Revised and updated for the first time in fifty years, this new edition of a classic text of international law provides the ideal introduction to the field for students and scholars alike. It introduces the key themes and ideas within international law in concise, clear language, building on Brierly's idea that law must serve a social purpose.

• Preface To The First Edition


• Preface To The Seventh Edition


• 1: The Origins of International Law


• 2: The Basis of Obligation In International Law


• 3: The Legal Organization of International Society


• 4: States


• 5: The Territory of States


• 6: Jurisdiction


• 7: Treaties


• 8: International Disputes and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security


• 9: Resort to Force

Andrew Clapham worked as the Representative of Amnesty International at the United Nations in New York from 1991 to 1997. Since 1997 he has been teaching human rights law and public international law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has worked as an Adviser to the UN High Commissioners for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Sergio Vieira de Mello. His other published work includes: International Human Rights Lexicon (OUP 2005) (with Susan Marks) Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors (OUP 2006) and Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (OUP 2007). He is an academic associate member of Matrix Chambers in London.