New Publication by YLS Alumnus on International Law

Hot off the press is Necessity and National Emergency Clauses: Sovereignty in Modern Treaty Interpretation authored by Diane Desierto, LLM 2009 and JSD 2011. The publication, based on the author's JSD dissertation, examines how states have invoked the necessity defense and national emergency clauses in relation to treaty compliance.

From the abstract of her book:

Necessity and National Emergency Clauses is the first to trace the doctrine’s genealogy from medieval Christian and Islamic religious history to post-Westphalian practices, the International Law Commission’s codifications, and modern treaty formulations. Recognizing the doctrine’s thematic linkage with the State’s sovereign right to delimit international obligation, the volume proposes analytical criteria to assess the lawfulness and legitimacy of interpretations of necessity and national emergency clauses within specialized treaty regimes.