The Responsibility to Protect and International Law

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a major new international principle, adopted unanimously in 2005 by Heads of State and Government. Whilist it is broadly acknowledged that the principle has an important and intimate relationship with international law, especially the law relating to sovereignty, peace and security, human rights and armed conflict, there has yet to be a volume dedicated to this question. The Responsibility to Protect and International Law fills that gap by bringing together leading scholars from North America, Europe and Australia to examine R2P's legal content.

The Responsibility to Protect and International Law focuses on questions relating to R2P's legal quality, its relationship with sovereignty, and the question of whether the norm establishes legal obligations. It also aims to introduce readers to different legal perspectives, including feminism, and pressing practical questions such as how the law might be used to prevent genocide and mass atrocities, and punish the perpetrators.

Alex J. Bellamy is Professor of International Security at the Griffith Asia Institute/Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University, Australia. His recent books include, Responsibility to Protect: The Global Effort to End Mass Atrocities and he is currently completing Massacres and Morality: Mass Killing in an Age of Civilian Immunity.
Sara E. Davies is an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University. Dr Davies is author of Legitimising Rejection: International Refugee Law in Southeast Asia and The Global Politics of Health.
Luke Glanville has recently received his PhD in International Relations from University of Queensland. He is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University, Australia.