Books by Jan Paulsson

Everyone condemns the 'abuse of rights', but it is seldom applied as a rule of decision. This book concludes that except when given context as part of a lex specialis, it is too nebulous, and too likely to lead to arbitrariness, to serve as a general principle of international law.

Denial of justice is one of the oldest bases of liability in international law and the modern understanding of denial of justice is examined by Paulsson in this book, which was originally published in 2005. The possibilities for prosecuting the offence of denial of justice have evolved in fundamental ways and it is now settled law that States cannot disavow international responsibility by arguing that their courts are independent of the government. Even more importantly, the doors of international tribunals have swung wide open to admit claimants other than states: non-governmental organisations, corporations and individuals, and Paulsson examines several recent cases of great importance in his book.