Search

Begin New Search Topic International Law Publication Year within 25 Years

471. Immunities of State Officials, International Crimes, and Foreign Domestic Courts

Author:
Dapo Akande and Sangeeta Shah
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article examines the extent to which state officials are subject to prosecution in foreign domestic courts for international crimes. We consider the different types of immunity that international law accords to state officials, the reasons for the conferment of this immunity and whether they apply in cases in which it is alleged that the official has committed an international crime. We argue that personal immunity (immunity ratione personae) continues to apply even where prosecution is sought for international crimes. Also we consider that instead of a single category of personal immunity there are in fact two types of such immunity and that one type extends beyond senior officials such as the Head of State and Head of Government. Most of the article deals with functional immunity (immunity ratione materiae). We take the view that this type of immunity does not apply in the case of domestic prosecution of foreign officials for most international crimes. However, we reject the traditional arguments which have been put forward by scholars and courts in support of this view. Instead we consider the key to understanding when functional immunity is available lies in examining how jurisdiction is conferred on domestic courts.
Topic:
Government and International Law
Political Geography:
America

472. The Concept of International Law in the Jurisprudence of H.L.A. Hart

Author:
Mehrdad Payandeh
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article analyses H.L.A. Hart's concept of international law from the perspective of anaytical jurisprudence and in light of the state of contemporary international law. The article challenges Hart's view that international law is 'law' but not a 'legal system'. Hart arrives at this conclusion on the basis of a comparison of the international legal order with the municipal legal system. This comparison is distorted by Hart's general focus on private law and criminal law and becomes less convincing when constitutional law is added to the equation. As a consequence, Hart's methodological approach is inconsistent and should be modified. Rather than asking whether international law resembles municipal law in form, it should be asked whether international law encompasses legislative, executive, and judicative structures which are able to perform the same functions as the legal order of a nation state, and which thereby overcome the defects of a primitive social order. Against the background of this modified analytical framework, Hart's analysis is revisited in light of recent developments and changes in the structure of international law at the beginning of the 21st century.
Topic:
International Law

473. On Holism, Pluralism, and Democracy: Approaches to Constitutionalism beyond the State

Author:
Thomas Kleinlein
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The idea of a 'constitutionalization' of international law and international institutions owes much to a long tradition of idealistic international law scholarship. It gained momentum with the end of the Cold War, only to be frustrated some years later. US hegemonic tendencies after 9/11, the unauthorized invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the impasse of the Doha Development Round in the WTO are only some of the factors demonstrating that the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc had not signalled the end of history. These setbacks, however, did not render the academic discourse on 'constitutionalization' of global governance silent, and there is now a burgeoning literature on the subject. Recently, three books have stimulated the discussion: Ruling the World?, edited by Jeffery L. Dunoff and Joel P. Trachtman, and the two books under review.
Topic:
Cold War and International Law
Political Geography:
United States

474. A Tale of Reciprocity: Minority Foundations in Greece and Turkey (English/Greek)

Author:
Dilek Kurban and Konstantinos Tsitselikis
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
This report aims to analyze the implications of reciprocity policies on the day-to-day lives of Muslim and non-Muslim minorities in Greece and Turkey, specifically their impact on the community foundations2 belonging to these minorities. With a specific focus on the property and self-management issues of Muslim and non-Muslim community foundations in Greece and Turkey, the report will try to situate the issue in its historical context and trace the evolution of the ‘community foundation issue’ from Lausanne to the present day. Drawing similarities and differences between the laws, policies, and practices of Greek and Turkish states vis-à-vis their minority foundations, the report will critically assess the progress made to this day as well as identify the outstanding issues. In the hope of contributing to efforts to develop a democratic, sustainable, and just resolution of the problems facing community foundations, the report will propose policy solutions to the governments of Turkey and Greece.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Treaties and Agreements, Law, and Minorities
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Greece

475. Challenges and Prospects for the EU's Area of Freedom, Security and Justice: Recommendations to the European Commission for the Stockholm Programme

Author:
Sergio Carrera, Elspeth Guild, and Anaïs Faure Atger
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The upcoming Swedish presidency of the EU will be in charge of adopting the next multiannual programme on an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ), during its tenure in the second half of 2009. As the successor of the 2004 Hague Programme, it has already been informally baptised as the Stockholm Programme and will present the EU's policy roadmap and legislative timetable over these policies for the next five years. It is therefore a critical time to reflect on the achievements and shortcomings affecting the role that the European Commission's Directorate-General of Justice, Freedom and Security (DG JFS) has played during the last five years in light of the degree of policy convergence achieved so far. This Working Document aims at putting forward a set of policy recommendations for the DG JFS to take into consideration as it develops and consolidates its future policy strategies, while duly ensuring the legitimacy and credibility of the EU's AFSJ within and outside Europe.
Topic:
Security, International Law, International Organization, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

476. Transnational Organized Crime

Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Transnational organized crime (TOC) is no longer the sole preserve of specialist criminal organizations. It is now an essential strategy for armed groups around the world, and a source of funding for terrorists, corrupt politicians, warlords, and rogue governments. But states and international organizations have largely failed to anticipate the evolution of TOC into a strategic threat to governments, societies, and economies. At the international level, an outdated understanding of TOC does not adequately contemplate the strategic impact of TOC and fails to ensure that peace efforts and crime fighting are not working at cross-purposes.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Crime, International Law, Peace Studies, War on Drugs, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

477. Private Military and Security Companies: A Framework for Regulation

Author:
James Cockayne and Emily Speers Mears
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In late 2008, seventeen states, including the US, UK, China, Iraq, and Afghanistan, endorsed the Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for States Related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies During Armed Conflict. This provides important guidance to states in regulating Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). But there is a need to do more, to provide increased guidance to industry and ensure standards are enforced.
Topic:
Security, International Law, Privatization, Treaties and Agreements, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, China, Iraq, and United Kingdom

478. The National Interest and the Law of the Sea

Author:
Scott G. Borgerson
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea—the instrument that created the overarching governance framework for nearly three-quarters of the earth's surface and what lies above and beneath it—has been signed and ratified by 156 countries and the European Community, but not by the United States. The Law of the Sea Convention, with annexes (hereafter in this report referred to as the “convention”), and the 1994 agreement on its implementation have been in force for more than a decade, but while the United States treats most parts of the convention as customary international law, it remains among only a handful of countries—and one of an even smaller number with coastlines, including Syria, North Korea, and Iran—to have signed but not yet acceded to the treaty.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Law, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
United States, North Korea, and Syria

479. Implications of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia for International Law: The Conduct of the Community of States in Current Secession Conflicts

Author:
Heiko Krueger
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Institution:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Abstract:
The objective of this article is to examine whether the current conduct of the community of states in the cases of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia has any implications on international law. This question arises particularly in the case of Kosovo, since many states have recognised its separation from Serbia. Can the conduct of the community of states be used as a legal precedent by other groups seeking separation, e.g. in Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Moldova, Spain or Ukraine? What if more states were to recognise Kosovo in the future? The focus of this paper will be to consider the implications of the conduct of the community of states on the interpretation of international treaties and customary international law. In this respect, the conduct of states in the cases of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August 2008 will also be taken into account.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
China, Ukraine, Moldova, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Georgia, Spain, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia

480. "Handbook of International Humanitarian Law"

Author:
Pierre-Emmanuel Dupont
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Institution:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Abstract:
In the Handbook\'s Introduction, Dieter Fleck mentions that the first edition, published in German in 19941, was built upon the German Armed Forces\'s (Bundeswehr) Manual of international humanitarian law (IHL), an account of Germany\'s long-standing involvement in the implementation of IHL2. Yet the present edition, \'no longer connected to a single national manual, […] aims at offering a best practice manual to assist scholars and practitioners worldwide\' (p. xiv).
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Germany