TY - BOOK ID - 249604 TI - Optimal protection of international law PY - 2008 SN - 9780521516822 052151682X 9780511494291 9781107406926 1107406927 1107191068 0511437722 9786613330970 0511438397 0511494297 0511435479 1283330970 0511436262 0511437048 9780511438394 PB - Cambridge New York Cambridge University Press DB - UniCat KW - International law KW - International law. KW - Law KW - General and Others KW - Law of nations KW - Nations, Law of KW - Public international law UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:249604 AB - Assume, for a moment, that the necessary tools are available to induce or even force states to comply with international law. In such a state of affairs, how strongly should international law be protected? More specifically, how easy should it be to change international law? Should treaties be specifically performed or should states be given an opportunity to 'pay their way out'? In the event of states violating their commitments, what kind of back-up enforcement or sanctions should be imposed? Joost Pauwelyn uses the distinction between liability rules, property protection and inalienable entitlements as a starting point for a new theory of variable protection of international law, placed at the intersection between 'European absolutism' and 'American voluntarism'. Rather than undermining international law, variable protection takes the normativity of international law seriously and calibrates it to achieve maximum welfare and effectiveness at the lowest cost to contractual freedom and legitimacy. ER -