has
hammered
out
a
set
of
standards
(admittedly
somewhat primitive)
by
which to
judge
the
appropriateness
of
regional
as
opposed
to
universal
hearings
and
dispute
settlement.
Unsversity
of
Toronto
R.
ST.
J.
MACDONALD
THE
LAW
AND
PRACTICE
OF
THE
INTERNATIONAL
COURT.
By
Shabtai
Rosenne.
1965.
Volumes
I
and
II.
(Leyden:
A.
W
Sitjhoff.
xxiii,
998pp.
40
guilders)
The
concept
of
law
is
capable
of
many
definitions.
Common
to
all
of
them,
however,
are
the
two
notions
of
equality
of
subjects before
the
law,
and
of
adjudication
of
disputes
by
impartial
process.
It
is
repug-
nant
to
the legal
systems
of
most
states
to
permit
a
citizen to
act
as
judge
in
his
own
cause.
This
inward
concern
is
not always
reflected
externally
however.
In
the
present stage
of
arrested
development
of
the international
community
nations
for
the
most
part
refuse
to
submit
their
actions
to
third
party
review
and
adjudication;
they refuse
to
accept
the
conse-
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