Time, History and International Law

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Time, History and International Law

Edited by Matthew Craven, Malgosia Fitzmaurice and Maria Vogiatzi

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Publication year: 2007


Series:	Developments in International Law, 58
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 15481 0
ISBN-10:	90 04 15481 7

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	viii, 256 pp.
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E-Book:	Buy this Book as an E-Book

List price:	€ 114.00 / US$ 154.00

Table of contents

Acknowledgments; Introduction: International Law and Its Histories, Matt Craven; International Law and Its History: The Story of an Unrequited Love, Randall Lesaffer; Foreign Office International Legal History, David J. Bederman; English Approaches to International Law in the Nineteenth Century, Michael Lobban; A Case Study on Jurisprudence as a Source of International Law: Oppenheim’s Influence, Amanda Perreau-Saussine; Time, History, and Sources of Law Peremptory Norms: Is There a Need for New Sources of International Law?, Hazel Fox; Reluctant Grundnormen: Articles 31(3)(C) and 42 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the Fragmentation of International Law, Jan Klabbers; The Time of Conclusion and the Time of Application of Treaties as Points of Reference in the Interpretative Process, Don Greig; Piracy and The Origins of Enmity, Gerry Simpson; Distance and Contemporaneity in Exploring the Practice of States: The British Archives in Relation to the 1957 Oman and Muscat Incident, Anthony Carty; Index.

About the author(s)

Matthew Craven, Professor of International Law, SOAS, University of London
Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Professor of International Law, Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London
Maria Vogiatzi, Research Fellow in International Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law

This book examines theoretical and practical issues concerning the relationship between international law, time and history. Problems relating to time and history are ever-present in the work of international lawyers, whether understood in terms of the role of historic practice in the doctrine of sources, the application of the principle of inter-temporal law in dispute settlement, or in gaining a coherent insight into the role that was played by international law in past events. But very little has been written about the various different ways in which international lawyers approach or understand the past, and it is with a view to exploring the dynamics of that engagement that this book has been compiled.
In its broadest sense, it is possible to identify at least three different ways in which the relationship between international law and (its) history may be conceived. The first is that of a history of international law written in narrative form, and mapped out in terms of a teleology of origins, development, progress or renewal. The second is that of history in international law and of the role history plays in arguments about law itself (for example in the construction of customary international law). The third way of understanding that relationship is in terms of international law in history: of understanding how international law has been engaged in the creation of a history that in some senses stands outside the history of international law itself.
The essays in this collection make clear that each type of engagement with history and international law interweaves various different types of historical narrative, pointing to the typically multi-layered nature of international lawyers’ engagement with the past and its importance in shaping the present and future of international law.

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