Jan Klabbers

Biography

Jan Klabbers was educated in international law and political science at the University of Amsterdam, and obtained a doctorate from the same university in 1996 (with distinction). Since 1996, he has been teaching at Helsinki University, most recently as professor of international law. He also directs the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Global Governance Research. Main publications include The Concept of Treaty in International Law (The Hague: Kluwer, 1996) and An Introduction to International Institutional Law (Cambridge University Press, 2002, second edition 2009). His monograph is titled Treaty Conflict and the European Union (Cambridge University Press, 2009). He has held visiting professorships at Hofstra Law School (2007) and at the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development (2008).

Abstract

The Idea(s) of International Law

This think piece addresses international law not so much on the level of practice, but rather on the level of ideas. It discusses the inherent biases contained in international law in favour of the powerful, arguing that some of the topics ignored by international law (taxation, migration, labour) should come to be included, since international law is, or ought to be, about improving the lives of people. The piece also discusses the ways international law is becoming instrumentalized, or even commodified, through such notions as non-legal but binding agreements, or the creation of so-called compliance procedures. Finally, the author expresses some concerns about the ever-increasing creation of accountability mechanisms and accountability techniques. These not only tend to re-conceptualize the world, but also hide from view the circumstance that action is always – at least to some extent – the work of agents, and that thus the individual virtues of those agents may be of relevance.