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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in National Security Law
Defensive Force Against Non-State Actors: The State Of Play, Monica Hakimi
Defensive Force Against Non-State Actors: The State Of Play, Monica Hakimi
Articles
This article assesses the implications of the current Syria situation for the international law on the use of defensive force against non-State actors. The law in this area is highly unsettled, with multiple legal positions in play. After mapping the legal terrain, the article shows that the Syria situation accentuates three preexisting trends. First, the claim that international law absolutely prohibits the use of defensive force against non-State actors is increasingly difficult to sustain. States, on the whole, have supported the operation against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. Second, States still have not coalesced around a legal standard on …
Reconceptualizing States Of Emergency Under International Human Rights Law: Theory, Legal Doctrine, And Politics, Scott P. Sheeran
Reconceptualizing States Of Emergency Under International Human Rights Law: Theory, Legal Doctrine, And Politics, Scott P. Sheeran
Michigan Journal of International Law
States of emergency are today one of the most serious challenges to the implementation of international human rights law (IHRL). They have become common practice and are associated with severe human rights violations as evidenced by the Arab Spring. The international jurisprudence on states of emergency is inconsistent and divergent, and what now constitutes a public emergency is ubiquitous. This trend is underpinned by excessive judicial deference and abdication of the legal review of states' often dubious claims of a state of emergency. The legal regime, as positively expressed in international human rights treaties, does not adequately reflect the underlying …
Questioning The Peremptory Status Of The Prohibition Of The Use Of Force, James A. Green
Questioning The Peremptory Status Of The Prohibition Of The Use Of Force, James A. Green
Michigan Journal of International Law
It is incontrovertible that the prohibition of the unilateral use of force is a fundamental aspect of the United Nations (U.N.) era system for governing the relations between states. Given this fact, the prohibition, as set out most crucially in Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, is often seen as the archetypal example of a jus cogens norm (a "peremptory norm" of general international law). Certainly, an overwhelming majority of scholars view the prohibition as having a peremptory character. Similarly, the International Law Commission (ILC) has taken this view and it is arguable that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) …
The Use Of Force Against States That Might Have Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Matthew C. Waxman
The Use Of Force Against States That Might Have Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Matthew C. Waxman
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article argues that the most difficult future crises for which this legal debate is most consequential will not resemble those described by Prime Minister Thatcher or Director ElBaradei. Rather, in confronting potentially hostile and aggressive states believed to pose a WMD threat, decisionmakers contemplating the use of force will face an intelligence picture that is open to reasonable debate (contra Thatcher) and irresolvable to high levels of certainty (contra ElBaradei). This paper examines how competing legal approaches deal with this epistemic problem.
"Change Direction" 2006: Israeli Operations In Lebanon And The International Law Of Self-Defense, Michael N. Schmitt
"Change Direction" 2006: Israeli Operations In Lebanon And The International Law Of Self-Defense, Michael N. Schmitt
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article explores and assesses the Israeli justification for Operation Change Direction. Did the law of self-defense provide a basis for the operation? If so, defense against whom-Hezbollah, the State of Lebanon, or both? Were the Israeli actions consistent with the criteria for a lawful defensive action: necessity, proportionality, and immediacy? Did Operation Change Direction unlawfully breach Lebanese territorial integrity?
Civil Aircraft As Weapons Of Large-Scale Destruction: Countermeasures, Article 3bis Of The Chicago Convention, And The Newly Adopted German "Luftsicherheitsgesetz", Robin Geiß
Michigan Journal of International Law
It is thus the aim of this Article to map out the international legal framework relevant for designing countermeasures against nonstate actors who convert civil aircraft into weapons of destruction. As a first step, this Article sketches out the applicable rules relating to international civil aviation security and highlights the dichotomy between nonstate actor threats and interstate threats at the base of these rules. As will be seen below, nonstate actors abusing civil aircraft as weapons of destruction is a new challenge not only in terms of destructive quality but also in a legal sense, in that the question of …
Article 9 Of The Constitution Of Japan And The Use Of Procedural And Substantive Heuristics For Consensus, Mark A. Chinen
Article 9 Of The Constitution Of Japan And The Use Of Procedural And Substantive Heuristics For Consensus, Mark A. Chinen
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article’s purpose is to examine the revision debates through the lens of recent scholarship on constitutional decisionmaking to see what lessons might be drawn about constitutionalism in Japan and elsewhere. In Part I, the author discusses Article 9's text and interpretation and focus on three controversies: first, Japan's ability to use force to defend itself and the related issue of the constitutionality of the Japan Self Defense Force (SDF); second, Japan's ability to engage in collective self-defense, which impacts the state's security relationship with the United States under the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Agreement; and finally, Japan's ability to participate …
The War Against Iraq And The Future Of International Law: Hegemony Or Pluralism?, Andreas Paulus
The War Against Iraq And The Future Of International Law: Hegemony Or Pluralism?, Andreas Paulus
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article is devoted to the question of the future relevance of international law at a time when the idea of a "rule of law" in international affairs seems to be waning. Why should the sole superpower look to international law in its quest for protection from dangers of weapons of mass destruction and terrorists? Is the European insistence on questions of legality, which was visible in the dramatic British attempts to secure some kind of Security Council backing and to advance international legal arguments for its participation in the invasion of Iraq, more than a fig leaf for a …
Preemptive Strategies In International Law, Michael N. Schmitt
Preemptive Strategies In International Law, Michael N. Schmitt
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article explores the appropriateness of preemptive strategies in international law. Are preemptive actions approved by the international community lawful? Can States act unilaterally or in a coalition of the willing to preempt terrorism, the development and transfer of WMD, or other threats? If so, under what circumstances and based on what quantum and quality of evidence? When can preemptive actions be taken against non-State actors such as terrorists who are based in other States?
Clear And Present Danger: Enforcing The International Ban On Biological And Chemical Weapons Through Sanctions, Use Of Force, And Criminalization, Michael P. Scharf
Clear And Present Danger: Enforcing The International Ban On Biological And Chemical Weapons Through Sanctions, Use Of Force, And Criminalization, Michael P. Scharf
Michigan Journal of International Law
Currently there are two means of enforcing the international prohibition of chemical and biological weapons. First, the international community can induce compliance through imposition of sanctions, such as trade embargoes, freezing of assets and diplomatic isolation. Second, when sanctions fail, States can individually or collectively respond to the threat of chemical or biological weapons by using military force. After exploring the potential strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, this article examines the desirability of supplementing them with a third approach based on the criminal prosecution of persons responsible for the production, stockpiling, transfer, or use of chemical and biological weapons.
The Right To Self-Defense Once The Security Council Takes Action, Malvina Halberstam
The Right To Self-Defense Once The Security Council Takes Action, Malvina Halberstam
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article discusses the views of these commentators in the light of the language, history, and policies underlying Article 51. It concludes that the Charter was not intended to and should not be interpreted to deny a state the right of self-defense, even if the Security Council has taken measures to deal with the problem; if states are to cede their right to self-defense once the Security Council has taken measures, that should be made explicit.
The "Privatization" Of Security Council Enforcement Action: A Threat To Multilateralism, John Quigley
The "Privatization" Of Security Council Enforcement Action: A Threat To Multilateralism, John Quigley
Michigan Journal of International Law
In-the post-Cold War period, the United Nations Security Council has emerged from a side show of international politics to center stage. It has acted to repel aggression, to promote humanitarian efforts, and to enforce democracy. This flowering of activity holds the potential for achieving concerted international action to remedy situations involving great human misery.