Commitment and Compliance is the first book to evaluate the impact on state behaviour of international norms adopted in forms that are not legally binding. The use of such 'soft law' has increased dramatically with the proliferation of international organizations. Whether and how such norms can be used effectively to supplement or substitute for legally binding obligations forms the heart of this discussion. In the study, a project of the American Society of International Law, the authors examine four areas of international law: human rights, the environment, arms control, and trade and finance. For each area, they assess the use of non-binding norms and ask whether such norms engender state compliance. More generally, the discussion also addresses the nature of international law and the role of non-binding norms in the international legal system.

Review from previous edition This well presented work is optimistic about future prospects, which should give comfort to us all. * Gavin McFarlane, New Law Journal, Feb 01 *
Commitment and Compliance is an impressive collection of studies...which is surely the most significant contribution so far to the literature on the soft-law phenomenon and the associated problem of compliance with nonbinding instruments. Expertly edited by Dinah Shelton, this substantial work draws upon no less than twenty-seven authors and co-authors...[t]he result is a work unusually rich in conceptual insight and empirical range: cross-disciplinary, multisectoral, and transgenerational... * Douglas M. Johnston, The American Journal of International Law, July 2001 *

Dinah Shelton is Professor of International Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, USA.