Are Sovereigns Entitled to the Benefit of the International Rule of Law? An Introduction

Abstract

In this symposium, we publish Jeremy Waldron's article, �Are Sovereigns Entitled to the Benefit of the Rule of Law?� together with four responses, by Samantha Besson, David Dyzenhaus, Thomas Poole and Alexander Somek. Waldron is justifiably renowned as a jurisprude and theorist of the concept of the rule of law. His engagement with international law is more recent, but no less significant. In this article, he takes a familiar (perhaps even tired) question among international lawyers � can there be something akin to a rule of law in international affairs? � and recasts how we ought to think about it. With characteristically deft and plain-speaking arguments, Waldron burrows to the heart of the issue: What might it mean to speak of an �international rule of law,� and who or what are properly understood as its beneficiaries?