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Full-Text Articles in Law
United Nations Against Slavery: Unravelling Concepts, Institutions And Obligations, Vladislava Stoyanova
United Nations Against Slavery: Unravelling Concepts, Institutions And Obligations, Vladislava Stoyanova
Michigan Journal of International Law
The article starts with a section containing a historical description (Part I). The turn to broader historical accounts is apposite since the engagement of international law with slavery, servitude, and forced labor predates the emergence of international human rights law. It is also important to clarify whether there is any continuity between these earlier engagements of international law and Article 8 of the ICCPR. When it comes to slavery, it is important to consider the practices to which this label was attached and how this still influences the contemporary understanding of the term. Notably, the terminological fragmentation between slavery and …
Human Rights And The New Reality Of Climate Change: Adaptation's Limitations In Achieving Climate Justice , Zackary L. Stillings
Human Rights And The New Reality Of Climate Change: Adaptation's Limitations In Achieving Climate Justice , Zackary L. Stillings
Michigan Journal of International Law
In 2005, the Inuit of Canada and the United States filed a petition with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that their respective governments had violated their human rights by failing to mitigate climate change harms. The Inuit alleged violations of several specific human rights, including the right to enjoy their culture; the right to enjoy and use the lands they have traditionally occupied; the right to use and enjoy their personal property; the right to health; the right to life, physical integrity, and security; the right to their own means of subsistence; and the right to residence …
Conceptions Of Civil Society In International Lawmaking And Implementation: A Theoretical Framework, Laura Pedraza-Farina
Conceptions Of Civil Society In International Lawmaking And Implementation: A Theoretical Framework, Laura Pedraza-Farina
Michigan Journal of International Law
The last two decades have seen an unprecedented explosion in the number of civil society organizations seeking to influence national and international policy making and implementation. Global leaders, activists, scholars, and policy experts have increasingly called for the inclusion of civil society in international governance and in the national implementation of international commitments. Most recently, the wave of civil uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa has put fostering civil society participation high on the agenda of national governments and international organizations. Indeed, most international organizations have devised mechanisms to engage with civil society and regard civil society …
Identity, Effectiveness, And Newness In Transjudicialism's Coming Of Age, Mark Toufayan
Identity, Effectiveness, And Newness In Transjudicialism's Coming Of Age, Mark Toufayan
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article attempts to expose and problematize the ideological connections and normative commitments between these theoretical explanations of effectiveness and the pragmatic process-oriented proposals made in the 1990s when the United Nations was searching for ways to renew the discipline of international human rights law while avoiding the dual risks of politicization and Third World normative fragmentation. The liberal theory of effective supranational adjudication was the culmination of decade-long efforts by American liberal internationalists to provide a theoretical basis for and programmatic proposals towards achieving a more "effective" international human rights regime. Their theory aims at structuring the interface between …
Jurisdiction Without Territory: From The Holy Roman Empire To The Responsibility To Protect, Anne Orford
Jurisdiction Without Territory: From The Holy Roman Empire To The Responsibility To Protect, Anne Orford
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Essay focuses upon one contemporary manifestation of that ongoing battle over the relationship between jurisdiction and control over territory-the emergence and institutionalization of the "responsibility to protect" concept. The idea that States and the international community have a responsibility to protect populations has shaped internationalist debates about conflict prevention, the use of force, and international administration since its development by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in 2001. The responsibility to protect concept is premised on the notion, to quote former Secretary- General Kofi Annan, that "the primary raison d'être and duty" of every State is …
International Responsibility And The Admission Of States To The United Nations, Thomas D. Grant
International Responsibility And The Admission Of States To The United Nations, Thomas D. Grant
Michigan Journal of International Law
The present Article considers what identifiable substantive obligations might be relevant to admission; whether admission as practiced has resulted in a breach of obligation; and whether any such breach might impose international responsibility on the international actors involved in the decision to admit new States. The Article further considers what future reparative obligations such responsibility might entail.
Dionysian Disarmament: Security Coucil Wmd Coercive Disarmament Measures And Their Legal Implication, James D. Fry
Dionysian Disarmament: Security Coucil Wmd Coercive Disarmament Measures And Their Legal Implication, James D. Fry
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of the Security Council's coercive disarmament and arms control measures involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In the process of providing this legal analysis, it presents a fresh perspective on a variety of widely held beliefs about disarmament and arms control law, as well as about U.N. law.
Criminal Conspiracy Law In Japan, Chris Coulson
Criminal Conspiracy Law In Japan, Chris Coulson
Michigan Journal of International Law
Part II of this Note describes CATOC's group criminality requirement. Part III outlines the provisions of several versions of Japan's conspiracy bill and compares these provisions to common-law conspiracy. Part IV analyzes Japan's conspiracy law by examining both substantive and procedural laws in Japan related to criminal conspiracy, as well as criticism within Japan of the conspiracy bills.
The United Nations Security Council's Quest For Effectiveness, Emilio J. Cárdenas
The United Nations Security Council's Quest For Effectiveness, Emilio J. Cárdenas
Michigan Journal of International Law
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on New York's World Trade Center Towers and Washington's Pentagon, instantly refocused the United Nations' attention on the issue of international terrorism. The Security Council (Council) responded immediately: first, on September 12, 2001, with an unequivocal condemnation of the attacks, contained in Resolution 1368 (2001), and second, on September 28, 2001, with the enactment of Resolution 1373 (2001), which, under Chapter VII of the Charter, mandated that all Member States take specific actions to combat international terrorism. Terrorism was rightly understood to be "a threat to international peace and security."
When Can Nations Go To War? Politics And Change In The Un Securtiy System, Charlotte Ku
When Can Nations Go To War? Politics And Change In The Un Securtiy System, Charlotte Ku
Michigan Journal of International Law
In an appreciation of Harold Jacobson written for the American Journal of International Law, the author concluded that following the events of September 11, 2001, we would need the kind of gentle wisdom Harold Jacobson brought to his tasks more than ever. The author also recalled Harold Jacobson's own observation in Networks of Interdependence that his assessment of the global political system was an optimistic, but not a naive one. These qualities of quiet determination to get to the bottom of an issue and of optimism stemmed from a fundamental belief that individuals, armed with information and the opportunity …
Envisioning A Global Legal Culture, Charles H. Koch Jr.
Envisioning A Global Legal Culture, Charles H. Koch Jr.
Michigan Journal of International Law
To encourage all, but particularly U.S., lawyers to think about transformation of the law, this Article will envision a global legal regime. The purpose is more reflective than predictive. Nominally, the Article has three parts. The first Part offers an overview description of the emerging supranational legal institutions and the major forces moving them. The next Part will outline civil law legal concepts and provide background for common law readers. To further the goal of this Article, it will do so as it suggests some issues that will arise as the civil law system is incorporated into the global legal …
The Concept Of Accountability In World Politics And The Use Of Force, Robert O. Keohane
The Concept Of Accountability In World Politics And The Use Of Force, Robert O. Keohane
Michigan Journal of International Law
This paper proceeds as follows. In Part I, the author discuss a pluralistic theory of accountability. He begins by defining accountability in a standard fashion, emphasizing two conditions: the availability of information to accountability-holders, and their ability to sanction power-wielders. The author then proceeds to discuss a pluralistic conception of accountability systems. Part II then develops a typology of eight accountability mechanisms, all of which are found in democratic societies, but not all of which are democratic per se. Part III builds on the Jacobson-Ku discussion of the current practices, relative to accountability, of the Security Council and asks …
The Charter Of The United Nations: A Commentary Of Bruno Simma's Commentary, Alain Pellet
The Charter Of The United Nations: A Commentary Of Bruno Simma's Commentary, Alain Pellet
Michigan Journal of International Law
Review of The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary (Bruno Simma, Hermann Mosler, Albrecht Randelzhofer, Christian Tomuschat, Rüdiger Wolfrum, Andreas Paulus, Eleni Chaitobu eds.)
How To Constitutionalize International Law And Foreign Policy For The Benefit Of Civil Society?, Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
How To Constitutionalize International Law And Foreign Policy For The Benefit Of Civil Society?, Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
Michigan Journal of International Law
All societies have adopted rules in order to reconcile conflicts among the short-term interests of their citizens with their common long-term interests. All societies have learned that rule-making and rule-enforcement require government powers, as well as "checks and balances" against abuses of such powers. Constitutionalism has emerged as the most important human invention for protecting equal rights of the citizens against such abuses. It rests on the rationality of Ulysses who, when approaching the island of the sirens and knowing of their dangers, ordered his companions to bind him to the mast and not to release him under any circumstances.' …
"Green Helmets": A Conceptual Framework For Security Council Authority In Environmental Emergencies, Linda A. Malone
"Green Helmets": A Conceptual Framework For Security Council Authority In Environmental Emergencies, Linda A. Malone
Michigan Journal of International Law
Although 1995 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the United Nations, the year also marks the fifth anniversary of a newly revitalized Security Council. In this period of five years, scholarly debate on the Security Council has shifted from what it might do if it could act to what substantive limits, if any, exist on the Security Council's authority to act under the Charter. The legitimacy of the Security Council's authority under the Charter arises both in its initial determination of when it can act and in its determination of the appropriate scope of its actions once it …
The Role Of The United Nations Security Council In African Peace Management: Some Porposals, A. Peter Mutharika
The Role Of The United Nations Security Council In African Peace Management: Some Porposals, A. Peter Mutharika
Michigan Journal of International Law
The United Nations global peace management scheme is based on certain fundamental assumptions that require serious reexamination as we enter the twenty-first century. Fundamental to the 1945 vision of global peace management was the prevention of a third world war through collective action by the great powers. Structurally, this was to be achieved by a system of great power governance through the mechanism of the Security Council. While the Charter confers on the Security Council "primary responsibility" for the maintenance of international peace and security, executive decision-making is reserved for the great powers through permanent membership and the veto power. …
The Right To Self-Defense Once The Security Council Takes Action, Malvina Halberstam
The Right To Self-Defense Once The Security Council Takes Action, Malvina Halberstam
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article discusses the views of these commentators in the light of the language, history, and policies underlying Article 51. It concludes that the Charter was not intended to and should not be interpreted to deny a state the right of self-defense, even if the Security Council has taken measures to deal with the problem; if states are to cede their right to self-defense once the Security Council has taken measures, that should be made explicit.
The Place Of Law In Collective Security, Martti Koskenniemi
The Place Of Law In Collective Security, Martti Koskenniemi
Michigan Journal of International Law
In this article the author wants to examine the place of law in our thinking about and sometimes participation in decision-making regarding international security. After the end of the Cold War, and particularly since the United Nations' reaction to Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91, an academic debate concerning the possibility of collective security has arisen anew. The intention is not to take a definite view in that controversy. Instead, the author shall suggest that this debate has been framed so as to obscure the role of normative considerations, including law, in the production or construction of collective security. A …
The "Privatization" Of Security Council Enforcement Action: A Threat To Multilateralism, John Quigley
The "Privatization" Of Security Council Enforcement Action: A Threat To Multilateralism, John Quigley
Michigan Journal of International Law
In-the post-Cold War period, the United Nations Security Council has emerged from a side show of international politics to center stage. It has acted to repel aggression, to promote humanitarian efforts, and to enforce democracy. This flowering of activity holds the potential for achieving concerted international action to remedy situations involving great human misery.
What's The Security Council For?, Jose E. Alvarez
What's The Security Council For?, Jose E. Alvarez
Michigan Journal of International Law
Students of the literature on the Security Council will recognize in these articles and essays, selected by the Journal's editors for this symposium issue, many representative strands in that ever-burgeoning literature. Although the Journal's editors accepted these articles and essays on an individual basis and no author was afforded the opportunity to read or react to others' contributions, the results are a fascinating counterpoint of views nonetheless. At times, it seems as if the contributors are reacting to each other's work.
Legal Restraints On Security Council Military Enforcement Action, Judith G. Gardam
Legal Restraints On Security Council Military Enforcement Action, Judith G. Gardam
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article considers an issue that, given its importance for the protection of combatants and civilians in armed conflict, has not attracted the attention it warrants: namely, the extent to which legal restraints derived from the ius in bello and the ius ad bellum apply to the Security Council when it is taking military enforcement action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Although a position not free from controversy, the recent practice of the Security Council in "authorizing" States to use force to restore international peace and security is treated as military enforcement action under Chapter VII of …
Collective Humanitarian Intervention, Fernando R. Tesón
Collective Humanitarian Intervention, Fernando R. Tesón
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article discusses collective intervention authorized by the Security Council, with a special emphasis on the concept of exclusive domestic jurisdiction. Part I first examines the different meanings of the notoriously ambiguous word "intervention." Because the legitimacy of collective intervention will depend in part on whether or not the matter falls within the domestic jurisdiction of the target state, Part II will then discuss contemporary views of domestic jurisdiction. Finally, Parts III and IV discuss collective humanitarian intervention under the principles of the U.N. Charter and examine the practice of the Security Council since the end of the Cold War. …
The Politics Of Collective Security, Anne Orford
The Politics Of Collective Security, Anne Orford
Michigan Journal of International Law
Part I argues that conventional international legal analyses about Security Council actions do not consider the gender-differentiated effects of those actions. The universality of male interests is taken for granted by international lawyers. The first level of analysis thus involves adding women in; that is, considering the consequences that Security Council actions have had for women in Kuwait, Iraq, Cambodia, Somalia, Mozambique, Bosnia, and the United States. I argue that many women are in fact rendered less secure by actions authorized by the Security Council in the name of collective security. As a result, women must have a voice in …
Caught Between Traditions: The Security Council In Philosophical Conundrum, David P. Fidler
Caught Between Traditions: The Security Council In Philosophical Conundrum, David P. Fidler
Michigan Journal of International Law
In Part I of this article, I provide a discussion about the use of traditions of thought in international relations. Part II begins by briefly examining the fundamental purpose of the Security Council – the maintenance of international peace, and security. I then analyze the philosophical origins of the idea of maintaining international peace and security through an international organization to demonstrate how liberal thought on international relations came to incorporate this idea. In this analysis, I will demonstrate that liberal thought on the appropriateness of relying on international organizations to maintain peace and security is not unified and that …
Legal Remedies And The United Nations' À La Carte Problem, Jose E. Alvarez
Legal Remedies And The United Nations' À La Carte Problem, Jose E. Alvarez
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article reexamines recent U.S. withholdings of its assessed regular contributions to the UN, as well as the premises and assumptions underlying the theory that a UN member may legally and unilaterally withhold payments for ultra vires acts by the organization. The issue is of considerable consequence since, despite recent rhetoric, the number of members financially supporting the UN through timely payments of regular contributions number only about half the membership, payments. These practices undermine the basic doctrine of "collective financial responsibility" and threaten the survival of international organizations. Reexamination is timely since the lessening of ideological divisions at the …
United States V. Palestine Liberation Organization: Continued Confusion In Congressional Intent And The Hierarchy Of Norms, Andrew R. Horne
United States V. Palestine Liberation Organization: Continued Confusion In Congressional Intent And The Hierarchy Of Norms, Andrew R. Horne
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Note concludes that while the court's rationale is disingenuous and misleading, the final decision was an appropriate reaffirmation of the importance which American jurisprudence places on international obligations. In Part One, this Note discusses whether the dispute resolution provisions of the Headquarters Agreement precluded the district court's jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter of this case. Part Two examines the constitutional hierarchy of the ATA and the Headquarters Agreement to determine which should govern this dispute. If the court had concluded that it lacked jurisdiction, the case would have been dismissed from the U.S. court system, leaving the …
The United States, The United Nations, And Micronesia: Questions Of Procedure, Substance, And Faith, Harry G. Prince
The United States, The United Nations, And Micronesia: Questions Of Procedure, Substance, And Faith, Harry G. Prince
Michigan Journal of International Law
This study first considers the procedural requirements for proper termination and concludes that Security Council approval is required. Second, this writing identifies the major issues that should be considered if the proposed termination of the Trusteeship Agreement for Micronesia is subjected to Security Council review. Two basic concerns should be the propriety of the division of the Trust Territory into four separate entities and the legitimacy of the agreements between the new governments and the United States for continuing relations as either commonwealth or freely associated states. The history of and practice under the trusteeship system indicate that the particular …
Third World Trade Partnership: Supranational Authority Vs. National Extraterritorial Antitrust--A Plea For "Harmonized" Regionalism, Wolfgang Fikentscher
Third World Trade Partnership: Supranational Authority Vs. National Extraterritorial Antitrust--A Plea For "Harmonized" Regionalism, Wolfgang Fikentscher
Michigan Law Review
That "Third World countries" should receive the assistance of the "industrialized nations" in increasing the level of their economic development is a matter beyond dispute. Yet the years following the "economic decade" of the 1970's have made apparent a crisis in the concepts underlying this philosophy of Third World assistance. The nature of this crisis has not yet been fully ascertained, and the following text does not undertake that task. Rather, it starts from the general feeling among experts involved in one way or another with "development aid" that the paths so far followed and the methods so far applied …
The Interrelationship Between United Nations Law And The Law Of Other International Organizations, Richard H. Lauwaars
The Interrelationship Between United Nations Law And The Law Of Other International Organizations, Richard H. Lauwaars
Michigan Law Review
The question regarding the interrelationship between UN law and the law of other international organizations acquired actual significance in the Netherlands in the spring of 1983. At that time, the Dutch Government published a Note stating that, due to the strictures of international law embodied in the law of the European Economic Community (EEC) and European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the Benelux Economic Union, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it could not impose unilateral sanctions against South Africa. In response to this Note, a group of public international law professors in the Netherlands issued a …
Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper
Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper
Michigan Journal of International Law
Competition policy in the United States, particularly reflected in antitrust policy, in recent years has focused on corporate structure. To some, this emphasis simply reflects a belief in a close correlation between corporate structure and behavior. A single firm monopoly inevitably will restrict output and raise prices above levels that would prevail under competition conditions, distorting allocative efficiency. The behavioral pattern is a direct consequence of structure. Many believe that high corporate concentration, even short of single firm monopoly, is at least conducive to, if not a cause of, monopolistic behavior. Some also view high corporate concentration, and the aggregation …