The Legitimacy of International Law: From State Consent to the International Rule of Law

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16908
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fundamental law
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Kaku Shun 北海道大学, 法学研究科, 准教授 (30431802)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: グローバル法哲学 / 法の正統性 / 国際法基礎論 / 法概念論 / 法の支配 / 自律 / 合意主義 / 多元的秩序

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research (1)defined the scope and applicability to international law of the existing legal-philosophical debate on law’s legitimacy defined as content-independent reason to obey the law and the underlying ideal of the rule of law; (2)demonstrated that the global legal order is best described as a pluralistic order characterised by the interaction between the international legal order and a multitude of domestic legal orders; (3)based the legitimacy of international law on the ideal of the international rule of law, which respects individuals (and nations) as autonomous agents; and (4)revealed that liberal nations, to be consistent with their adherence to the (domestic) rule of law, must also accept responsibility to promote the rule of law on the international level.

Free Research Field

法哲学