Law at War: The Law as it Was and the Law as it Should Be (International Humanitarian Law) [Hardcover]

PÃ¥l Wrange (Author), Ola Engdahl (Author, Editor), Pal Wrange (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2009 | ISBN-10: 9004170162 | ISBN-13: 978-9004170162 | Edition: illustrated edition

The authors of this volume have been inspired by the scholar to which this "Liber Amicorum" is dedicated - Professor Ove Bring - to look into both the past and the future of international law. Like Ove Bring, they have dealt with many aspects of the law governing the use of force, from arms control to human rights, international criminal law, the UN Charter, and, of course, international humanitarian law. Like Professor Bring, they have allowed themselves to draw trajectories from history and into the future, and have shunned away from neither the controversial nor the speculative, be it on the Middle East, the invasion of Iraq or the independence of Kosovo.This collection brings together insights from a former UN Legal Counsel, a former Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, present and former judges of the European Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, one present and one former member of the International Law Commission, as well as law professors and practitioners, from all Nordic countries, Germany and Australia. Together they form a highly challenging mosaic of perspectives on topical issues like cluster munitions, targeting, human rights in peace operations and the purposes of sentencing in international tribunals. The volume also contains a bibliography and a presentation of Professor Bring's work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ola Engdahl is a Research Fellow at the Swedish National Defence College. His dissertation, Protection of Personnel in Peace Operations: The Role of the 'Safety Convention' against the Background of General International Law, supervised by Professor Bring, was recently published in the International Humanitarian Law Series. He is currently Legal Adviser to the Army Tactical Staff, Swedish Armed Forces. Pal Wrange is a Principal Legal Adviser at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and is currently on leave of absence, working as a consultant in Kampala. He has published extensively in the field of international law and legal theory, including his dissertation, Impartial or Uninvolved: The Anatomy of 20th Century Doctrine on the Law of Neutrality, supervised by Professor Bring.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Brill; illustrated edition edition (January 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004170162
• ISBN-13: 978-9004170162
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,849,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Legal analysis as it should be, July 21, 2009

By 

Nina Leijon "Nina Leijon" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Law at War: The Law as it Was and the Law as it Should Be (International Humanitarian Law) (Hardcover)

This collection of essays is a jubilant celebration of the professional life of esteemed Swedish Professor of International Law Ove Bring. However, to write this book off merely as the Liber Amicorum to Bring that it openly states to be, would be to miss out on some of the finest legal writing that has emerged from Scandinavia in recent years. With a heavy focus on Nordic writers, the issues and topics are nonetheless decidedly international and worthy of a global audience. While some international legal writing is about as inspired as, say, the instruction manual for a new fridge, this collection breaks new ground in combining theory and reflection into a style that is at once informative and fluent.

The essays are diverse and range from the personal (such as Corell's touching account of life and decision-making in the UN Security Council) to the normative (including Osterdahl's chapter on the opportunities of various potential actors to position themselves as subjects of international law, in the developing doctrine concerning the law on the use of force). Harhoff's discussion on international criminal punishment links the local with the global and is a pure joy to read for anyone with half an interest in the discourse around war, crime and punishment, while Ulfstein, in imagining a world court of human rights, dares to dream without naïveté.

While the quality of the writing is excellent throughout the collection, I must single out Wrange's essay for special mention (for no other reason than personal preference and, admittedly, whim). Effortlessly bringing together personal reflection and legal theory, he offers a convincing case for the future of the neutral vs. the impartial state in a shifting international landscape. It makes for exquisite and delightful reading.

My only criticism of this collection is its cost. At $185 the book would be prohibitively expensive for many students of international law, a shame as they would stand to gain much from reading it. Here's hoping for a paperback edition to increase the book's accessibility to cash-strapped enthusiasts.