Peace Through Law

by Hans Kelsen

Reprint of the only edition. Kelsen departs from his theories on pure law and here proposes a formula for international peace. He proffers "peace guaranteed by compulsory adjudication of international disputes," (Part I): the formation of a world court with the authority to resolve international conflicts, and "peace guaranteed by individual responsibility for violations of international law," (Part II): that individual statesmen take personal moral and legal responsibility for war crimes and other acts of violation committed by their country.

Genres: Law

155 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1944

About the author

Hans Kelsen was an Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He was the author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, which to a very large degree is still valid today. Due to the rise of totalitarianism in Austria (and a 1929 constitutional change), Kelsen left for Germany in 1930 but was forced to leave this university post after Hitler's seizure of power in 1933 because of his Jewish ancestry. That year he left for Geneva and later moved to the United States in 1940. In 1934, Roscoe Pound lauded Kelsen as "undoubtedly the leading jurist of the time." While in Vienna, Kelsen met Sigmund Freud and his circle, and wrote on the subject of social psychology and sociology.

By the 1940s, Kelsen's reputation was already well established in the United States for his defense of democracy and for his Pure Theory of Law. Kelsen's academic stature exceeded legal theory alone and extended to political philosophy and social theory as well. His influence encompassed the fields of philosophy, legal science, sociology, the theory of democracy, and international relations.

Reviews

[Anderson Paz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse livro foi publicado originalmente em 1944. Kelsen defende que a principal tarefa política é garantir a paz mundial. Para tanto, é preciso criar uma ordem internacional que impeça a guerra.
O livro tem duas partes: na primeira, Kelsen defende que o próximo passo para a paz internacional é a criação de um Tribunal internacional com jurisdição compulsória; na segunda, Kelsen argumenta que deve haver responsabilidade individual das pessoas que, como membros do governo, violam o direito internacional, fazem ou provocam guerra.
O livro foi publicado perto do fim da II Guerra Mundial e tem um caráter de "tratado" teórico em defesa de uma nova ordem jurídica internacional.

[Leonardo]

Se desprende de esto que, como deseaba Kelsen, pero sólo como un efecto paradójico de su utopía, una suerte de positivismo jurídico domina también la formación de un nuevo ordenamiento jurídico.

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