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Fiduciaries of Humanity

How International Law Constitutes Authority

Evan J Criddle author Evan Fox-Decent author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:13th Oct '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Fiduciaries of Humanity cover

Public international law has embarked on a new chapter. Over the past century, the classical model of international law, which emphasized state autonomy and interstate relations, has gradually ceded ground to a new model. Under the new model, a state's sovereign authority arises from the state's responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights for its people. In Fiduciaries of Humanity: How International Law Constitutes Authority, Evan J. Criddle and Evan Fox-Decent argue that these developments mark a turning point in the international community's conception of public authority. Under international law today, states serve as fiduciaries of humanity, and their authority to govern and represent their people is dependent on their satisfaction of numerous duties, the most general of which is to establish a regime of secure and equal freedom on behalf of the people subject to their power. International institutions also serve as fiduciaries of humanity and are subject to similar fiduciary obligations. In contrast to the receding classical model of public international law, which assumes an abiding tension between a state's sovereignty and principles of state responsibility, the fiduciary theory reconciles state sovereignty and responsibility by explaining how a state's obligations to its people are constitutive of its legal authority under international law. The authors elaborate and defend the fiduciary model while exploring its application to a variety of current topics and controversies, including human rights, emergencies, the treatment of detainees in counterterrorism operations, humanitarian intervention, and the protection of refugees fleeing persecution.

With a bold and broad brush, the authors have painted an impressive picture. They offer an interesting re-description of core issues of the current international legal order. Their tour de force through international law offers a fresh perspective." Anne Peters, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg

ISBN: 9780199397921

Dimensions: 165mm x 259mm x 33mm

Weight: 680g

392 pages