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Begin New Search Political Geography Canada Journal The Journal of International Law and International Relations

1. Secession: Final Frontier for International Law or Site of Realpolitik Revival?

Author:
Clifton van der Linden
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
In its opinion regarding the legality of the secession of Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada observed that 'the process of [state] recognition, once considered to be an exercise of pure sovereign discretion, has come to be associated with legal norms.' Mindful of the principle of effectivity, the Court was cautious not to overstate the bounds of legal authority in matters of secession. Nevertheless, the acknowledgement of international law as a constitutive element of state behaviour in matters relating to secession marks a significant departure from conventional realpolitik accounts, wherein 'successful revolution begets its own legality.'
Political Geography:
Canada

2. Marriage and Civil Partnership for Same-Sex Couples: The International Imperative

Author:
Kenneth McK. Norrie
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Law and International Relations
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
Within the single month of November 2004, Saskatchewan became the latest Canadian province to accept same-sex marriage, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal held the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples to be unconstitutional, the United Kingdom became the latest European country to introduce civil partnerships as an institution for same-sex couples analogous to marriage, and the government of New Zealand presented a Bill to the New Zealand Parliament to do the same thing in that country. In the 15 years since Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce such an institution most jurisdictions in Western Europe and in Canada, and a handful of states in the United States of America, have followed Denmark's innovation and some have opened up the institution of marriage itself to same-sex couples. The peculiarly North American debate whether civil partnership is a second-rate alternative to marriage as a means of achieving gay and lesbian equality has not been engaged with elsewhere in the world, and it will not be engaged with here. This article intends, rather, to explore the remarkable phenomenon that such a debate is today one of practical reality rather than hypothetical aspiration.
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, South Africa, Denmark, and New Zealand