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Book Review: International Legal Aspects of Federalism, by Ivan Bernier

York University, Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School of York UniversityOsgoode Digital CommonsArticles & Book Chapters Faculty Scholarship1974Book Review: International Legal Aspects ofFederalism, by Ivan BernierPeter W. HoggOsgoode Hall Law School of York UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/scholarly_worksThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works4.0 License.This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Articles & Book Chapters by an authorized administrator of Osgoode Digital Commons.Recommended CitationHogg, Peter W. "Book Review: International Legal Aspects of Federalism, by Ivan Bernier." Canadian Bar Review 52.4 (1974):618-619.618	THE CANADIAN BAR REVIEW [VOL . LHthat members are more likely to comply with decisions of theFund as a regulatory organization if the decisions are reachedby a consensus or at least widespread concurrence" .Though the book is of interest to all international lawyers itis more of an introductory work for the general reader and thespecialist will no doubt use it more as a starting point for furtherenquiry. For example, in Chapter 8, Dr. Gold raises the interest-ing question of the status before the municipal courts of memberstates of a decision of the Executive Directors interpreting theFund Agreement in accordance with article XVIII. The pointbecomes particularly important in relation to the obligation onstates to refuse to enforce exchange contracts that are contraryto the exchange control regulations of a member state adoptedin accordance with the Fund Agreement. This obligation is im-posed upon states by virtue of article VIII 2(b) of the FundAgreement,' and the question arises whether interpretations of thisprovision by the Executive Directors are automatically part ofthe law of member states. However, there is no detailed discussionof the problem in the book and the reader will have to refer toearlier works by Dr . Gold and others for a fuller treatment of thesubject.This is not to detract from the book which provides a com-prehensive discussion and analysis of voting and decision-makingin the International Monetary Fund. Indeed, international legalscholars would benefit greatly if legal counsel in other internationalorganizations were encouraged to emulate Dr . Gold and throughthe publication of monographs and papers make more widelyknown the law and practice of their international organizations .D. M. MCRAE*International Legal Aspects of Federalism . By IVAN BERNIER. Lon-don: Longman. .1973. Pp . xi, 308. (£4.95.)This book studies the intersection of federal constitutional law andinternational law. There are two parts to the study. One part looksat the federal state as a subject of international law : how does itdiffer from a unitary state in the acquisition and fulfillment ofinternational rights and obligations? The second part looks at theinfluence of the federal concept on international law: how has thefederal concept influenced organizations of states and the settle-ment of disputes in international law?' This provision has been implemented in Canada by The Bretton WoodsAgreements Act, R.S.C ., 1970, c. B-9, s. 3.* D. M. McRae, of the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia,Vancouver.19741 ook Reviews	619The book is a remarkable piece of scholarship, demonstratinga grasp not merely of the two principal legal disciplines, but ofmuch of the federal law and practice of a large number of federalcountries, and especially, Canada, the United States, Australia,Switzerland, Germany and Russia . The footnotes and bibliographyare packed with material in French and German as well as. English.The long bibliography will prove to be exceptionally seful tolibraries and scholars working in related fields.This book is not primarily concerned with Canada . However,Canada's role in the international community and Canada's diffi-culties in adhering to and fulfilling international obligations areamong the topics which are treated and illuminated by the com-parative approach . We learn for example that Quebec's claim toenter into international agreements in its own right is a good dealmore tenable than, the conventional wisdom in English-speakingCanada would have us believe. In Germany, Switzerland, theSoviet Union and the United States of America the written consti-tutions expressly authorize the regional units to enter into agree-ments with foreign states, although the consent of the centralgovernment or legislature is always necessary. Therefore, whilethe British North America Act is silent on the issue, it seems inaccord with established practice to allow provinces some scope fordirect dealings with foreign states, always subject in each instanceto the consent and supervision of the federal government and(needless to say) of the foreign state. This is the effect of thecompromise which was worked out in 1965 to enable Quebec toenter into cultural agreements with France.' The desirability ofthis kind of arrangement is emphasized by the federal Parliament'sincapacity to enact laws in fulfillment of treaty obligations in fieldswithin the legislative competence of the provinces! The need tosecure provir}cial legislation in order to implement conventionswith respect to labour, education, the status of refugees, women'srights and human rights generally has prevented Canada from ac-cepting or in some cases from fulfilling international commit-ments.'This book makes an original contribution to legal literature byits synthesis of two subjects which are traditionally seen as dis-crete. Every lawyer who is interested in federal constitutional lawor international law will find much that is new and challenging inthe book . Both author and publisher deserve our congratulations.P. W. How*xP. 188.'A .-G. Can. v. A.G. onY., [19371 A.C. 326.'Pp. 152-158.=s P. W. Hogg, of the osgoode Hall School, York University, Toronto.

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Book Review: International Legal Aspects of Federalism, by Ivan Bernier

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