The study of the disparity in wealth and growth between the nations must have absolute priority. Economic themes and strategies seem to aim at stimulating the economic growth of the third world, but doubts are arising now, because of the risks inherent to excessive economic growth and accompanying recession or overheating. The very fact that the equalization movement has become an object of strategy creates passions and movements that imperil the cause of justice, and the very functioning of international law. Some doctrinal voices are heard that incriminate existing international law as being opposed to development as such, and plead for a complete review. This essay intends to analyse this crisis, to point out certain positive aspects, but also to defend international law against unjust accusations.

The case study that follows appears to demonstrate the commonly-noted features of international law: a decentralized and imperfect legal system, one lacking real functional and jural equivalents to the institutions found in domestic law, and one with the dédoublement fonctionnel problem. Illustrated another way, the problem is that during major disputes or crises political considerations tend to be primary while legal ones are secondary. This appears to have been particularly true in the relations between the superpowers during the cold War.

If one looks back over the two hundred years of thinking and practice on the codification of international law which separate Jeremy Bentham from the new draft convention on State succession, one is struck by the fact that the ideas become less and less ambitious and more and more cautious, pragmatic and technical. It is true that up to the beginning of the present century learned codes with hundreds of articles were still being produced. But even then the Institut de droit international and the International Law Association had already started work on more specialized projects. The first official codification work under the League of Nations similarly concentrated on selected topics, and this was quite apart from the specialized conventions produced by the International Labour Organization. The codification of the law of international conflict had, of course, already been accomplished in The Hague at the turn of the century.

May I start by saying what an honour and a pleasure it is to have this opportunity to speak to your distinguished Institute about the work of the International Law Commission and particularly the law of treaties. It equally gives me a sense of-honour and pleasure to share this occasion with my distinghuished colleague, Professor Tammes. Happily, his views and mine do not always coincide so I hope that our introductory speeches will provoke a lively and interesting discussion.