Description
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Promises of States under International Law by Christian Eckart Foreword by Professor Dr Christian Tomuschat
In international law a states unilateral declaration can create a legally binding obligation. Such declarations are common though many are vaguely expressed and carry no tangible legal commitment. Others deliver a very clear message: for instance the USs April 2010 declaration on its future use of nuclear weapons or Kosovos declaration of independence are two recent and prominent examples of unilateral declarations at the international level.The sources reveal that the law governing such declarations is far from clear. This monograph fills a gap in international legal scholarship by raising and answering the question of the precise legal value of such pledges in the realm of public international law. Using state practice court opinions and scholarly commentaries the book defines state promises and contrasts them with other unilateral acts of states. It provides a detailed picture of the international framework governing promises of states and assesses both their raison dêtre as a binding mechanism in international law and their disadvantages in comparison with treaties - the classical mechanism for assuming international obligations.