Book Reviews Dahlitz, Julie (ed.). Avoidance and Settlement of Arms Control Disputes. (Vol. 2, Arms Control and Disarmament Law). New York: United Nations, 1994. Pp. vi, 239. $35. This collection of essays results from the follow-up to a UN Symposium on The International Law of Arms Control and Disarmament held in 1991, the proceedings of which were published that year. The main idea running through the text is that further developments in international law in the area of arms control could well serve the goal of avoiding disputes and settling them in a more effective way. Also, the developments in this area could advance dispute resolution concepts and methods in other areas, such as environmental law and border disputes (see the Introduction by Dahlitz). The need for a reassessment of the entire field of disarmament and arms control as a result of the end of the cold war and the emergence of various new sources of tension gives works in this area a particular pertinence, and this volume is especially welcome. It attempts to tackle, while keeping a strictly legalistic approach, a multifaceted and difficult subject. The contributions have been arranged in three main sections, respectively concerning supervision and jurisdiction in the avoidance and settlement of arms control disputes; assessment and adjudication; and, finally, arms control disputes in a global context. The first section opens with a comprehensive essay by E. Ifft on `The Use of On-Site Inspection in the Avoidance and Settlement of Arms Control Disputes', which assesses the different kinds of on-site inspections (OSI) as appropriate techniques for monitoring compliance with arms control agreements. The author is optimistic, with regard to both the increased diffusion of OSI (even in a bilateral context) and their effectiveness as a tool for monitoring compliance. This essay (which might possibly have been more appropriately placed in the second section) is followed by two others, on `Arms and Dual-Use Goods Exports in the European Community' and `Security Powers and Possibilities'. The first, by N. Prouvez, sheds some light on the subject of licensing practices in EC Member States, an area otherwise not widely familiar. Most of the author's considerations concerning future developments have proved to be correct - the essay was written before the entry into force of the TEU, and obviously could not cover subsequent developments (including the adoption and entry into operation of the Dual Use legislation). The second essay, by J. Dahlitz, contains not only a survey of Security Council powers in this field, but also a proposal for enhancement of these powers by means of the creation of a number of standing committees. An interesting essay by H. Fujita on `The Role of Transparency in the Avoidance and Settlement of Arms Control Disputes' heads the second section of the book. This is followed by G. Cottereau's useful `Comparative View of Arms Control Disputes', with an evaluation of the adequacy of the different means of settling them. While recognizing the usefulness of elaborating provisions for the peaceful settlement of disputes, the author expresses a clear preference for diplomatic, rather than judicial, means. G. Lysen's contribution on `The Adequacy of the Law of Treaties to Arms Control Agreements' is a systematic work on the application of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (at least those provisions which uncontroversially embody customary international law) to arms control agreements, such as the ABM Treaty and the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT). The last essay of the second section, by E.P.J. Myjer, deals with `Supervisory Mechanisms and Dispute Settlement' and compares the mechanisms of supervision under the Seabed Treaty with those of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Finally, the essays in the third part are not linked systematically, but treat various topics, namely `Some Matters of Interpretation: the ABM Treaty', by B. Tuzmukhamedov, `Some Matters of Accommodation - Third Party Input', by M. Boethe, `Arms Restraint and the Avoidance of Force', by F. Calderon, and finally, `The Legal Aspects of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation Concerning the Former Soviet Union', by C. Yamada and M. Asada. Although it lacks to some extent a guiding thread (which is perhaps inevitable in a collective work on such a multifaceted topic), this volume provides an invaluable amount of information in this field. It is to be hoped that other publications of a similar nature will follow, which will take into account events subsequent to 1994 (such as the entry into force of the CWC) and others still to come. Antonio Tanca Legal Advisor Council of the European Union
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