Custom as a Source of Law

Bederman, David J.

Legal Theory & Systems

Cambridge University Press

This study of the origins of international law combines techniques of intellectual history and historiography to investigate the earliest developments of the law of nations. Containing up-to-date literature and archaeological evidence, it reevaluates the critical attributes of international law. David J. Bederman focuses on three essential areas in which law influenced ancient state relations--diplomacy, treaty-making and warfare--in a detailed analysis of the Near East (2800-700 BCE), the Greek city-states (500-338 BCE), and Rome (358-168 BCE). A fascinating study for lawyers, ancient historians and classicists alike.

International Law in Antiquity (Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, Series Number 16)

Foreign & International Law

Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the Constitution and the mindset of the framers! The drafters and ratifiers of the American Constitution were influenced by ancient history and classical political theory. This new volume combines techniques of intellectual history, classical studies, and constitutional interpretation offering fresh insights into the way the Framers designed the structural aspects of the Constitution, including separation of powers, the balance between federal and state power, the authority of the senate, judicial independence, and the exercise of war and foreign relations powers.

The Classical Foundations of the American Constitution: Prevailing Wisdom

Legal History

A central puzzle in jurisprudence has been the role of custom in law. Custom is simply the practices and usages of distinctive communities. But are such customs legally binding? Can custom be law, even before it is recognized by authoritative legislation or precedent? And, assuming that custom is a source of law, what are its constituent elements? Is proof of a consistent and long-standing practice sufficient, or must there be an extra ingredient - that the usage is pursued out of a sense of legal obligation, or, at least, that the custom is reasonable and efficacious? And, most tantalizing of all, is custom a source of law that we should embrace in modern, sophisticated legal systems, or is the notion of law from below outdated, or even dangerous, today? This volume answers these questions through a rigorous multidisciplinary, historical, and comparative approach, offering a fresh perspective on custom's enduring place in both domestic and international law.

This study of the origins of international law combines techniques of intellectual history and historiography to investigate the earliest developments of the law of nations. Containing up-to-date literature and archaeological evidence, it reevaluates the critical attributes of international law. David J. Bederman focuses on three essential areas in which law influenced ancient state relations--diplomacy, treaty-making and warfare--in a detailed analysis of the Near East (2800-700 BCE), the Greek city-states (500-338 BCE), and Rome (358-168 BCE). A fascinating study for lawyers, ancient historians and classicists alike.

History

Europe

A central puzzle in jurisprudence has been the role of custom in law. Custom is simply the practices and usages of distinctive communities. But are such customs legally binding? Can custom be law, even before it is recognized by authoritative legislation or precedent? And, assuming that custom is a source of law, what are its constituent elements? Is proof of a consistent and long-standing practice sufficient, or must there be an extra ingredient - that the usage is pursued out of a sense of legal obligation, or, at least, that the custom is reasonable and efficacious? And, most tantalizing of all, is custom a source of law that we should embrace in modern, sophisticated legal systems, or is the notion of law from below outdated, or even dangerous, today? This volume answers these questions through a rigorous multidisciplinary, historical, and comparative approach, offering a fresh perspective on custom's enduring place in both domestic and international law.

This volume examines a question of law and jurisprudence: where did the special rules used to interpret legal texts come from, and why do they remain significant today? This study offers an intellectual history of these rules, these canons, and concludes they originated in classical antiquity.

Classical Canons: Rhetoric, Classicism and Treaty Interpretation (Applied Legal Philosophy)

Ashgate Pub Ltd

As our society becomes more global, international law is taking on an increasingly significant role, not only in world politics but also in the affairs of a striking array of individuals, enterprises, and institutions. In this comprehensive study, David J. Bederman focuses on international law as a current, practical means of regulating and influencing international behavior. He shows it to be a system unique in its nature—nonterritorial but secular, cosmopolitan, and traditional. Part intellectual history and part contemporary review, The Spirit of International Law ranges across the series of cyclical processes and dialectics in international law over the past five centuries to assess its current prospects as a viable legal system.After addressing philosophical concerns about authority and obligation in international law, Bederman considers the sources and methods of international lawmaking. Topics include key legal actors in the international system, the permissible scope of international legal regulation (what Bederman calls the "subjects and objects" of the discipline), the primitive character of international law and its ability to remain coherent, and the essential values of international legal order (and possible tensions among those values). Bederman then measures the extent to which the rules of international law are formal or pragmatic, conservative or progressive, and ignored or enforced. Finally, he reflects on whether cynicism or enthusiasm is the proper attitude to govern our thoughts on international law.Throughout his study, Bederman highlights some of the canonical documents of international law: those arising from famous cases (decisions by both international and domestic tribunals), significant treaties, important diplomatic correspondence, and serious international incidents. Distilling the essence of international law, this volume is a lively, broad, thematic summation of its structure, characteristics, and main features.

The Spirit of International Law

Univ of Georgia Pr

As our society becomes more global, international law is taking on an increasingly significant role, not only in world politics but also in the affairs of a striking array of individuals, enterprises, and institutions. In this comprehensive study, David J. Bederman focuses on international law as a current, practical means of regulating and influencing international behavior. He shows it to be a system unique in its nature―nonterritorial but secular, cosmopolitan, and traditional. Part intellectual history and part contemporary review, The Spirit of International Law ranges across the series of cyclical processes and dialectics in international law over the past five centuries to assess its current prospects as a viable legal system.
After addressing philosophical concerns about authority and obligation in international law, Bederman considers the sources and methods of international lawmaking. Topics include key legal actors in the international system, the permissible scope of international legal regulation (what Bederman calls the "subjects and objects" of the discipline), the primitive character of international law and its ability to remain coherent, and the essential values of international legal order (and possible tensions among those values). Bederman then measures the extent to which the rules of international law are formal or pragmatic, conservative or progressive, and ignored or enforced. Finally, he reflects on whether cynicism or enthusiasm is the proper attitude to govern our thoughts on international law.
Throughout his study, Bederman highlights some of the canonical documents of international law: those arising from famous cases (decisions by both international and domestic tribunals), significant treaties, important diplomatic correspondence, and serious international incidents. Distilling the essence of international law, this volume is a lively, broad, thematic summation of its structure, characteristics, and main features.

The Spirit of International Law (The Spirit of the Laws)

University of Georgia Press

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Books by Bederman, David J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bederman, David J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Custom as a Source of Law

International Law in Antiquity (Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, Series Number 16)

The Classical Foundations of the American Constitution: Prevailing Wisdom

Custom as a Source of Law

International Law in Antiquity (Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, Series Number 16)

The Classical Foundations of the American Constitution: Prevailing Wisdom

Custom as a Source of Law

Classical Canons: Rhetoric, Classicism and Treaty Interpretation (Applied Legal Philosophy)

The Spirit of International Law

The Spirit of International Law (The Spirit of the Laws)