Danilo Türk Book Presentation

rights or international criminal lawhave grown rapidly both in substance and importance and have contributed significantly to the broader development of international law. In these circumstances, it is timely to nurture a broad understanding of international law as a whole. The text is organized in eleven chapters covering themain areas of international law: (1) the concept and the sources of international law; (2) the subjects of international law (3) human rights and individual’s criminal responsibility; (4) state organs in the field of international relations (diplomatic and consular law); (5) international transactions; (6) international responsibility of states; (7) international organizations; (8) the objects of international law; (9) peaceful settlement of disputes; (10) collective security – prohibition of the use of force and measures for the maintenance of international peace and security; and (11) the law of armed conflicts. The first chapter starts with a definition of international law as a system of legal principles and norms which define the rights and obligations of its subjects in their mutual relations and within international community at large. The traditional subjects of international law are states. However, the contemporary development of international law is also characterized by an expansion of international norms which go beyond the regulation of state to state activity and now extend into the regulation of state activity vis-a-vis individuals. Human rights law and the law regarding international criminal responsibility of the individual are important examples. Over time, international law has undergone an important evolution not only with respect to its normative structure, but also in its doctrinal interpretation.The early authors (including Grotius, Pufendorf and Wolff ) were legal thinkers of the natural law school. They provided the philosophical basis on which the authority of international law as a system of legal principles and norms was built. The evolution of state practice from the earliest periods onwards provided a basis for the positivist approach which prevailed in subsequent periods. This evolution was characterized by diversity of practice and by scholarly discussion on such basic issues as the origin of the authority of international law and the relationship between international law and municipal law. Legal philosophy was an important part of this development,

11