Digital Commons Network^™

International Law In Asia: An Initial Review, Jeremy Thomas

Dalhousie Law Journal

It is now a little over half a century since the first of the states of Asia to be granted their independence in the aftermath of the Second World War became sovereign and independent of their former colonial masters. In that period there have been very substantial changes in international law. The number of the family of nations has more than tripled and international organisations and even individuals are now subject to the application of international law. Space law, human rights and the law of the environment have appeared, the law of the sea has been transformed, disarmament has reappeared …

Lawyers And The Nuclear Debate, Malcolm Shaw

Dalhousie Law Journal

The volume under review constitutes a valuable and exciting contribution to the whole nuclear debate. Its distinctiveness, perhaps, lies in the format. A mix of more formal and prepared papers, less formal papers, interventions and discussions provides an interesting example of the genre. While one is clearly not dealing with an academic treatise, the style of the compilation enhances the feeling of acute concern, spontaneity and the sense of the contemporary significance of the whole enterprise.

Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, Gunnar Lagergren

Dalhousie Law Journal

On 1 July 1981, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, I had the privilege of declaring open the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, which had been constituted in accordance with the Declarations made by the Government of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, on 19 January 1981, and adhered to by Iran and the United States of America. As I observed at that time, two great nations had, by agreeing to peaceful settlement of their differences through arbitration, brought to an end a crisis of unique complexity which might well have become a threat to world peace.

Rule Of Law In A State Of Emergency, John P. Humphrey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Is there any such thing as an absolute human right? Part of the answer to this question will be found in article 4 of the United Nations' Convenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article says in part that "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation ... the States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating from their obligation under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation ... " Similar provisions will be found in regional conventions on the human rights.

Le Rôle Organisations Internationales Dans La Protection Du Droit À La Vie., Paul Gormley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The emerging role of international and regional organizations toward the realistic protection of the right to life (along with closely related guarantees) constitutes the scope of the scholarly treatise, which is an outgrowth of the author's participation at the Research Center of the Hague Academy of International Law. Precisely Johannes van Aggelen of the Center for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva, is one of the rising scholars of the coming generation of human rights lawyers. Indeed, his work in such closely related fields as humanitarian law, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the right to an adequate food supply and supporting …

The Reunification Of Germany: Comments On A Legal Maze, Jutta Brunnée

Dalhousie Law Journal

In its Preamble, the Basic Law - the constitution - of the Federal Republic of Germany declares itself a transitional order put in place until all Germans can freely decide to live in a reunified Germany. The Preamble is evidence of both history and aspirations of the western part of Germany that emerged from the Second World War. It is now one of the legal foundations for an event that only a year ago few thought was possible: the merging of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany into one German state. In its preamble and in …

The Office Of The United Nations Secretary-General, B G. Ramcharan

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the last decade of the twentieth century the international community is turning increasingly to international organizations to co-ordinate international protection of the common welfare, to promote global interests, and to help enhance human dignity and freedom. International organizations are not being entrusted with governmental functions per se, but they are being called upon to help develop and operate what may be described as strategies of international governance in the environmental, political, economic, social, and humanitarian sectors. The enhanced role of international organizations is accompanied by related innovations in international law.

The Human Rights Committee And Articles 7 And 10(1) Of The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights, 1966, P R. Ghandhi

Dalhousie Law Journal

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Resolution 2200A (XXI) t of 16 December 1966, entered into force on 23 March 1976 in accordance with Articles 49 of the Covenant and 9 of the Protocol respectively. As at 28 July 1989, there were eighty-seven States Parties to the Covenant and forty-five States Parties to the Protocol.

Treaty Interpretation: Theory And Reality, Paul Gormley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The inconsistencies, and conflicting theories of treaty interpretation, constitute the foundation for the present inquiry. The thesis defended is "that neither the judicial praxis nor international legislation, individually or together, have provided a realistic solution to the fundamental challenge facing the International Court of Justice of finding the right balance between stability and progressive development of international law." This fundamental thesis reemerges at several key portions of the text, when the author attempts to prove that existing standards of treaty interpretation are inadequate, on the ground they do not lead toward that degree of predictability and certainty, which he feels …

The Role Of International Law As A Canon Of Domestic Statutory Construction, Ralph G. Steinhardt

Vanderbilt Law Review

From the beginning of our constitutional life, the Supreme Court has articulated principles that structure the juridical relationship between international law and domestic law. These principles purportedly offer rules of decision for resolving in domestic courts the potential in-consistencies between external and internal sources of law, and they do so with the surface simplicity of axioms. Treaties, for example, cannot trump constitutional norms.' Customary international law can provide a rule of decision at least in the absence of controlling legislative or executive acts. In the case of an irreconcilable conflict between a treaty and a statute, the latter-in-time prevails. When …

Acid Rain And Ozone Layer Depletion: International Law And Regulation, Kernaghan Webb

Dalhousie Law Journal

Although international customary and conventional law have addressed aspects of transfrontier pollution problems for decades,' the regional and global environmental degradations which have come to the forefront in the 1980s and 1990s - acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming, to name but three - represent new challenges to existing international law institutions and concepts. In a sense, the world has over the past two centuries gone through a period of what could be called "technological adolescence", as individuals and corporations, largely from industrialized nations, exploited the earth's resources with little if any concern for the immediate and long-term implications …

The Treatment Of Prisoners Under International Law, L C. Green

Dalhousie Law Journal

As Legal Adviser to Amnesty International, Mr. Rodley is well aware of the numerous occasions on which prisoners and detainees in a variety of countries suffer inhumane treatment, often involving torture or even death. As a contribution to the UNESCO series New Challenges in International Law he has produced this study of The Treatment of Prisoners under International Law seeking to show the extent to which international legal regulation attempts to protect such persons, either by way of the general rules concerning human rights or by way of specific regulations and studies carried out under the auspices of international organizations.

Terrorism In National And International Law, Caleb M. Pilgrim

Penn State International Law Review

Efforts at regulating terrorism so far illustrate one central fact: the lack of balance between our conception of terrorism as applied by the individual practitioner and our conception of terrorism as practiced by government officials. The balance seems weighted in favor of governments even in those pathological cases where the patients had been rather unceremoniously treated for their allergies to dictatorship. Government in some cases control, in others influence, the sources of information concerned with national security. Stigmatization of sometime legitimate resistance - labeling it as "terrorist" - deprived such protests of legitimacy and protection. The people in power, the …

International Environmental Bankruptcy: An Overview Of Environmental Bankruptcy Law, Including A State's Claims Against The Multinational Polluter, Rick M. Reznicsek

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note focuses on current environmental bankruptcy law in the United States. It analyzes the claims of a state against a corporate polluter when the corporation discharges a toxic substance in violation of the state's environmental laws, refuses to clean up the waste, and then files bankruptcy in lieu of paying for the cleanup.

This Note analyzes the court decisions subsequent to the United States Supreme Court opinions in Ohio v. Kovacs and Midlantic National Bank v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate the current status of United States bankruptcy law on the issues of the automatic stay; …

Can We End The Shame?--Recent Multilateral Efforts To Address The World Child Pornography Market, Julia Foreman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Note, the author describes the United States and international child pornography markets. The author demonstrates how the United States Congress, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies have addressed the child pornography problem at the national and international level. In addition to the United States efforts to address this problem, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Thailand--who have all exported child pornography to the United States--have taken steps to curb the flow of child pornography. National and international child pornography markets continue to flourish, however, and the author concludes that more steps to eradicate child pornography are necessary. Finally, the author describes …

Comparative Overview Of Service Of Process: United States, Japan, And Attempts At International Unity, Chin Kim, Eliseo Z. Sisneros

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the differing philosophical and legal requirements for service of process in the United States and Japan. Professor Kim and Mr. Sisneros compare service of process laws in the United States, where compliance with the due process clause of the United States Constitution is a fundamental requirement, with service of process laws in Japan, where service of process is an official act of the judiciary. A detailed analysis of valid service of process by a foreign state in Japan follows. The authors then discuss the effect of the Bilateral Consular Convention Between the United States and Japan and …

International Human Rights Law Concerning Women: Case Notes And Comments, Rebecca J. Cook

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Essay addresses the application of international human rights law to women. Most of the cases addressed in this Essay involve alleged discrimination based on sex or marital status. Professor Cook notes that international, regional, and national courts have applied human rights principles to ensure that women's human rights are upheld, although not always to the full extent originally envisioned under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To illustrate this point, Professor Cook reviews cases arising under international, regional, and specialized treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the extent to which such discrimination interferes with …

Contemporary Efforts To Guarantee Indigenous Rights Under International Law, Andre Lawrey

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines recent attempts to improve international standards governing the rights of indigenous peoples. In this context, Ms. Lawrey analyzes the Australian Government's 1988 commitment to negotiate a treaty with Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Ms. Lawrey discusses the strained relationship between international law and indigenous peoples. At present, indigenous groups are not guaranteed special rights under international law. Furthermore, traditional individual rights are inadequate to effectively protect indigenous land rights and the right to self-determination. Ms. Lawrey identifies developments in indigenous rights since World War II, including International Labor Organization Convention Number 107 (Convention 107) and …

Exploring The Last Frontiers For Mineral Resources: A Comparison Of International Law Regarding The Deep Seabed, Outer Space, And Antarctica, Barbara E. Heim

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The nations of the world have begun to tap three resource areas--the deep seabed, outer space, and Antarctica. These areas are unique insofar as no nation can claim them exclusively as its own. As a result, these three areas raise unique international questions. Not only are they largely undisturbed, but these areas are also the testing ground for recently developed international treaties that attempt to usher in a new era of international cooperation. This Note examines both the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the deep seabed, outer space, and Antarctica. The physical nature of each area, the resources …

Covert Involvement In Essentially Internal Conflicts: United States Assistance To The Contras Under International Law, Helen Michael

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines whether contemporary international law is equipped to address the recurrent phenomenon of covert involvement by a state in internal conflicts of another state. Ms. Michael analyzes this phenomenon in the context of United States assistance to the Contras in collective self-defense on behalf of El Salvador, and Nicaragua's concomitant support of the Salvadoran Rebels' attempts to overthrow the existing El Salvador Government. Ms. Michael summarizes the extensive history of conflict between the United States and Nicaragua culminating in the contemporary dispute existing between the Reagan Administration and the Sandinista Government. Both the Sandinistas and the Reagan Administration …

Doing Business Under Canadian Environmental Law, Jeffrey C. Bates, Gregory A. Bibler, David S. Blackmar

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In recent years, the role of the environmental risk management has become increasingly significant to multinational corporations. Corporations from the United States and elsewhere are now undertaking aggressive assessments of environmental regulatory compliance, and are incorporating environmental due diligence into transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures. The first step toward assessing compliance often involves interpretation of complex, vaguely written environmental statutes and regulations. Matters are made more difficult by the fact that each governmental structure is different, and environmental controls inevitably will be administered in ways unfamiliar to foreign companies, even in countries which have emulated the …

Trade Protectionism And Environmental Regulations: The New Nontariff Barriers, C. Ford Runge

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article reviews some economic and legal aspects of the growing role of environmental, health, and safety regulations operating as disguised barriers to trade. While this has always been a recognized problem in trade policy, the issue has gained new force as environmental policies move to the forefront of many national agendas. Because environmental standards have a growing national constituency, they are especially attractive candidates for disguised protectionism. International distinctions in the tolerable level of environmental risks are created because the weight attached to environmental standards tends to vary with the income levels of different countries. Incentives are created to …

United States Coastwise Trading Restrictions: A Comparison Of Recent Customs Service Rulings With The Legislative Purpose Of The Jones Act And The Demands Of A Global Economy, Robert L. Mcgeorge

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Fierce policy disputes are inevitable whenever two basic, widely-accepted principles intersect in a situation where one must prevail and the other give way. In the maritime field, these disputes occur whenever a nation-state is forced to choose between promoting free and open trade in maritime services or protecting its domestic merchant marine. The clash of these policies has generated vigorous debates in the United States on a wide variety of maritime issues (e.g., cargo preference requirements, operating and construction differential subsidies, vessel construction loan guarantee programs and whether to retaliate against foreign countries' attempts to reserve import and export trades …

European Community Law And The Doctrine Of Legitimate Expectations: How Legitimate, And For Whom, Eleanor Sharpston

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article aims to provide a fairly succinct, practical analysis of the way in which the Court of Justice of the European Communities (the "supreme court" for all questions of interpretation arising under the EEC, ECSC and Euratom Treaties) has developed one particular fundamental principle of Community law, the doctrine of "legitimate expectations". The emphasis throughout is not only on the exact legal formulation of the doctrine, but also on whether or not the doctrine can be said to match up to expectations that, economically, might be regarded as "legitimate". Before embarking on the substance, it may be useful to …

Chan V. Korean Air Lines, Ltd.: Skirting The Legislative History Of The Warsaw Convention, Ian A. Schwartz

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

On September 1, 1983, over the Sea of Japan, a Soviet Union military aircraft destroyed a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 en route from Kennedy Airport in New York to Seoul, South Korea. All 269 persons on board the plane were killed. The Warsaw Convention ("Convention"), a multilateral treaty governing the international carriage of passengers, baggage, and cargo by air, provides a per passenger damage limitation for personal injury or death. The Convention further provides that passenger tickets must include notice of this limitation, and a private accord among airlines known as the Montreal Agreement ("Agreement") states that this notice …

The Controls On The Transfrontier Movement Of Hazardous Waste From Developed To Developing Nations: The Goal Of A "Level Playing Field", Michelle M. Vilcheck

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In the 1970s, the United States Congress began passing national environmental legislation. One reason for such legislation was to "level the playing field" among the fifty states so that economic advantage did not accrue to one state at the expense of environmental quality and public health.' The world now faces a similar need for environmental legislation on an international level. Environmental laws of individual nations have become more and more divergent as developed countries, such as the United States, enact tougher environmental laws, while less developed nations fail to enact any environmental regulations. The variant standards of these environmental laws …

Worker Rights In The Post-1992 European Communities: What "Social Europe" Means To United States-Based Multinational Employers, Donald C. Jr. Dowling

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The United States media have extensively covered the trade angle of the European Communities [EC] program to create a "single market" by the end of 1992. The media coverage has spotlighted the benefits the EC market will offer multinational corporations, such as the market's "economies of scale" and its 320 million consumer block. By now this 1992 news has sunk in, and many United States corporations are assessing how they might exploit the soon-to-be unified EC market.