ABSTRACT
After a detailed exa7lliuation of tbe ullique position of tbe c7l1ergillg llatiom, tbe "tbird world," Professor Fatouros urges that tbe Western nations should 1l1ldertake a change in approach and a reassessment of tbe objectives of international law since the present situation of international society is 01"0 dissimilar to tbat in which tbe law evolved. He concludes t!Jat special, new rules should be for1l1ulated, based on a broad and positive comideration of the urgent need of tbe emergillg nations to de'lx/o[J their natural resources as effectively and as rapidly as po.rsible-a 'Ileed whic/.? international law must take into aCCOlL'lJt if it i5 to /Je 7Ileallillgful to the third world nations and if they are expected to be elTective, respomoible 'l1le71lbers of the international legal c07Jl'munity 0
-T I-JE two major facts of contemporary international li fe are the conflict between the Western and the Soviet blocs and the emer-
gence and increasing importance of a "third world," thc new group of states in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.1 Both are constantly in the minds of those in contral in national and international affairs and thus
:l broad sense; it includes legal rules derived from a11 of the traditional sources: customs, bilateral and multilateral treaties, writings of scholars and general principles of law. To limit the meaning of international law in the present context to customary law alone would be not only unduly restrictive but also highly unrealistic. International treaties, for instance, are today the chief tools for the development of the law;2 their study is essential to a complete description of existing international law rules and also provides valuable indications of possible future developments.
