Human Rights Law Commons^™

Human Rights In The World Court, Stephen M. Schwebel

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Judge Schwebel reviews the cases of the International Court of Justice and its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, that have substantial human rights implications. He observes that, while the World Court is not a human rights court in the contemporary sense of that term, since standing in contentious cases is limited to States, it nevertheless has constructively dealt with a number of important issues of human rights, as in its early holding that individuals may be the direct beneficiaries of treaty rights.

The Court has played a notable role in promoting the protection of human …

Finding Harmony Amidst Disagreement Over Extradition, Jurisdiction, The Role Of Human Rights, And Issues Of Extraterritoriality Under International Criminal Law, Christopher L. Blakesley, Otto Lagodny

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines extradition and jurisdiction over extraterritorial crime, focusing on the relationship between jurisdiction and extradition in the broader context of human rights law. The authors challenge what they argue are chimerical, although strongly held beliefs in the incompatibility of European and United States criminal justice systems and extradition practices. They argue that cooperation in matters of international criminal law may be enhanced, while protection of human rights is promoted. The authors establish this possibility by breaking down the barriers to understanding that stem from the divergent European versus Anglo-American modes of analysis.

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 …

The Legal Implications Of The Refugee Crisis, R. K.L. Panjabi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

CLOSING THE DOORS: THE FAILURE OF REFUGEE PROTECTION By David Matas with Ilana Simon Toronto: Summerhill Press 1989

David Matas is a Canadian lawyer who has served on a Task Force on Immigration Practices and Procedures, has participated in the Canadian Council for Refugees, and has spoken publicly on the refugee crisis. He has written a critical, provocative analysis of the response of the Western world to the refugee problem, with emphasis on the policies of the present Government of Canada. His aim is to expose the injustices of the legislative and procedural systems for refugees in Canada. He writes …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE JURIDICAL BAY

By Gayl S. Westerman

New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Pp. xii, 290. $39.95

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HELSINKI, HUMAN RIGHTS AND EUROPEAN SECURITY: ANALYSIS AND DOCUMENTATION

By Vojtech Mastney

Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1986. Pp. xxxv, 389. $49.50 hard cover, $18.95 soft cover

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NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY

By Stuart McMillan

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. Pp. viii, 177

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INTERNATIONAL LAW OF TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS: THE EEC, NORTHERN EUROPE, AND SCANDINAVIA

By H. Leigh Ffrench

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986. Pp. viii, 390

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INTERNATIONAL LAW: PROCESS AND PROSPECT

By Anthony D'Amato

Dobbs Ferry, New York: …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received

The Utilization of Nuclear Energy and International Law By Vanda Lamm Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press International, Inc. 1984 Pp. 151. $29.95

War, Foreign Affairs, and Constitutional Power By Henry Bartholomew Cox Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger,1984. Pp. xx, 331 $35.00

Guidelines For International Election Observing Prepared by Larry Garber Washington, D.C.: The International Human Rights Law Group, 1984. Pp. iii, 90. $7.95

International Codes and Multinational Business: Setting Guidelines for International Business Operations By John M. Kline Westport, Connecticut: Qurom Books, 1985Pp. vi, 184. $35.00

Public Enterprises in Mixed Economies: Some Macroeconomic Aspects By Robert H. Floyd, Clive …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Japan's Reshaping of American Labor Law By William B. Gould Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1984. Pp.xii, 166. $19.95.

World Economic Outlook By The Staff of the International Monetary Fund Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund,1984. Pp. ix, 162. $15.00.

Recent Multilateral Debt Restructurings With Official and Bank Creditors By E. Brau and R.C. Williams Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1983. Pp. vii, 28. $5.00.

The Fund, Commercial Banks, and Member Countries By Paul Mentre Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1984. Pp. v, 35. $5.00.

International Law and the New States of Africa By Yilma Makonnen New York: Unipub, 1983. Pp. …

Book Received, Law Library Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received

Aspects of the International Banking Safety Net

By G.G. Johnson, with Richard K. Abrams

Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1983. Pp. v, 36. $5.00

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The Soviet Viewpoint

By Georgi Arbatov and Willem Oltmans

New York: Dodd, Mead, 1983. Pp. xviii, 219. $13.95

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The Law of Corporate Groups: Procedural Problems in the Law of Parent and Subsidiary Corporations

By Phillip I. Blumberg

Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1983. Pp. xxxii, 527. $65.00

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Iraq & Iran: Roots of Conflict

By Tareq Y. Ismael

Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982. Pp. xii, 226. $24.00 cloth; $12.95 paper …

Book Reviews, Howard D. Coleman, Clark C. Siewert, John T. Smith Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Book Reviews

Human Rights: International Petition System

Binders 1 and 2

Maxine E. Tardu

Dobbs Ferry: Oceania Publications, Inc.,1979 and 1980. $75.00 per Binder.

Reviewed by Howard D.Coleman

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The International Law and Policy of Human Welfare

Edited by R. St. John Macdonald, D.M. Johnston and L. Morris

The Netherlands: Sijthoff and Noordhoff, 1978. Pp. xviii, 690. $95.

Reviewed by Clark C. Siewert

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Deep Sea Mining

Judith T. Kildow, Editor

Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: MIT Press. 1980. Pp. 251.

Reviewed by John T. Smith II

The Humanitarian Provisions Of The Helsinki Accord: A Critique Of Their Significance, Valery Chalidze

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It is no exaggeration to say that the humanitarian provisions of the Helsinki Accord have been recorded in the history of international relations by virtue of not so much their content as the strong public response they have elicited. This reaction is perhaps surprising, for the humanitarian provisions of the Helsinki Accord itself are very weak. If the convergence of East and West means loss by the West of its legal perspective on issues as fundamental as human rights, then I would not recommend such a convergence. Keeping in mind the development of such problems in the future, it would …

The International Legal Significance Of The Human Rights Provisions Of The Helsinki Final Act, Alexandre C. Kiss, Mary F. Dominick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It may be submitted that the Helsinki Final Act is not a treaty, nor is it similar to resolutions of international organizations. In light of the language used in the text and the signatories' public expressions of intent, the human rights provisions must be deemed to have the same legal nature as the other provisions. The document as a whole falls within a special category of international legal instruments not anticipated by traditional definitions of the sources of international law--that is, non-binding, but directive texts which produce limited legal effects. Its foundation is agreement on a common objective: detente. Its …

To Bring To An End The State Of War: The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, John F. Murphy

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article will describe and evaluate the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, and set it in historical and contemporary perspective in order to highlight some of the primary problems facing decision-makers in their deliberations on approaches to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. The article will then consider alternative courses of action available to the world community in light of principles of the United Nations Charter and of other sources of public international law and justice, political feasibility and the perceived interests of all parties to the conflict. Lastly, it will suggest new approaches to the problem, with a view …

Whither The Commission On Human Rights: A Report After The 35th Session, Gerson Smoger

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The statement that the Commission on Human Rights "functions as the focal point of the United Nation's concentration on the international observance of human rights" is fraught with definitional inconsistencies. Throughout its existence one of the main problems faced by the members of the Commission has been to agree upon the appropriate limits of the expression "human rights." The question arises whether the term includes the right of a retired school teacher to speak out against his country's employment practices or his entitlement to receive social security after his departure from the teaching force. If these are both considered to …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

APPLICABLE LAW IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION By Julian D. M. Lew. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications,1978. Pp. 633.

COMPARATIVE LAW YEARBOOK Issued by The Center for International Legal Studies Germantown, Maryland: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1979. Pp. 300.

CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL LAW: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION By Werner Levi Boulder, Colorado: The Westview Press, 1979. Pp.391.

DIRECT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S. By Raymond J. Waldman Washington, D.C.: Transnational Investments, 1979.Pp. 413.

ENHANCING GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS Edited by J. I. Dominguez and others New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Pp. 270.

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF LAW By Laura Nader Menasha, Wisconsin: American Anthropological Association, …

War Crimes Jurisdiction And Due Process: The Bangladesh Experience, Jordan J. Paust, Albert P. Blaustein

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Must any state that holds and controls prisoners either prosecute those accused of having committed serious violations of international law or extradite them to a state that will prosecute? Finally, would similar breaches of international law by India or Indian troops obviate any jurisdictional competence or duties of India or Bangladesh?

The questions seemed unusual, at least in view of the past practices of international tribunals of the United States in prosecutions of its nationals. Specific criminal applications of relevant international norms had been relatively sparse.' There were problems with the applicability of international norms to Bangladesh, especially during the …

Torture And Other Forms Of Cruel And Unusual Punishment In International Law, Steven Ackerman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Although historically legal interest in human rights has been the special province of scholars, recent worldwide economic realignment has educated the public to global interdependency, vindicating those who foresaw a nexus between human rights and the maintenance of world order. "[A]n interdependent global community cannot sustain itself. .if the coin of common exchange is genocide and discrimination." A pragmatic understanding of the relationship between the maintenance of world order and the protection of human rights suggests that tolerance and fulfillment of the world expectation of human rights may not be a goal that can be universally achieved. It is, however, …

Dual Claim And The Exhaustion Of Local Remedies Rule In International Law, B. O. Iluyomade

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Notwithstanding the anomaly of the procedural requirement that local remedies available in the respondent state must be exhausted before there can be diplomatic intervention on behalf of a national, there can be no doubt that the rule serves some very useful purposes and has become generally accepted. This is demonstrated by the significant role the rule now plays in the resolution of issues before the European Commission of Human Rights. Because the rule is often discussed in the context of a complaint of denial of justice, considerable difficulties may be encountered in determining when the rule should be complied with. …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE ARAB OIL WEAPON

By Jordan J. Paust & Albert P. Blaustein

Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, 1977. Pp. 370.$27.50.

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ARBITRATION IN SWEDEN

Stockholm: Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, 1977. Pp. 212. $25.00.

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THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

A Report of Missions by William J. Butler, John P. Humphrey, & G.E. Bisson. Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1977. Pp. 97. $4.00.

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DE-RECOGNIZING TAIWAN: THE LEGAL PROBLEMS

By Victor H. Li

Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1977.Pp. 48. $1.50.

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EAST-WEST TRADE, A SOURCEBOOK ON THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS OF SOCIALIST COUNTRIES AND THEIR LEGAL …

Political Prisoners: The Law And Politics Of Protection, David P. Forsythe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the fall of 1975 the United States, in a much publicized step at the United Nations, introduced an abortive resolution calling for world-wide amnesty for political prisoners. Admittedly, this draft resolution was withdrawn because of crippling amendments, and it may well be that this American initiative was launched more to deflect criticism to others than to help political prisoners. But it seems to be the case--at least from a Western perspective--that political prisoners are becoming a more salient subject in world affairs. The concept of political prisoners has existed for quite awhile. In the last decade and a half, …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Chile: The Balanced View

Edited by Francisco Orrego Vicuna

Santiago: The University of Chile, 1975. Pp. 298.

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Codification in the Communist World--Symposium in Memory of Zsolt Szirmai Organized by Donald Barry, F.J.M. Feldbrugge & Dominick Lasok

Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff, 1975. Pp. xv, 353. $42.50.

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Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons: Prevention and Punishment

By Louis M. Bloomfield & Gerald F. Fitzgerald.

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. Pp. xviii, 272. $16.50.

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Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico

By Colin M. MacLachlan

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. Pp.viii, 141. $9.00.

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EEC Anti-Trust Law--Principles and Practice

By D. Barounos, …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received

AFRICAN GOALS AND DIPLOMATIC STRATEGIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS By Moses E. Akpan

North Quincy, Mass.: Christopher Publishing House, 1976. Pp. 165. $9.95.

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BASIC PROBLEMS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

Edited by P.D. Dagtoglou

Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975. Pp. xvii, 286, $18.00.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY ON TAXATION OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND FOREIGNERS: 1968-1975

By Elisabeth Owens & Gretchen Hovemeyer

Cambridge, Mass.: International Tax Program, Harvard Law School,1976. Pp. xiii, 107. $7.50.

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THE CONSTITUTION AND THE CONDUCT OF FOREIGN POLICY

Edited by Francis 0. Wilcox and Richard A. Frank

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1976. Pp. xiv, 145. $12.50.

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Book Notes, C. H. H., K. D. K.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Until the Nuremburg Tribunal, international thought concerning human rights conformed to the idea that the guarantor of these rights was the national sovereign. With the birth of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the need for international guarantees of human rights within a state was formally recognized; that individuals have certain inalienable human rights is a proposition which few nations will dispute today. Furthermore, despite wide ideological differences, most states have found it possible to agree on the scope and consequences of man's fundamental freedoms.

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

G.I. RIGHTS AND ARMY JUSTICE: THE DRAFTEE'S GUIDE TO MILITARY LIFE AND LAW

By Robert S. Rivkin

New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1970. Pp. vii, 383. $1.75.

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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL ACTION

By Ernst B. Haas

Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1970.Pp. vii, 184.

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INDIRECT TAXATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

By John F. Due

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. Pp. v, 201. $9.00.

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INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE REGULATION OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM

By David M. Leive

Dobbs Ferry, N. Y.: Oceana Publications Inc., 1970. Pp. 11, 386.$16.50.

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THE WINDS OF FREEDOM

By Dean Rusk …

United States Participation In International Agreements For The Preservation Of Human Rights, A. Hamilton Cooke

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The past two decades of international legal history have been characterized by an increased emphasis upon the importance of the individual as a proper subject of international law. Revolutionary changes have occurred in the area of human rights with the completion of various declarations, covenants, and conventions aimed at the preservation of specific rights within a framework of international law. The continuing importance and relevance of this general subject was symbolized by the designation of 1968 as the International Year for Human Rights in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This paper examines the …