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UPCOMING NEW RELEASE COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
OF THE LAW CONCERING THE THREAT
AND USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS by Fordham Law Professor
Charles J. Moxley, Jr. MARCH 2024
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Critical Commentary on Second Edition
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Nuclear
Weapons and International Law: Existential Risks of Nuclear War and
Deterrence through a Legal Lens
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William J. Perry Professor Moxley’s broad-ranging discussion of the rules of international law that govern the threat and use of nuclear weapon makes a persuasive case for working to eliminate nuclear weapons since it is hardly possible to imagine a use that would be in compliance with recognized principles of international humanitarian law. Because nuclear weapons impact every person on the planet the issues raised by Professor Moxley deserve the attention of all persons, especially those having responsibility in the United States and elsewhere for nuclear weapons. Most centrally, Professor Moxley’s broad and comprehensive application of international law to known facts as to nuclear weapons provides an inspirational agenda for our consideration as to how to truly make international law the firewall against the destruction of human civilization. From the Foreword by
John D. Feerick The first edition of Charles Moxley’s treatise on the law of nuclear weapons appeared in 2000 under the title, “Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Post World War.” As knowledge of its publication spread, it was seen as a work of epic proportions. One might say a Blackstone’s Commentaries on the law of armed conflict. Former Secretary of State Robert McNamara described the book as the “best exposition that I have seen of the irrationality of the U.S. policy in this area, the irrationality of the politics of the other nuclear weapons states, and the irrationality of the human race in permitting the potential use of these weapons to continue.” … The second edition of Moxley’s treatise, like the first edition, is amazing in its scope and breadth. It is a primer for a robust discussion of the potential of law to enable us to address the threats and use of nuclear weapons. From the Foreword by
Claire Finkelstein Charles Moxley lays bare the anomaly whereby the United States and other nuclear weapons States, while acknowledging the requirements of IHL and their applicability to the threat and use of nuclear weapons, distort and understate those very requirements when it comes to applying them to the threat and use of nuclear weapons. Moxley vividly portrays the alarming risks that result from this failure of nuclear weapons States to come to grips with the requirements of international law insofar as concerns nuclear weapons––risks that must be addressed if human civilization is to stave off potential disaster that as time goes on becomes more and more likely as the Ukraine situation so vividly reminds us. From the Foreword by Mary Smith Moxley’s Nuclear Weapons and International Law combines
rigorous legal scholarship with the acumen of a seasoned practitioner,
offering an authoritative critique of nuclear deterrence and a persuasive,
urgent argument for the disarmament imperative under international law. >Mary Smith, J.D. Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin Charles Moxley is a brilliant lawyer and his treatise on Nuclear Weapons and International Law could not be more important and timely. His distinguished career as a practitioner, professor, and arbitrator makes him uniquely well qualified to analyze complex and sensitive factual and legal issues in a manner that is both objective and fair minded. He is a well-known and respected authority in the legal world. I have the highest regard for Moxley’s scholarship and his insightful and critical thinking. Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin
Thomas A. Russo As Chief Legal Officer of Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis and General Counsel of AIG in the aftermath, I’ve seen how elemental forces can lurch out of control––and how, with creative legal approaches and wise and innovative policy, risks can be steered towards more positive outcomes. Charles Moxley, in this monumental tome, addresses an even more momentous matrix of risk and offers a potential way out–––the harnessing of law to help lead the world towards defense policies that restore some measure of limit to man’s destructiveness in war, recognizing the unlawfulness as well as folly of nuclear weapons. The billions going into nuclear weapons annually, the heightened rhetoric trivializing the potential use of these weapons, the wishful thinking that nuclear weapons uses could be limited to low-yield tactical weapons in remote areas, the proliferating numbers of these weapons, the hair trigger alert levels of our and Russia’s weapons, the existential potential repercussions, the repetition of broadscale heads-in-the-sand, unable to see the obvious, closed eye optimism–––such systemic failures of restraint and cognition that Moxley so painstakingly details hearken back to systematic failures on a societal scale that led to the financial crisis. We ignore warning signs at our peril. In securities parlance, a “fat finger” means a mistaken pushing of a button by a trader, resulting in a huge unintended trade. In the military’s command and control system, a fat figure could have repercussions far beyond the financial and be irreversible, yet, with the United States’ and other states’ policies of deterrence and high alert levels, such an unintended use and potential nuclear responses and escalation are only moments away. Moxley’s message of the need to restructure our defense policies in recognition of these risks compels our attention. Moxley’s central point––that law offers us an important way to address risks of nuclear weapons––is a fundamental one. Law is more than a body of rules; it is the glue that holds a society together, the norms that are shared, in effect the codification of the culture. Moxley’s reminder is timely as to its importance to nuclear weapons and our defense policies. Thomas A. Russo
Jonathan Granoff No greater threat to human life and wellbeing exists than nuclear weapons. In this compelling and comprehensive study of existential risks posed by nuclear weapons and requirements of international law, Charles Moxley gives us reason to hope that, as with the abolition of slavery, advancement of rights of women, and so many other areas, law can help provide a way forward towards genuine human security. Jonathan Granoff
Hon. Ariel E. Belen A
person of integrity and deep commitment to public service, Charles Moxley has
an extraordinary legal mind, able to grasp and synthesize the most complex of
factual and legal situations. A leading arbitrator and mediator of
complex high-stakes disputes in New York, Charlie is fair-minded and
objective. His years long-effort to pull together the facts and law
applicable to risks posed by nuclear weapons commands the attention of
everyone who believes in the capacity of law to be a catalyst for overcoming threats
to human life and civilization. Hon. Ariel E. Belen
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Critical Commentary on First Edition Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Post Cold War World
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Robert S. McNamara Professor Moxley has given us the best exposition that I have seen of the irrationality of the U.S. policy in this area, the irrationality of the policies of the other nuclear weapons states, and the irrationality of the human race in permitting the potential use of these weapons to continue. I urge the President and the Congress to investigate the claim Professor Moxley makes that, given all of the risk factors, the use of nuclear weapons is per se unlawful under rules of law long recognized by the United States. Professor Moxley has done us a great service by inviting us to engage this historic opportunity. Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Post Cold War World will be an indispensable reference work for all who wish to debate the issue. From the Foreword by
David W. Leebron This is a bold and provocative work, and will be controversial. This comprehensive and ambitious work must undoubtedly figure in future debates on this most important of subjects. Professor Moxley seizes this moment to set forth the arguments that require a response. From the Foreword by
Kosta Tsipis It is truly startling to see the extent to which the United States has itself recognized the principles of international law form which the unlawfulness of the use of nuclear weapons is evident based on the inevitable effects of such weapons. Moxley literally shows the unlawfulness of these weapons out of the United States’ own mouth. I welcome Professor Moxley’s exhaustive and erudite examination of the legality of nuclear weapons. It is essential that our understanding of the law catch up with our understanding of the technical and policy forces. We should not squander the present historic opportunity to come to grips with the legal restraints on these weapons rather than continuing to legitimize them. From the Foreword by
Jerome J. Shestack Charles Moxley’s thesis that nuclear weapons violate international law may be this century’s most important advance towards a peaceable world order. His book should make you worry, make you think and above all, impel you to make his case against nuclear weapons your case. Jerome J. Shestack
Lawrence E. Walsh Professor Moxley has written a thoughtful, well researched and clearly stated exposition of a fundamental issue of the twenty-first century, the confrontation of a policy of nuclear deterrence and use of instruments of mass destruction with the rule of law as presently understood and acceptable standards of safety. Lawrence E. Walsh
Cyrus Vance Professor Moxley’s book is a broad-ranging treatment of a complex subject that will contribute to the debate. The combination of international law, nuclear weapons policy, and technical analysis makes interesting reading. Cyrus Vance
Alan Cranston Charles Moxley has given us an incredibly thorough study of international law, its nature, its strengths, its weaknesses, and the need to find adequate ways to make it enforceable if the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons and consequent disaster are to be avoided. U.S. Senator, 1969-1993 |
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COMMUNICATIONS
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For questions, comments, or inquires, contact Prof. Moxley at: Charles.moxley@moxleyadr.org. Nuclear Weapons And International Law
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