ABSTRACT
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE BEHAVIOUR OF STATES
There is a common popular cynicism about the effectiveness of international law; there is even a scepticism among academics and lawyers as to the actual existence of international law. The common view seems to be that international law is honoured more in its breach than in its observance and that since it seems to be broken so much and almost at will it can hardly be said to exist at all. Moreover, it is argued that there is little evidence that international law restrains states from pursuing their interests in the international system. Such extreme scepticism is on the whole misplaced.
