1st Edition

Non-State Actor Dynamics in International Law From Law-Takers to Law-Makers

By Cedric Ryngaert, Math Noortmann Copyright 2010

    Non-state actors have always been treated with ambivalence in the works of international law. While their empirical existence is widely acknowledged and their impact and influence uncontested, non-state actors are still not in the centre of international legal research. The idea that non-state actors are not law-makers, however, stands in sharp contrast with the growing notion of non-state actors as law-takers. This book examines the position of non-state actors in international law as law-makers and law-takers and questions whether these different positions can or should be separated from each other. Each contribution reveals both the political and normative aspects of the question as well as the positivistic possibilities and constraints to accommodate non-state actors as law-takers and law-makers in the contemporary international legal system. Altogether, each expert reveals that the position of non-state actors in international law is not a fixed one but changes with the functional and theoretical perspectives of the observer. Non-State Actor Dynamics in International Law is a welcomed addition to an under researched field of legal study. An indispensable read to scholars and policy makers wishing to gain new insights into general discourse on non-state actors in international law and the process of norm formation in the international realm.

    Preface and Acknowledgements; Chapter 1 Introduction, Math Noortmann, Cedric Ryngaert; Part 1 Part One; Chapter 2 Multinational Enterprises as Actors in International Law, Peter Muchlinski; Chapter 3 The Impact of Non-State Actors on the International Law Regime of Corporate Social Responsibility, Leyla Davarnejad; Part 2 Part Two; Chapter 4 Imposing International Duties on Non-State Actors and the Legitimacy of International Law, Cedric Ryngaert; Chapter 5 Non-State Actors and the International Rule of Law, Janne E. Nijman; Chapter 6 Observations on the Desirability of an Enhanced International Legal Status of the Non-State Actor, Noemi Gal-Or; Part 3 Part Three; Chapter 7 Understanding Non-State Actors in the Contemporary World Society, Math Noortmann; Chapter 8 International Law-Making by Non-State Actors, Jean d’Aspremont; Chapter 9 Non-State Actors, Math Noortmann, Cedric Ryngaert;

    Biography

    Math Noortmann, Professor in International Relations and Public International Law at the Oxford Brookes University, UK and Cedric Ryngaert, Assistant Professor of International Law, Leuven University and Utrecht University

    ' ... a fine set of essays on the question whether non-state actors in international law are changing from law-takers to law-makers. Key concepts in the debate such as legal capacity and legal personality are given careful attention from different perspectives. The NGOs and the multinational enterprises are examined'. Steve Charnovitz, The George Washington University, USA