Law, Foreign Policy, and the East-West Détente

This book has its roots in a conference on Law and World Affairs held in the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, in January, 1964. Specialists representing government, universities and the press met then to discuss the response of the West in general, and of Canada in particular, to recent far-reaching changes in Soviet external relations. These changes are seen as reflected in the apparent East-West détente following the peaceful resolution of the October, 1962, Cuban crisis, as well as in the successful achievement of the Moscow partial Test Ban treaty in August, 1963.

The volume begins with an analysis of the changes in Soviet international life in the era of de-Stalinization -- changes which necessarily condition and affect the practical conduct of foreign policy by the Soviet élite. Next, there is an examination of distinctive theories of international law and relations, and their impact on and significance for classical, Western-based theories and Western policy-making in general. Emphasis then shifts to more specifically Canadian questions, focussing on Canadian responses to Soviet moves in international arenas such as the United Nations General Assembly''s Sixth (Legal) Committee, the International Law Commission, and the authoritative International Law Association. The later essays look to the opportunities presented for independent Canadian initiatives in East-West relations in the light of changes in the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc generally. Finally, the issue of the possibility, in the present era, of co-existence and cooperation among states with different social systems is examined.

The contributors are Professor John N. Hazard, Columbia University; Professor Harold J. Berman, Harvard University; Professor Edward McWhinney, University of Toronto; The Honourable Paul Martin, Minister for External Affairs, Ottawa; Blain Seaborn, Head of the Eastern Section, European Division, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa; J. Alan Beesley, Legal Division Department of External Affairs, Ottawa; Professor H. Gordon Skilling, Director, Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto; Mark Gayn, editorial writer, Toronto Daily Star; and the Soviet Ambassador to Canada, the Honourable Ivan F. Shpedko. This record of their ideas on some current trends and developments in international relations will appeal to both laymen and specialists interested in foreign policy and foreign affairs.