International Trade Law Commons^™

No Witness, No Case: An Assessment Of The Conduct And Quality Of Icc Investigations, Dermot Groome

Dermot M Groome

The conduct and quality of investigations pursued by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from judges on the Court. Criticism is directed at the time and length of investigations; the quality of the evidence advanced in court; the inappropriate delegation of investigative functions, and the failure to interview witnesses in a way that is consistent with the Prosecution’s obligation to conduct investigations fairly under Article 54 of the Rome Statute. This essay explores these criticisms and concludes that the judges are justified in their concerns regarding the Prosecution’s investigative …

International Institutions And The Resource Curse, Patrick Keenan

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

Many countries that are richly endowed with natural resources have failed to turn that resource wealth into sustained development. In many places, a small coterie of elites has become rich while most citizens see little benefit from their country’s vast resource wealth. A principal cause of this problem, often called the resource curse, is weak domestic institutions that permit leaders to enrich themselves and ignore the development needs of the country. From this, most scholars and policymakers have concluded that the way to fix the resource curse is to reform domestic institutions.

This article challenges the conventional wisdom and argues …

The Arab Spring’S Four Seasons: International Protections And The Sovereignty Problem, Jillian Blake, Aqsa Mahmud

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

In December 2010, public demonstrations erupted throughout the Middle East against autocratic regimes, igniting a regional political transformation known as the Arab Spring. Depending on events, modern international criminal and humanitarian law provided certain protections to vulnerable populations. However, international law did not provide a uniform degree of protection to civilians and combatants who faced similar circumstances. This Article argues for a uniform standard of protections for all populations affected by armed conflict, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It evaluates each of five major Arab Spring uprisings (Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and Libya) and describes the legal protections that …

The Impact Of The Icty On Atrocity-Related Prosecutions In The Courts Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Yaël Ronen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia was not mandated to proactively promote domestic prosecutions of war-related crimes. However, its operation may have had some impact on domestic proceedings concerning war-related crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The object of this article is to identify and explain this impact, with respect to qualitative (institutional legal capacities), quantitative (rates of prosecution and trends in sentencing), and normative (the adoption and application of criminal law norms) benchmarks.

The Limits Of Judicial Idealism: Should The International Criminal Court Engage With Consequentialist Aspirations?, Shahram Dana

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

Idealism about what international criminal justice mechanisms can achieve has lead to ideologically driven judicial decision-making in international criminal law (ICL). ICL idealism manifests itself in the belief that international criminal prosecutions can achieve an awesome array of goals. These include retribution, deterrence, reconciliation, rehabilitation, incapacitation, restoration, building a historical record, preventing revisionism, expressive and didactic functions, crystallizing international norms, general affirmative prevention, establishing peace, preventing war, vindicating international law prohibitions, setting standards for fair trials, combating impunity, and more. Ironically, this idealistic overreach, although usually well intended, has actually contributed to the politicization of the international judicial process.

The …

No Witness, No Case: An Assessment Of The Conduct And Quality Of Icc Investigations, Dermot Groome

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

The conduct and quality of investigations pursued by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from judges on the Court. Criticism is directed at the time and length of investigations; the quality of the evidence advanced in court; the inappropriate delegation of investigative functions, and the failure to interview witnesses in a way that is consistent with the Prosecution’s obligation to conduct investigations fairly under Article 54 of the Rome Statute. This essay explores these criticisms and concludes that the judges are justified in their concerns regarding the Prosecution’s investigative …

Rethinking The Relationship Between The Wto And International Human Rights, Gao Pengcheng

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Jurisdictions Over Disputes Arising From The Application Of Trade-Related Environmental Measures, Wen-Chen Shih

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Can A State Or A Head Of State Claim The Benefit Of Immunities In Case An International Crime Has Been Committed?, Brigitte Stern

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

I propose to deal with a topic which is at the crossroads of what I see as the main tension in international law today. This is the tension-not to say more-between state sovereignty, on one side, and the protection of the human rights of individuals on the other.

Towards A Development-Oriented Multilateral Framework On Competition Policy, Jae Sung Lee

San Diego International Law Journal

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) is a successful attempt by the international community to codify and unify the law of the sea. After long negotiations, the LOSC opened for signature at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) in 1982. Together with its two formal associations, the Part XI Implementation Agreement 1994 and the Straddling and Migratory Fish Stocks Agreement 1995, it is regarded as one of the most comprehensive documents ever adopted by the international community. The LOSC not only succeeded in addressing all topics covered …

The Promise Of The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (Unclos): Justice In Trade And Environment Disputes, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Expanding The Role Of The International Court Of Justice To Resolve Interethnic Conflict And Protect Minority Rights, Paul J. Magnarella

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

Despite the prevalence of interethnic conflict and its threat to world order, the global constitutive process offers no universal mechanism, such as an international tribunal, to adjudicate the claims advanced by non-state, ethnic minorities. This author advocates establishing such a mechanism. During our present century, the power of politicized ethnicity in international and intra-state affairs repeatedly manifests itself around the globe in countries old and new. Ethnopolitical movements involve the mobilization of people on the bases of cultural characteristics, such as language, tradition, religion, homeland, and selected physical traits. Ethnopolitics significantly affects the world order. In 1973, Walter Connor wrote: …

Avoiding A Collision Of Competence: The Relationship Between The Security Council And The International Court Of Justice In Light Of Libya V. United States, Scott I. Bortz

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

Reaction in the wake of a horrible tragedy has clarified the political hierarchy of the United Nations and helped avoid a collision of competence between the Security Council and the International Court of Justice (Court). The destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988, ultimately called the applicability of an international agreement into question, exacerbated an already volatile political relationship between the United States and Libya, and led to case wherein the Court was able to clarify its relationship with the Security Council. In Libya v. United States, (Lockerbie) a case that "may be the most …