Academic

Ratner on Positivism & Cosmopolitan Justice

By Lawrence Solum

Steven R. Ratner (University of Michigan Law School) has posted From Enlightened Positivism to Cosmopolitan Justice: Obstacles and Opportunities (FROM BILATERALISM TO COMMUNITY INTEREST: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF JUDGE BRUNO SIMMA, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This paper explores the possibilities for linkages between various forms of positivism accepted by many international lawyers and various forms of cosmopolitanism advocated by scholars of global justice. Building on Bruno Simma's conception of "enlightened positivism," it identifies areas in which cosmopolitan trends have already seeped into the fabric of international law and the key gaps between positivist and cosmopolitan visions of international law and the international community. Emphasizing the contributions that philosophical inquiry can add to international legal scholarship, and vice-versa, it concludes with some thoughts on further integration of cosmopolitan thinking into positivist methodologies.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).