"Normative Development in the International Legal System"

This chapter analyzes the structure of traditional international law and the conceptual bases for a distinction between legally binding and non-binding norms. It considers the debate of whether ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ law are distinct categories or end points on a continuum. It reviews various non-binding instruments and their uses, developing a criteria for identifying ‘soft’ law among the multitude of international texts adopted by international actors.