Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary, 3rd ed.

Authors

Simon Chesterman; Ian Johnstone; Blanca Montejo

ISBN: 9780198976196

Published: August 2026

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Description

As the United Nations marks another year of geopolitical strain — from the war in Ukraine to the conflict in Gaza — this third edition of a leading classroom and practitioner reference revisits how the Organization's law and practice actually function under pressure. Combining primary source documents with expert commentary, it traces how the UN's institutional architecture has adapted, and where it has struggled, since the previous edition.

The volume moves from the UN's core institutional framework through the critical issues now testing it: armed conflict, weapons proliferation, mass atrocities, poverty and development, climate change, and the emerging governance questions raised by artificial intelligence. Each chapter pairs original documents with analytical essays connecting them to live diplomatic and legal debates, closing with discussion questions designed for classroom and seminar use.

It is addressed to international law faculties, UN affairs and diplomacy programmes, and the academic and institutional libraries that support them — equally useful as a teaching text and as a standing reference for practitioners working with or within the UN system.

Key Features

• Primary UN documents paired with expert commentary connecting them to current diplomatic and legal debates
• New material on the Organization's institutional response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza
• Dedicated treatment of weapons proliferation, mass atrocities and the UN's accountability and reform debates
• Coverage extended to climate change governance and the UN's emerging role in regulating artificial intelligence
• Discussion questions and hypotheticals in every chapter, built for graduate seminars and diplomatic training programmes

Coverage

• UN institutional law and governance
• Peace and security, armed conflict
• Weapons proliferation
• Mass atrocities and international criminal accountability
• Poverty, development and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Climate change governance
• Artificial intelligence and international organizations
• UN reform and institutional accountability

About the Authors

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone and Blanca Montejo are international law scholars and practitioners with direct experience of UN institutional practice; Montejo has served as a senior political affairs officer within the UN system. Together they bring both academic rigour and insider practice experience to this edition.

Table of Contents

• Part I: The United Nations System — Institutional Framework and Organs
• Part II: Peace and Security — Armed Conflict, Weapons Proliferation, Peacekeeping
• Part III: Human Protection — Mass Atrocities and Accountability
• Part IV: Development and Environment — Poverty, the SDGs, Climate Change
• Part V: Emerging Governance — Artificial Intelligence and International Organizations
• Part VI: Reform and Accountability

Why buy this book?

Now in its third edition, this remains the standard documents-and-commentary reference on UN law and practice — updated to address the Organization's response to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and to the governance questions raised by artificial intelligence, making it the most current classroom and research text available on the subject.

Keywords

United Nations, international organizations, UN law and practice, peace and security, international criminal accountability, UN reform, climate governance, artificial intelligence governance, diplomacy, public international law

Target Audience

International law faculties, diplomacy and international affairs programmes, UN affairs researchers, academic and institutional libraries, international law practitioners

Genre

International Law, International Organizations, Public International Law

Q&A

What does this book cover?
It combines primary UN documents with expert commentary across the Organization's core functions — peace and security, human protection, development, climate governance and institutional reform.

Is this edition updated to reflect recent conflicts?
Yes — the third edition addresses the UN's institutional response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Does the book address artificial intelligence governance?
Yes — it includes new material on the UN's emerging role in AI governance, alongside its established mandates.

Who is this book written for?
International law faculty and students, diplomacy programmes, UN affairs researchers, and institutional libraries supporting international organizations research.

Where can I buy Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary?
It's available now from CLNZ Books, with worldwide shipping and institutional invoicing options for libraries and law faculties.

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