Federico Lenzerini is Professor of International and EU Law at the Università degli Studi di Siena. Ana Filipa Vrdoljak is Professor of Law and Associate Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Law, the University of Technology, Sydney.

International law has long been dominated by the State. But it has become apparent that this bias is unrealistic and untenable in the contemporary world as the rise of the notion of common goods challenges this dominance. These common goods - typically values (like human rights, rule of law, etc) or common domains (the environment, cultural heritage, space, etc) - speak to an emergent international community beyond the society of States and the attendant rights and obligations of non-State actors.
This book details how three key areas of international law - human rights, culture and the environment - are pushing the boundaries in this field. Each category is of current and ongoing significance in legal and public discourse, as illustrated by the Syrian conflict (human rights and international humanitarian law), the destruction of mausoleums and manuscripts in Mali (cultural heritage), and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (the environment). Each exemplifies the need to move beyond a State-focused idea of international law.
This timely volume explores how the idea of common goods, in which rights and obligations extend to individuals, groups and the international community, offers one such avenue and reflects on its transformative impact on international law.

Part I - Human Rights
1. The ICJ and Common Goods: The Case of Human Rights - Bruno Simma
2. The Progressive Development of Peoples' Rights in the African Charter and in the Case Law of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights - Abdulqawi A Yusuf
3. From Jus in Bello to Jus Commune Humanitatis. The Interface of Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law in the Regulation of Armed Conflicts - Federico Lenzerini
4. Human Rights and the Modernization of International Law - Riccardo Pisillo Mazzeschi
5. Reparation for Damage Suffered as a Consequence of Breaches of the Law of War - Natalino Ronzitti
6. Why Justice and Human Rights Require Cosmopolitan International Economic Law - Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
Part II - Cultural Heritage
1. Human Rights and Cultural Heritage in International Law - Ana Filipa Vrdoljak
2. The Cultural Dimension of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Siegfried Wiessner
3. Heritage for Whom? Individuals' and Communities' Roles in International Cultural Heritage Law - Lucas Lixinski
4. Underwater Cultural Heritage as an International Common Good - Tullio Scovazzi
5. Public Goods, Foreign Investments and the International Protection of Cultural Heritage - Valentina Vadi
6. New Rules and Procedures for the Prevention and Settlement
of Cultural Heritage Disputes: A Critical Appraisal of Problems and Prospects - Alessandro Chechi
Part III - The Environment
1. Revising International Environmental Law through the Paradigm of Ecological Sustainability - Massimiliano Montini
2. Land Degradation as a Common Concern of Humankind - Ben Boer
3. Protecting the Environment of Polar Regions - Patrizia Vigni
4. Public Interest Environmental Litigation and the European Court of Human Rights: No Love at First Sight - Riccardo Pavoni
5. Children's Rights Challenged by Climate Change: Is a Reconceptualization Required? - Christine Bakker
6. A Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change? Insights from the Regulation of Intangible Cultural Heritage - Ottavio Quirico
7. Public and Private in the International Law of Environmental Liability - Emanuela Orlando
8. Protecting Environmental Rights through the Bilateral Agreements of the European Union: Mapping the Field - Elisa Morgera