Search

Begin New Search Journal The Journal of International Law and International Relations Publishing Institution Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto

1. Editors' Introduction

Author:
Dan Moore and Aaron Kreaden
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
In its advisory opinion on Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, released about a month before this issue went to press, the International Court of Justice was forced to reflect on the appropriate role of the international judiciary in political disputes. Finding that it had the jurisdiction to consider the General Assembly's question, the Court rejected the idea that there can be a clear division between the political and the legal: “the fact that a question has political aspects does not suffice to deprive it of its character as a legal question”.
Political Geography:
Kosovo

2. Editors' Introduction

Author:
Megan Dersnah, Ryan Liss, and Brendan Morrison
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
This was a year of big changes for the Journal: the largest staff in its history by a significant margin, a new production schedule, and our first full year affiliated with the new Munk School for Global Affairs. The Editors-in-Chief are indebted to the many people that helped implement these changes seamlessly and contributed tireless efforts to bring this Volume together. While we cannot thank everyone directly, please know that your contributions were very much appreciated.

3. Editors' Note

Author:
Louis Century and Tim Hughes
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
We are in a period of change for academic journals, and JILIR is no exception. Cycle times for the publication of information, even academic information, are increasingly condensed. Pressure to expedite processes and render quick decisions is intense, and maintaining this pace is difficult for a student-run process wed to the ebbs and flows of the academic calendar. These challenges are amplified for JILIR, a multi-disciplinary journal edited collaboratively by students in different faculties and fields of research. This collaboration, however, remains JILIR's greatest strength, and we are proud that the quality of our publication remains our central focus. The works contained in this issue are demonstrative of the forward-looking and multi-disciplinary scholarship that journals like ours are uniquely positioned to provide.

4. Editors' Note

Author:
Graham M. Smith, Kate Robertson, and Jonathan Bright
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
JILIR is predicated upon collaboration. Collaboration between disciplines, allowing us to showcase world-leading scholarship at the intersection of international law and international relations. Collaboration between schools, with the Munk School of Global Affairs and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law offering us a shared intellectual home and a deep pool of talented student volunteers. Collaboration amongst our staff – 80 in total – who worked together seamlessly to bring this issue to print. And most e and forbearance through many months and many rounds of revisions.

5. Editors' Note

Author:
Lin Cong, Caroline Senini, and Sean Tyler
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
JILIR is a joint project of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Munk School of Global Affairs. It is our goal to facilitate and promote scholarly exploration of the nexus of international law and international relations. Our commitment to this endeavor stems from a belief in the complementarity of these fields and the value of stimulating conversation on their common themes. The recent expansion of the Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School of Global Affairs boosts the diversity of voices in our review process and better equips the journal to ensure it achieves this mandate.

6. Secession: Final Frontier for International Law or Site of Realpolitik Revival?

Author:
Clifton van der Linden
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
In its opinion regarding the legality of the secession of Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada observed that 'the process of [state] recognition, once considered to be an exercise of pure sovereign discretion, has come to be associated with legal norms.' Mindful of the principle of effectivity, the Court was cautious not to overstate the bounds of legal authority in matters of secession. Nevertheless, the acknowledgement of international law as a constitutive element of state behaviour in matters relating to secession marks a significant departure from conventional realpolitik accounts, wherein 'successful revolution begets its own legality.'
Political Geography:
Canada

7. The Quality of Norms is What Actors Make of It: Critical Constructivist Research on Norms

Author:
Antje Wiener and Uwe Puetter
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
What actors make of norms matters, in particular, in situations of crisis when the contextual conditions for norm interpretation are enhanced. That is, situations of crisis add an additional factor of pressure next to the conditions of normative contingency and moving the social practice of governance. beyond the boundaries of modern states. The addition of time requires fast decisions thus leaving little room for deliberation about a norm's meaning. Contrary to the expectation that based on an increasing constitutional quality in beyond‐the‐state contexts, actors can build on and refer to a set of formally and informally shared principles for information and guidance in designing common action and policies, we hold that norm interpretation in international relations is challenged by the absence of cultural background information. If this observation holds, it follows that the often observed constitutional quality beyond the state which includes the formalization of the role of international norms through treaties and agreements, the dense web of international negotiation forums and enhanced possibilities of iterated interaction in the global realm is not necessarily conducive to the shared interpretation of norms in an international setting. While this constitutional quality has been acknowledged and reflected by the concepts of disaggregated network governance, a global community of courts, or as sites of struggle, paradoxically, the very process of norm proliferation and the increasing acknowledgement of the power of norms in international relations and decisions that are taken bring the contested nature of norms to the fore—thus demanding a fresh look at norm applications. Research on norms, therefore, needs to better understand the inherently contested quality of norms that stems from and is closely interrelated with the very processes of norm application. A key theme throughout this special issue is that theoretical approaches to the study of norms need to generate a more encompassing and substantive definition of norms, allowing researchers to study and understand them in a context‐specific manner. We argue that only such an approach can account for the role of contestation as an integral part of the processes by which specific policy options are derived. This poses both a conceptual and empirical challenge.

8. Editors' Note: International Law, International Relations and the War on Terror

Author:
Ruben Zaiotti and Laura Zizzo
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
One of the recurrent charges levelled against International Law it that, when questions of high politics get into the picture, its relevance in world affairs inexorably wanes. This condition is even more apparent when issues of national security are at stake. As the argument goes, when states are trying to protect their very existence in an anarchical world, formal legal preoccupations should give way to the pragmatism of realpolitik.

9. Toward A Richer Institutionalism for International Law and Policy

Author:
Kenneth W. Abbott
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
In 1992, early in the renaissance of scholarship at the junction of international relations theory (IR) and international law (IL), I suggested that the coming years might see 'the emergence of a new joint discipline' like that which had already emerged in law and economics. It is probably fair to say that a true joint discipline does not yet exist and may never come into being. Yet the appearance of this Journal—a valuable and timely addition to the intellectual landscape—highlights the remarkable interdisciplinary progress made in little more than fifteen years.

10. The Relative Autonomy of International Law or The Forgotten Politics of Interdisciplinarity

Author:
Jan Klabbers
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
It goes without saying (but probably needs to be said) that the Foreign Office lawyer preparing a draft declaration on, say, the right to development, should have some understanding of development theory: she would be well-advised to know that there are various theories, not easily reconcilable with each other, on how development is best to be achieved. By the same token, it goes without saying (but might need to be said) that the practicing trade lawyer who does not have a grasp of the basic economics of international trade might not be best-placed to advise her clients. Likewise, it goes without saying (but perhaps needs to be said) that the practitioner at a Ministry of Defence contemplating whether or not to treat prisoners of war decently would enhance the quality of her decisions if she were to have an understanding of such things as game theory and reciprocity.

Refine your search

more »

  • The Journal of International Law and International Relations26

  • Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto26

more »