Charles Chaumont’s Third-World International Legal Theory

Abstract

This contribution explores the works and biography of Charles Chaumont, who influenced an important group of third-world scholars, among them Mohammed Bedjaoui. These scholars were shaped by the neo-Marxist analysis of international legal structures developed by the Reims school in international law headed by Chaumont himself. Chaumont published on decolonization issues and methodologically sought to replace Scelle’s interwar idealism with a highly realistic analysis of the relationship between the interests of Western economic elites and prevailing international legal structures. While using neo-Marxist insights in his analysis Chaumont did not succumb to a determinist perspective on law. Rather, this chapter portrays him as the father of a radical critique of the function of law in exploitative North-South relations both before and after decolonization.