Book Review: International Trade Law
| Author | J. L. Goldring |
| DOI | 10.1177/0067205X7700800211 |
| Published date | 01 June 1977 |
| Date | 01 June 1977 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
260
Federal Law Review
[VOLUME
8
International Trade Law by
K.
W.
RYAN,
B.A.,
LL.B.
(Qld),
PH.D.
(Cantab.);
Barrister-at-Law, Professor of Law, University of Queens-
land. (The Law Book Co. Ltd, 1975), pp. i-xii, 1-407. Cloth,
recommended retail price $24.00 (ISBN: 0455 19406
8);
Paperback,
recommended retail price $19.50 (ISBN: 0455 19404
1).
In
the preface to his book, Professor Ryan states his view that the
study of the law of international trade cannot be confined to any
.one
of its components, say, the law of international sales and payments
at
one extreme, or the law of some public organization, such as the
GATT or the
EEe,
at
the other. The study must examine each
component and view it in the whole context. He says that his objective
is
an attempt
to outline in ageneral way the main legal issues involved in the
conduct of international trade and investment. The coverage
is
broad, but ahigh degree of selectivity has been inevitable
....
My
aim throughout has been to write ageneral textbook such as legal
students are accustomed to in other areas of their studies. (page
v)
Professor Ryan
is
eminently qualified to undertake such atask. He
is
the author of books on comparative law, taxation and constitutional
law. He has written on public international law, and he has been a
senior official of the Australian Department of Overseas Trade. His
perspective
is
broad, and the issues canvassed by Professor Ryan are
not confined to those which would normally be the main interest of a
lawyer whose principal concern was either public
or
private law.
In
commercial law today, alawyer
is
at agreat disadvantage if he
is
totally ignorant of political
(or
"descriptive")
economics-that
is,
the way in which economic transactions and situations affect society,
and members of that society.
In
the area of international trade, this
is
especially true. The public international lawyer may be concerned
with the legal status of an international organization, such as the
GATT
or
the
EEe.
In
order to understand the subject, he needs first
to understand the economic rationale for the organization's existence,
and its policies, such
as
those relating to control of foreign investment,
or
of restrictive trade practices. The policies are also of interest to the
private lawyer, for they become institutionalized in laws governing, for
example, the structure of companies, the incidence of taxation and
other matters which affect directly the nature and form of transactions
which he will advise his client to adopt.
Professor Ryan, as his preface indicates,
is
not attempting to
replace any text dealing with one of the legal organizations concerned
with international trade, nor any on some special aspect of private law
(e.g. Gutteridge &Megrah's Bankers' Commercial Credits),
nor
even
such ageneral work as Schmitthoff's The Export Trade. He has
produced ageneral and descriptive book dealing with law, economics,
policies and institutions. Parts of it, such as the section dealing with
the Uniform Law on International Sale, are concise and perceptive
legal analyses.
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