von Bernstorff & Venzke: International Law and Justice

Jochen von Bernstorff (Universität Tübingen - Law) & Ingo Venzke (Univ. of Amsterdam - Law) have posted International Law and Justice (in Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Anne Peters ed., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

How does international law relate to justice? We distinguish three sets of answers to this overarching question: First are those answers that are affirmative about justice, about the possibilities of establishing what justice requires, and about its progressive potential for international legal discourse and practice. They see justice as a foundation and yardstick for the law. To the contrary, the second set of answers is marked by its scepticism in this regard. It sees justice as a distraction for the law, and as a disguise for ulterior motives and for the workings of power. The third set of answers, finally, is marked less by its scepticism towards justice as such, but towards law as a form or medium to pursue justice-related concerns. It sees international law mostly as an expression of injustice and prompts questions about the possibilities of law’s progressive appropriation and transformation.