'Bretton Woods' has become shorthand for the post-war international financial and economic framework. Mindful of the historic 1944 conference and its legacy for the discipline of international economic law, the American Society of International Law's International Economic Law Group (IELG) chose Bretton Woods as the venue for a landmark scholarly meeting. In November of 2006, a diverse group of academics and practitioners gathered to reflect on the past, present and future of international economic law. They sought to survey and advance three particular areas of endeavour: research and scholarship, teaching, and practice/service. This book represents an edited collection of some of the exceptional papers presented at the conference including contributions from Andreas Lowenfeld, Joel Trachtman, Amelia Porges and Andrew Lang.
The volume is organised into three parts, each covering one of the three pillars in the discipline of international economic law: research and scholarship; teaching; and practice/service. It begins with an assessment of the state and future of research in the field, including chapters on questions such as: what is international economic law? Is it a branch of international law or of economic law? How do fields outside of law, such as economics and international relations, relate to international economic law? How do research methodologies influence policy outcomes? The second part examines the state and future of teaching in the subject. Chapters cover topics such as: how and where is international economic law taught? Is the training provided in the law schools suitable for future academics, government officials, or practitioners? How might regional shortcomings in academic resources be addressed? The final part of the book focuses on the state and future of international economic law practice in the Bretton Woods era, including institutional reform. The contributors consider issues such as: what is the nature of international economic law practice? What are the needs of practitioners in government, private practice, international and non-governmental organisations? Finally, how have the Bretton Woods institutions adapted to these and other challenges-and how might they better respond in the future?
International Economic Law: The State and Future of the Discipline will be of interest to lawyers, economists and other professionals throughout the world-whether in the private, public, academic or non-governmental sectors-seeking both fresh insights and expert assessments in this expanding field. Indeed, the book itself promises to play a role in the next phase of the development of international economic law.
Colin Picker is Professor of Law and the Dean of the School of Law at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia.
Dr Isabella D Bunn is affiliated with Regent's Park College, University of Oxford, and is Professor of Ethics at the Florida Institute of Technology, College of Business. She serves on the Founding Executive Committee of the Society of International Economic Law and on the Council of the American Bar Association's Section of International Law.
