J.L. Kunz’s Doctrine on Systemic Transformations in the Science of International Law during the 20th Century

The analysis of the scientific legacy of the Austrian-American international lawyer Joseph Lawrence Kunz (1890–1970) holds particular relevance for studying the history of modern and contemporary foreign science of international law. This research adapts methodological tools from intellectual history, legal hermeneutics, and formal logic to examine Kunz’s conceptual framework regarding systemic transformations in international law and its doctrine during the 20th century. The study reveals that Kunz critically assessed the conflation of public and private international law scholarship, considering such approaches theoretically flawed and detrimental to the development of what he viewed as the only genuine legal science — that of public international law. While acknowledging unprecedented changes in international law since 1914, Kunz observed that emerging new branches of international law, the shift from private to public legal instruments, the proliferation of international organizations, and other novel trends in international relations had sparked intense debates among various schools of thought: legal positivism, sociological approaches to international law, natural law theory, and other doctrinal movements. The paper demonstrates that Kunz partially shared the optimistic vision of international law evolving toward a «global society», emphasizing that the science of international law must respond promptly and adequately to these transformations. However, contemporary trends toward a multipolar world order reaffirm the centrality of pluralism among sovereign states rather than the formation of a monistic «global society». The research findings hold pedagogical value for theoretical and historical studies of international law.

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