9th Edition
Akehurst's Modern Introduction to International Law
First published in 1970, Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to International Law rapidly established itself as a widely used and successful textbook in its field. Being the shortest of all the major textbooks in this area, it continues to offer a concise and accessible overview of the concepts, themes, and issues central to the growing system of international law, while retaining Akehurst’s original positivist approach that accounts for the essence and character of this system of law.
This new ninth edition has been further revised and updated by Alexander Orakhelashvili to take account of a plethora of recent developments and updates in the field, accounting for over forty decisions of international and national courts, as well as a number of treaties and major incidents that have occurred since the eighth edition of this textbook was published.
Based on transparent methodology and with a distinctive cross-jurisdictional approach which opens up the discipline to students from all backgrounds, this engaging, well-structured, and reputable textbook will provide students with all the tools, methods, and concepts they need to fully understand this complex and diverse subject. It is an essential text for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of international law, government and politics, and international relations.
This book is one of the only textbooks in international law to offer a fully updated, bespoke companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/orakhelashvili.
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Sources of international law
4. International law and municipal law
5. Creation and recognition of States
6. Legal personality of non-State entities
7. Territory
8. The law of the sea
9. Air space and outer space
10. State jurisdiction
11. Immunity from jurisdiction
12. Law of treaties
13. State responsibility
14. State succession
15. Protected persons and entities: nationality and individual rights
16. Protected persons and entities: human rights, group rights, and self-determination
17. Protection of the environment
18. International economic relations
19. International criminal justice
20. Use of force
21. Laws applicable to war and armed conflict
22. The United Nations and peace and security
23. Settlement of disputes
Biography
Alexander Orakhelashvili (LLM Leiden, PhD Cantab), Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK, has taught and researched public international law at four British universities over the past twenty years. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences and seminars on developments in public international law, and has given invited papers at the events and conferences held in the UK, the USA, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Japan. He has provided legal advice regarding public international law issues in litigation before English and American courts. His publications include Peremptory Norms in International Law (2006), The Interpretation of Acts and Rules in Public International Law (2008), Collective Security (2011), Domesticating Kelsen: Towards the Pure Theory of English Law (2019), and International Law and International Politics: Foundations of Interdisciplinary Analysis (2020), as well as three edited collections and more than eighty articles and book chapters in leading journals and edited collections.
"For over half a century Akehurst has stood out among introductions to international law for its readability and comprehensiveness, and its insightful analysis. Alexander Orakhelashvili has done a superb job in bringing it not only into the twenty-first century but right up to date. It remains an essential reference point for everyone in the field."
Philip Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, New York University, USA
"First published in 1970, Akehurst is a classic textbook that has introduced generations of students to the study of international law. In this ninth edition, Alexander Orakhelashvili brings it fully up to date while preserving its distinctly clear and insightful treatment of both doctrinal and theoretical questions. Akehurst remains an essential companion for every serious student of international law."
Umut Özsu, Associate Professor, Carleton University, Canada
"Alexander Orakhelashvili has masterfully updated Akehurst’s textbook for the ninth edition to include recent developments in international law, notably in the law of the sea, treaty law, international trade law, and, of course, international criminal law."
Kevin W. Gray, Lecturer, University of Toronto, Canada
"This new edition of Akehurst has been fully updated by Orakhelashvili to take into account key developments in terms of state practice, treaties, and case law. It is an up to date and comprehensive yet accessible introduction to international law that will be of use to students of all levels, academics, practitioners, and anybody with an interest in international law as it operates in both its historical and contemporary context."
Christian Henderson, Professor of International Law, University of Sussex, UK
