In this fourth installment of the American Classics in International Law series, John Norton Moore approaches what are generally, if perhaps misleadingly, known as “common resources” in international law. The contributions in this volume, reflecting some of the best writing in each area by American international legal scholars, cover the law of the sea, the law of outer space, and the law of Antarctica. While each is a discrete subject area, they have a shared thread of encompassing “common” areas of the oceans, space and the Antarctic continent.

From Jessup's important 1927 piece on Maritime Jurisdiction to contemporary writings on outer space law and the evolution of the Antarctic Treaty, Moore compiles a comprehensive collection of influential American scholarship spanning more than 80 years on the world's shared resources, often revealing the importance of United States foreign policy in the development of each of these areas. Brought together by an Introduction by the Editor, this volume serves as the definitive resource for the American contribution to international law and common resources.