Military alliances and neutraltiy in war and peace

The author first sets out chronologically the military alliances concluded between 1943 and 1963. He then succinctly analyses the relevant provisions of the important treaties, including the North Atlantic Pact and the Warsaw Pact, with a view to ascertaining their distinctive and common features and testing their validity in international law of the Charter regime. This analysis is based mainly on a regionwise classification.

After examining the legal theories in support of the military alliances, with particular stress on the widely prevalent theory that such alliances are justified as collective self-defence measures under Article 51 of the U. N. Charter, the writer, with incisive logic, developed in the context of the provisions of the Charter and with reference to contemporary events, refutes the claims of both East and West to the legal validity of their respective military alignments and sums up that co-existence and non-alignment are imperative obligations of the members of the United Nations.

Mr Roy Chowdhury concisely and illuminatingly discusses the ideas, institutions and instruments that have shaped, influenced or modified the law of neutrality from its inception to the present day; finally covering a vast field of practically unexplored legal research in connection with the juridical concepts of cold war, peaceful co-existence and non-alignment and illustrating the views he expresses by extensive reference to important contemporary events.

This provocative and constructive study of international law fulfils a long-felt want and can be unhesitatingly recommended to all students and teachers of international law, international relations and current world affairs, both in India and abroad.