Erik Castrén Institute Monographs on International Law and Human Rights – serie

Around twenty years ago, a challenge was laid down to international law by those writing at the critical periphery of the discipline; a challenge that has yet to find satisfactory response. Although often (mistakenly) characterised as nihilist, this book seeks to recast it in positive terms; to pose the question of what – if anything – is left of international law and ethics if we accept both that apolitical rules are impossible and that the values that must – inevitably – be used to justify them are irreducibly, radically subjective. After detailed analyses of different political and international legal philosophers who have confronted this issue, the answer is located in a “turn to literature” and a rehabilitation of the ancient notion of rhetoric.

This volume, now in its second and revised edition, deals with the legal status of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - as a consequence of the illegality of the Soviet annexation in 1940-1991. It offers a detailed historical overview of the Soviet takeover of the Baltic States in 1939/1940 and analysis of international law as it was in force, also regionally and bilaterally, at the time. It examines the role of the continuity of the diplomatic representations of the Baltic States and other manifestations of the Western non-recognition of the Soviet annexation. Moreover, the book examines the nature of the restoration of the Baltic States in 1991 based on their State continuity claim. It also studies in detail questions such as borders, citizenship and reparation claims, and asks to what extent State continuity could or could not be restored in practice. Compared to the first edition, the text has been updated (for example, on developments regarding border treaties) but also more background references have been added on the history of the Baltic States, Soviet and post-Soviet Russian responses to the continuity claim of the Baltic States, etc. The book interprets the Soviet annexation and Baltic States' continuity case against the wider backdrop of developments in international law in the 20th century and argues that the outcome reflected important normative developments in international law, away from mere effectivity. The case of the Baltic States will be relevant for current and future cases of illegal annexation, following the threat and use of military force prohibited under international law.