Science, Policy and the Developing Frontiers of International Law

SCIENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN a most important, if not the most important, agent of legal change. The hydraulic engineering achievements of ancient Egypt and China not only determined the laws of land ownership, use and planning, but also the administrative and constitutional structure of society. Where would the law of the sea be without the development of ships and the science of navigation? In a lighter view too we can imagine chariots creating traffic problems (and laws) on the Appian Way, or in the main streets of Athens and Pompeii-for it created problems for pedestrians both in peace and war