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101. Multi-Level Judicial Trade Governance without Justice? On the Role of Domestic Courts in the WTO Legal and Dispute Settlement System

Author:
Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
The fragmented nature of national and international legal and dispute settlement regimes, and the formalistic nature of the customary international law rules on treaty interpretation and conflicts of laws, offer little guidance on how national and international judges should respond to the proliferation of competing jurisdictions and the resultant incentives for forum shopping and rule shopping by governments and non-governmental actors in international economic law. Due to their different jurisdictions, procedures and different rules of applicable laws, national and international judges often interpret international trade law from different (inter)national, (inter)governmental, constitutional and judicial perspectives. This paper explores the judicial functions of national and international judges to reach justified decisions based on positive law, on the basis of transparent, predictable and fair procedures, and to interpret international treaties “in conformity with principles of justice.” Chapters I to III explain some of the “principles of justice” underlying international trade law and argue that international rules for a mutually beneficial division of labour among private citizens should be construed with due regard to the human rights obligations of governments. Chapters III and IV propose to strengthen international cooperation among national and international courts, for instance by negotiating additional WTO commitments to interpret domestic trade laws in conformity with the WTO obligations of the countries concerned and to settle WTO disputes over private rights primarily in domestic courts, without transforming essentially private disputes into disputes among governments.
Topic:
Development, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Europe

102. Beyond Power Politics: International Law and Human Rights Discourse in the Post-9/11 World

Author:
J. Peter Pham
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
Abstract:
In the early 1970s, legal scholars began reexamining the dominant legal paradigms within Western polities with a skeptical view of their underlying doctrines and arguments. While the critique was radical in the context of its time, the critical legal movement itself, both inside and outside academia, has largely become somewhat passé as its valid insights have either been absorbed into mainstream juridical scholarship or largely superseded by newer fields of legal inquiry that it had nurtured, including feminist jurisprudence, critical race theory, and postmodern scholarship.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics

103. Sub-regional SALW Collection Seminar

Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract:
Government, NGO and International Organisation representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the UN Administered Territory of Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Montenegro participated in a sub-regional SALW (Weapons) Collection Seminar in Budva, Montenegro from 12 - 13 July 2006. The objective of the seminar was to discuss 'best practices' and share operational experience of SALW Collection activities within South Eastern Europe, in order to assist the Government of Montenegro in planning a possible SALW Collection process later this year.
Topic:
Government, Non-Governmental Organization, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia

104. SALW Survey of Kosovo

Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract:
The London based Arms Control NGO Saferworld has been conducting a comprehensive survey of the SALW situation in the Entity of Kosovo over the last six months. The survey was based on the SALW Survey Protocols, and was researched jointly with the Pristina based NGO Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ). A consultation process began in April 2006 allowing officials of the Kosovo Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG) and United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to review and contribute to research findings. The comments received as a result of these processes are reflected in the relevant sections of the Survey and in an accompanying recommendations document.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Development, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Pristina

105. Back to the Future for African Infrastructure? Why State-Ownership Is No More Promising the Second Time Around

Author:
John Nellis
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Too many African state-owned enterprises (SOEs), particularly those in infrastructure sectors, have a long history of poor performance. African governments and donors labored through the 1970s and 1980s to improve SOE performance through “commercialization”——i.e., methods short of ownership change. These generally failed, giving rise, in the 1990s, to much more heavy reliance on private sector participation and ownership. This approach produced some successes, but Africa's private participation in infrastructure (PPI) initiatives have been comparatively few and weak. A number of those that have been launched have run into problems, to the point where both investor and African government interest in the approach has waned in the last few years. The reform is not popular——surveys of public opinion in 15 African countries reveal that only a third of respondents prefer private to state-owned firms. Nonetheless, African states (and their supporters) should not jettison the PPI approach. Rather, they should acknowledge its limitations, and recognize the large scope and moderate pace of the preparatory measures required both to improve their investment climates and to make PPI work effectively.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Africa

106. Does the Private Sector Care About AIDS?

Author:
Vijaya Ramachandran, Manju Kedia Shah, and Ginger Turner
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the determinants of firms' decision to provide HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Using data from 860 firms and 4,955 workers in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, it shows that larger firms, and firms with higher skilled workers tend to invest more in AIDS prevention. Firms where more than 50 percent of workers are unionized are also more likely to do more prevention activity. Finally, these characteristics are also significant in determining whether or not a firm carries out pre-employment health checks of its workers. The results shed light on the likelihood of private sector intervention and the gaps that will require public sector assistance.
Topic:
Health, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

107. "We exist, but we are not seen..." Collective Action and Non-governmental Organizations: the demands of sexual minorities

Author:
Bertha Alicia Bermúdez Tapia
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
This article presents the results of a study about the ways of social mobilization held by the sexual minorities of the gay-lesbian community in Monterrey, México. Some indicators related to the genesis and development of the collective action process are examined, having as a staring point the analysis of certain situations experienced by this community. Making an emphasis on the gay-lesbian community demands and the strategies driven to funnel them, as well as on the simultaneity of the process by which collective action and identity are shaped.
Topic:
Civil Society, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Non-Governmental Organization

108. The Ethical Challenges of International Human Rights NGOs

Author:
Jean-Marc Coicaud and Daniel Bell
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
International human rights and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are major players on the world stage. They fund human rights projects, actively participate in human rights and humanitarian work, and criticize human rights violations in foreign lands. They work in cooperative networks with each other, with local NGOs, and with international organizations. They consult and lobby governments and international organizations, sometimes participating in high level negotiations and diplomacy for global policy development. They cooperate and negotiate with economic and political organizations in the field for the implementation of their projects, whether this be monitoring or assistance. In short, they are generating a new type of political power, the purpose of which is to secure the vital interests of human beings on an international scale, regardless of state boundaries.
Topic:
Government, Human Rights, International Organization, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
United Nations

109. Le dilemme inévitable de l'action humanitaire

Author:
Michael Schloms
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Cet article analyse le débat actuel sur le dilemme humanitaire et la crise de l'action humanitaire. Il met en question la diagnose et les conclusions dominantes. L'article présente l'ambiguïté comme un phénomène structurel de l'action humanitaire. L'analyse des cas concrets du dilemme humanitaire, notamment de la Corée du Nord, révèle différentes catégories d'organisations humanitaires. L'auteur conclut que l'humanitarisme est caractérisé par un état de confusion par rapport aux principes les plus fondamentaux de l'action humanitaire. Ainsi, les organisations d'aide font face à une crise de cohérence.
Topic:
Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
North Korea

110. La création de la Cour africaine des droits de l\'Homme et des peuples. Les dessous d\'une ingénierie institutionnelle multicentrée

Author:
Marielle Debos
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
L\'étude du processus d\'ingénierie institutionnelle de la Cour africaine des droits de l\'Homme et des peuples révèle le rôle central joué par les ONG : elles ont donné l\'impulsion initiale, orchestré la mobilisation, encadré les négociations et milité pour l\'adoption du Protocole. Ce nouveau mode de production du droit doit cependant être analysé avec un regard critique afin de déceler les logiques de pouvoir très fortes au sein du « monde multicentré ». La professionnalisation des ONG et l\'autonomisation du champ de la production des standards juridiques vont de pair avec la marginalisation des militants locaux. L\'activité de production de normes est l\'affaire des experts juridiques apolitiques qui entretiennent des relations de collaboration avec les notables des diplomaties d\'Etat et des organisations intergouvernementales.
Topic:
Government and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Africa