Fragmentation as a reflection of the international legal system crisis: a terminological analysis
- Authors: Sidorov A.V.1
-
Affiliations:
- North-West Branch of the Russian State University of Justice named after V.M. Lebedev
- Issue: Vol 9, No 3 (2025)
- Pages: 353-365
- Section: General Theory and History of Law and the State
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/2587-9340/article/view/313880
- ID: 313880
Cite item
Full Text
Abstract
The terminological apparatus related to such a crisis phenomenon in the international legal system as fragmentation is considered. The aim of the study is to identify the specific meaning of the concept in question. The main types of fragmentation and related key terms are discussed. It is concluded that, firstly, the various interpretations of the fragmentation of international law, differing in their negative or neutral connotations, are united by the sema of division; secondly, each type of fragmentation corresponds to a key concept that conveys its essence: for substantive fragmentation, it is a self-contained regime, for procedural/institutional fragmentation, this is forum shopping. Thirdly, the historical nature of the fragmentation of international law is revealed in phrases such as European international law”, “American international law”, “socialist international law”. Fourthly, in some modern legal studies, fragmentation is examined within the framework of individual branches of international law, and in some works, the antonymous term “defragmentation” is used.
About the authors
Andrei V. Sidorov
North-West Branch of the Russian State University of Justice named after V.M. Lebedev
Author for correspondence.
Email: andrei.sidorov.spb@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5335-2980
Cand. Sci. (Philology), Lecturer at the General Theoretical Legal Disciplines Department
Russian Federation, 5 Alexandrovsky Park, Saint Petersburg, 197046, Russian FederationReferences
- Dorskaya A.A. (2025). Crisis phenomena in the legal sphere as an interdisciplinary concept. Rossiyskoe pravosudie = Russian Justice, no. 5, pp. 5-15. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.37399/issn2072-909X.2025.5.5-15, https://elibrary.ru/nelkif
- Dorskaya A.A. (2024). Crisis of the international legal system of the 1920s and the Constitution of the USSR of 1924. In: Federal Aspects of the Development of Constitutionalism (on the 100th Anniversary of the Constitution of the USSR of 1924). St. Petersburg, Asterion, pp. 86-94. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/irvqnv
- Dorskaya A.A. (2024). Crises of the international legal system: on the issue of periodization of the history of international law. Mezhdunarodnyy nauchnyy vestnik = International Scientific Bulletin, no. 11, pp. 113-118. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/gyfmxv
- Dorskaya A.A., Kosovskaya V.A., Alekseeva N.I. (comp.) (2021). Crisis Phenomena in Law: Theory, History, Ways to Overcome. St. Petersburg, Asterion Publ., 580 p. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.53115/9785001881216, https://elibrary.ru/tpassc
- Dorskaya A.A., Sidorov A.V., Petrova N.D. (eds.) (2024). Sbornik nauchnykh statei Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii «Krizisy mezhdunarodno-pravovoi sistemy i puti ikh preodoleniya: istoriya i sovremennost’» = Collection of Scientific Articles of the International Scientific and Practical Conference: “Crises of the International Legal System and Ways to Overcome Them: History and Modernity”. St. Petersburg, Asterion Publ., 280 p. (In Russ.) https://www.elibrary.ru/endrpw
- Smorgunovа V.Yu., Dorskaya A.A. eds. (2021). Effectiveness of International Legal Regulation and Overcoming Crisis Phenomena in International Law. St. Petersburg, Asterion Publ., 274 p. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.53115/9785001881148, https://elibrary.ru/cgaqis
- Tolstykh V.L. (2024). Chapter 10. Problematic (critical) analysis of international law. In: International Legal Problems of the Modern International Economic Order. Moscow, Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, pp. 139-154. (In Russ.) https://www.elibrary.ru/ahkros
- Tolstykh V.L. (2022). Crisis of international law: diagnosis. Zakon = The Law, no. 12, pp. 122-133. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.37239/0869-4400-2022-19-12-122-133, https://elibrary.ru/bhtwet
- Yavchunovskaya R.A. (2017). Crisis of international law in the realities of the modern world order. Evraziyskiy Soyuz: voprosy mezhdunarodnykh otnosheniy = Eurasian Union: Issues of International Relations, no. 4 (22), pp. 24-30. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/ykijnq
- Carty J.A., Tolstykh V. (2024). Reflection on the Philosophical-Historical Roots of the Crisis in Western International Law Thinking. HSE University Journal of International Law, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 4-13. https://doi.org/10.17323/jil.2024.23983, https://elibrary.ru/cbvtzu
- Matchanova Z.Sh. (2021). International humanitarian law in the late 20th – early 21st centuries in the light of the study of crises in international law. Chernye dyry v Rossiyskom zakonodatel’stve = Black Holes in the Russian Legislation, no. 2, pp. 36-38. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/wntcbn
- Matchanova Z.Sh. (2020). Prospects for the development of international labor law in the context of the study of international law crises in the 21st century. Chernye dyry v Rossiyskom zakonodatel’stve = Black Holes in the Russian Legislation, no. 3, pp. 20-22. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/qhosqq
- Alferova E.V. (2016). Crisis of international law: reasons and ways of exit (review). In: Modern International Law: Domestic and Foreign Studies: Collection of Scientific Works. Moscow, Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pp. 14-29. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/znzvmd
- Ignat’eva M.V. (2021). Causes of the crisis in international law: diversity of views. In: Effectiveness of international Legal Regulation and Overcoming Crisis Phenomena in International Law. St. Petersburg, Asterion Publ., pp. 96-100. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/dyjhug
- Abdullin A.I. (2014). Current challenges of fragmentation of international law. Mezhdunarodnoe ekonomicheskoe pravo v epokhu globalizatsii: Liber amicorum v chest’ 60-letiya professora V.M. Shumilova = International Economic Law in the Era of Globalization: Liber Amicorum in Honor of the 60th Anniversary of Professor V.M. Shumilov. Moscow, Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, 2014, vol. 54, pp. 18-22. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/xdouut
- Abdullin A.I. (2015). Fragmentation of international law: challenges and perspectives. Materialy XII ezhegodnoi Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi pamyati professora I.P. Blishchenko «Aktual’nye problemy sovremennogo mezhdunarodnogo prava»: v 2 ch. = Proceedings of the XII Annual International Scientific and Practical Conference in Memory of Professor I.P. Blishchenko “Current Issues of Modern International Law”: in 2 parts. Moscow, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia Publ., 2015, part 1, pp. 20-27. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/wcvinn
- Kolodkin R.A. (2005). Fragmentation of international law. Moskovskiy zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava = Moscow Journal of International Law, no. 2, pp. 38-61. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24833/0869-0049-2005-2-38-61, https://elibrary.ru/qbqlow
- Reshetneva T.V., Orlov A.S. (2021). Some issues of fragmentation of international law: causes, consequences, ways of overcoming. Vestnik Volzhskogo universiteta im. V.N. Tatishcheva = Bulletin of the V.N. Tatischev Volga University, vol. 1, no. 2 (98), pp. 243-252. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.51965/2076-7919_2021_1_2_243, https://elibrary.ru/ewootq
- Zaloilo M.V. (2020). Fragmentation as a modern trend of legal space development. Pravo. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki = Law. Journal of the Higher School of Economics, no. 1, pp. 27-49. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17323/2072-8166.2020.1.27.49, https://elibrary.ru/ghqbqn
- Davletgildeev R.Sh. (2013). To the question of approaches to the fragmentation of international law. Rossiyskiy yuridicheskiy zhurnal = Russian Juridical Journal, no. 3 (90), pp. 20-25. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/qbzhuz
- Tyurina N.E. (2013). Fragmentation of international law in the context of the “WTO law”. Rossiyskiy yuridicheskiy zhurnal = Russian Juridical Journal, no. 3 (90), pp. 52-58. (In Russ.) https://www.elibrary.ru/qbzhwx
- Koskenniemi M., Leino P. (2002). Fragmentation of International Law? Postmodern Anxieties. Leiden Journal of International Law, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 553-579. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156502000262, https://elibrary.ru/hlaxpd
- Jennings R.Y. (1997) The Role of the International Court of Justice. British Yearbook of International Law, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 1-63. https://doi.org/10.1093/bybil/68.1.1
- Dupuy P.-M., Viñuales J.E. (2014). The Challenge of “Proliferation”: An Anatomy of the Debate. In: Romano C., Alte K.r, and Shany Y. (eds). The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication. Oxford, pp. 135-157. https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780199660681.003.0007
- Shestakova K.D., Vissenberg A.S. (2020). Evolution of discourse on fragmentation of international law. Mezhdunarodnoe pravo = International Law, no. 1, pp. 29-49. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25136/2644-5514.2020.1.29871, https://elibrary.ru/sarkbc
- Simma B. (1985). Self-contained regimes. Netherlands Yearbook of International Law, vol. 16, pp. 111-136. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0167676800003482
- Simma B., Pulkowski D. (2006). Of Planets and the Universe: Self-Contained Regimes in International Law. European Journal of International Law, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 483-529. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chl015, https://elibrary.ru/inwcqd
- Vinogradov A.A. (2010). “Forum Shopping” and European Union Law. Moskovskiy zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava = Moscow Journal of International Law, no. 4 (80), pp. 141-154. (In Russ.) https://www.elibrary.ru/twbmob
- Vede Yu.V. (2020). Forum shopping: concept, motives and ways to counteract. Materialy III Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii professorsko-prepodavatel’skogo sostava, praktikuyushchikh yuristov, aspirantov i magistrantov «Aktual’nye problemy razvitiya tsivilisticheskogo protsessa» = Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference of Faculty, Practicing Lawyers, Graduate Students, and Master’s Students “Current Issues in the Development of Civil Procedure”. Rostov-on-Don, Sole Proprietor Sergey V. Bespamyatnov Publ., 2020, pp. 264-268. (In Russ.) https://www.elibrary.ru/etimid
- Garner B.A. ed. (2015). Black’s Law Dictionary. Abridged. Eagan (MN), Thomson Reuters West, 1385 p.
- Mitchell R.M. (2025). The Narrative Fragmentation of International Legal History. Journal of the History of International Law, vol. 27 (1), pp. 57-98. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718050-bja10121
- Deak F. (1962). Observations on international law in underdeveloped areas. Proceedings of the American Society of International Law at its Annual Meeting, vol. 56, pp. 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027250370002855X
- Galushko D.V. (2024). Impact of international law fragmentation on the development of integration processes. Rossiyskiy zhurnal pravovykh issledovaniy = Russian Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 95-102. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17816/RJLS634737, https://elibrary.ru/ckeihi
- Hefter A.V. (1880). European International Law. St. Petersburg, V. Bezobrazova i K° Printing House, 619 p. (In Russ.)
- Alvarez A., Rowe L.S. (1909). “American International Law”. Proceedings of the American Society of International Law at its Annual Meeting, no. 3, pp. 206-220.
- Korovin E.A. (1954). Some basic questions of the modern theory of international law. Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo = Soviet State and Law, no. 6, pp. 34-44. (In Russ.)
- Andenas M., Bjorge E. (2015). A Farewell to Fragmentation: Reassertion and Convergence in International Law. Cambridge, CUP, 603 p. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139979498
- Djajić S.V. (2019). Mehanizmi defragmentacije međunarodnog prava: sistemsko tumačenje, evolutivno tumačenje i sudski aktivizam evropskog suda za ljudska prava. Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta Novi Sad, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 363-375. (In Serb.) https://doi.org/10.5937/zrpfns53-23515
- Salvatore F.N. (2016). Disconnecting Humanitarian Law from EU Subsidiary Protection: A Hypothesis of Defragmentation of International Law. Leiden Journal of International Law, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 463-483. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156516000108
- Van Aaken A. (2009). Defragmentation of Public International Law through Interpretation: a Methodological Proposal. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 483-512. https://doi.org/10.2979/gls.2009.16.2.483
- Abrusci E. (2023). Judicial Convergence and Fragmentation in International Human Rights Law: the Regional Systems and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Cambridge, CUP, 273 p.
- Fidler M. (2025). Fragmentation of International Cybercrime Law. Utah Law Review, no. 3, pp. 737-804.
- Seffinga V., Eldholm M. (2019). The Fragmentation of International Space Law. International Institute of Space Law, vol. 62 (3), pp. 213-225. http://doi.org/10.5553/IISL/2019062003001
- Young M.A. (2021). Fragmentation. The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law. 2nd ed. Oxford, OUP, pp. 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0005
- Tjandra J. (2021). The Fragmentation of Property Rights in the Law of Outer Space. Air & Space Law, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 373-394. https://doi.org/10.54648/aila2021021, https://elibrary.ru/lldipn
- Mendelson H.H. (1988). Fragmentation of the law of the sea. Marine Policy, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 192-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/0308-597X(88)90057-7
Supplementary files
