In Search of Community: Towards a Definition of Community Interest

Abstract

The notion of community interest has the potential to revolutionise our understanding of international law. However, if this potential is to be fully realized, we must solve the problem of community interest's shaky conceptual foundations. The absence of conceptual clarity and concrete definition stands in the way of further progress. This paper addresses the key questions relating to the definition of community interest (What is an 'interest' in this context? Who, or what, is the 'international community'?), before analysing the process of identification of particular community interests. It concludes that the international community interest is a legal construct that facilitates the translation of commonly recognised values and concerns into legally effective normative statements without necessarily undermining a positivist approach or fundamental tenets of international law, such the exclusive law-making authority of states.