Do WMD non-proliferation treaties comprise a special regime in international law, with rules that differ from general international law?

Do WMD non-proliferation treaties comprise a special regime in international law, with rules that differ from general international law?

Do WMD non-proliferation treaties comprise a special regime in international law, with rules that differ from general international law?

This book analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, development and potential of the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime, providing new insights on the role of public international law in a field as politicized as that of nuclear arms control.

This text analyses the international law and international organisations that have been constructed to regulate the worldwide proliferation of weapons technologies, particularly those that have been classified as weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is one of the most controversial instruments in international law. This text argues that countries with nuclear weapons misrepresent the Treaty to prevent other states from developing peaceful nuclear energy, holding back nuclear disarmament in the process.

This book contains an up-to-date analysis on the legal aspects of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. It scrutinizes the effectiveness, the limits, the adaptation, and the future challenges of the regime on the control of nuclear weapons which is still based on the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and supported by the IAEA controls. It also deals with new challenges to the non-proliferation legal order deriving mainly from new nuclear weapon states, the North Korean withdrawal from the NPT, the Iranian nuclear programs, activities of non-state actors, the easier access of states and other entities to sensitive materials, the still remote entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the debate on a fissile material cut-off treaty. As nuclear proliferation and disarmament are among the main threats to international peace and security, this publication is also of interest outside the circle of academics and practitioners in the field. [Subject: International Law, International Relations, Politics, Security Studies]