A Doctrinal Debate in the Globalisation Era: on the “Fragmentation” of International Law

Abstract

The fragmentation of international law is not proven, even if the dangers of its realisation are, according to some commentators, certain; but this idea already constitutes a common point, a way of thinking, within academic theory, where it has become a phenomenon in itself. It is thus appropriate to restate the reasons for, and even more so to examine the object of, the concept of a legal order as it applies to international law. The stakes of the debate on the unity or fragmentation of international law are even higher as they involve not only legal, but also political, considerations. However, the core of the problem of unity and fragmentation, which is primarily technical, is well-defined by the International Law Commission’s recent study of the topic, even if its assessment is definitively based on the invocation of well-established principles.