Book Review: Jean D’Aspremont, International Law as a Belief System (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Abstract

In his latest monograph, Jean d’Aspremont argues that the way in which international lawyers think about and practice international law can be perceived as a belief system. This system is based on certain fundamental doctrines, such as sources, responsibility, statehood, interpretation, jus cogens. These doctrines comprise rules and rest on an imagined genealogy. The belief system also relies on self-referentiality to justify its different components, and creates an experienced sense of constraint among international lawyers. d’Aspremont focuses on the discourses in the field of international law to expose their structure and reveal the often fictive connections they entertain with the historical developments that gave birth to them. Despite the complexity of presenting overlapping notions, d’Aspremont offers convincing and well supported claims. Understanding his arguments, however, often requires familiarity with the theoretical debates surrounding certain notions and instruments. Most importantly, previous exposure to the practice of international legal argumentation is necessary to make sense of the author’s assertions. The author does not advocate for radical reform of the way we practice international law; rather, he invites us to suspend our entanglement in this set of beliefs as a reflective exercise. The readers will have to decide for themselves whether this leads them to reform or entrench current international law paradigms. They can, however, seize the analytical tools proposed by d’Aspremont to better understand their own practice, improve the effectiveness of their own practice, and teach the art to the next generation of international lawyers.