Book Review of Stefan Talmon, German Practice in International Law

Extract

1. The books under review are Stefan Talmon, German Practice in International Law 2019, Cambridge University Press, 2022, 467, ISBN: 978-1-316-51461-0, and Stefan Talmon, German Practice in International Law 2020, Cambridge University Press, 2023, 534, ISBN: 978-1-009-15259-4 (The German Practice in International Law (GPIL, 2019, 2020)), compiled by Professor Stefan Talmon in collaboration with students. The publication of these books is a very welcome development for both German and non-German readers in the field of public international law. As the publisher rightfully puts it, “[i]t is the first and only presentation in English of German practice in the field of international law.” Moreover, the publication of GPIL in the form of “a series of annual volumes” is especially to be celebrated by the international law community for important reasons. First and in general, it represents a new effort to make State practice widely available in response to the encouragement of the United Nations and European Union. Second and in particular, Germany is “the world’s fourth-largest economy and a powerhouse of the European Union”,¹ and German practice in international law deserves to be studied more widely and closely.