Soft Law and Law Jobs.

In this article, the author discusses various consequences of the softness of soft law. He acknowledges that the concept of soft law is useful for certain endeavours in international law, such as understanding the international law-making process and the politics behind the adoption of legal instruments. But, for the activities of international judges and arbitrators, he contends that soft-law should be avoided. By appending the adjective ‘soft’ to the notion of law, we introduce the idea that legality obtains by degrees, a soft law rule being a rule ‘slightly’ legal in character. This, in turn, introduces uncertainty into a regulatory regime. And uncertainty is a disincentive for engaging in economic activities and it is a favoured technique of authoritarian governments. Hence, international judges and arbitrators should apply, and apply only, the law that comes without the adjective ‘soft’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]