Search

Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article

9601. A Zero-Sum Game

Author:
Daniel Diker
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Security Affairs
Institution:
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Abstract:
In the nearly seventeen years since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, radical Islamic terror and failed Middle East peace processes have claimed the lives of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. Ironically, one of the greatest casualties of this conflict has been diplomatic creativity.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

9602. A Failure of Intelligence

Author:
Joshua Goodman
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of International Security Affairs
Institution:
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Abstract:
The Duke of Marlborough once said, "No war can be conducted successfully without early and good intelligence, and that such advices [sic] can't be had but at a very great expense." While popular culture, and Hollywood in particular, has romanticized the role of intelligence in wars, the simple fact remains: one must know the enemy one is fighting for victory to be possible.
Topic:
Intelligence
Political Geography:
United States and Israel

9603. Contents

Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
No abstract is available.

9604. Evidence in International Criminal Trials: Lessons and Contributions from the Special Court for Sierra Leone

Author:
Patrick Matthew Hassan-Morlai
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
This article aims to contribute to the discourse on the development of a system of international criminal justice. The paper discusses the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), in particular, certain of its rules of evidence and their role in ensuring just, fair and expeditious trials for breaches of international humanitarian and international human rights law during the Sierra Leone conflict which lasted between 1991 and 2002. In the conclusion, the author considers whether the manner in which the SCSL interpreted and applied specific rules of evidence helped it to meet and contribute to the objectives of a system of international criminal justice. These objectives include holding violators of international norms accountable; guaranteeing procedural proprietary; giving legitimacy to the process and bestowing confidence in international criminal justice institutions. Though not without criticism, the author concludes that they did.
Political Geography:
Sierra Leone

9605. Violence in Kenya: Any Role for the ICC in the Quest for Accountability?

Author:
Mba Chidi Nmaju
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
This article examines the violence that broke out in Kenya after the 2007 presidential elections. After weeks of fighting and the establishment of a coalition government made up of the incumbent president and the leader of the opposition, relative calm returned to the country. However, the government has been slow to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Post Election Violence (Waki Commission). One key suggestion the Waki Commission made was to call upon the Kenyan government to establish an independent Special Tribunal made up of domestic and international jurists to prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed during the violence. At the time of writing, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II had been assigned the matter to determine whether the Office of the Prosecutor could initiate investigations. This article argues that the crimes committed in Kenya during the post election violence do not meet the ICC threshold on jurisdiction and gravity, and do not have the essential legal attributes of genocide and crimes against humanity. However, the manner in which the ICC handles this situation has the potential to influence the way future crimes are tried; thus the ICC must ensure that impunity does not prevail over accountability.
Political Geography:
Kenya

9606. The Foundations of Rights in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A Historical and Philosophical Account

Author:
Thoko Kaime
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
This article examines the cultural-based critiques of the international human rights paradigm generally and children's rights in particular, with specific reference to Africa. In this regard, the paper attempts to identify gaps in the analyses of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Towards that end, the paper proceeds in three parts. In the first section, it situates the discussion within the general framework of children's rights at international law. In the next section, it turns to an examination of the culture-based critiques of the idea of universal rights. Finally, in the fourth and fifth sections, it analyses the documents and literature that focus on the rights and welfare of the child. In the concluding section, the author raises several important questions regarding the propriety of this special category of human rights in the African context.
Political Geography:
Africa

9607. Armed Conflicts in Africa and Western Complicity: A Disincentive for African Union's Cooperation with the ICC

Author:
Ifeonu Eberechi
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Intrinsic in the concept of international justice for violations of international humanitarian law is the requirement of cooperation by states and, to a large extent, regional bodies with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Unlike domestic courts, the ICC is not endowed with law enforcement power nor could such power be imputed to it as part of its functions. It is against this background that the on-going crisis of corporation between the ICC and the African Union (AU) following the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for international crime portends a far reaching implication for the administration of international criminal accountability. As part of a broader diagnosis of the reasons for the AU's opposition, this paper, while discussing armed conflicts in Africa, which provides the fillip for gross human rights violations in the region, exposes the contributions of the West. It concludes that an effective enforcement of international justice in the region must include an inquiry into the role of international actors and Western powers in promoting and exacerbating the situation.
Political Geography:
Africa

9608. The Emerging Role of the Constitutional Value of Ubuntu for Informal Social Security in South Africa

Author:
Clarence I. Tshoose
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
This paper explores the significance of the African value of ubuntu within the context of social protection. The paper argues that ubuntu as a constitutional value plays a crucial role in supporting the existence of informal social security in South Africa. It concludes by reflecting the overarching potential that the traditional African value has for influencing the social protection and enhancing family solidarity in the South African context.
Political Geography:
South Africa

9609. L'Afrique et le système de justice pénale internationale

Author:
Pacifique Manirakiza
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Africa has been ravaged by armed conflicts and/or oppressive regimes for decades. During those conflicts or oppressive regimes, heinous crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed and made millions of victims. Among these, only a handful number saw some justice. This was possible essentially because the international community took a vigorous stance against the impunity of war criminals and genocidaires by creating international judicial mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), to deal with it. Also, some individual African States have prosecuted international crimes within their municipal courts as well as some western States based on the universal jurisdiction principle. This article analyses the African contribution to the building of the international criminal justice system. It also addresses the African objections against the ICC intervention in Africa and the use of the universal jurisdiction criticized as a form of imperialism and neo-colonialism disguised in a judicial form. It concludes by exploring the feasibility of an African Criminal Court.
Political Geography:
Africa

9610. The Human Rights System, Activist Forces, and International Institutions

Author:
Yemisi Dina
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Professor Henry Steiner et al in the book International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals: Texts and Materials described the African System as the “newest, least developed or effective.....most distinctive and most controversial”. However the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights even though in its infancy has managed to be an effective international human rights instrument according to the findings of the study conducted by Professor Obiora Okafor in his book The African Human Rights System, Activist Forces And International Institutions. The book is a testamentary evidence of some of the achievements of this system through the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The African continent is faced with a number of regional obstacles but Okafor has contributed his well researched work to scholarship by documenting some of the critical issues in the area of international human rights which cannot be found anywhere else. The book can also serve as casebook on African.
Political Geography:
Africa