Carlston, Kenneth S.

English

Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

Indiana Law JournalVolume 31 | Issue 2 Article 10Winter 1956Cases and Materials on International Law, by LesterB. Orfield and Edward D. ReKenneth S. CarlstonUniversity of IllinoisFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iljPart of the International Law Commons, Legal Education Commons, and the Legal Writing andResearch CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the LawSchool Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized administrator ofDigital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contactwattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationCarlston, Kenneth S. (1956) "Cases and Materials on International Law, by Lester B. Orfield and Edward D. Re," Indiana Law Journal:Vol. 31: Iss. 2, Article 10.Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol31/iss2/10BOOK REVIEWSCASES AND MATERIALS ON INTERNATIONAL LAW. By Lester B. Or-field and Edward D. Re. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc.,1955. Pp. xxi, 781. $12.00.This is a book which conscientiously achieves its stated objective:To "provide a flexible teaching tool for an introductory course in inter-national law in law schools." The materials presented are at their irre-ducible minimum. Indeed, the teacher will have to plan to use a consider-able amount of class time to flesh out their bare bones and give them lifeand solidity. But it would be unfortunate indeed if the materials in acourse in international law should be so complete as to inhibit their use asa springboard for discussion and the exploration of ideas. Moreover, theauthors have provided extensive bibliographical assistance. Each chapterhas its own bibliography, notes of references bearing on particular topicsare included, and Appendix 4 contains a selected general biblography.Pathways are thus provided which the inquiring mind may pursue.The approach to the course is that of the classical positivist. It isaffirmed that states are the subjects of international law and custom,based on common consent, the source of its rules. The nature and functionof international law, its sources, sanctions, codification, and relation tomunicipal law, are disposed of in twenty pages. Yet one wonders whetheran important value in the course may not lie in bringing the student to arealization that we have in international law a different kind of law fromthat which he had previously studied. This would involve an explorationof the sociological as well as the juridical bases of international law, itsstrength and its limitations, and its possibilities for growth.Considerable questioning exists today whether the hitherto acceptedjuridical framework of international law does not need to be recast. Pro-fessor McDougal's brilliant lectures at the Hague in 1953 provide a modelby which international law may be integrated with the social sciences.The question of the place of the individual in international law,2 which1. McDougal, Interitational Law, Power and Policy: A Contemporary Conception,82 ACADEMIE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL, RECUEIL DES COURS 137 (1953).2. See JEssup, A MODERN LAW OF NATIONS 8-10, 15-42 (1948) ; Aufricht, Person-ality in International Law, 37 AM. POL. Sci. REv. 217 (1943) ; Idelson, The Law of Na-tions and the Individual, 30 TRANSACTIONS OF THE GROTIUS SocIErY 50 (1944) ; Lauter-pacht, The Subject of the Law of Nations, 63 L.Q. REv. 438 (1947), 64 L.Q. REv. 97(1948) ; Manner, The Object Theory of the Individual in International Law, 46 Am. J.INT'L L. 428 (1952).BOOK REVIEWSis so central to reexamination of the theory of international law nowtaking place, cannot be adequately dealt with merely by the inclusion ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights and references to some of theliterature bearing on the human rights and genocide movements, as isdone in five pages of the text. Faced with the realities of the classroom,the necessity of providing materials which would permit a coverage of thetraditional subject matter of the course within the designated class hours,the authors have, however, apparently concluded that it is not possibleto enter upon such speculations.A reviewer may raise issues as to the validity of the fundamentalassumptions of an author, as we have above. Evaluation of his work wouldnot otherwise be complete. But a reviewer must primarily concern himselfwith the question: What was the author's objective and how well did hesucceed in reaching that objective? In pursuit of their stated objective,the authors have provided a text which with admirable conciseness coversnot only the traditional subject matter of a course in international lawbut also includes at least two topics not usually found, namely, a roundedexploration of the topic of the international administration of justice andan examination of the procedural aspects of international claims. Atten-tion is also given to the important developments in recent years in the lawof jurisdiction over air space. Throughout the text, preference in theselection of materials has been given to recent developments. Freshnessand vitality are thereby imparted to a course which can be sterile unless itis related to the realities of international life.3In short, this is a text prepared by experienced teachers, containinga thoughtful and professional selection of materials, and carefully designedfor classroom instruction purposes.4 Certainly the student who has gonethrough this casebook, under the guidance of a teacher who inparts mean-ing and depth to the materials selected, can rest assured that he has beengiven as thorough an exposure to the subject matter of international lawas is possible within the time allotted in the law school curriculum.KENNETH S. CARLSTON13. "Without it [the background of international society], international law mustappear to the student as a lifeless and quaint phenomenon." Schwarzenberger, 01 Teach-ing Intermational Law, 4 INT'L L.Q. 299, 300 (1951). "International law . . . cannot beconsidered in isolation. Unless continually related to international politics it becomesunreal." Wright, The Teaching of International Law in the Post War World, PROCEED-INGS OF THE EIGHTH CONFERENCE OF TEACHERS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND RELATEDSUBJECTS 27 (1946).4. The teacher of international law is provided in Appendix 3 with a selectedbibliography on the teaching of international law.t Professor of Law, University of Illinois.

Cases and Materials on International Law, by Lester B. Orfield and Edward D. Re

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Cases and Materials on International Law, by Lester B. Orfield and Edward D. Re

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Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law