The Legacy of Punishment in International Law

This book explores the evolution of international punishment from a natural law-based ground for the use of force and conquest to a series of jurisdictional and disciplinary practices in international law not previously seen as being conceptually related. "The Legacy of Punishment in International Law illustrates how 17th and 18th century rationales for the use of force in support of piracy and colonialism have been transformed into progressive features of contemporary International Law. The classic practice of international punishment was a part of the jus ad bellum, and was the fig leaf for intra-European violence, and for the European conquest of the Americas. It has been transformed, however, into the basis for the assertion of a set of unconditionally, universally binding rules of international law, and for universal jurisdiction over perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-13 The Historical Trajectory of International Punishment....Pages 15-44 Jus Cogens....Pages 45-64 Obligations Erga Omnes and the Actio Popularis ....Pages 65-79 The Principle of Universal Jurisdiction....Pages 81-108 The Problematic Discourse of State Crime....Pages 109-135 Conclusion....Pages 137-140 Back Matter....Pages 141-189