超越规则:国际法的论辩主义转向

Beyond Rules:The Argumentative Turn of International Law

国际法学界长期以来将国际法定义为规则,规则主义也是国际法的主流研究方法。历史地来看,规则主义方法的形成,对于确立国际法学科的法律性、科学性与正当性,具有积极意义。但是,规则主义方法过分强调国际裁判的重要性,低估了国际法的不确定性,与大国的国际法实践也不相符合。有必要引入论辩理论来重构国际法研究,从而更好地回应当下中国和平崛起、深度参与全球治理的需要。从论辩角度来看,国际社会的基本规范不是以条约或习惯的形式出现,而主要表现为单方面的国际法主张和决策。国际法是国家用以对抗和竞争的话语体系;运用国际法是争议各方试图寻求和确立优势立场的过程。国际法作为论辩话语,本身是一种稀缺资源,对国际法话语权的竞争正是大国间竞争的重要部分。从规则到论辩的范式转换,有助于中国学者打破规则主义的窠臼,更加有效地参与国际学界的法律论辩进程。

International law has for long been defined as a set of rules in the circles of international law.Rule doctrine is the mainstream approach to the study of international law.Historically,the formation of the rule approach played a significant role in establishing the legal and scientific nature as well as the legitimacy of international law as a discipline.Yet the rule approach overemphasized the importance of international adjudication,underestimated the legal indeterminacy of international law,and failed to conform to the major powers’practice of international law.By taking reference from the latest development of the theories of international law in the West,it is necessary to reconstruct the study of international law by introducing argumentative theories in response to China’s necessity for peaceful rise and in-depth participation in global governance.From an argumentative perspective,the fundamental normative form of international society consists of neither treaties nor customs,but in most cases lies in unilateral claims and decisions in terms of international law.International law is a discursive system for a country to be used in confrontation and competition.The operation of international law is a process in which various disputing parties seek and establish their predominant stance.As an argumentative discourse,international law itself is a rare resource,and the competition for the discursive power of international law is just an important part of the competition between major powers.The paradigm shift from the rule approach to the argumentative approach may hopefully emancipate the Chinese scholars from the reign of rule doctrine and enable them to join in the process of legal argumentation in the international academics more effectively.