International Law: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Vaughan Lowe
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191576204
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Book Description
Interest in international law has increased greatly over the past decade, largely because of its central place in discussions such as the Iraq War and Guantanamo, the World Trade Organisation, the anti-capitalist movement, the Kyoto Convention on climate change, and the apparent failure of the international system to deal with the situations in Palestine and Darfur, and the plights of refugees and illegal immigrants around the world. This Very Short Introduction explains what international law is, what its role in international society is, and how it operates. Vaughan Lowe examines what international law can and cannot do and what it is and what it isn't doing to make the world a better place. Focussing on the problems the world faces, Lowe uses terrorism, environmental change, poverty, and international violence to demonstrate the theories and practice of international law, and how the principles can be used for international co-operation.

International Law

Author: Vaughan Lowe
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199239339
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Book Description
International Law lies at the heart of our interaction with the global community. It protects rights, imposes duties, and establishes a framework for the conduct of almost every social, political, and economic activity. Lowe considers how international law can be used to protect against concerns about terrorism, international violence, and poverty

Law: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Raymond Wacks
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 9780199214969
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Law touches every aspect of our daily lives, and yet the main concepts, terms, and processes of the legal system remain obscure to many. This Very Short Introduction provides a clear, jargon-free account of modern legal systems, explaining how the law works both in the Western tradition and around the world.

Philosophy of Law

Author: Raymond Wacks
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199687005
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
Raymond Wacks reveals the intriguing and challenging nature of legal philosophy, exploring the notion of law and its role in our lives. He refers to key thinkers from Aristotle to Rawls, from Bentham to Derrida and looks at the central questions behind legal theory, and law's relation to justice, morality, and democracy.

Human Rights

Author: Andrew Clapham
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198706162
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
Focusing on highly topical issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, privacy, and discrimination, this book will help readers to understand for themselves the controversies and complexities behind human rights.

Environmental Law: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Elizabeth Fisher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192512625
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
Environmental law is the law concerned with environmental problems. It is a vast area of law that operates from the local to the global, involving a range of different legal and regulatory techniques. In theory, environmental protection is a no brainer. Few people would actively argue for pollution or environmental destruction. Ensuring a clean environment is ethically desirable, and also sensible from a purely self-interested perspective. Yet, in practice, environmental law is a messy and complex business fraught with conflict. Whilst environmental law is often characterized in overly simplistic terms, with a law being seen as be a magic wand that solves an environmental problem, the reality is that creating and maintaining a body of laws to address and avoid problems is not easy, and involves legislators, courts, regulators and communities. This Very Short Introduction provides an overview of the main features of environmental law, and discusses how environmental law deals with multiple interests, socio-political conflicts, and the limits of knowledge about the environment. Showing how interdependent societies across the world have developed robust and legitimate bodies of law to address environmental problems, Elizabeth Fisher discusses some of the major issues involved in environmental law's: nation statehood, power, the reframing role of law, the need to ensure real environmental improvements, and environmental justice. As Fisher explains, environmental law is, and will always be, necessary but inherently controversial. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A Short Introduction to International Law

Author: Emmanuelle Tourme Jouannet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316124061
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 135

Book Description
In our globalised world the sources and actors of international law are many and its growth prolific and disorderly. International law governs the actions of states on matters as long-established as diplomatic immunity or as recent as the War on Terror, and it now impacts upon the lives of ordinary citizens in areas as diverse as banking and investment, public health and the protection of the environment. In this accessible introduction Emmanuelle Tourme Jouannet explains the latest developments in international law in the light of its history and culture, presenting it as an instrument both for dominance and for change that adjusts and balances the three pillars of the United Nations Charter: the prohibition of the use of force; economic, social and sustainable development; and human rights.

International Law

Author: Malcolm N. Shaw
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316061272
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1069

Book Description
This new edition of International Law confirms the text's status as the definitive book on the subject. Combining both his expertise as academic and practitioner, Malcolm Shaw's survey of the subject motivates and challenges both student and professional. By offering an unbeatable combination of clarity of expression and academic rigour, he ensures both understanding and critical analysis in an engaging and authoritative style. The text has been updated throughout to reflect recent case law and treaty developments. It retains the detailed references which encourage and assist further reading and study.

The United Nations: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Jussi M. Hanhimäki
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190222727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
After seven decades of existence has the UN become obsolete? Is it ripe for retirement? As Jussi Hanhimäki proves in the second edition of this Very Short Introduction, the answer is no. In the second decade of the twenty-first century the UN remains an indispensable organization that continues to save lives and improve the world as its founders hoped. Since its original publication in 2008, this 2nd edition includes more recent examples of the UN Security Council in action and peacekeeping efforts while exploring its most recent successes and failures. After a brief history of the United Nations and its predecessor, the League of Nations, Hanhimäki examines the UN's successes and failures as a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international law, and as an engineer of socio-economic development. This updated edition highlights what continues to make the UN a complicated organization today, and the ongoing challenges between its ambitions and capabilities. Hanhimäki also provides a clear account of the UN and its various arms and organizations (such as UNESCO and UNICEF), and offers a critical overview of the UN Security Council's involvement in recent crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Libya, and Syria, and how likely it is to meet its overall goals in the future. Regardless of its obstacles, the UN is likely to survive for the foreseeable future. That alone makes trying to understand the UN in all its manifold - magnificent and frustrating - complexity a worthy task. With this much-needed updated introduction to the UN, Jussi Hanhimäki engages the current debate over the organizations effectiveness as he provides a clear understanding of how it was originally conceived, how it has come to its present form, and how it must confront new challenges in a rapidly changing world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Islamic Law

Author: Mashood A. Baderin
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199665591
Category : Islamic law
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
Islamic law is one of the major legal systems in the world today, yet it is often misunderstood, particularly in the West. This book provides a critical overview of the theory, scope, and practice of Islamic law, taking into account both classical and modern scholarly perspectives in examining the various facets of this key legal system.