Law Commons^™

The African Origins Of International Law: Myth Or Reality?, Jeremy I. Levitt Dr.

Jeremy I. Levitt Dr.

This Article reconsiders the prevalent ahistorical assumption that international law began with the Treaty of Westphalia. It gathers together considerable historical evidence to conclude that the ancient world, particularly the New Kingdom period in Egypt or Kemet from 1570-1070 BCE, deployed all three of what today we would call sources of international law. African states predating the modern European nation state by nearly 6000 years engaged in treaty relations (the Treaty of Kadesh), and applied rules of custom (the MA'AT) and general principles of law (as enumerated in the Egyptian Bill of Rights). While Egyptologists and a few international lawyers …

The African Origins Of International Law: Myth Or Reality?, Jeremy I. Levitt Dr.

Jeremy I. Levitt Dr.

No abstract provided.

The Problem Of Sovereignty, International Law, And Intellectual Conscience, Richard L. Lara

Richard Louis Lara

The concept of sovereignty is a recurring and controversial theme in international law, and it has a long history in western philosophy. The traditionally favored concept of sovereignty proves problematic in the context of international law. International law’s own claims to sovereignty, which are premised on traditional concept of sovereignty, undermine individual nations’ claims to sovereignty. These problems are attributable to deep-seated flaws in the traditional concept of sovereignty. A viable alternative concept of sovereignty can be derived from key concepts in Friedrich Nietzsche’s views on human reason and epistemology. The essay begins by considering the problem of sovereignty from …

The 1937 International Sugar Agreement: Neo-Colonial Cuba And Economic Aspects Of The League Of Nations, Michael Fakhri

Michael Fakhri

To many in the West, the League of Nations was to establish political peace between nations. To the Cuban sugar-producing elite of the 1920s and 1930s, however, the League was an important socioeconomic institution used to augment many of Cuba’s first modern state institutions. This article explores how and why Cuban delegates were the principals behind the 1937 International Sugar Agreement – one of the League’s few operational economic treaties. This treaty sheds light onto how actors from the so-called industrial core and agricultural periphery used international law, institutions, and practice to negotiate and renegotiate their relationship with each other.

A Propósito Del Giro Historiográfico En Derecho Internacional, Ignacio De La Rasilla Del Moral

Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral, Ph.D.

Illiteracy rate in Spain at the turn of the 20th century was of 63.8% and 16.000 students - out of a total Spanish population of 18.6 million - attended the 10 existing Spanish universities. 2.000 university titles were accorded, half of which in Law in 1900, and 200 students obtained their doctorates by the Central University of Madrid which held the academic monopoly of doctoral studies at the time. In 1902, the Bulletin of the Institution of Free Teaching published a chronicle signed by Aniceto Sela y Sampil on the didactic methods he employed to teach Public and Private International …

The Arrests Of The Century Or Missed Opportunities? A Comparative Case Study Of The International Criminal Tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia, Tamaria A. Johnson

Tamaria A Johnson

Conflict resolution and reconciliation are integral to the restoration of civil society by the political integration of formerly fragmented social networks. Yet persistent ethnonational tensions within multinational states, like those experienced in South Easterrn Europe have fostered new hostilities and secessionist movements in the post – Cold War era. This paper examines the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) by emphasizing the effectiveness of the international court to prosecute political and civilian leaders responsible for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of ethnic cleansing and/or genocide during the Balkan wars of the 1990s; its ability to …

History And Evolution Of International Cultural Heritage Law: Through The Question Of The Removal And Return Of Cultural Objects, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The role of law in the removal and return of cultural objects has long been fraught and contested. This paper examines the history and development of the legal protection of cultural heritage at the international level with particular reference to the return of cultural objects.

With a view to facilitating the Intergovernmental Committee's future work, the paper is divided into four parts. First, there is an examination of the historical development of international cultural heritage law in respect of restitution over the last two centuries. Second, the establishment and work of the Intergovernmental Committee is considered in this historical legal …

Towards Accountability For Mass Crimes: A Report Of The Indian Campaign On International Criminal Court 2000-2007, Saumya Uma, Pouruchisti Wadia

Saumya Uma

This contains a detailed narrative on the activities undertaken by ICC-India - an anti-impunity campaign on mass crimes and international law, from 2000 to 2007. The publication elaborates the work of the campaign on information dissemination, campaign and advocacy, research and publication, alliance-building and media outreach. It includes 16 pages of colour photographs, as well as illustrations in the form of graphs, tables and maps. Published by Women's Research & Action Group, 2008, English, 90 pages.

Assuming Bosnia: Taking The Polity Seriously In Ethnically Divided Societies, Timothy W. Waters

Timothy W Waters

This essay is a reflection on democracy, justice and intervention. It focuses on the Bosnian experience, where since the Dayton Accords the indispensable context for reform has been the international protectorate. This essay examines the assumptions used by the international community to govern Bosnia, which suggest a policy premised upon resistance to the fragmentation of the state under any circumstances, and a belief that the international intervention is simultaneously morally justified and a purely technical process for increasing efficiency. How necessary – indeed, how related at all – are those commitments to the dictates of justice? What is their relationship …

Dhimmitude And Disarmament, David B. Kopel

David B Kopel

Under shari'a law, non-Muslims, known as dhimmi, have been forbidden to possess arms, and to defend themselves from attacks by Muslims. The disarmament is one aspect of the pervasive civil inferiority of non-Muslims, a status known as dhimmitude. This Essay examines the historical effects of the shari'a disarmament, based on three books by Bat Ye'or, the world's leading scholar of dhimmitude. As Ye'or details, the disarmament had catastrophic consequences, extending far beyond the direct loss of the dhimmi's ability to defend themselves. The essay concludes by observing how pretend gun-free zones on college campuses turn the adults there into 21st …

Poisoned Milk And The Poisoning Of Democracy: Some Cautions About China Trade And Taiwan Sovereignty, David B. Kopel

David B Kopel

This Paper examines some of the benefits and dangers of Taiwan's deepening economic ties to China.

In brief, the expansion of cross-Strait economic relations has benefited Taiwan economically, but may pose serious dangers to Taiwan's democratic sovereignty. China's rising Comprehensive National Power - which aims to suppress Taiwan's sovereignty and self-government - has been significantly enhanced by investment from Taiwan itself. China's trade policies are directed for political purposes, particularly for drawing the people of Taiwan into a subordinate relationship with the Chinese dictatorship.

China's strategy has already succeeded in imposing self-censorship on many Taiwanese voices, including many businesses and …

The Iraqi High Court; A Retrospective And Prospective View, Benjamin E. Brockman-Hawe

Benjamin E. Brockman-Hawe

Over the course of its existence, the chief transitional justice mechanism in Iraq – the Iraqi High Court - has attracted an admirably sized assemblage of detractors, naysayers and critics. When examined in light of the normative values widely agreed to underly 21st century notions of transitional justice however, the necessity for the IHC as opposed to an alternative transitional mechanism becomes apparent. Various financial, logistical, idealogical and political barriers precluded reliance on an ad-hoc Tribunal, hybrid court, or trial of Saddam and his regime by the ICC; in this environment, the formation of the IHC represented a useful and …

Is Resisting Genocide A Human Right?, David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant, Joanne D. Eisen

David B Kopel

The genocide in Darfur, Sudan, is perhaps the worst human rights crisis of the new century. This article examines the failures of the international response so far, and offers a solution based on international human rights law.

Conducting an in-depth study of the Darfur genocide, and also discussing other genocides, the Article details the inadequacy of many of the international community's response to genocides, including “targeted sanctions” or international peacekeeping forces.

The Article then examines international legal authorities such as the Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Court of Justice, and demonstrates that groups which …

The Laws Of War In The Pre-Dawn Light: Institutions And Obligations In Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, Steve Sheppard

Steve Sheppard

This Essay, in honor of Oscar Schachter, discusses Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian War, not only glimpsing into the events surrounding the conflict but also considering how the sparring greek city-states understood and manifested laws of war. This article describes numerous customs, practices, and procedures including respect for truces, ambassadors, heralds, trophies, and various forms of neutrality the ancients adhered to during times of conflict. The greek city-states and their warriors recognized and enforced obligations concerning a city-state’s right to war (jus ad bellum) and conduct in war (jus in bello). While the ancients’ laws of war were always recorded …