Henrique J.B. Marcos has been awarded the prestigious New Voices Prize by the European Journal of Legal Studies for his thought-provoking piece, Two Kinds of Systemic Consistency in International Law. This groundbreaking work delves into the heart of the systemic view of international law, offering a fresh perspective on the classic debate surrounding its nature as a legal system. The jury (Professors Curtin, Sadl, Hessellink and Nouwen) gave it the following endorsement:
"Two Kinds of Systemic Consistency in International Law revitalises the classic debate on whether international law is a system. It does so by rationally reconstructing the concept of ‘consistency’ in international law. The writing is refreshingly clear, concise and – perhaps no surprise – consistent."
Abstract:
The systemic view of international law has grown in popularity in recent decades. Even central authors who endorse the fragmentation of international law have recognised it as a legal system. Despite its popularity, however, some unresolved issues still obscure the systemic view. If international law is a system, does that mean it has no rule conflicts? Or is it that a system can handle these conflicts in a way that preserves legal consistency? In this respect, this article aims to contribute to a better understanding of international law as a legal system by rationally reconstructing the concept of consistency in international law. To make its argument, this research distinguishes rules from statements, as well as the consistency of rulesets (R-consistency) from the consistency of statement sets (S-consistency). With this differentiation, this article then explains how the internal logic of international law allows subjects to derive an S-consistent set of legal consequences even if the ruleset of international law is R-inconsistent.