Abstracts
Abstract
It is widely recognized in legal scholarship that international law functions as an argumentation practice, but its purpose remains debated. Some argue it legitimizes legal facts, while others believe it persuades actors to adopt specific positions. I align with Harald Wohlrapp's argumentation theory, which focuses on acquiring new orientations. I will outline why Wohlrapp's theory suits international law by examining three elements: prioritizing validity over mere assent, introducing "midrange universality" that balances community perspectives with a universal outlook, and introducing "framing" to responsibly integrate diverse cultural and legal perspectives, including those from the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).
Keywords:
- framing,
- Harald Wohlrapp,
- international human rights law,
- international law,
- legal argumentation,
- mid-range universality,
- orientation,
- Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)
Résumé
Il est largement reconnu dans le savoir juridique que le droit international fonctionne comme une pratique argumentative, mais sa finalité reste controversée. Certains soutiennent qu'il légitime les faits juridiques, tandis que d'autres estiment qu'il persuade les acteurs d'adopter des positions spécifiques. Je partage la théorie d'argumentation de Harald Wohlrapp, qui met l'accent sur l'acquisition de nouvelles orientations. Je décrirai pourquoi la théorie de Wohlrapp convient au droit international en examinant trois éléments : privilégier la validité au simple assentiment ; introduire une « universalité intermédiaire » qui équilibre les perspectives communautaires avec une perspective universelle ; et introduire un « cadrage » pour intégrer de manière responsable diverses perspectives culturelles et juridiques, y compris celles des Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).
Appendices
Bibliography
- Anghie, A. (2004). Imperialism, sovereignty, and the making of international law. Cambridge University Press.
- Dados, N., & Connell, R. (2012). The Global South. Contexts, 11(1), 12–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504212438284
- Dehm, J. (2016). Carbon colonialism or climate justice? Interrogating the international climate regime from a TWAIL perspective. Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, 33(3), 129–152. https://doi.org/10.22329/wyaj.v33i3.4935
- Hart, H.L.A. (1951). The concept of law. Oxford University Press.
- Hart, H.L.A. (1961). The law as a union of primary and secondary rules. Oxford University Press.
- Koskenniemi, M. (2007). Methodology of international law. Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law. Oxford University Press.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2012). 24.235J / 17.021J Philosophy of Law [Course materials]. MIT Open Courseware. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/24-235j-philosophy-of-law-spring-2012/ffae1af51d0b79c75d5230c48c5ca63a_MIT24_235JS12_Hartrules.pdf
- Mutua, M., & Anghie, A. (2000). What is TWAIL? Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law), 94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25659346
- Natarajan, U., Reynolds, J., Bhatia, A., & Xavier, S. (2016). Introduction: TWAIL – On praxis and the intellectual. Third World Quarterly, 37(11), 1946–1956. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1209971
- Shaw, M. (2017). International law (8th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Stevens, K. (2016). Commentary on the concept of argument by Harald Wohlrapp. In OSSA Conference Archive, 5. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2429&context=ossaarchive
- Xavier, Sujith. (2015). False Universalism of Global Governance Theories: Global Constitutionalism, Global Administrative Law, International Criminal Institutions and the Global South. PhD Dissertations, 20. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/phd/20
- United Nations. (2024a). 2011 Treaty event towards universal participation and implementation. https://treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2011/press_kit/fact_sheet_1_english.pdf
- United Nations. (2024b). International Law and Justice. https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/international-law-and-justice
- United Nations. (2024c). The UN in General. https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/the-un-in-general.html
- United Nations. (2024d). United Nations Charter. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter
- United Nations. (2024e). UN International Law Documentation. https://research.un.org/en/docs/law
- United Nations. (2024f). Uphold International Law. https://www.un.org/en/our-work/uphold-internationallaw#:~:text=International%20law%20defines%20the%20legal,of%20individuals%20within%20State%20boundaries
- United Nations Treaty Collections. (2024). Definitions. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/overview.aspx?path=overview/definition/page1_en.xml
- Venzke, I. (2016). International law as an argumentative practice: on Wohlrapp’s the Concept of Argument. Transnational Legal Theory. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
- Wohlrapp, H. (2014). The concept of argument: A philosophical foundation (T. Personn, Trans.). Springer.
- Wohlrapp, H. (2016). The concept of argument: Introductory statement. In OSSA Conference Archive (Vol. 6).
