Kate Parlett's study of the individual in the international legal system examines the way in which individuals have come to have a certain status in international law, from the first treaties conferring rights and capacities on individuals through to the present day. The analysis cuts across fields including human rights law, international investment law, international claims processes, humanitarian law and international criminal law in order to draw conclusions about structural change in the international legal system. By engaging with much new literature on non-state actors in international law, she seeks to dispel myths about state-centrism and the direction in which the international legal system continues to evolve.

'Kate Parlett’s analysis is both succinct and comprehensive, inasmuch as it covers ‘the areas of international law which have the clearest potential to engage individuals’ … The organization of the reasoning in the three … historical periods for each of the areas subject to scrutiny gives the book a clear structure and allows the reader to draw parallels and identify differences in the direct comparison between different fields of law.'

Andreas Th. Müller Source: European Journal of International Law