International Organizations As Law-makers

by José E. Alvarez

Overview

This book addresses how international organizations with a global reach, such as the UN and the WTO, have changed the mechanisms and reasoning behind the making, implementation, and enforcement of international law. Alvarez argues that existing descriptions of international law and international organizations do not do justice to the complex changes resulting from the increased importance of these institutions after World War II, and especially from changes after the end of the Cold War. In particular, this book examines the impact of the institutions on international law through the day to day application and interpretation of institutional law, the making of multilateral treaties, and the decisions of a proliferating number of institutionalized dispute settlers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198765622
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/02/2005
Series:	Oxford Monographs in International Law
Pages:	712
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

José E. Alvarez is Professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches courses on international law, foreign investment, international legal theory, and international organizations, and is executive director of the Center on Global Legal Problems. Prior to entering academia in 1989, Professor Alvarez was an attorney adviser with the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. While in the State Department, he worked on arbitrations before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, served on the negotiation teams for bilateral investment treaties and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and was legal adviser to the administration of justice program in Latin America coordinated by the Agency of International Development. Professor Alvarez has also been in private practice and served as a judicial clerk on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsForeword: The Need for Organizational InsightsChapter 1: IntroductionPart I: International Institutional Law: Selected IssuesChapter 2: Constitutional InterpretationChapter 3: (Re) Introducing International Institutional LawChapter 4: The Varied Forms of International Institutional LawPart II: Multilateral Treaty- MakingChapter 5: International Organizations as Treaty-MakersChapter 6: Have IOs Improved Treaty-Making?Part III: Institutionalized Dispute SettlementChapter 7: Dispute Settlement by 'Non-judicial' ActorsChapter 8: Dispute Settlement by 'Quasi-Judicial' and 'Judicial' BodiesChapter 9: The Nature of International AdjudicationChapter 10: The Promise and Perils of International OrganizationsIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Jos Alvarez is a rare bird in the scholarly aviary of international organization: he moves effortlessly between politics and the law. International Organizations as Law-makers is authoritative but easy to read, an exceptional text for courses in international relations as well as international law." — Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor and Director, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The CUNY Graduate Center

"As an authoritative observer of the prominent role played by international institutions in the global arena ,Professor Alvarez has undertaken a challenging task: fully taking account of the specific tasks and features of the individual organizations which now operate in all major areas of human endeavor ,he has distilled principles and procedures common to their law-making and dispute-settlement activities. With proper attention to history, theory, doctrine and practice, the book should become a standard item on reading lists not only for specialized courses on international institutional law but on general international law as well, given the impact of these institutions on traditional doctrine." — Eric Stein, Hessel E.Yntema Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Michigan

"Jos Alvarez has written a tour de force that will endure for years to come as the definitive treatise on law-making, in all its forms, by international organizations. He has combined theory with a solid grasp of organizations' practice as he explains and analyzes the law-making activities of such disparate organizations as the United Nations, its many specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization, including judicial and 'judicialized' bodies that exercise jurisdiction and make law across a broad subject-matter spectrum. Anyone with an interest in international law and organizations will do well to read this book and keep it handy on a nearby reference shelf." — Frederic L. Kirgis, Washington and Lee University School of Law

"The world is increasingly dense with international organizations, yet they receive surprisingly little attention from international lawyers. Arguing that we are in 'the age of IOs,' Jos Alvarez offers a comprehensive treatment of the topic that skillfully melds theory, practice, and history. Deftly weaving together insights and evidence from both international law and international relations, International Organizations as Law-Makers provides one-stop shopping for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of international organizations." — Professor Kal Raustiala, UCLA Law School

From the Publisher