Until recently, international law has been a relatively abstract field, with much of the space filled not by actual legislation or court cases, but by theory and philosophy. It was the "law of nations," law decided upon by nations pretty much when and as they wished, and just as often ignored. But the field has undergone an amazing transformation over recent decades, as more and more international organizations were created, some universal like the United Nations bodies, some regional, including the European Union. Since then, the states, organizations and actual legislative bodies have been adopting law after law, indeed, thousands of laws. Meanwhile, a number of courts have emerged alongside the International Court of Justice, including European courts and special courts on human rights. These dictionaries include sections on the underlying legislation, landmark cases and rulings, significant courts and tribunals, and important persons (legislators, judges, commentators and other authorities). Forthcoming volumes will deal with different branches of international law such as humanitarian law, law of the seas, and copyright law as well as the legal system of different regions or groupings, such as European Union and European law, Inter-American law, and Islamic law. This still small series has been revived with the publication of International Law: A Dictionary, which is a pathbreaking study of the development of international law from the earliest times to the present day. It joins a specialized dictionary on international human rights law and will hopefully precede other similar works. Given the close relationship between international law and international organizations, readers will also do well to consult the series of Historical Dictionaries of International Organizations, among others, the volume on International Tribunals.

Editor(s): Jon Woronoff, Series Editor