Legitimacy, Justice and Public International Law

Do states or individuals stand under duties of international justice to people who live elsewhere and to other states? How are we to assess the legitimacy of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Security Council? Should we support reforms of international institutions and how should we go about assessing alternative proposals of such reforms? The book brings together leading scholars of public international law, jurisprudence and international relations, political philosophers and political theorists to explore the central notions of international legitimacy and global justice. The essays examine how these notions are related and how understanding the relationships will help us comparatively assess the validity of proposals for the reform of international institutions and public international law.

Legitimacy, justice and public international law: three perspectives on the debate Lukas H. Meyer and Pranay Sanklecha; 1. The legitimacy of global governance institutions Allen Buchanan and Robert O. Keohane; 2. Institutionalising global demoi-cracy Samantha Besson; 3. The responsibilities and legitimacy of economic international institutions Simon Caney; 4. Do international organisations play favourites? An impartialist account Steven R. Ratner; 5. 'Victors' justice?' Historic injustice and the legitimacy of international law Daniel Butt; 6. International law and global justice Peter Koller; 7. Global justice: some problems of a cosmoplitan account Herlinde Pauer-Studer; 8. The responsibility to protect human rights David Miller; 9. The threat of violence and of new military force as a challenge to international public law Matthias Lutz-Bachmann; 10. Forcing a people to be free Arthur Applbaum.

The book brings together leading scholars to explore the central notions of international legitimacy and global justice. The essays examine how these notions are related and how understanding the relationships will help us comparatively assess the validity of proposals for the reform of international institutions and public international law.

Lukas H. Meyer is Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Graz Institute of Philosophy.