International Life and International Legal Ordering: A Study of Change in International Law as Exemplified by Its Positioning of the Individual

Abstract

This essay is concerned with what prompts change to occur in public international law and with what the mechanisms of change are. It is premised on the idea that the Conference title should be formulated the other way around and therefore it examines the conjunctive relationship between “time and international law” in terms of the intended objects of regulation. Although international law is the reference point of the following discussion, it is not considered primary; the significance of other factors is instead emphasized. Extra-legal forces drive the generation and organization of rules here; or put otherwise, international law in this context often reflects socio-historical factors and processes. This alternative understanding of international life and international legal ordering is concretized through a case study of the changing role and status of the individual.

Keywords: international law, sociology, time, position of individual