CYIL vol. 12 (2021)

ondřej svoboda CYIL 12 (2021) The fourth part is the most diverse one as it offers views on peaceful settlement of disputes in several specific fields of public international law. From the Law of the Sea’s perspective, one chapter discusses the role of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The following contribution focuses on international criminal law, specifically on the question of the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression as a step towards the peaceful settlement of disputes. The remaining chapters are exploring lesser known areas such as international dispute settlement mechanisms in the field of social policy and social security coordination; settlement of disputes in cyberspace; and finally the history of territorial disputes in Antarctica and their resolution. In sum, it is obvious that the book under review perfectly illustrates the rich history of peaceful settlement of international disputes together with the trends developed mainly in the second half of the 20 th century - the specialization in international dispute settlement. However, the other important development: Regionalization, is side-lined. Similarly, the rise of mediation, symbolized by the Singapore Convention on Mediation and its entry in force in September 2020, would with no doubt deserve attention of the authors. Taking into account an impossible task to cover the complex universe of the peaceful dispute settlements in one publication, it is a worthy contribution to the ongoing debates on a settlement of international disputes. The relevance of the topic is further underlined by the recent adverse developments in many parts of the world as we often find the states going in the opposing direction rather than towards peaceful settlement of international disputes. To conclude, Pokojné řešení sporů v mezinárodním právu provides a rich, mainly descriptive account of several key areas of peaceful settlement of disputes. As such, it is a valuable resource for all scholars and students of public international law.

Ondřej Svoboda *

* Researcher, Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. This review was produced within the project of the Faculty of Law of the Charles University Progres Q04 – “Právo v měnícím se světě”.

472