Military, War, and Peace Commons^™

Sanctions, Countermeasures, And The Iranian Nuclear Issue, N. J. Calamita

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The international community's response to Iran's nuclear development program highlights the sometimes complex legal relationship between the UN system of collective security and the rights of states to take unilateral countermeasures under the law of state responsibility. It also raises a number of important questions about (a) the discretion afforded to states in the interpretation and implementation of Security Council resolutions, (b) the availability of countermeasures for the violation of multilateral obligations, and (c) the exclusivity of the Chapter VII framework for collective security.

This Article argues that, while the Security Council's Iran sanctions resolutions do not grant discretionary authority …

A Paper Tiger With Bite: A Defense Of The War Powers Resolution, Michael B. Weiner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The War Powers Resolution (WPR) has led a beleaguered existence. Since its enactment in 1973, it has been labeled ineffectual and useless. This Note proves, however, that to review presidential unilateral uses of force since 1973 is to find a spirit of compliance with the WPR, as these uses of force have been characterized by their brevity and their lack of spilled U.S.blood. While minor departures from the WPR's black-letter requirements are conceded, none of these uses of force have developed into, or even resembled, Vietnam-esque quagmires. As a result, this Note contends that the WPR has had a positive …

Hamdan, Lebanon, And The Regulation Of Hostilities, Geoffrey S. Corn

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For more than fifty years following the 1949 revision of the Geneva Conventions, legal scholars, government experts, and military practitioners understood the articles that defined when the protections of these treaties came into force--Common Articles 2 and 3--as the exclusive criteria which triggered the laws of war. From these two articles emerged an "either/or" law-applicability paradigm: inter-state, or international, armed conflicts triggered the full corpus of the laws of war, whereas intra-state, or internal, armed conflicts triggered the limited humanitarian protection reflected in the terms of Common Article 3. Because many military operations during the past two decades did not …

The Detainee Treatment Act Of 2005: Embodying U.S. Values To Eliminate Detainee Abuse By Civilian Contractors And Bounty Hunters In Afghanistan And Iraq, Ryan P. Logan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The growth in the number of bounty hunters and civilian contractors accompanying the U.S. military into battle has swelled during the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Civilians have been utilized in all facets of those military campaigns, including the interrogation of suspected terrorists or insurgents. Faced with intense pressure to rapidly obtain information about terrorist operations and yet having little oversight of their interrogation activities, some of these contractors and bounty hunters have been accused of abusing detainees. This Note explores the legal avenues for addressing accusations of detainee abuse by U.S. civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq and concludes …

U.S. Military Courts And The War In Iraq, Michael J. Frank

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Throughout its history, the United States has frequently entrusted to military courts the task of prosecuting insurgents and terrorists during instances of military occupation.

Instead of carrying on this tradition in Iraq, the United States created the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) and entrusted a band of Iraqi judges with this task. Infected with corruption, nationalism, tribal loyalties, and anti-U.S. animus, this court has repeatedly thwarted the United States by acquitting or only lightly punishing Iraqi terrorists. Thus, the terrorists have learned that they face an excellent chance of acquittal in the CCCI, or if per chance they are …

The Use Of Force And (The State Of) Necessity, Andreas Laursen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, debates about international law and the use of force have gained new momentum. This is due to the armed conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq as well as the publication of two recent security strategies by the U.S. government. These strategies consider the possibility of preemptive use of force and have received considerable criticism from international law scholars. Professor Laursen asks whether the necessity excuse in international law allows for preemptive strikes of the sort envisioned by the U.S. security strategies. Following an examination of the status of the necessity excuse in international …

Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, And The Unfinished Business Of World War Ii, Stuart E. Eizenstat

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I want to tell you an improbable story about how fifty years after the end of World War II, long-forgotten victims of not only the greatest genocide in history, but of what we learned was also the greatest theft in history, finally achieved some belated, as I call it, imperfect justice. This includes: those who placed their most precious assets in the safest banking system in Europe--in Switzerland-to keep them out of Hitler's clutches (for fifty years after the war, they were unable to recover them); those who were forced into brutal slavery and forced labor at the hands of …

Legal And Policy Constraints On The Conduct Of Aerial Precision Warfare, Nathan A. Canestaro

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Focusing his historical analysis on World War II, Mr. Canestaro describes how the substantial legal and policy controls under which the U.S. military conducts its air campaigns meet or exceed the requirements of international treaties and the customary practice of states. Bombing technology has only recently developed to the point of allowing compliance with international legal standards, and the United States has implemented stringent measures in recent conflicts to minimize unintended civilian casualties in warfare. Mr. Canestaro demonstrates that because these self-imposed restrictions go beyond the point of mere compliance, they often constitute a disadvantage to the conduct of U.S. …

The Death Penalty--An Obstacle To The "War Against Terrorism"?, Thomas M. Mcdonnell

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

September 11 seared our collective memory perhaps even more vividly than December 7, 1941, and has evoked a natural demand both for retribution and for measures to keep us safe. Given the existing statutory and judicial authority for capital punishment, the U.S. Government has to confront the issue whether to seek the death penalty against those who are linked to the suicide attacks or to the organization that sponsored them or both. Meting out the death penalty to international terrorists involves difficult moral, legal, and policy questions. The September 11 crimes were not only domestic crimes, but also international ones. …

Corporate Governance And Sustainable Peace, Timothy L. Fort, Cindy A. Schipani

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Articles and Commentary in this Symposium are another step in a series of conferences exploring dimensions of business influence on sustainable peace. As is often the case with new intellectual initiatives, each step seems to open new doors of insight and new sets of questions. Other presentations delivered at this conference included discussions of how one could design architectural plans in keeping with company goals, while others focused on the development of compassion, forgiveness, and voice. Still others connected the topic to notions of ethical compliance models, dispute resolution, corporate citizenship, and economic development.

Beyond these notions, of course, …

An Overview Of The Symposium, Timothy L. Fort, Cindy A. Schipani

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

By design, this conference was constructed to brainstorm about the connection of governance, ethics, and peace. To that end, the conference and these papers were a success. As a novel question, however, we are far from providing a definitive answer to exactly what should be done to foster the connection and, more basically, exactly what the connection looks like. One can, however, identify three general themes emanating from the conference that provide a sense for the opportunities of future research.

First, there is a public policy dimension. Corporations gain their authority through state action and the duties of fiduciaries of …

Whistleblowing, Mncs, And Peace, Terry M. Dworkin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the relationship among whistleblowing, corporations, and international peace. The Author attempts to establish that whistleblowing is a vital part of transparency and good government. In Part II, the Author examines the rationale for whistleblowing. Part III addresses the cultural dimensions of whistleblowing and its practicability for global organizations. Finally, the Author looks at the advantages of whistleblowing in relation to both corporations and peace efforts.

War And The Business Corporation, Eric W. Orts

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article addresses the relationship between modern warfare and business corporations. The Article begins by considering the nature of war, emphasizing the effects of globalization and the changing importance of national boundaries. The Article reviews leading theories of war and focuses on how the growth of multinational corporations in economic and political power has begun to rival the power of nation-states. Next, the Article addresses the nature of the business corporation in the context of modern war by surveying standard legal, ethical, and economic understandings of corporate governance. The Article concludes by arguing that the recognition of the moral and …

Conceptions Of The Corporation And The Prospects Of Sustainable Peace, Jeffrey Nesteruk

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the role of corporate law in promoting sustainable peace. The Author argues that corporate legal theory can make a distinctive contribution to a more peaceful world by exposing some deeper roots of corporate law doctrines. Beginning with a brief overview of the corporation in legal discourse, the Article addresses the corporation as property, person, contract, and community. Next, the Article explores the significance of legal language, detailing the ways the law, through language, constructs and impacts the "character," "culture," and "community" of society. The Article then analyzes the dominance that the property and contract conceptions of the …

Interview: The Business Of Peace, Madeleine Albright, Former Secretary Of State, B. Joseph White

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I think the thing that we have really seen, Joe, recently, is the fact that we have global companies that are situated everywhere and are very much a part of the societies in which they operate. The way that they can contribute is by really embedding themselves in the local communities and by providing economic support within those communities to help mitigate some of the aspects of poverty within that particular milieu where they are operating. They can contribute by basically making it clear to people that we are all part of the same story. Just because you may be …

Cyprus In Europe: Seizing The Momentum Of Nice, Patrick R. Hugg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In December 2000 the European Council Summit in Nice fulfilled the promise for European Union enlargement made at the Helsinki Summit the year before. The leaders of the EU Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the accession of the applicant countries, making possible the broad re-unification of the continent under democratic rule of law and free market economies. This Article focuses specifically on the accession of the island of Cyprus, Europe's remaining divided state, poised strategically between East and West. The island's armed stand-off presents the clearest example of legal conflict between two ethnic communities in a discrete geographical territory, …

Prosecuting The "Fog Of War?, Christopher D. Booth

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the Fall of 1999, the Associated Press reported a story of an alleged massacre of Korean civilians, conducted by U.S. troops at the beginning of the Korean War in the hamlet of No Gun Ri. The story had an incendiary effect, both in the United States and abroad. The story of an incident from half-a-century ago caused many to reexamine the conduct of American forces in that war, the current security arrangements in East Asia, the U.S.-R.O.K. relationship, and the wisdom and ability of modem Americans to investigate, evaluate, and judge historical events from our current historical and cultural …

Between Iraq And A Hard Place: The U.N. Compensation Commission And Its Treatment Of Gulf War Claims, Lea C. Owen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was formed in 1991 to address claims against Iraq arising out of the Gulf War. In its seven years of operation, the UNCC has received 2.6 million claims, with an asserted value of more than $244 billion. It has processed 2.4 million of these claims, for a total of $6 billion, and it has paid to victims more than $730 million. Despite these accomplishments, the UNCC has much left to do, and its efforts have been burdened by Iraq's post-war refusal to meet its treaty obligations. The UNCC now faces waning political support from …

The Relevance Of The Concepts Of War And Armed Conflict To The Law Of Neutrality, Georgios C. Petrochilos

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The law of neutrality applies among states engaged in war and third states seeking to maintain friendly relations with the belligerent states. While belligerent parties possess belligerent rights, including those in the Law of Prize, states deemed neutral must fulfill certain neutral duties. In exchange, neutral states enjoy the protection afforded to neutral parties by the law of neutrality.

The Article focuses on the state of affairs that triggers application of the law of neutrality. The law addressing this issue leaves many questions unanswered. This Article addresses the importance of the declaration of war by belligerent states in assessing whether …

Anti-Personnel Mines And Peremptory Norms Of International Law: Argument And Catalyst, R. J. Araujo

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Anti-personnel mines have evolved into the military device of choice in many regional conflicts across the world. The author commences his analysis of this development by considering the impact of anti-personnel mines on civilian populations and the reasons historically articulated for their use. After evaluating their relative costs and benefits, the author proceeds to analyze the problem of anti-personnel mines under the principles of international law. First, the author considers legal principles regarding the permissible use of force by combatants, generally referred to as jus in bello. Next, the author evaluates the use of anti-personnel mines under jus in bello …

Peace And The Press: Media Rules During U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, Jennifer Lee

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years, U.N. peacekeeping operations have become an increasing focus of international military action and media coverage. While the military and the media have maintained a precarious balance in the United States between the military's objective of operational success and the media's call for uncensored reporting, the evolution and growing importance of U.N. peacekeeping offers new considerations to this balance. This Note examines the ability of the United Nations to affect the balance between the military and the media through the implementation of U.N. media rules during peacekeeping operations. This Note begins by reviewing the history of media coverage …

Securing The Strength Of The Renewed Npt: China, The Linchpin "Middle Kingdom", Gary J. Meise

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The consensus indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1995 and the more recent conclusion of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. which was supported by all five of the world's declared nuclear weapons states, allow for unprecedented optimism by nonproliferation experts regarding nuclear weapons proliferation curtailment and weapons reduction. These recent inroads into the accomplishment of NPT goals raise new questions. however. regarding the underlying commitment level of nuclear powers. China's proliferation record, in particular. is marred with inconsistencies, but its current economic growth and increasingly nonisolationist policies may cause China to reconsider its past noncompliance with the …

The Reemergence Of German Arms: How Far Will Germany's March Toward Full Use Of Military Force Go?, Walter J. Lemanski

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In 1994, the German Federal Constitutional Court handed down a landmark decision redefining the constitutionality of German use of military force. For more than forty years, the German government claimed that the German Constitution forbade the use of military forces for other than the defense of NATO territory. The Federal Constitutional Court, however, held that a majority vote of Parliament was all that was required to commit forces to military actions sanctioned by collective security agreements. In 1995, for the first time since World War II, Germany sent offensive military forces into a combat zone. These events raise the question …

On Demilitarizing A Palestinian "Entity" And The Golan Heights: An International Law Perspective, Louis R. Beres, Zalman Shoval

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

With the signing of the Oslo II Accord at the White House on September 28, 1995, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization codified the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in Judea and Samaria. Authors of this Accord argue that the security risks to Israel from the nascent Palestinian state could be reduced through appropriate forms of demilitarization. Similar arguments are being offered in relation to the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau currently in dispute between Israel and Syria. In this very timely and important Article, Professor Beres and Ambassador Shoval examine demilitarization in both contexts. They conclude, jurisprudential assurances notwithstanding, that …

The Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal: The Compatibility Of Peace, Politics, And International Law, Karl A. Hochkammer

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since 1991, a brutal war has raged among ethnic groups of the former Yugoslavia. Outraged by the atrocities that have pervaded the war, the United Nations established an international tribunal in 1993 to adjudicate violations of international humanitarian law committed in the Yugoslav conflict. Although well-intentioned, the Yugoslav Tribunal nevertheless may fail to accomplish its goals. A number of practical and legal obstacles may impede its success. In particular, the United Nations lack of physical control over the combatants in the Yugoslav conflict may frustrate the Tribunal's ability to bring accused war criminals to justice. This Note surveys the problems …

Non-Proliferation, Self-Defense, And The Korean Crisis, Mark E. Newcomb

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United Nations, the United States, and other interested governments have sought to minimize the proliferation of nuclear weapons. North Korea's apparent attempts to begin production of nuclear materials clearly undermine the goal of non-proliferation. Moreover, the introduction of nuclear weapons onto the Korean peninsula, a site of continued political and military tension, has added a threat of potential nuclear conflict. This Article investigates the history of the Korean crisis and places North Korea's attempt to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the context of the international non-proliferation regime and policy. The author then examines …

Preserving The Third Temple: Israel's Right Of Anticipatory Self-Defense Under International Law, Louis R. Beres

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Beres discusses certain political tensions in the Middle East and the appropriateness of preemptive military action by Israel. He concludes that the ongoing hostilities and threatening overtures by Israel's enemies could give Israel sufficient basis pursuant to international law to conduct preemptive strikes. Upon reaching this conclusion, Professor Beres considers the level of force Israel should employ in various preemptive or counter retaliation scenarios. While the degree of preemption is debatable, the author believes that the preservation of Israel may require some preemptive action in the near future.

The Nonproliferation Treaty And The "New World Order", Bryan L. Sutter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT or Treaty) faces either extinction or extension in 1995, when the NPT signatories will meet to decide its fate. Given the rapid changes in today's nuclear technology and political environment, many states have expressed reservations about extending the Treaty. This Note considers the implications of those reservations as well as arguments favoring extension. This Note reviews the birth of the atomic age and the terms of the NPT and examines the Treaty's strengths and weaknesses. The author concludes that the Treaty should remain in force and suggests strategies for maintaining the …

After The Gulf War: Prosecuting Iraqi Crimes Under The Rule Of Law, Louis R. Beres

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Beres proposes that Iraqi crimes committed during the Gulf War should be prosecuted under international law. He suggests that the United States should take the lead in this prosecution, utilizing a Nuremberg-style trial.

The Article first discusses history of the antigenocide regime in the international arena. The criminalization of genocide has been built upon the norms of international custom, natural law principles, and generally-accepted principles of law recognized by civilized nations. Moreover, evidence of this regime may be found in the Genocide Convention, the United Nations Charter, and other treaties and conventions.

Professor Beres next examines …

Short V. The Kingdom Of The Netherlands: Is It Time To Renegotiate The Nato Status Of Forces Agreement?, Steven J. Lepper

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Major Lepper examines an apparent irreconcilability between the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as reflected in the recent Dutch High Court decision of Short v. The Kingdom of the Netherlands. Staff Sergeant Short, a member of the United States Air Force, was charged with the murder of his wife. Under the SOFA, the Netherlands was obligated to surrender Short to the United States. It refused, basing its actions on its adherence to the ECHR and its concerns about the possible implementation of the death penalty in the United States.

The ECHR …