The Function of Equity in International Law

This book provides a systematic and comprehensive study of the legal concept of equity as it operates in contemporary international law. A principle with a long pedigree, equity has been present in legal thought and in municipal legal systems since antiquity. Introduced in international legal decisions through claims commissions and arbitral tribunals, equity became progressively part and parcel of the international law mainstream. From international cultural heritage law to the law on climate change, from maritime boundary delimitations to decisions on security for costs in investment arbitration, the relevance of equity is more far-reaching than has previously been acknowledged. In contrast with earlier studies on the topic, this book is informed by a body of judicial and arbitral case law that has never been so substantial and varied. It also draws extensively on the prolific case law of investment tribunals, gaining insights from a valuable source that is typically overlooked in public international law scholarship. As the importance of international law increases, covering continuously new domains, the value of equity increases with it. It is this new equity in the international law of the 21st century that this book explores.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction Part I: Preliminary Matters 2: Origins of Equity 3: Equity Before International Courts and Tribunals Part II: Equity in General 4: The Purpose of Equity 5: Traditional Typology of Equity 6: Power to Resort to Equity Part III: Specific Aspects of Equity 7: Jurisdiction ex Aequo et Bono 8: Variations on Equity and Related Concepts 9: Equity, Compensation, and Costs 10: Conclusion

About the Author :
Catharine Titi, Dr iur., FCIArb, is a tenured Research Associate Professor at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)-CERSA, University Paris II Panthéon-Assas, France. She serves on the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL), on the Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) of the Center for American and International Law (CAIL), and on the Steering Committee of the Academic Forum on ISDS, whose work contributes to the discussions in Working Group III of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL WG III). She holds a PhD from the University of Siegen in Germany (Summa cum laude, Rolf H. Brunswig PhD Prize) and she has previously been a consultant at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2016, Catharine was awarded the prestigious Smit-Lowenfeld Prize of the International Arbitration Club of New York for the best article published in the field of international arbitration.

Review :
The book makes an important contribution to the doctrine and principle of equity in international law. Reviewing the case law of international courts and tribunals, the author excels and succeeds in expounding the relevance of the principle of equity and of derived and related concepts in everyday international jurisprudence. The author has succeeded in exposing with great clarity and precision a highly technical and controversial legal topic and the book will definitively constitiute a relevant reference for both academics and practitioners Catharine Titi has done excellent work synthesizing an enormous amount of different legal sources, including treaties, case law, and legal scholarship, and convincingly proves the book's central thesis. As a result, it provides structure and clarity in a topic flexible and malleable by nature. It is a must-read for all those interested in the development of international law and the role that equity has had and will continue to have in it. Studying this first-class systematic analysis by Catharine Titi of the key concept of equity, as a customary general principle of international law, is a must for all international adjudicators and an encouragement never to divorce the respect of hard-law provisions from justice in its application. Catharine Titi's book is a highly original and welcome study of the role of equity in contemporary international law - a must-read for anyone interested in the role of law and the state and future of the search for justice in the world! In this important new study, Professor Titi has shone a searching spotlight on the equitable function of the international legal system, the significance of which has been much in need of contemporary re-evaluation. The author succeeds in keeping her audacious promise to explore the 'turbulent depths' spanned by equity, with a view to providing a new perspective. The good news is that the proposed new perspective corroborates the inner consistency of international law. The book offers authority galore and an enjoyable path through the cogs and wheels that move the international legal process. This book effectively emphasizes why it has become critical for contemporary international law to recognize the significance, role, and functions of equity ... This book is a valuable addition to the scholarly literature of international economic law because it serves as a reliable and practical guidebook for anyone interested in the critical subject of international dispute resolution.