Preface to the second edition

• Author: Gib van Ert
• Pages: 19-20

Preface to the second

edition

No book can ever be f‌ini shed. W hile working on it we learn just

enough to f‌ind it immatu re the moment we turn away from it.

— Karl Popper, preface to the rev ised edition of

e Open Society and it s Enemies ()

ough this b ook was f‌irst published in , most of the writing was

done in  and . Our understanding of how international law

applies in Canada has grown in that time, due to an upswing in interest

from academics, lawyers, government, and the courts. ere ha s been

much to add, and much to revise, in preparing this second ed ition.

Apart from updating t he book with recent cases and developments,

I have reorganized it and expa nded certain discussions i nto sepa rate

chapters. I have also si gnif‌icantly revised the hum an rights discussion

to take into account both recent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of

Canada a nd my more thorough study of that area with Mark Freeman

in International Human R ights Law (Toronto: Irwin Law, ). Last ly I

have rewr itten many passages, having discovered (to my chagrin) the

truth in Dr Popper’s observation.

I h ave a lready noted that since this book was f‌irst published t he

issues discussed in it have received much scholarly attention. I have had

the good fortune to be a part of many of these debates, whether in print,

at conferences, or just over e-mail. I have benef‌ited enormously from

these exchanges, as I hope this second edition will show. My views have

sometimes changed , and even where they have not I have developed a

deeper appreciation of the other side of the argument. I have received a

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