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2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. Introduction: The Crisis of International Law and the Role of Emerging Powers

Author : Andreas Buser

Published in: Emerging Powers, Global Justice and International Economic Law

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The international (legal) order is in disorder. The rise of the so-called international rule of law, often associated with the end of the Cold War, may be in decline. Some observers even see a broader crisis of modernity and enlightenment. These perceived political crises are accompanied and possibly fuelled by the natural crises of climate change and recently the spread of COVID-19 around the globe. This decline narrative is often associated with the diminished power of Western nations and the rise, or in some cases re-emergence, of ‘authoritarian’ states such as Russia and China.

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next chapter Emerging Powers and the International Order: Outline
Footnotes
1
Krieger and Nolte (2019).
 
2
Mishra (2017).
 
3
Rosand (2004).
 
4
According to UNCTAD’s IIA Mapping Project that covers 2573 international investment agreements (IIA), only around 381 such treaties were concluded from 1900 to 1990, while 1330 IIAs were concluded between 1991–2000 and 862 between 2001–2017; UNCTAD’s interactive mapping tool that provides for statistical data on IIA and their content and will be used throughout this study is available at: http://​investmentpolicy​hub.​unctad.​org/​IIA/​mappedContent. UNCTAD’s statistics on investment cases also show that initiated investment arbitrations slowly increased from 0 to 1 per year before the 1990s, with two cases per year in 1994 and 1995, then six cases per year in 1996 up until 77 cases initiated in 2015.
 
5
See e.g.: Domingo (2009); Herwig (2013); Pauwelyn et al. (2014); Marxsen (2015); Krieger and Nolte (2016), pp. 5, 8; see from an international relations perspective e.g. Ikenberry (2018), p. 7 et seqq. providing a synopsis of arguments related to the crisis of international relations.
 
6
Krieger and Nolte (2019), pp. 4 and 7.
 
7
See on the reaction of the UNGA to the conflict in Crimea particularly: UNGA Territorial Integrity of Ukraine, UNGA Resolution, UN Doc. A/RES/68/262 (1 April 2014) with 11 votes against and 58 countries abstaining the vote.
 
8
South China Sea Arbitration, Republic of the Philippines vs. People’s Republic of China, Permanent Court of Arbitration, PCA Case No. 2013-19, Final Award (12 July 2016).
 
9
See on the withdrawal from the Rome Statute or threats of withdrawal by several African States and underlying problems, e.g.: Jeangène Vilmer (2016) and the contributions in Jalloh and Bantekas (2017).
 
10
Evans et al. (2018).
 
11
See e.g. Krieger (2017).
 
12
Pauwelyn et al. (2014).
 
13
See e.g. Alston (2017); Krieger (2019); Ikenberry (2018), pp. 7 and 18.
 
14
In January 2017, the US under president Trump, formally notified the TPP Depositary that it does not intend to become a party to the TPP anymore and considers its signature to be without any legal meaning, see: Office of the United States Trade Representative Letter to the TPP Depository/Withdrawal from TPP (January 30, 2017). https://​ustr.​gov. Accessed 11 September 2020.
 
15
Article 16 para. 4 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
 
16
See: Weiler (2018) and Buser (2018).
 
17
See in more detail Chaps. 4 and 5.
 
18
See on some of those symptoms also: Krieger and Nolte (2019), p. 18.
 
19
Krieger and Nolte (2019), p. 8.
 
20
Such notions are often implicit in works on a constitutionalization of international law. The term ‘values’ is of course a rather vague term. In Western international law discourse, values have often been associated with liberal achievements, such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights protection. Today, the term liberal is often used to describe the international order as it stands. However, it must be noted that describing the international order as purely liberal neglects the fact that international law in many respects also incorporated communitarian notions, such as positive obligations in human rights law or the idea of a common heritage of humankind in the law of the sea.
 
21
Again, it must be noted that while international economic law is in many ways built on neo-liberal economic thinking associated with the Washington Consensus, it also embraces to some extent more communitarian approaches, such as special and differential treatment in WTO agreements. Therefore, labelling international economic law to be ‘neo-liberal’ appears to be over simplistic. Still, as will be shown in more detail in Chap. 3, the basic orientation embodied in legal principles and rules of international trade and investment law is more liberal than communitarian. In consequence, this book sometimes refers to the international economic order as a liberal one to capture this basic orientation.
 
22
See on the imperial and colonial history of international law e.g.: Anghie (2005).
 
23
Onuma (2010).
 
Literature
Anghie A (2005) Imperialism, sovereignty and the making of international law. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeCrossRef
Buser A (2018) Justiciability of security exceptions in the US Steel (and other) disputes: some middle-ground options and the requirements of Article XXI lit. b (i)-(iii). https://​www.​ejiltalk.​org. Accessed 11 Sep 2020
Domingo R (2009) The crisis of international law. Vanderbilt J Transnatl Law 42:1543–1593
Evans G, Carl N, James D (2018) Brexit: the causes and consequences of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. In: Castells M, Bouin O, Caraça JMG, Cardoso G, Thompson JB, Wieviorka M (eds) Europe’s crises. Polity, Cambridge, Medford, pp 380–404
Herwig A (2013) The WTO and the Doha negotiation in crisis? Neth Yearb Int Law 44:161–185CrossRef
Ikenberry GJ (2018) The end of liberal international order? Int Aff 94:7–23CrossRef
Jalloh C, Bantekas I (eds) (2017) The International Criminal Court and Africa. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Jeangène Vilmer J-B (2016) The African Union and the International Criminal Court: counteracting the crisis. Int Aff (6):1319–1342
Krieger H (2019) Populist governments and international law. EJIL 30:971–996CrossRef
Krieger H, Nolte G (2016) The international rule of law – rise or decline? – Points of Departure. KFG Working Paper Series, No. 1, Berlin Potsdam Research Group “The International Rule of Law - Rise or Decline?”
Krieger H, Nolte G (2019) The international rule of law—rise or decline? -Approaching current foundational challenges. In: Krieger H, Nolte G, Zimmermann A (eds) The international rule of law rise or decline?: Foundational challenges. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 1–30CrossRef
Marxsen C (2015) International law in crisis: Russia’s struggle for recognition. German Yearb Int Law 58:11–48
Mishra P (2017) Age of anger: a history of the present. Juggernaut Books, New Delhi
Onuma Y (2010) A transcivilizational perspective on international law. Nijhoff, LeidenCrossRef
Rosand E (2004) The Security Council as “Global Legislator”: ultra vires or ultra innovative? Fordham Int Law J 28:542–582
Weiler J (2018) Black lies, white lies and some uncomfortable truths in and of the international trading system. EJIL 29:339–345CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Introduction: The Crisis of International Law and the Role of Emerging Powers
Author
Andreas Buser
Copyright Year
2021
Book
Emerging Powers, Global Justice and International Economic Law

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63638-8

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-63639-5

Copyright Year: 2021

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63639-5_1

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