Preface

• Author: John H. Currie
• Profession: Faculty of Law University of Ottawa
• Pages: 17-18

PREFACE

The

field

of

public international

law is

vast, comprising

an

entire legal

system governing

the

rights

and

obligations

of

states

in

their relations

with

one

another and, increasingly, with non-state actors.

The

area

has

undergone explosive growth

in the

past half-century

and so,

accordingly,

has its

pervasive

influence

on

international relations

and

domestic legal

systems alike. Canada

in

particular

has

been

a

leader

in

this

area such

that,

today, there

is

virtually

no

aspect

of

Canadian

law

that

has not in

some

way or

another

been

influenced

by

international

law.

Internation-

al

law has

therefore ceased

to be an

arcane

and

specialized topic,

of

interest only

to a

small group

of

academics

and

lawyers

in

government

practice.

It has

entered

the

legal mainstream

and yet is

still little known

by

many practitioners, judges

and

students.

This book

is

therefore

intended

as a

systematic introduction

to

this

complex

and

increasingly important

area

of the

law.

It

describes

and

places

in

context

the

fundamental

elements

of the

international legal sys-

tem — the

subjects

of

international law,

its key

institutional structures,

its

sources,

its

interaction with domestic legal systems

— and

reviews

some

of its

most important substantive topics

—

including

the law of

treaties,

the

relationship between states

and

territory,

the law of the

sea,

state

jurisdiction

and

jurisdictional immunities, international human

rights law,

and the

fundamental

rules

of

state responsibility. While

the

sheer

reach

and

diversity

of

modern

international

law

place

an

exhaus-

tive

treatment

of

every

one of its

numerous substantive topics beyond

the

scope

of

this

introductory text,

the

contents

of

this book have been cho-

sen for

their

fundamental

importance

to an

understanding

of

interna-

tional

law

more generally

and to

further

study

in

specialized areas.

It is

hoped that,

in

assisting readers

to

acquire

a

basic understanding

of the

international legal system, this work

may

also encourage their more

active

and

effective

participation

in its

future

development.

Many

people have

had a

hand

in

bringing this project

to

fruition.

I

am

particularly

grateful

to my

colleague

Don

McRae

for

devoting much

time

to

reviewing

and

commenting upon

the

manuscript,

as

well

as for