Publicity in International Lawmaking
Covert Operations and the Use of Force

This book explores the requirement of publicity in international lawmaking through the lens of covert and quasi-covert uses of force.

Marie Aronsson-Storrier (Author)

9781108494380, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 December 2020

264 pages
15 x 23 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

This book explores how best to recalibrate our understanding of international lawmaking through the lens of increased reporting and legal debate around covert and quasi-covert uses of force. Recent changes in practice and communication call for closer attention to be paid to the requirement of publicity for state practice, since they challenge the perception of the concepts 'public' and 'covert', and thus raise questions as to the impact that covert and quasi-covert acts do and should have on the development of international law. It is argued that, in order to qualify as such practice, acts must be both publicly known and acknowledged. The book further examines how state silence around covert and quasi-covert operations has opened up significant space for legal scholars and other experts to influence the development of international law.

Introduction
2. The use of force and the scope for dynamic development
3. Customary international law and the requirement of publicity
4. Quasi-covert operations and the identification of claims
5. Unacknowledged operations
6. Concluding remarks.

Subject Areas: Settlement of international disputes [LBH], Private international law & conflict of laws [LBG], International humanitarian law [LBBS], International law [LB]