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12. On the Record
- Author:
- Mohammed ElBaradei
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- "For years, the West has bought Mr. Mubarak's demonization of the Muslim Brotherhood lock, stock and barrel, the idea that the only alternative here are these demons called the Muslim Brotherhood who are the equivalent of Al Qaeda's... I am pretty sure that any freely and fairly elected government in Egypt will be a moderate one, but America is really pushing Egypt and pushing the whole Arab world into radicalization with this inept policy of supporting repression."
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, Israel, Arabia, Egypt, and Vienna
13. Demystifying the Art of Interpretation
- Author:
- Michael Waibel
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Despite its codification by the Vienna Convention more than 40 years ago, treaty interpretation in international law continues to evolve as its function of providing predictability in international relations remains as important as ever. The voluminous recent literature testifies to the continuing scholarly interest in interpretation, even if sometimes at the cost of over-theorizing. This essay reviews six books that seek to demystify the art of treaty interpretation. Written by European scholars, the books take a fresh look at interpretation but differ in their approaches and scope of analyses. While all six authors study the interpretive practice of international courts and tribunals, Gardiner, Linderfalk and Van Damme focus on treaty interpretation; Fernández de Casadevante Romani, Kolb and Orakhelashvili also examine the interpretation of decisions by international organizations, unilateral acts and customary international law. Kolb and Orakhelashvili opt for a comprehensive, theoretically-grounded approach, whereas Van Damme focuses on the interpretative practice of the WTO Appellate Body. On the strength of her perceptive and nuanced analysis of WTO jurisprudence, the book is the best guide among the six to interpretation in international law generally. In addition to Van Damme's work, the practitioner will also find Gardiner's book particularly useful.
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Vienna
14. Strengthening the IAEA: How the Nuclear Watchdog Can Regain Its Bark
- Author:
- Gregory L. Schulte
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- The United States has a great interest in the success of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), given the important role it can play in reducing the risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Stalled investigations of Iran and Syria have put the credibility of the IAEA at stake. The agency detected neither Iran’s hidden uranium enrichment facility near Qom nor the reactor being constructed by Syria near al Kibar. These examples underscore the importance of strengthening the agency’s verification capability, by both increasing its authority and sharing more information. The IAEA can also help shape the global growth of nuclear power, ensuring the highest levels of safety and security, while discouraging the spread of sensitive technologies that can be misused to build nuclear weapons. The IAEA Board of Governors’ recent decision to establish a nuclear fuel bank in Russia is a step in the right direction. Success requires a new “Spirit of Vienna”—a willingness of delegates to work toward consensus on even difficult topics—surrounding the agency’s important role in nonproliferation. It also requires a conscious effort by the new Director General to remove the politics from IAEA business and return the agency to its technical mandate.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Iran, Syria, and Vienna
15. Too Little, Too Late? Nuclear Security and the Middle East
- Author:
- Simon Henderson, George Perkovich, and Gregory Schulte
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- A year ago in Prague, President Obama warned that nuclear terrorism poses "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security." Accordingly, he vowed to lead an international effort to "secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years." The Nuclear Security Summit is intended to advance that goal
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Washington, and Vienna
16. A Call to Arms: Fundamental Dilemmas Confronting the Interpretation of Crimes in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Author:
- Leena Grover
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This article seeks to initiate a dialogue within international criminal law (ICL) on treaty interpretation. The state of the art is reviewed and three fundamental interpretive dilemmas are identified and analysed. In the author's view, these dilemmas need to be addressed before a method of interpretation for crimes in Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court can be formulated and operationalized. The 'normative dilemma' highlights how the normative tensions underlying ICL might be perpetuated by the interpretive imperatives in Articles 21(3) and 22(2) of the Rome Statute. The 'interpretive aids dilemma' concerns the respective roles of the Elements of Crimes and custom as aids to interpreting crimes in the Rome Statute. The 'inter-temporal dilemma' pertains to whether these crimes are 'frozen' or are to be interpreted in light of relevant and applicable legal developments. Throughout, the aforementioned dilemmas are grafted onto Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to illustrate that they are, at their core, universal problems of interpretation.
- Topic:
- International Law
- Political Geography:
- Vienna
17. Treaty Interpretation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Expansionism at the Service of the Unity of International Law
- Author:
- Lucas Lixinski
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The article examines the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in several areas of adjudication which initially did not fall under the instrument, such as environmental rights, international humanitarian law, and investors' rights. In all these areas, the Court has used instruments 'foreign' to the Inter-American system as a means to expand the content of rights in the American Convention. As a result, the umbrella of protection of this instrument, and the reach of the Court, is far greater than originally envisaged. After analysing the specific provision on interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights as compared to the equivalent mechanisms in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the article analyses several case studies of expansionism in the case law of the Court, asking throughout the analysis the question whether this helps the unity or the fragmentation of international law. The article argues that this exercise in expansionism, albeit imperfect, eventually contributes to the unity of international law. In this sense, this expansionism happens within controlled boundaries, and the use of external instruments is more of a validation of findings the Court could make based solely on the Inter-American instruments, rarely creating new rights.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and International Law
- Political Geography:
- America and Vienna
18. Unilateral Interpretation of Security Council Resolutions: UK Practice
- Author:
- Alexander Orakhelashvili
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Institution:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Abstract:
- Unilateral interpretation of UN Security Council resolutions takes place where, due to political considerations of the day, one or more States attempt construing the resolution in question as falling short of, or exceeding, the agreement between the Council's Member States that the resolution on its face suggests. Whether unilateral interpretation indeed takes place depends on what the content of the resolution actually is, which question in its turn depends on the use of transparent methods of interpretation applicable to resolutions. After examining the applicability of the 1969 Vienna Convention in this process, the article turns to four instances of unilateral interpretation from the UK practice, and to reactions to the attempts of unilateral interpretation. These four instances demonstrate that the consistent use of interpretation methods, coupled with the reaction by other States to that effect, can help maintaining the adherence to the resolution's meaning. Where the national or international courts are available as forums to challenge unilateral interpretation, they can further enhance the maintenance of proper meaning of these instruments.
- Topic:
- Security and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Vienna
19. Timor-Leste: No Time for Complacency
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- A year after the near-fatal shooting of President José Ramos-Horta, security in Timor-Leste is strikingly improved. Armed rebels are no longer at large. The atmosphere on the streets of Dili is far less tense. The government does not seem to be facing any serious political threat to its survival. It has, at least temporarily, been able to address several of the most pressing security threats, in large part by buying off those it sees as potential troublemakers. Nevertheless, the current period of calm is not cause for complacency. Security sector reform is lagging, the justice system is weak, the government shows signs of intolerance towards dissenting voices, and it has not got a grip on corruption. These problems, which have been at the root of the instability facing Timor-Leste since independence, must be tackled if the country is to escape the cycle of conflict.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Political Violence
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Asia, and Vienna
20. The Legal Reasoning of ICSID Tribunals – An Empirical Analysis
- Author:
- Ole Kristian Fauchald
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This empirical analysis of the use of interpretive arguments by ad hoc tribunals of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes covers almost 100 cases decided during the past 10 years. The cases are analysed with a view to determining which arguments the tribunals use and how the arguments are used in light of Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The analysis provides a basis for addressing the extent to which ICSID tribunals contribute to creating a predictable legal framework in which the interests of investors, states, and third parties are taken properly into account; the extent to which ICSID tribunals contribute to a coherent development of international investment law; and whether ICSID tribunals contribute to a 'fragmentation' of international law. Despite ICSID tribunals being ad hoc tribunals that solve legal disputes on the basis of heterogeneous legal sources, the article indicates that there is a tendency among ICSID tribunals to contribute to a homogeneous development of the methodology of international law. Nevertheless, the article concludes that ICSID tribunals could do significantly more to align their approaches to interpretive arguments with those of other international tribunals.
- Topic:
- Development and Law
- Political Geography:
- Vienna
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