The Kaleidoscope of International Law
This book is a collection of updated and enhanced versions of the author's articles published in English over the past 30 years. It covers a wide range of areas and deals with many practical problems of international law which, despite their diplomatic importance, have been neglected by academics. For example, the book explores the applicability of negotiorum gestio to the planetary climate crisis, international legal problems between sovereign wealth fund holders and recipients, and the possibility of using the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank.
Through joint research and discussions with diplomats and government officials, the author came to realise that what really matters in diplomacy is different from what academics are interested in. On the basis of this conviction, he has included here articles which he considers useful not only for the academic study of international law but also for diplomatic practice. This book covers broad areas of international law and also touches on Japanese ideas of international law.
Kazuhiro Nakatani taught international law as a professor at the University of Tokyo from 1999 to 2024. He is now an emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo and a professor at Tokai University. He has been President of the Air Law Institute of Japan since 2021 and is Executive Director of the International Law Association Japan Branch. He was awarded the Mineicho Adachi Prize (Mineicho Adachi Foundation) in 1988, the Otto Reise Prize (Japan Institute of Air Law) in 1997 and the Shoji Sumita Prize (Traffic Research Association) in 2022.
