International Communications

Lyall (U. of Aberdeen, Scotland) examines the two virtually invisible organizations that undergird modern communications across national borders. Most of his attention is devoted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which he has researched for nearly 50 years now, and the treaties and conventions that over the years have led to the current status. He covers the International Telegraph Union; the International Radio Union; fusion reconstruction, and sclerosis of the ITU 1932-92; the modern ITU and its future; the Universal Postal Union to 1964; and the modern Universal Postal Union. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Francis Lyall is Emeritus Professor of Public Law, University of Aberdeen. He was a Board Member of the European Centre for Space Law, and is a Director of the International Institute of Space Law. He was a member of the INTELSAT Panel of Legal Experts and was on the ITU Reform Group. Professor Lyall retired from the Chair of Public Law in 2005, but continues to be active in teaching and scholarship. His main areas of research are Space Law, International Telecommunications (especially the International Telecommunication Union and radio matters) and Church and State relations. He has published extensively on these and related areas. He is also the author of nine collections of science fiction and has published five crime novels.