Digital Commons Network^™

What Is War? Terrorism As War After 9/11, Jane Gilliland Dalton

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

This paper addresses the topic of terrorism as war after September 11 th, 2001.

Application Of Human Rights Treaties Extraterritorially To Detention Of Combatants And Security Internees: Fuzzy Thinking All Around?, Michael J. Dennis

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The issue before our panel today is a subpart of a larger question: Are obligations assumed by states under international human rights treaties applicable extraterritorially during periods of armed conflict and military occupation?

Redefining Imminence: The Use Of Force Against Threats And Armed Attacks In The Twenty-First Century, Dominika Svarc

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Contemporary global security threats pose a serious challenge to the existing international legal regime on the use of force.

Review Of Conference: “The Reaffirmation Of Custom As An Important Source Of International Humanitarian Law”, Sabrina Balgamwalla

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

The Prosecution Of War Crimes: Military Commissions And The Procedural And Substantive Protections Beyond International Law, Tim Bakken

Fordham International Law Journal

This Article examines the procedures contained in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (“MCA”) and finds that they are consistent with the practice of prior military tribunals, domestic and international law, and recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The Article discusses specifically two questions that have arisen since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Congress's subsequent passage of the MCA. First, do the procedures in the MCA comport with international standards? The Article considers the procedures arising from international agreements and those used in military tribunals during and after World War II, the international tribunals for Rwanda, …

Legal Pluralism Between Islam And The Nation-State: Romantic Medievalism Or Pragmatic Modernity?, Sherman A. Jackson

Fordham International Law Journal

This Essay attempts a reconciliation of sorts between two perspectives on legal pluralism, via specific reference to Islamic law, most notably in its pre-modern guise. The Essay begins with a provisional commitment to legal centralism, but primarily as a means of securing a functional place for sub-State reglementary regimes. To this end, legal centralism, as presented, is tempered by a demonstration that, even where the State enjoys an exclusive monopoly on the application of sanctions with impunity, it need not be the actual source of every rule it recognizes or applies as law.

Jack Bauer And The Rule Of Law: The Case Of Extraordinary Rendition, James R. Silkenat, Peter M. Norman

Fordham International Law Journal

This Essay examines the Bush Administration's use of a tactic in the “War on Terror” called “extraordinary rendition.” The term extraordinary rendition refers to the process by which alleged terrorists are captured by the U.S. Government, transferred to another country, interrogated, and possibly tortured--all without judicial involvement--so the U.S. Government may attempt to uncover possible terrorist activity. Extraordinary rendition thus differs from ordinary forms of rendition, since the latter refers broadly to any circumstance where a government takes or transfers custody of a person by means of procedures outside those of extradition treaties.

Kriegsraison Or Military Necessity? The Bush Administration's Wilhelmine Attitude Towards The Conduct Of War, Scott Horton

Fordham International Law Journal

One phrase from a memorandum issued by President George W. Bush early in the War on Terror offers an effective summary of a radically transformed military doctrine. “As a matter of policy,” Bush wrote, “the United States Armed Forces shall continue to treat detainees humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva.” The statement offered a sense of assurance of continuity of U.S. military doctrine, which many generations viewed as being at or near the vanguard in assuring high standards for the treatment of military prisoners. This was …

Remarks By An Idealist On The Realism Of 'The Limits Of International Law', Kenneth Anderson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This paper is a response to Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner, 'The Limits of International Law' (Oxford 2005), part of a symposium on the book held at the University of Georgia Law School in October 2005. The review views 'The Limits of International Law' sympathetically, and focuses on the intersection between traditional and new methodologies of international law scholarship, on the one hand, and the substantive political commitments that differing international law scholars hold, on the other. The paper notes that some in the symposium claim that the problem with 'The Limits of International Law' is that it …

The Territorial Temptation: A Siren Song At Sea, Bernard H. Oxman

Articles

No abstract provided.

After The 1991 Gulf War Ended, The Shiite Population In Southern Iraq And The Kurdish Population In Northern Iraq Revolted Against The Iraqi Government... : Deliberate Attacks, Imams From These Mosques Were Providing Medical Treatment And Shelter To Injured Civilians And Insurgents..., Emily J. Peters

War Crimes Memoranda

. 3) Iraqi troops entered hospitals in Basrah and Karbala and summarily murdered any males between the age of 12 and 70. Iraqi troops also murdered, tortured, and raped medical personnel who had provided treatment to insurgents. 4) Ali Hassan Al Majid rounded up male civilians (of fighting age) and ordered them to drink petrol. After these men drank the petrol, Al Majid ordered his troops to fire or personally fired himself tracer bullets into the victims so that the petrol would ignite and the victim would explode. This tactic was used to intimidate people into offering information about insurgent …

Do Any Of The Following Acts, Which Occurred During Iraq’S Invasion And Occupation Of Kuwait, Constitute Crimes Under The Iht Statute: (1) The Removal Of Food, Medical Supplies, And Medical Equipment From Kuwait To Iraq; (2) The Destruction Of Kuwaiti Assets And Infrastructures; And (3) The Destruction Of Kuwaiti Oil Wells And Oil Refineries, And The Deliberate Release Of Oil Into The Persian Gulf?, Andrew M. Katz

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Many Legal Scholars And Defense Attorneys Appearing Before The Iht Have Argued That, Under Relevant Principles Of International Law, A State Cannot Recognize The Consequences Of An Illegal Action…, Brian J. Field

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

The Applicability Of Article 3 Common To The Geneva Conventions To The Prosecution Of The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, Kelly Sheahen

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

September 11th, A Citizen's Responses (Continued), George Anastaplo

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Polemics In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerome Slater

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. 264pp.

and

Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History by Norman G. Finkelstein. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. 332pp.

Human Rights In El Salvador, Tait Robinson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Between 1979 and 1991 El Salvador was embroiled in a civil war that claimed over 70,000 lives. Longstanding socio-economic inequality between the rich and poor led to government-backed human rights abuses dispensed by the military. These ranged from denials of freedom and civil liberties to village massacres.

Human Rights In Guatemala, Jennifer Archibald

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Thirty six years of civil war affected human rights negatively in Guatemala. Many actors that violated human rights were also victims of human rights violations; a complex series of events that has still not been fully resolved today.

Human Rights In Honduras, Andrea Degaetani

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Honduras’ history of human rights violations is rooted in a political culture of militarization. Following a military coup in 1963, Honduras faced strengthened military authority and a decade of harsh military rule. It was also during this time that the United States used the country as a base for Contras fighting leftist Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In 1981 Honduras returned to a parliamentary democracy, electing Roberto Suazo Cordova as president. However, by then the process of militarization had been so heavily funded by the U.S and had made such a significant impact on public policy that little changed for the better. …

Guantanamo And U.S. Law, Joseph C. Sweeney

Fordham International Law Journal

This Article deals with the United States' presence at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the domestic and international law issues that have arisen, and the nature of the jurisdiction exercised there by the United States. It does not deal with the operation of the prison facility. Guantanamo Bay is near the eastern end of Cuba, 628 miles (1000 km) from the capital, Havana. It is a deep-water harbor, protected by hills from the extremes of Caribbean weather; but it has an unhealthy tropical climate. The forty-five square miles of the Guantanamo Naval Base have been occupied by the United States since the …

Has Conduct In Iraq Confirmed The Moral Inadequacy Of International Humanitarian Law? Examining The Confluence Between Contract Theory And The Scope Of Civilian Immunity During Armed Conflict, 16 Duke J. Comp. & Int'l L. 249 (2006), Samuel Vincent Jones

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

South Korea's National Security Law: A Tool Of Oppression In An Insecure World, Diane B. Kraft

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In September 2004, the ruling party in South Korea, along with two opposition parties, called for the abolishment of the 1948 anti-communist National Security Law. The following month, Amnesty International, a long-time critic of the law, officially called for the law's repeal. The law had been enacted in 1948 in response to threats from communist North Korea, but has long been used by the government to silence legitimate opposition in South Korea. This Comment will examine South Korea's National Security Law as viewed by its domestic supporters and critics, as well as by the international community. Part I will consider …

Seeking The Best Forum To Prosecute International War Crimes: Proposed Paradigms And Solutions, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article will focus on some of the practical considerations underlying the decision to resort to a particular type of prosecution: international, hybrid, or national. Part II of this Article will describe the ICTY's referral of the Ademi/Norac case to Croatian national courts, focusing on the reasons underlying the referral, as well as on the appropriateness of the referral in light of international criminal law. Part III will then focus on the Special Court, in an effort to assess whether such a hybrid tribunal is a better form of international justice. Finally, Part IV will outline certain paradigms in an …

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold War: Intelligence And International Law, Simon Chesterman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article will focus on the narrower questions of whether obtaining secret intelligence-that is, without the consent of the state that controls the information-is subject to international legal norms or constraints, and what restrictions, if any, control the use of this information once obtained. Traditional approaches to the question of the legitimacy of spying, when even asked, typically settle on one of two positions: either collecting secret intelligence remains illegal despite consistent practice, or apparent tolerance has led to a "deep but reluctant admission of the lawfulness of such intelligence gathering, when conducted within customary normative limits.” Other writers have …

Pro-Democratic Intervention In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt

Journal Publications

In the past twenty years the people of the African continent have experienced human suffering on a scale unparalleled in human history. For the past decade I have examined and documented the evolution of Africa's peacekeeping, peace enforcement, regional collective security, and conflict management landscape as well as Africa's contribution to international law, particularly as it relates to the jus ad bellum, "the law of the use of force". Although an abundance of scholarly work and official studies have examined the complexities of humanitarian intervention, only a select body of credible work has considered the phenomenon of pro-democratic intervention (PDI)--very …

Illegal Peace?: An Inquiry Into The Legality Of Power-Sharing With Warlords And Rebels In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt

Journal Publications

When warlords use violence to coerce democratically constituted governments to share power, does power-sharing simply become a euphemism for "guns for jobs"? Which legal rules, if any, govern peace agreements in internal conflicts? Specifically, which rules regulate power-sharing? Are the aims of peace, justice, and adherence to the rule of law attainable, let alone compatible, with coerced political transitions where warlords force democratically constituted or legitimate governments to share power?

This Article represents the first conscientious attempt to address these questions, present a conceptual framework for examining the legal and political efficacy of coercing democratically constituted governments into sharing power, …

Transnational Communication And Defamatory Speech: A Case For Establishing Norms For The Twenty-First Century, David Goldberg

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of International Law In Post-Conflict Constitution-Making: Toward A Jus Post Bellum For “Interim Occupations”, Jean L. Cohen

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Paradigms For The Jus Ad Bellum?, Jane E. Stromseth

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

I am delighted to be here today to honor Ed Cummings, a wonderful colleague and a source of great wisdom for so many of us. I first worked with Ed in the Legal Adviser's Office in the late 1980s. More than fifteen years later, Ed is still the person I turn to for insight on the most difficult issues in the law of armed conflict. Most memorably of all, while serving at the National Security Council in 1999, I worked closely with Ed in achieving an important treaty milestone: the Procotol restricting the use of child soldiers in armed conflict …

U.S. Counterterrorism Policy And Superpower Compliance With International Human Rights Norms, Kenneth Anderson

Fordham International Law Journal

Our specific topic is Guantanamo, but in my brief remarks I would like to take the long view of U.S. counterterrorism policy (including Guantanamo) and link it to the question of the compliance of the United States, as today's superpower, with international human rights norms, its relationship to the United Nations and, speaking very broadly, international law norms as conceived by the international community. This is partly a question of the relationship of U.S. counterterrorism policy to international law. But it is also a question of the relationship of the superpower to the rest of the international community, and in …