Book Reviews : Théories et Réalités en Droit International Public. By CHARLES DE VISSCHER. (Third, revised and enlarged edition. Paris: Éditions A. Pedone, 1960. Pp. 534.)

• Published date: 01 December 1961
• Date: 01 December 1961
• Author: Peter H. Rohn
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296101400416
• Subject Matter: Articles

969

which,

if

taken

literally,

could

inhibit

the

development

of

fresh

hypotheses

and

theories

along

scientific

lines.

We

cannot

all

agree

with

Dr.

Niebuhr’s

ideas

con-

cerning

first

causes.

He

ought

to

combat

what

he

disikes

on

its

own

grounds.

There

is

indeed

a

peculiar

other

worldliness

about

his

criticisms,

a

marked

reluctance

in

theory

to

consider

the

social

bases

of

human

behavior.

Nor

does

he

offer

a

fresh

ontological

argument

which

is

certainly

required

to

bolster

his

assumptions.

For

all

that

it is

fascinating

to

read

the

many

words

of

this

prodigious

the-

ologian

under

one

cover.

He

may

exasperate,

but

he

is

rarely

dull

despite

what

is

by

now

a

distinctive

awkwardness

of

style.

Professors

Davis

and

Good

are

to

be

commended

on

their

skillful

editorial

job.

University

of

Washington

MORTON

KROLL

Théories

et

Réalités

en

Droit

International

Public.

By

CHARLES

DE

VISSCHER.

(Third,

revised

and

enlarged

edition.

Paris:

Éditions

A.

Pedone,

1960.

Pp.

534.)

This

is

the

third

edition

of

a

contemporary

classic.

The

author

is

an

eminent

professor

of

Louvain

University,

former

judge

on

the

International

Court

of

Jus-

tice,

and

honorary

president

of

the

Institut

de

Droit

International.

The

work

is

widely

known

in

the

United

States

as

Theory

and

Reality

in

Public

International

Law,

translated

from

the

first

and

second

French

editions

by

Percy

Corbett,

Prince-

ton,

1957.

The

present

third

French

edition

is

largely

identical

with

the

second,

except

for

the

changes

and

additions

noted

below.

Both

the

author

in

general

and

this

book

in

particular

have

long

established

their

position

in

international

legal

scholarship.

No

fewer

than

eleven

reviews

of

earlier

editions

are

listed

in

the

Index

to

Legal

Periodicals,

all

of

them

respectful,

most

of

them

favorable,

some

of

them

enthusiastic.

Georges

Scelle,

despite

his

radically

different

outlook,

called

the

first

edition

&dquo;one

of

the

most

important

books

of

our

time.&dquo;

The

book

is

not

pedagogical

but

philosophical.

It

does

not

speak

to

the

fact,

seeking

student,

lay

or

professional.

Nor

does

it

speak

to

the

specialist

as

specialist.

It

speaks

to

the

specialist

as

philosopher.

The

reader

must

be

conversant

with

the

whole

range

of

the

discipline.

And

the

reader

must

also

be

aware,

but

not

afraid,

of

the

risk

of

banality

in

asking

the

ultimate

question

of

the

meaning

of

inter-

national

law.

The

inventory

of

the

discipline

-

cases,

treaties,

charters,

doctrines

-

only

serves

as

a

reservoir

of

examples

with

which

Charles

de

Visscher

illustrates

his

position

among

the

theorists

of

international

law.

How

can

this

position

be

defined?

In

a

recent

bold

attempt

at

classifying

international

law

theorists

in

three

groups

depending

on

their

concept

of

sovereignty

(Nederlands

Tijdskrif

voor

internationaal

Recht,

1958,

p.

151),

Korowicz

puts

De

Visscher

into

the

most

conservative

group,

for

whom

sovereignty

is

absolute,

along

with

Anzilotti,

Fau-

chille,

Bonfils,

Basdevant,

M6rignhac,

Pradier-Fod6r6,

Phillimore,

Dupuis,

Rost-

worowski,

Makowski,

Winiarski,

De

Louter,

Triepel,

Strupp,

E.

Kaufmann,

Hat-

schek,

Holland,

Scwarzenberger,

J.

B.

Moore,

Finch,

and

Hudson.