Disaggregating Customary International Law

Abstract

Abstract: This paper responds to a provocative essay by Curtis Bradley and Mitu Gulati on exiting from customary international law. Bradley and Gulati argue that until the mid-twentieth century, unilateral exit from customary international law was widely accepted in at least some circumstances, and that such exit is normatively desirable. I attempt to illuminate their thesis by demonstrating the diversities of customary international law and how exit works in different categories and before different fora.

Keywords: international law, international relations