State Silence Across International Law

Abstract This book concerns the legal meaning and effects of State silence in international law-making. Owing to profound developments in the factual background and major developments in the framework of international law in the twentieth and twenty-first century, the ‘contexts’ in which State silence may be interpreted today have become complex, and they remain not well understood. Bringing together 21 authors and 16 chapters, this book endeavours to understand these contexts better. It enquires whether, and if so, how the shift in international law from bilateralism towards community interests, and towards multilateralism, intergovernmental institutions, and expert bodies, affects the interpretation of State silence. It also probes whether and how the developments in modern means of communication, as well as the increase in the number of States and their diverse characteristics influence, the interpretation of State silence. This volume’s vision is ‘across international law’ because the modern realities of international law are reflected in different fields of international law. This vision demonstrates the ubiquity of State silence and its legal significance in different fields and, crucially, the various modern contexts that may come together in order to interpret State silence in a particular instance.