An Introduction to Contemporary International Law A Policy-Oriented Perspective

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law: A Policy-Oriented Perspective introduces the reader to all major aspects of contemporary international law. It applies the highly acclaimed approach developed by the New Haven School of International Law, holding international law as an ongoing process of authoritative decision-making through which the members of the world community identify, clarify, and secure their common interests. Unlike conventional works in international law, this book is organized and structured in terms of the process of decision making in the international arena, and references both classic historical examples and contemporary events to illustrate international legal processes and principles.

Using contemporary examples, this Third Edition builds on the previous editions by contextualizing and dramatizing recent events with reference to seven features that characterize the New Haven School approach to international law: participants, perspectives, arenas of decision, bases of power, strategies, outcomes, and effects. This new edition highlights cutting-edge ideas in international law, including the right to self-determination, the evolution of Taiwan statehood, the expanding scope of international concern and the duty of states to protect human rights, the trend towards greater accountability for states and individual decision-makers under international law, and the vital role individual responsibility plays in the emerging field of international criminal law. It offers a new generation the intellectual tools needed to act as responsible citizens in a world community seeking human dignity and human security for all people.

Lung-chu Chen is an internationally recognized scholar and Professor of Law at New York Law School, specializing in the areas of international law, U.S. constitutional law, conflict of laws, human rights, and the United Nations. He previously served as Senior Research Associate and Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School.

Professor Chen has worked with a variety of government agencies, non-profit groups, and private firms throughout his distinguished career. He is Chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation, President of the New Century Institute (New York), and Honorary President of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA). He is a former President of the Taiwanese Society of International Law, and a former national policy advisor to the president of Taiwan. He served on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law and as Vice President and member of the Governing Council of the International League for Human Rights. He has served as Chairman of the Association of American Law Schools Section on International Law, and President of the North America Taiwanese Professors' Association (NATPA). For many years, he also served as a Director and a member of the Editorial Board of the American Society of Comparative Law and is currently Director of the Policy Sciences Center.
Professor Chen is Editor-in-Chief of a quarterly journal, New Century Think Tank Forum. His publications include Membership for Taiwan in the United Nations: Achieving Justice and Universality (editor), An Introduction to Contemporary International Law, Human Rights and World Public Order (with McDougal and Lasswell), and Formosa, China and the United Nations (with Lasswell). In addition, he has written or edited a number of books in Chinese. Currently he is co-general editor of a series of books relating to the United Nations system published under the auspices of the Taiwan Institute for U.N. Studies.