Teaching International Law: State-Consent as Consent to a Process of Normative Development and Ensuing Problems

In this text the author explores the role of state-consent in normative development at the international level during times of globalization. She makes the point that, increasingly, state-consent is understood as consent to a process of normative development, the outcome of which is unknown at the time when consent is given. Understanding state-consent in this manner, however, results in questions arising with respect to the legitimacy of international decision-making processes. These questions address transparency and accountability in international decision-making and are related to the changing character of the international legal system, which, increasingly, besides regulating the interests that states share also seeks to regulate the common interest of the international community. The text of this booklet served as the basis for a lecture held upon the acceptance of the Chair of Public International Law at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.