The Rule of Unwritten International Law

This book applies general concepts of legal philosophy to explain the continuing relevance of custom as a source of international law, while at the same time inferring from this theoretical framework concrete practical and methodological consequences, the most important of which is the special role that purposive interpretation plays with respect to rules of international custom. Given this broad approach, the book will be of interest to several groups of potential readers including academics interested in the philosophy of customary law in general, academic international lawyers and legal practitioners, especially judges, and scholars of international relations and all those interested in how the international community of States organises itself.