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141. The ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo: Rules or Principles?

Author:
Volker Roben
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
In its Advisory Opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice concluded that the declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo in its precise historical circumstances "did not violate any applicable rule of international law". In its reasoning, the Opinion is concerned with territorial integrity, self - determination and Security Council competence under Chapter VII UN Charter. The Court's Opinion – its reasoning and outcome – can be assessed from several angles. Adopting instead the perspective of legal theory, our concern will be what we can learn from the Opinion about the normative structure of international law in general, and as applied in the context of secessions in a non - colonial context. The paper will argue that the approach of the International Court of Justice to international law, as evidenced in the case at hand, may be labeled rule - oriented. After reconstructing the main planks of the Court's reasoning, the paper will set out an alternative conceptual framework, arguing for a shift from a rule - centered to a principle - based approach to international law in the interest of legal certainty. It will then explore what room there is for such an approach to secessionist situations based on the understanding of self - determination as principle.
Political Geography:
Kosovo

142. Recent Developments in Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

Author:
Peter Rackow and Cornelius Birr
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Recent Developments in Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters 1089 Abstract The field of leg al assistance in criminal matters is deeply influenced by, and intertwined with, international law. However, legal assistance in criminal matters, which accordingly has been traditionally ruled by conventional tools of mutual legal assistance, is beginning to change: Heretofore, legal assistance in criminal matters has been rendered in compliance with basic principles which reflect the international law parity of the interacting States while being open to modifications by way of bilateral or multilateral treaties between individual States. Now, far - reaching changes seem to be well underway: The European Union is gaining ground as a global player, aiming to implement an “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice”. In order to reach this ambitious goal, a most important trend in criminal policy from a European perspective is to extend the principle of mutual recognition, which originally stems from the common market, to the area of criminal law. Taking an international perspective it is a remarkable evolution to see the European Union as an (arguably) idiosyncratic entity to commit its individual members to the fulfillment of obligations towards other non - Member States which the Member States themselves have not chosen. While both new approaches may be deemed more easily applicable beyond the realms of criminal law matters, namely in a commercial context, they indeed appear to be big steps in the sensitive area of criminal law which has traditionally been the sole responsibility of the sovereign State itself. Therefore the ongoing developments are bound to have international law repercussions. The following essay deals with these new developments in the field of legal assistance in criminal matters from a combined international and European perspective. We will be focusing specifically on the principle of mutual recognition since its implementation provides a litmus test for the state of procedural rights in the area of legal assistance in criminal law as well as its application within a reference - system previously governed by international law ultimately will modify international law. After describing foundational principles of legal assistance in criminal matters the ground will be prepared for further considerations by having a look at exemplary present application difficulties of mutual recognition, delve into the perspective of a rather radical simplification of transnational evidence gathering by application of the principle of mutual recognition. To give a complete picture we will examine the Intercontinental dynamics of legal assistance which has been put into effect under the rule of the European Union.
Political Geography:
Europe

143. The Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights at 2010 – An Account of the Millennium Summit Outcome

Author:
Marie von Engelhardt
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
In September 2010, the heads of State and government of over 140 countries gathered at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York, to review progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Adopted in 2000, the 8 concrete and time - bound MDGs that have become the shared development agenda of the international community are reminiscent of economic and social rights, but contain no explicit reference to human rights. With five years to go to the MDGs target date of 2015, the Millennium Summit adopted the Outcome Document “Keeping the Promise”, that serves here as a test case to assess the current state of the debate over human rights and development. Although human rights rhetoric has increasingly entered into the development discourse, its influence on development practice remains limited, and human rights come second on an agenda increasingly dominated by the aid effectiveness concept and its vocabulary.
Political Geography:
New York