Prof. Joanna Harrington publishes chapter on Canada’s rules-based approach to international relations

Professor Joanna Harrington of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law has contributed a chapter on Canada’s rules-based approach to international relations to The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs.

The chapter is titled “Canada and International Law: Supporting a Rules-Based Approach to International Relations."

Palgrave Handbooks provide a well-regarded overview of current trends and new developments in the humanities and social sciences, including business, economics and finance, and politics and international studies.

Published in April, The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs is edited by Robert W. Murray and Paul Gecelovsky. It provides a comprehensive look at Canada’s role in the world, as well as expert insights into the various political and policy variables that will impact Canadian foreign policy decision-making in the future.

From the abstract: “Canada has long supported a rules-based approach to international relations. Indeed, by statute, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs is tasked with fostering the development of international law and Canada conducts a significant component of its international relations through legally-binding treaties made with other states. Canada also engages in the setting of normative goals and political commitments through the negotiation of non-treaty texts which, while non-legally binding, may help build a consensus in support of future legal developments. Canada's respect for a rules-based approach also extends to international dispute settlement, although Canada rarely resorts to international courts for inter-state disputes. Canada was, however, heavily involved in the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court to hold individuals, as distinct from states, responsible for internationally-wrongful acts. But while international law is respected by Canada as an important ordering regime and worthy of promotion within the international community, there remain times when national interests may take precedence.”