Book Reviews : International Law. D. P. O'Connell. 2 Vols. Stevens & Sons. 10 gns
| DOI | 10.1177/004711786700300113 |
| Published date | 01 April 1967 |
| Date | 01 April 1967 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
83
Fellow
of
Chatham
House),
were
prepared
for
a
Conference
on
Obstacles
to
Change
in
Latin
America
which
met
at
Chatham
House
in
February
1965.
The
final
outcome
is
a
stimulating
symposium.
The
authors
work
in
different
disciplines
and
start
from
different
premises,
but
their
essays
reflect
a
high
degree
of
consensus;
namely,
that
despite
its
reputation
for
frequent
and
violent
political
upheaval,
the
chief
obstacle
hindering
the
development
of
Latin
America
is
an
excessive
stability
deriving
from
the
fact
that
it
has
a
pre-industrial
urban
civilization
which
has
been
almost
untouched
by
the
changes
generally
associated
with
industrialization.
Indeed,
all
the
contributors
to
the
symposium
exhibit
a
refined
aversion
to
attempts
to
apply
&dquo; ’classical’
Marxist
or
liberal
models
of
development
based
on
the
experience
of
the
more
advanced
countries
of
Europe&dquo;
to
explain
the
existing
situation
in
Latin
America.
The
essays
give
no
final
answer
to
the
question
as
to
whether
the
Latin
American
populist
experiments
can
provide
adequate
solutions
to
the
problems
of
modernization,
but
they
emphasise
that
if
its
&dquo;traditional
institutional
strucure
is
not
fundamentally
transformed,
Latin
America
will
not
be
able
to
develop
at
a
satisfactory
rate&dquo;.
International
Law.
D.
P.
O’Connell.
2
Vols.
Stevens
&
Sons.
10
gns.
Professor
O’Connell
has
produced
a
massive
book
on
the
international
law
of
peace
which,
as
Lord
McNair
says
in
his
Foreword,
is
modern
in
its
approach
to
its
subject
but
not
revolutionary.
It
is
geared
to
the
practical
needs
of
the
international
lawyer
and
is
written
from
the
strictly
legal
point
of
view
although
the
author
does
not
ignore
the
diplomatic
and
political
aspects
which
are
inherent
in
the
problems
with
which
he
deals.
The
method
he
employs
is
a
happy
marriage
of
the
American
and
English
techniques,
his
theoretical
exposition
is
supported
at
every
point
with
extensive
practical
example
and
wide
documenation;
in
the
course
of
the
work
he
quotes
over
2,000
of
the
leading
cases
from
many
domestic
jurisdictions,
more
than
700
treaties
and
over
700
international
cases.
His
attitude
to
his
subject
is
stated
succinctly
in
his
Introduction:
&dquo; International
law
today
is
not
so
much
a
description
of
what
States
have
done
as
a
complex
intellectual
structure
and
it
thus
exhibits
more
afinity
with
the
integrated
exposition
of
the
Grotius
period
than
with
the
empiricism
of
the
nineteenth
century&dquo;
&dquo; (p,
xii).
Over
the
last
50
years
international
law
has
been
transformed
by
political
and
economic
factors
ranging
from
the
achievement
of
independence
by
a
large
number
of
States
through
world
trade
and
financial
agreements,
it
has
also
been
supplemented
by
international
legislation.
The
author
concentrates
his
attention
on
two
aspects
which
define
the
scope
of
the
work,
the
&dquo; common
law
&dquo; of
international
law
and
the
treaties
affecting
it.
The
treatment
of
each
topic
in
succession
is
designed
to
present
a
coherent
account
of
the
new
role
and
content
of
the
modern
law
of
nations.
The
work
is
divided
into
ten
Parts
covering
General
Principles;
Recognition;
Treaties;
Sovereignty;
Succession;
Territory;
Jurisdiction;
Immunity;
State
Responsibility
and
International
Litigation.
There
are
36
chapters,
each
commencing
with
a
contemporary
consideration
of
theory
involving
practice,
international
treaties
and
domestic
statutes,
supporting
cases
and
juristic
logic.
Where
the
subject
is
either
complicated
or
extended
summaries
of
the
conclusions
are
appended.
This
is
followed
by
a
statement
and
analysis
of
the
United
States
and
United
Kingdom
law,
including
a
consideration
of
the
conclusions
reached
by
the
civil
law
systems;
and
whenever
these
are
relevant,
and
pertinent
decisions
are
available,
the
practices
of
India,
Canada,
Australia
and
other
States
are
utilized.
The
International
approach
i~s
emphasised
throughout
the
book;
the
law
of
the
constitution
and
acts
of
international
organizations
is
touched
on
in
connection
with
questions
of
domestic
jurisdiction,
monetary
sovereignty,
human
rights
and
immunities
and
conflict
of
laws
is
dealt
with
in
connection
with
the
expropriation
of
the
property
of
foreign
nationals,
the
extraterritorial
effects
of
legislation
and
monetary
policy.
There
are
full
Tables
and
Indexes.
A
most
valuable
work
for
administrators,
lawyers
and
teachers
of
law
alike.
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