OUVRAGE : D. Azaria (ed.), State Silence Across International Law: Meaning, Context, and Developments

Danae AZARIA

This book concerns the legal meaning and effects of State silence in international law-making. Owing to profound developments in the factual background and major developments in the framework of international law in the twentieth and twenty-first century, the ‘contexts’ in which State silence may be interpreted today have become complex, and they remain not well understood. Bringing together 21 authors and 16 chapters, this book endeavours to understand these contexts better. It enquires whether, and if so, how the shift in international law from bilateralism towards community interests, and towards multilateralism, intergovernmental institutions, and expert bodies, affects the interpretation of State silence. It also probes whether and how the developments in modern means of communication, as well as the increase in the number of States and their diverse characteristics influence, the interpretation of State silence. This volume’s vision is ‘across international law’, because the modern realities of international law are reflected in different fields of international law. This vision demonstrates the ubiquity of State silence and its legal significance in different fields and, crucially, the various modern contexts that may come together in order to interpret State silence in a particular instance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I
General

1. Danae Azaria, Introduction

2. Omri Sender & Michael Wood, State Silence and the Work of the International Law Commission

Part II
Peace and Security

3. Danae Azaria, State Silence and the Law on the Use of Force

4. Duncan B. Hollis & Barrie Sander, State Silence and the International Law of Cyberspace

5. Sandesh Sivakumaran, State Silence and the Law of Armed Conflict

6. Talita Dias, State Silence and International Criminal Law

Part III
International Human Rights Law

7. Andreas Zimmermann & Nils-Hendrik Grohmann, State Silence and the Framework of the ICCPR

8. Olivia Coral Daniels & Laurence R. Helfer, State Silence and the European Human Rights System

Part IV
International Economic Law

9. Gabrielle Marceau & Rebecca Walker, WTO Members’ Silence and WTO Decision-Making

10. Robert Howse, WTO Members’ Silence and WTO Law

11. August Reinisch & Johannes Tropper, State Silence and International Investment Law

Part V
International Law of Spaces and the Environment

12. Giovanni Distefano & Aymeric Hêche, State Silence and Territorial Title and Boundaries

13. Jean-Marc Thouvenin, State Silence and the Law of the Sea

14. Lorenzo Gasbarri, State Silence and International Space Law

15. Malgosia Fitzmaurice, State Silence and International Environmental Law

Part VI
Conclusion

16. Danae Azaria, Conclusion

Danae AZARIA (ed.), State Silence Across International Law: Meaning, Context, and Developments, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025 (464 pp.)