Legal Authority beyond the State

"In recent decades, new international courts and other legal bodies have proliferated as international law has broadened beyond the fields of treaty law and diplomatic relations. This development has not only triggered debate about how authority may be held by institutions beyond the state, but has also thrown into question familiar models of authority found in legal and political philosophy. The essays in this book take a philosophical approach to these developments, debates and questions. In doing so, they seek to clarify the relevant issues underpinning, as well as develop possible solutions to the problem of how legal authority may be constructed beyond the state"-- "It is now an uncontentious observation about the very fabric of global society that international law can no longer be reduced to a conjunction of treaty law and diplomatic relations. This situation raises new and significant questions for those considering the authority of international, transnational and global law.1 The authors of the chapters of this book aim to articulate and respond to these questions. 1. The Field of Contemporary Global Governance The observation just made can be illustrated in at least two ways. In this section, we, first, illustrate some examples of how the validity of international law, and the authority of international courts, has extended beyond being merely a product of state will, and how this extension of authority has met resistance. Second, we then explain how this extension can be described as a form of autonomous living international law"--