'The regulatory nature of modern international law': A lecture by professor Christian Walter

• Author: He Shuyu - LIU Chen - Liu Yang
• Position: HE Shuyu, LL.M in International Law, School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: heshuyu86@sina.com - LIU Chen, Undergraduate student in Law and Journalism, School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: luchang9810@gmail.com - LIU Yang, S.J.D, School of Law, University of California, ...
• Pages: 591-592

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 14 DECEMBER 2019 NO. 4

DOI 10.3868/s050-008-019-0027-6

ACADEMIC NEWS

“THE REGUL ATORY NATU RE OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW”: A LECTURE

BY PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN WALTER

On March 27, 2019, Christian Walter, Professor at the Faculty of Law at the Ludwig

Maximilian University of Munich, delivered a lecture on “The Regulatory Nature of

Modern International Law” at Renmin University of China Law School.

Professor Walter’s research interests include public international law, public law, and

religious constitutional law. He has published two monographs, coauthored four books,

edited dozens of books, and published over one hundred articles. Moreover, he currently

serves as co-editor of the Bonner Kommentar zum Grundgesetz (Bonn Commentary on

the Basic Law), a major commentary to the German Constitution, and co-editor of the

book series Jus Internationale et Europaeum (International Law and European Union

Law), which are published by Mohr Siebeck. In addition, he has argued as counsel before

the European Court of Human Rights and German Federal Constitutional Court.

The topic of the lecture is the theoretical basis of modern international law from the

perspective of German public law theory. First, Professor Walter introduced the

transformation of the regulatory theory in the context of German public law. He sketched

the theoretical evolution from control theory to governance theory and, subsequently, to

regulation theory. Professor Walter believed that the reality of the contemporary

international community has transcended the principle of absolute sovereignty enshrined

in the Lotus case at the Permanent Court of International Justice. In this context, the

concept of regulation provides a better analytical framework for the increasingly complex

reality. Therefore, international law scholars should strive to clarify a better concept of

regulation. Professor Walter further elaborated his theory by discussing the subject, object,

and means of the regulations of contemporary international law. He pointed out that the

contemporary international legal system is no longer an exclusively state-centered system,

since non-state entities have pushed for regulations as well. Further, they helped shape the

regulatory regime. Taking the European Convention on Human Rights as an example,

courts and expert groups have been assuming increasingly important regulatory roles in

such an institutionalized treaty system. In terms of regulatory tools, Professor Walter

discussed issues such as sub-legislation, soft law, special oversight mechanisms, and the

inclusion of non-state actors in international organizations. With respect to the expansion

of scope of regulatory objects, he clarified that the regulation of modern international law

has developed beyond individual states and expanded to include individuals, the mass