Using International Law in Domestic Courts

International law is increasingly referred to and utilised in English courts,in fields as diverse as criminal proceedings, children's rights, tort law, and asylum cases. Despite this use, there is currently no book on the market (whether a practitioner text or otherwise) which addresses this subject-matter in detail. Hence the need for this book - by a practitioner and for practitioners, regardless of their specialist area of practice - on how international law is and can be used in the domestic courts. The book presents in a distilled format the relevant principles of law, and their application in this area and provides a guide to relevant international instruments and the way(s) in which these instruments have been referred to or used in English courts. While the emphasis is on stating the law as it is, the author also identifies the principles which are likely to guide practitioners in an otherwise unstructured area, supported by specific examples which will provide a subject guide to relevant instruments and sources and how they can be used.

Table of Contents:
PART I: SOURCING INTERNATIONAL LAW 1. INTERNATIONAL LAW IN DOMESTIC PRACTICE AREAS 2. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW PART II: USING INCORPORATING STATUTES AND INCORPORATED TREATIES 3. INCORPORATING STATUTES 4. INTERPRETING TREATIES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES 5. INTERPRETING TREATIES: SUPPLEMENTARY MEANS 6. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ACT 1972: A DIRECTLY INCORPORATING STATUTE 7. THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998: AN INDIRECTLY INCORPORATING STATUTE PART III: USING UNINCORPORATED TREATIES 8. UNINCORPORATED TREATIES 9. UNINCORPORATED TREATIES AND LEGISLATION 10. UNINCORPORATED TREATIES AND COMMON LAW 11. UNINCORPORATED TREATIES, DISCRETION AND LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS PART IV: JUDICIAL RESTRAINT, ACT OF STATE AND CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW 12. JUDICIAL RESTRAINT AND ACT OF STATE 13. CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW

About the Author :
Shaheed Fatima is a Barrister at Blackstone Chambers, London. In February 2009 she will be a visiting lecturer in law at Harvard Law School.

Review :
For the busy practitioner this book will prove an invaluable tool because not only are the citations present but also extracted - case book style - are the key passages that will be needed…an indispensable work that does something new, original and different to all the main textbooks on international law. Shaheed Fatima has rightly identified an unfulfilled legal need and meets it. Fatima's book is a vital contribution. It can assist the work of international and regional organisations involved in training programmes for judges, prosecutors and public defence lawyers in an effort to familiarise them with international law precepts…an important addition to the bookshelf. Its fascinating and comprehensive overview of the UK experience, which can be extended to a wide variety of settings, is welcome. …a remarkable survey of recent cases…Fatima guides the reader through this immense body of case law with layers of meticulous subheadings prefaced by instructive commentary. The result is an impressive compilation for which practitioners in particular will be grateful. It is difficult to think of anyone better qualified than Shaheed Fatima to write [this book]. She has been immersed in the subject, as academic, in-house adviser and private practitioner…This book will prove invaluable to practitioners and judges…Above all, it does justice to the full range of the kinds of legal proceedings in which international law points may have to be considered, from aviation law to employment law and family law. ...an invaluable source for both newcomers to the area and experienced practitioners...The author's scholarship is extremely impressive: it seems that no domestic case containing any discussion of international law has escaped, and the domestic cases are supplemented by numerous international and comparative examples...Using International Law in Domestic Courts is an important book and achieves its aims of providing a clear, accessible but comprehensive reference point for the increasing number of lawyers whose practice raises questions of international law.