Legal History Commons^™

Formação Da Comunidade Européia: Cristianismo E Democracia Na Declaração De Robert Schuman, Daniela Menengoti Ribeiro

Daniela Menengoti Ribeiro

This paper is intended to demonstrate the existing convergence between Christian-democratic thinking and its influence on the process of unification of Europe by bringing close together the discourses held by the politicians who founded the European Community, with the catholic leaders and allies of the Christian Democratic Party as protagonists. To achieve this goal, the first step is to illustrate the values and ideas that gave rise to the development of the European leaders’ thinking as a means of guaranteeing permanent peace through political and economic union. A second step consists in analyzing the social-Christian doctrine thinking regarding the construction …

Human Rights And Genocide: The Work Of Lauterpacht And Lemkin In Modern International Law, Part I, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

2008 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly. These two instruments adopted and proclaimed by then newly formed world body on successive days, 9 and 10 December 1948 respectively, represent two sides of one coin. Born of the horrors of the 1930s and 40s, the United Nations Charter speaks of human rights and to the importance of the rule of law. The Genocide Convention and UDHR are integral to the pursuit of these aims.

The work of two international lawyers, Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, …

Obama O Los Contrastes De La Última Gran Estrategia Liberal. Apuntes Sobre Derecho Y Política Internacional, Ignacio De La Rasilla Del Moral

Ignacio de la Rasilla del Moral, Ph.D.

Exceptionally not grounded on the rhetorical penetration of the great theoretical schemes of international relations’ and foreign policy areas of academic knowledge, but relying, instead, on the juxtaposition of the new Obama Administration’s main electoral promises on foreign policy with a series of empirical data on the current state of the world, the aim of these remarks - written in the eve of the Presidential Election of November 2008 - is that of providisng the non-specialist with a down-to-Earth introductory background to the future of US’ foreign policy during Obama's presidency.

Deliberative Democracy And Weak Courts: Constitutional Design In Nascent Democracies, Edsel F. Tupaz

Edsel F Tupaz

This Article addresses the question of constitutional design in young and transitional democracies. It argues for the adoption of a “weak” form of judicial review, as opposed to “strong” review which typifies much of contemporary adjudication. It briefly describes how the dialogical strain of deliberative democratic theory might well constitute the normative predicate for systems of weak review. In doing so, the Article draws from various judicial practices, from European supranational tribunals to Canadian courts and even Indian jurisprudence. The Article concludes with the suggestion that no judicial apparatus other than the weak structure of judicial review can better incite …

The Role Of Custom In Canon, Jewish And Islamic Law: Supplemented, Superseded Or Supplanted By Written Law?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Custom can be a compelling source of law and supplements, even supersedes, written, codified law in religious traditions. In this essay, I address the relationship between custom and written, codified law in three religious legal traditions: the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, Jewish law, and Islamic law.

In the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, customary law reflects the values critical to community life and while it cannot contravene divine law, customary law, if reasonable, can become law even if customs contradict written canonical norms. In Jewish law, custom (minhag) is a source of rabbinic law and can even supersede halakhah …

The Holy See's Worldwide Role And International Human Rights: Solely Symbolic?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The Holy See has been actively involved in international relations since its very beginnings. Today, its role in the formation of international human rights instruments is seen by many as “symbolic,” based largely on its concerns as a universal moral witness to humanity.

In this paper, I contend that the Holy See’s role in promoting human rights in international affairs is not solely symbolic; rather, its diplomacy is based more on pragmatic considerations of promoting its conceptions of the universal common good and the fundamental right to life than is currently recognized. By examining the Beijing and Cairo Conferences, and …

Book Review: Henry J. Richardson Iii, The Origins Of African-American Interests In International Law, D. A. Jeremy Telman

D. A. Jeremy Telman

This short review evaluates Professor Richardson's book both as a contribution to the history of the Atlantic slave trade and as contribution to critical race theory.Professor Richardson has read innumerable historical monographs, works of legal and sociological theory, international law and critical race theory. Armed with this store of knowledge, he is able to recount a detailed narrative of African-American claims to, interests in and appeals to international law over approximately two centuries spanning, with occasional peeks both forward and backward in time, from the landing of the first African slaves at Jamestown in 1619 to the 1815 Treaty of …