Islamic jurisprudence is a much misunderstood system. The misunderstanding is due to lack of information and to centuries of prejudice. This book seeks to present information, not at present available in a single work, on the pioneering efforts of Islamic jurists to develop a comprehensive body of human rights, principles and practice, as well as a corpus of international law principles. The attempt to develop such international law principles long anticipated any similar work in other legal or cultural systems. Human rights doctrine based upon the Qu'ran and the Sunna of the Prophet was expressed in terms which will strike the reader as surprisingly modern. In international law, Islamic treatises anticipated the work of Grotius by eight centuries. It is hoped that this systematic exposition, not attempted before in such detail, will help considerably in reducing misunderstanding and the resulting tensions, as well as being of considerable value to the Islamic world. The work will be of interest not only to lawyers, but also to philosophers, historians, sociologists, political scientists and students of international affairs.
Universalising international law is one of the most urgent tasks awaiting those who wish to advance the discipline. Though all the world acknowledges its universal nature, it has long been confined in a largely monocultural mould. Indeed a tendency is sometimes discernible for international law to be compartmentalised and to function within a close cabinet of technical rules little known to those outside the ranks of specialists. This volume looks initially at some general aspects of universalisation. It thereafter adopts a universalist approach to some of the sources of international law and it deals with peace, the bedrock of international law, which likewise requires a universalist approach. It is hoped that these studies will highlight the imperative need that now exists for extending the conceptual framework of international law, thereby buttressing its moral authority and widening its appeal at a time when universal acceptance of international law is one of the most pressing demands of the international system.
This volume is based on the theme that justice cannot be confined within limitations of space, time or academic discipline, a theme which Judge Christopher Weeramantry has consistently applied in the valuable writings which are collected here. Justice breaks out beyond the bounds of particular cultural traditions and territorial boundaries. It transcends generational barriers and imposes on every generation duties towards those who are to follow. It reaches beyond the bounds of the discipline of law and fertilizes the interface area between law and any discipline one may care to name. This representative selection of lectures and writings, delivered and published over the past three decades in many parts of the world, reveals the depth and significance of Judge Weeramantry's contribution to the ongoing debate on the nature and scope of Human Rights in the international community. Some of his essays foreshadowed future dangers which have since materialized, and they all represent a resistance to attitudes of legal formalism which often seem to override considerations of justice in the handling of the problems under examination. All of these discussions portray the all-pervasive nature of justice, its universality, and its timelessness. This volume is the first of several which will cover Judge Weeramantry's contribution to legal literature. The remaining volumes will contain essays on Justice in a Global Context, Justice in the Age of Technology and The Votaries of Justice.
Several years ago when this work first appeared, it had become apparent that scientists, who play such a key role in the nuclear enterprise, needed to be alerted to the many questions of conscience and legality that were inextricably interlinked with their work. These questions lay at the heart of the nuclear weapons problem, for whatever the political and military leaders might ordain, the manufacture of such weapons was a plain impossibility without the active assistance of the scientific profession. Yet no substantive work on this topic had until then been attempted. Such a work appeared at that time to be an urgent and important need. If the problem was then acute and serious, it is even more so now. The power of nuclear science has grown and with it has grown the power of the individual scientist to initiate new developments. The changes in the world order that have occurred in the intervening years enable individual scientists to hold themselves out as available for employment. Those who seek their expertise may include not only governments but other entities as well. The power of global destruction that these scientists command renders it imperative that they be alerted on a continuing basis to the problems of conscience that arise. Hence the need for a re-issue of this work, for which there had been many requests from concerned scientists, professional groups, socially concerned organisations and also from lawyers. The book is re-issued in its original form but updated by the inclusion of more recent work as contained in extracts from three judicial opinions upon the matter.
This work, an important bridge between the worlds of science and law, is one of a series, but may be purchased separately. It is one of the most detailed studies thus far on the interrelationship of science and technology with the growing discipline of human rights. Apart from general perspectives, it also deals specifically with the obligations of doctors, engineers, nuclear scientists, computer technologists, genetic engineers, genetic counsellors, mining technologists, and others. No library of science, medicine, engineering or technology of any description should be without it, for it provides an irreducible minimum of human rights knowledge, without which these disciplines cannot function in the next century with due regard to their social and human rights implications. Not all scientists will agree with all the author's views, but he poses them challengingly and brings into the open a number of major issues which can no longer be ignored. The volume is a plea for an interdisciplinary and broad-based approach to scientific problems, scientific education, and continuing education of scientists. It places the scientific endeavour in its overall social and human rights context in a manner which neither students of science nor established scientists can ignore. With an approach which is both imaginative and practical, it explores the future of scientific endeavour in a humanistic perspective.
This book offers a cutting-edge scholarly discussion of judicial and legal methods to reconcile national and international economic, social and environmental law for sustainable development. A diverse anthology of perspectives from developed and developing countries, the book contains contributions from judges, international lawyers and other experts with a wealth of experience in the emerging field of sustainable development law. It presents negotiators, scholars and jurists with a lively, thought-provoking and highly current discussion of international legal debates related to sustainable development. The final part discusses future developments in sustainable development law, based on the results of three recent international processes. "Sustainable Justice" weaves a diverse and intriguing collection, reflecting a vigorous yet practical international legal debate of crucial importance to our common future.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.