The case for Comparative International Law

Abstract

At first glance, "comparative international law" may seem like an oxymoron. In principle, international law - at least when it arises from multilateral treaties or general custom - applies equally to all parties or states. Consequently, international jurists are often reluctant to emphasize local, national or regional approaches due to aspirations for universality and uniformity in this field. Comparativists, for their part, tend to overlook the possibility of applying the ideas of comparative law to international law on the grounds that "norms that have a declared universal character do not lend themselves to comparison" (Gutteridge, 1980, p. 13 ).

JEL CODE: P5, D23