Regional and General International Law

Abstract

In the post-Cold War era, regional international law was largely treated as a form of particular international law the validity of which depended on general international law. This view has come under pressure as consensus on universal legal values erodes and regional rules proliferate across nearly all fields of international law. This book offers a framework for understanding the distinct legal significance of regional international law and its interaction with general international law. Key contributions include the development of three criteria for defining ‘regions’, the demonstration that regional rules and practice play a distinct role in shaping international law, the identification of the ‘triple challenge’ that sets regional law apart from other forms of particular international law, and the proposal of a three-step approach, based on secondary rules, enabling all subjects of international law to contest, shape, and change both regional and general international law.