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Due Diligence in International Law

Head of Section:

Anne Peters

Heike Krieger

About the Project:

Due diligence is a prominent concept in international law, frequently referred to in arbitral awards, court decisions, and in scholarly discussions on state responsibility. However, until now, the specific normative content and systemic relation of due diligence to rules and principles of international law has largely remained unexplored. Therefore, we invited eminent international legal scholars to analyse how the notion unfolds in specific areas. An authors’ workshop took place in June 2018 in Berlin. The book ‘Due Diligence in the International Legal Order’ – published in December 2020 – is the outcome of this process and provides a uniquely comprehensive analysis of the content, scope, and function of due diligence across various areas of international law, including international environmental law, international peace and security law, and international economic law.
Sector by sector, contributors explore the diverse interactions between due diligence and area-specific substantive and procedural rules as well as general principles of international law. The book exposes the promises and limits of due diligence for enhancing accountability and compliance. It identifies the rise of due diligence as both a driver and signal of change in the international legal order towards risk management and proceduralisation.

Staff Member(s):

Leonhard Kreuzer

Publications

  • Heike Krieger, Anne Peters, Leonhard Kreuzer (eds.): Due Diligence in the International Legal Order. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2020, 461 p. See the table of contents with the names of the contributors:
  • Reviewed by: Dana Ruddigkeit, Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht 7-8 (2021), 444-446.


  • Anne Peters, Heike Krieger, Leonhard Kreuzer (eds.): Due Diligence: The Risky Risk Management Tool in International Law. In: Cambridge International Law Journal Vol. 9 No. 2, 121-136 (2020).