Masterclass: international law and constitutional development in 19th century Europe (part I)

International law can be introduced as a story of gradual progress. In this sense, the rule of law inexorably advances on a march to the present-day institutions of international law, such as the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council. Or, from a more realist perspective, international law can be seen as the collection of norms observed and accepted by sovereign states. In this case, history leads us further back in time, since states have engaged with each other for thousands of years. The principles governing their interactions did not undergo radical changes, but have evolved between fixed extremes. The binding nature of norms is either attached to the international community as a whole (top-down), or to the result of state behaviour (bottom-up). The latter approach restricts the content of international law to a limited set of rules, the former is of a more philosophical-normative tendency. Historical introductions in main public international law manuals tend to give a master narrative of main authors (Grotius-Vattel-Bluntschli) and treaties (1815, 1856). The logic linking the society of states to what these states actually observe generally falls away. This is regrettable. Concrete factual outcomes of negotiations are swept away by the tide of history, just as municipal law when new norms abolish preceding systems. However, diplomatic process and dynamics reveals how norms are constructed. “The life of 19th century international law” remains relevant today. Moreover, legal thinking emerged in an international and national societal environment. Context is vital to understand “big name treatises”, and to relativize their impact on state practice. It would be more accurate to see the era from the French Revolution to World War One as a gradual evolution in both domestic and international legitimacy. Next to this theoretical panorama, a more practical aspect will be considered: the access to texts and other materials that bring an essential epoch alive, either in publications, at conferences or in the classroom. The (often free) digitization of primary sources offers an easier access than ever before to international treaties, constitutions, legislation or doctrine. Recent scholarly developments will equally receive due attention. The history of international law is a world-wide booming field. It is easy to get lost in an ever greater variety of specialist studies, or in the kaleidoscope of ambitious all-encompassing collective works. This masterclass will not drop its attendees in generalised post-modern confusion, but would rather focus on essential overviews of international legal thinking. Masterclass taught with dr. Judit Beke-Martos (Jena/Mannheim), visiting fellow at the Ghent Legal History Institute, May-June 2015