Boston University Law Review Online
The Many Inequalities of International Law
Neha Jain
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 1 (2019)
And what should they know of England who only England know? Kipling’s lament finds an unexpectedly radical ally in Anthea Roberts’ masterful deconstruction of the “universal” and universalizing project of international law: what do different national communities of international lawyers, especially those who are educated, trained, and socialized in the developed West, know of international law? […]
The Roberts Challenge
Jan Klabbers
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 5 (2019)
In the late 1980s, the leading international lawyer Sir Robert Jennings publicly wondered what international law is, and how we can tell it when we see it. That was a useful question, and perhaps more important still today than in 1988. The good news is that Anthea Roberts provides us with part of an answer; the bad news is that her answer is not terribly comforting. […]
Is Private International Law International Law?
Pamela K. Bookman
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 9 (2019)
Anthea Roberts’ new book, Is International Law International?, has already made so much of a splash and had such an impact on the way international law is perceived that I need not begin by singing its praises. The book teaches—or points out a truth that perhaps we should have known all along—that “we approach international law from our particular national perspectives.”[…]
If International Law Is Not International, What Comes Next? On Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
Rebecca Ingber
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 14 (2019)
I am thrilled that the editors of the Boston University Law Review have chosen to review Anthea Roberts’ recent book, Is International Law International?, for their annual symposium. In order to answer the title’s question, Roberts develops a research project to scrutinize a world she knows well: the field of teaching international law, her colleagues, and their students. […]
Beyond Universalism and Particularism in International Law—Insights from Comparative Law and Private International Law
Ralf Michaels
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 18 (2019)
Anthea Roberts has written a formidable book, and the praise it has garnered, (as far as I can see nearly unanimous) seems well deserved. The book is full of useful insights and fascinating case studies; it provides access to a wealth of scholarly discussions that we are normally not privy to, and it presents a rich sociology of the field of experts in international law.[…]
Unity and Diversity in International Law
William W. Park
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 22 (2019)
The primordial Greek sea-god Proteus could alter his shape at will, notwithstanding that his divine substance remained the same. Reinventing himself by adapting to new circumstances, Proteus still stayed unchanged in essence. Unlike the sea-god’s protean nature, the substance of international law may well undergo alterations when examined through the telescope of legal culture, or with predispositions of divergent educational backgrounds.[…]
Reflections on Is International Law International?
Anthea Roberts
Online Symposium: Anthea Roberts’ Is International Law International?
99 B.U. L. Rev. Online 37 (2019)
Is International Law International? examines the world of international law and international lawyers and asks questions about who we are, what we are doing, and where the field is heading. Since the book’s publication, I have been fortunate to receive reactions from a broad range of academics and practitioners throughout the world, in international law and beyond. In those discussions, certain themes recur, many of which appear in this excellent collection of essays.[…]