Book Reviews : The Statesmans Yearbook, 1976/77. Edited by John Paxton. Macmillan. £7.95
| Date | 01 October 1976 |
| Published date | 01 October 1976 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711787600500409 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1154
suggest
that
they
should
emulate
an
economic
order
which
shows
every
sign
of
a
slow
decline.
Also
to
lump
&dquo;developing&dquo;
countries
together
again
seems
an
error
of
judgement.
India,
for
instance,
was
&dquo;civilized&dquo;
when
we
were
still
wearing
woad.
There
is
no
doubt,
however,
that
the
present
system
of
international
aid-giving
requires
a
drastic
overhaul.
International
Constitutional
Law:
International
Law
as
applied
by
International
Courts
and
Tribunals.
Vol.
3,
George
Schwarzenberger.
Stevens.
£26.
As
always,
Professor
Schwarzenberger
keeps
his
feet
firmly
on
the
ground
and
his
critical
faculties
razor
sharp
when
surveying
the
field
of
the
law
as
actually
applied
by
International
Courts
and
Tribunals.
This
third
and
latest
volume
is
prefaced
by
the
author’s
statement
that
the
consensual
nature
of the
fundamental
principles
of
the
nearly
universal
United
Nations
legal
system
as
&dquo;jus
cogens&dquo;
taken
with
the
precarious
state
of
the
underlying
international
order
makes
it
impera-
tive
to
stress
the
prefix
&dquo;quasi&dquo;
to
his
title.
The
subject
covered,
the
law
of
international
institutions
set
within
the
quasi-constitutional
framework
of
the
United
Nations
and
its
related
intergovernmental
agencies,
is
vast
and
complicated,
but
the
author
reduces
it
to
a
clear
and
systematic
survey.
Amongst
the
questions
posed
and
answered
are:
How
strong
is
the
constitutional
framework
that
separates
present
world
society
from
anarchy
and
chaos?
How
can
the
U.N.
be
protected
against
the
&dquo;resolutionism&dquo;
of
a
General
Assembly
and
Security
Council
always
tending
to
be
run
by
coalitions?
What
are
the
legal
techniques
used
for
employing
the
Charter
as
a
political
ideology
of
dominant
voting
coalitions?
What
is
the
real
significance
of
the
veto
power
in
Justice?,
and
last
but
not
least,
What
protection
have
the
40,000
members
of
the
staff
of
the
U.N.
and
related
agencies
against
abuse
of
power
by
Director-Generals,
Directors
and
&dquo;the
plethora
of
high
officials&dquo;?
Professor
Schwarzenberger
assesses
the
role
of
legal
principle
in
the
decisions
handed
down
and
allows
for
the
part
inevitably
played
by
compromise,
expediency
and
political
pressure
in
the
present
state
of
somewhat
chaotic
international
relations.
As
always,
his
approach
is
independent
and
individualist.
He
stresses
yet
again
a
fact
which
tends
too
often
to
be
overlooked:
&dquo;that
the
United
Nations
was - and
is - not
an
international
order
with
any
applicable
autonomy
of
its
own.
It
is
an
international
quasi-order
which
rests
on
such
concord
as,
at
any
time,
exists
between
its
leading
members.
They
are
the
Organi-
sation’s
chief
power
houses&dquo;.
It
has
no
power
house
of
its
own.
A
quite
invaluable
work,
with
a
wide
appeal.
The
Statesmans
Yearbook,
1976/77.
Edited
by
John
Paxton.
Macmillan.
£7.95.
The
current
issue
of
this
essential
reference
book
maintains
the
high
standards
set
by
its
predecessors.
It
is
indeed
a
most
comprehensive
compendium
of
global
information
presented
as
always
in
an
excellently
digested
form
and
with
an
exhaustively
classified
index
which
makes
it
so
easy
to
consult.
Its
three
special
features
this
year
are:
1)
a
map
of
World
Natural
Disasters
-
earthquakes,
irruptions,
tsunami
or
tidal
waves,
landslides,
avalanches,
dambreaks,
floods,
drought
cyclones
and
epidemics
covering
the
years
1964
-1975/6.
This
is
especially
interesting
in
view
of
the
many
earthquakes
which
have
occurred
this
year;
2)
a
map
showing
the
growth
of
regional
development
in
the
EEC;
and
3)
separate
sections
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