Taking International Law Seriously

In 1994 the ASIL published the collect-ed presidential notes of Louis Henkin entitled “Taking International Law Seriously”, in which he appealed to U.S. officials to comply with international law obligations, and to act in bona fide in respect to international law. In 1994 Justice Blackmun made the famous statement: “Taking international law seriously where the death penalty is concerned draws into question the United States’ entire capital punishment enterprise.” More than ten years have passed in which the world has experienced a humanitarian intervention in former Yugoslavia, the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The law has changed, the world has changed; only the United States persistently maintains its old attitude towards international law. The authors analyze this anachronism in the book at hand, with the underlying assumption that nations, in relationship to one another, should treat international law as authoritative. Just as the rule of law played a vital role in the 18th and 19th centuries in most European countries in achieving political reforms, so the international rule of law is seen today as the means to civilize the exercise of power on the international level.