International Law and Diplomacy: Selected Writings by Ambassador Andrew Jacovides.

• Author: Solomou, Alexia
• Position: Book review

International Law and Diplomacy: Selected Writings, By Ambassador Andrew Jacovides, Andrew Jacovides, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011 ($166.00).

In International Law and Diplomacy, Andrew Jacovides explores a breadth of international law issues in a series of essays: state responsibility, law of the sea, international dispute resolution, United Nations peacekeeping, terrorism and the interrelationship of international law and diplomacy. He also explores various aspects of the Cyprus problem, both legal and political. The book concludes with a compilation of speeches delivered on occasions where international law and diplomacy intersect. Overall, the present book is an important contribution to the understanding of various issues of international law through the lens of diplomacy. The author's discourse is one of a diplomat, rather than that of a scholar. He provides an understanding how certain norms of international law have come about as a result of debate among diplomats at the United Nations, rather than criticizing their content. His concern is one of implementation of international law, rather than its substantive change.

After an elegiac foreword by Dame Rosalyn Higgins DBE QC, former President of the International Court of Justice, (1) follows an introductory chapter on careers in diplomacy and international law. (2) Ambassador Jacovides served a thirty-seven-year-long career in the Foreign Service of Cyprus, whilst being educated in and having written on and delivered lectures on international law. Further, having served as a three-term member of the International Law Commission, he offers his own life experience by way of example to young professionals. This experience informs his style of writing: it is pragmatic, rather than doctrinal; it is practical rather than theoretical. His approach is not purely legalistic; he duly recognizes that extralegal considerations--political, economic, and personal--apply when the implementation or functioning of international law is at stake.

The book is divided in three parts: in Part A, the author explores a series of cardinal international law issues: from state responsibility to the law of treaties, as well as subject-specific issues such as terrorism and peacekeeping. (3) Part B is dedicated to Cyprus, where the author analyzes the entire gamut of issues attached to the Cyprus problem: from the role of the United Nations to the role of the European Union in its solution, from the legal to the political aspects of the issue. (4) Part C delves into a variety of other topics: from the Commonwealth day celebration to the dissemination of international law. (5)

The author showcases his breadth of knowledge in international law in the first Part of the book. He has been a strong proponent for the adoption of the Articles on State Responsibility during his three terms at the International Law Commission. (6) Furthermore, he is a strong supporter of peremptory norms, such as the principle against the use of force in international relations as set out in Article...