Book Reviews : Invitation to an Inquest. By WALTER and MIRIAM SCHNEIR. (Garden City: Double day and Co., 1965. Pp. xii, 467. $5.95.)

• Published date: 01 March 1966
• Date: 01 March 1966
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296601900154
• Author: Clifford M. Lytle
• Subject Matter: Articles

197
The core of this study is set forth in three chapters dealing, respectively, with the
interpretation of contracts, the interpretation of staff rules and regulations, and the
interpretation of treaties. The work of each administrative tribunal is treated sep-
arately in each of these three chapters, and each chapter concludes with a comparison
of the three tribunals’ decision-making. Since Schechter’s focus is on &dquo;interpre-
tation,&dquo; information concerning the substance of personnel management, although
extensive and informative, is incidental to the main thrust of his effort.
In an excellent concluding chapter, Schechter presents a comprehensive com-
parison of the three tribunals, particularly with respect to their canons of interpre-
tation, utilization of precedents, responses to external political pressures, and pro-
tection of employees’ rights. An effort is also made to relate the work of these admin-
istrative tribunals to traditional international law. In contrast to other international
courts, Schechter finds that the administrative tribunals rarely cite precedents, make
extensive use of travaux préparatoires in order to determine the intentions of parties
to agreements, and liberally construe clauses relating to their own jurisdiction.
Nevertheless, there are conspicuous parallels in decision-making, and Schechter
asserts that the synthesis of this &dquo;impressive body of international administrative law
with
...
existing international law would certainly encourage the growth of the idea
of a community of nations ... and effective world law.&dquo; Whether the &dquo;synthesis&dquo;
advocated would actually achieve the anticipated results remains a matter of opinion.
The author’s conclusion is not proven by his data, and a strong case can be made for
permitting international administrative law to evolve somewhat apart from general
international law. In any synthesis, there is the possibility that the defects of one
system might undermine...