The Arms Trade and International Law by Zeray Yihdego, Hart Publishing, 2007, ISBN 9781841137469, hardcover, 380 pages, 50.00 [pounds sterling].

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Many consider small arms and light weapons (SALW) the weapons of mass destruction of our time. The Arms Trade

and International Law deals with the proliferation of SALW and their unregulated trade and transfer across borders. It addresses questions of definition, manufacturing, and trade/transfer and issues relating to state responsibility. The primary focus is on conventional small arms, in particular military-style weapons.

The book tackles the core legal problem of whether laws relating to arms control and relevant norms of international law provide substantive restrictions upon the transfer of small arms by states. The application of the norms of international peace and security, nonintervention, humanitarian and human rights laws, and relevant customary rules of arms control are considered. Questions of application and enforcement of relevant rules and institutional responses to the problem are also examined.

The Arms Trade and International Law is divided into 10 chapters:

1. Introduction

2. Features and Definition of SALW: Associated Problems

3. Manufacturing of SALW: Associated Problems

4. International Transfers of SALW: Introduction

5. Adherence to the Peace and Security Legal Norm

6. Adherence to the Non-intervention Norm

7. Humanitarian Law (IHL) Limitations on SALW Transfers

8. International Human Rights Law (IHRL) Limitations on SALW Transfers

9. State Responsibility and Arms Transfers: Some Reflections

10. Findings and Recommendations.

After examining in detail the laws that relate to SALW, Dr. Yihdego concludes:

   Though this work has dealt with the substantive obligations
   aspect of the small arms trade, it has to be urged that the
   international community should exert a multifaceted effort
   to arrest the illegal circulation and use of these deadly
   weapons with their atrocious consequences.

Dr. Zeray Yihdego is a Research Fellow in Law at Oxford Brookes University. He has taught law in Ethiopia and the United Kingdom.