The Italian Yearbook of International Law aims at making accessible to the English speaking public the Italian contribution to the practice and literature of international law. Volume X (2000) is organised in three main sections. The first contains doctrinal contributions featuring inter alia articles on human rights, biotechnology and international environmental law, and the Legality of Use of Force case before the International Court of Justice. A new feature of Volume X (2000) is the inclusion in the first section of surveys on the activity of international organisations and bodies, such as the World Trade Organization, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Law Commission. The second section covers the Italian practice in the areas of 1) judicial decisions (including important decisions on slavery and on immunity from civil jurisdiction of the US with respect to NATO training flights), 2) diplomatic and parliamentary practice (including materials relating to the Fifty-Second Session of the International Law Commission), 3) treaty practice, and 4) national legislation. The third part of the volume contains a systematic bibliographical index of Italian literature in the field of international law and selected book reviews. The volume ends with an analytical index for ready consultation which includes the main cases and legal instruments cited in the Yearbook