
The Unruly Notion of Abuse of Rights
Jan Paulsson(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 11. August 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-108-81483-6 (ISBN)
Description
Everyone condemns what they perceive as 'abuse of rights', and some would elevate it to a general principle of law. But the notion seldom suffices to be applied as a rule of decision. When adjudicators purport to do so they expose themselves to charges of unpredictability, if not arbitrariness. After examining the dissimilar origins and justification of the notion in national and international doctrine, and the difficulty of its application in both comparative and international law, this book concludes that except when given context as part of a lex specialis, it is too nebulous to serve as a general principle of international law.
Reviews / Votes
'With precision and passion, Paulsson challenges a shibboleth of international law.' W. Michael Reisman, Professor, Yale Law School 'Paulsson's characteristic insistence that - in Holmes' phrase - we must think things, not words, and his willingness to puncture conventional wisdom, all make this a vital read for anyone concerned with the nature of law; characteristically, too, this is at the same time erudite and readable, clear-headed and quotable.' Alan Scott Rau, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas School of Law 'Some may describe this book as iconoclastic. I say simply: legal theory at its best.' Francisco Gonzales de Cossio, Arbitrator and Professor, Universidad Iberoamericana and Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico 'Unprincipled and unstructured pleas of abuse of rights will not survive the publication of this book.' Zachary Douglas QC, Institut de hautes etudes internationales et du developpement (Geneva) 'I strongly recommend this book, supremely sharp on technical reasoning and sensitive to challenges and limitations of the reality of international dispute settlement that the author knows so well. Whether the reader finds themselves largely persuaded by Paulsson's argument, as I was, they will certainly be intellectually enriched from reading the treatment of an important topic by one of the great figures of modern international dispute settlement. The essentially simultaneous publication in autumn 2020 of The Unruly Notion of Abuse of Rights and the merits judgment of the ICJ in Immunities and Criminal Proceedings puts the book under review in the rare category of perfectly timed scholarship that independently captures the substance of the leading judgment, explains the intellectual backstory of a key concept, and is likely to significantly shape future developments in the field.' Martins Paparinskis, Arbitration InternationalMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 152 mm
Width: 226 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
246 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-81483-6 (9781108814836)
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Schweitzer Classification
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Jan Paulsson
The Unruly Notion of Abuse of Rights
Book
08/2020
Cambridge University Press
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The Unruly Notion of Abuse of Rights
E-Book
07/2020
Cambridge University Press
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Person
Jan Paulsson is Emeritus Professor at the School of Law of the University of Miami, and a former Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has served as President of the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, and the World Bank Administrative Tribunal; and as a Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He is the author of The Idea of Arbitration (2013) and Denial of Justice in International Law (2005).
Content
1. Matters of nomenclature; 2. An idealistic but troublesome impulse; 3. A cacophony of criteria; 4. A 'principle' with no rules?; 5. The challenge of establishing universal principles; 6. The Politis/Lauterpacht quest to elevate abuse of right; 7. Rejection and retrenchment; 8. The vanishing prospect.