Merchants of Legalism
A History of State Responsibility (1870–1960)
Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law Series

Since the United Nations finalised its Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts in 2001, most of the attention has been on the codification history of the topic. Alan Nissel widens the historic lens to include the pre-United Nations origins, offering the first extensive study on the American contribution to the modern law of state responsibility. The book examines the recurring narrative of lawyers using international law to suit the particular needs of their clients in three key contexts: the US turn to international arbitration practice in the New World, the German theorisation of public law in the setting of its national unification, and the multilateral effort to codify international law within world bodies. This expanded historical framework not only traces the pre-institutional origins of the code, but also highlights the duality of State responsibility doctrines and the political environments from which they emerged.

Acknowledgements; 1. The responsibilities of States in International law: an overview; 2. The US turn to the technique of international arbitration; 3. The creation of State responsibility in the New World; 4. International responsibility as German philosophy; 5. State responsibility as World order; Epilogue: from State responsibility to the responsibility of States; Bibliography; Index.

Alan Tzvika Nissel is an Assistant Professor at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law where he teaches international and property law-related courses. He is also CEO of Wilshire Skyline, a Los Angeles-based asset management company. Dr. Nissel received his LL.D. in international law from Helsinki University under the supervision of Martti Koskenniemi.