Digital Commons Network^™

Searching For Peace And Achieving Justice: The Need For Accountability, M. Cherif Bassiouni

Law and Contemporary Problems

Despite a high level of mass violence in the post-war years, there have been few prosecutions at the international or national level. Impunity for such crimes is a betrayal of human solidarity with the victims.

Swimming The New Stream: The Disjunctions Between And Within Popular And Academic International Law, Jason Mark Anderman

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

Ilsa Journal Of International & Comparative Law, Ilsa Journal Of International & Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

International Law And Antipersonnel Land Mines, Luke T. Lee

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Antipersonnel (A/P) land mines are devastating weapons not only during, but also after, warfare or armed conflicts. There still exist an estimated 85 million mines, or one for every 50 people on earth, scattered in 62 countries that kill and maim some 26,000 innocent civilians each year. In Cambodia and Angola, for example, there are more than 30,000 and 20,000 amputees, respectively, who are victims of mine incidents.

Ilsa Journal Of International & Comparative Law, Ilsa Journal Of International & Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The concept of intellectual property, or ideas protected by patents, copyrights, and trademarks, has been around since at least the 13^th century. However, it is only in the last decade that "piracy," or the illegal copying and selling of copywritten or patented material, has become a contentious issue in trade negotiations between the nations of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

International Law And Anti-Personnel Landmines, Ariane Sand-Trigo

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Antipersonnel land mines are among the deadliest and most insidious weapons in the world today: their aim is to maim for life, they cannot distinguish between the footfall of a soldier and that of a child and they recognize no cease-fire or end to war. More than 110 million active mines are scattered in sixty-four countries and the problem is growing worse at a dramatic rate.

International Law And Anti-Personnel Land Mines, Stephen Goose

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Human Rights Watch was one of the six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that initiated the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines in 1992. The Campaign calls for a comprehensive international ban on the production, stockpiling, trade and use of antipersonnel land mines. It also calls for increased international resources for mine clearance and victim assistance programs.

A Comparative And Critical Assessment Of Estoppel In International Law, Christopher Brown

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Preaching Propriety To Princes: Grotius, Lipsius, And Neo-Stoic International Law, Christopher A. Ford

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

International Environmental Law: The Impact And Implications Of Municipal Environmental Law, Harry H. Almond Jr.

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

States universally claim access to authority and control over events and persons. States exercise power within their territories primarily to maintain and promote public order, protect their assets and wealth, and ensure the public safety. The end result of these actions is law. The operational element of law involves combinations invoking cooperation, reciprocity in treatment and behavior, and dispute management and settlement.

Legal Restraints In The Use Of Landmines: Humanitarian And Environmental Crisis, Janet E. Lord

Book Chapters

Landmines may be one of the most widespread, lethal, and long lasting forms of pollution we have yet encountered, and we are currently losing the battle to protect innocent civilians from their effects.

The Meaning Of Terrorism--Jurisprudential And Definitional Clarifications, Louis R. Beres

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines contemporary definitions of terrorism and determines that they are inadequate. The author describes five specific types of problems with current definitions and offers an appropriate scholarly remedy. This Article concludes, inter alia, that the United States should reject narrow, geopolitical definitions of terrorism. Instead, it should articulate and apply a single unambiguous standard that incorporates the requirements of just cause and just means. Absent evidence of these two elements, the insurgent use of force should be regarded as terrorism. This clearer and more objective definition will enable the United States to approach and address adversarial uses of …

Why Redraw The Map Of Africa: A Legal And Moral Inquiry, Makau Wa Mutua

Journal Articles

This article questions the legitimacy of the African state and the imperial cartography on which it is based. It argues that African states are conceptually faulty because they are the crude and thoughtless handiworks of European colonial powers. It is the artificiality of the African state that has been responsible for its failure to cohere into a nation that is viable. The piece argues for geographic and normative re-articulation of the African state - by smashing the current states - to endow them with moral, political, and legal legitimacy. It concludes that democratic entities are unlikely to develop where pre-colonial …

The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure In The Context Of Transnational Law, George K. Walker

Law and Contemporary Problems

The development of exceptions in the Rules of Civil Procedure and federal statutes that apply only to litigants outside the US is explored. The Rules should not make exceptions on a blanket basis, as some proposals indicate.

Forging Finality: Searching For A Solution To The International Double-Suit Dilemma, Julie E. Dowler

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

International Abductions, Low Intensity Conflicts, And State Sovereignty: A Moral Inquiry, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

What are the moral principles bearing on operations such as an international abduction? International abductions are part of a larger category of international acts referred to as "low-intensity" operations. Can these acts be morally justified in time of peace? Can one nation, for example, rightfully claim that abductions of persons who are suspected of horrendous crimes by agents of another country violate the first country's sovereignty? Does the interest of the other country in bringing such persons to trial outweigh that sovereignty claim? If not, what interest of the second country could possibly justify the abduction? In any case, are …

On Terrorism: Reflections On Violence And The Outlaw, Ileana Porras

Articles

No abstract provided.

Straightening The "Timber": Toward A New Paradigm Of International Law, Louis R. Beres

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Immanuel Kant once remarked: " Out of timber so crooked as that from which man is made, nothing entirely straight can be built." Understood in terms of international law, this philosopher's wisdom points toward a far-reaching departure from traditional emphases on structures of global power and authority. Newly aware that structural alterations of international law are always epiphenomenal, ignoring root causes of international crimes in favor of their symptomatic expressions, we could craft from this departure a new and promising jurisprudence. Acknowledging that human transformations must lie at the heart of all world-order reform, we could build upon the knowledge …

Deportation And Transfer Of Civilians In Time Of War, Jean-Marie Henckaerts

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, the Author discusses the international law prohibiting the deportation and transfer of civilians during times of war. The Author first focuses on Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, describing its genesis and its character as customary international law. The Author examines several specific instances of illegal deportations in Kuwait, the former Yugoslavia, and the Israeli-occupied territories, and discusses the application of Geneva IV to these situations. He concludes that more should be done to enforce international law prohibiting the transfer of civilians during times of war and to punish states for engaging in massive deportation.

International Agreement Obligations After The Soviet Union's Break-Up, Lucinda Love

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Focusing on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the author explores whether international law is consistent with respect to the succession of states to treaty obligations. This Note examines whether the republics of the former Soviet Union are held bound by treaties made by the U.S.S.R.

The Note discusses whether the current practice of the United States regarding treaties with the former Soviet Union is consistent with international law. The author concludes that international law in this area is not well settled. The United States treatment of the former Soviet republics is consistent with some sources of law, but not …

Post-Totalitarian Politics, Guyora Binder

Journal Articles

This review essay examines two Hegelian responses to the unexpected collapse of communism, both published in 1992: The End of History by Francis Fukuyama and Civil Society and Political Theory by Jean Cohen and Andrew Arato. Fukuyama’s book famously predicted that the triumph of markets would lead to the end of armed conflict. Cohen & Arato celebrated the role of civil society activists in overthrowing communism, and proposed that first world progressives follow a similar path to reform. This review essay argues that Fukuyama’s interpretation of Hegel as a cold war liberal ignores Hegel’s warnings about the anomic and antisocial …

Jag Corps Poised For New Defense Missions: Human Rights Training In Peru, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

The National Command Authority has cited the dissolution of the Soviet Union as cause for the United States Military to expand its role. In addition to its traditional role of fighting wars, the military will take on new nontraditional roles promoting human rights and the rule of law throughout the world. These new military missions will include peacekeeping operations, humanitarian interventions, disaster relief missions, counter-drug activities, and nation-building activities.

As part of this initiative, the United States Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) provides legal assistance to the militaries of several emerging and struggling democracies. A number of foreign armies and …

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 Legal Regime Of Enclosed Or Semi-Enclosed Seas: The Particular Case Of The Mediterranean, Paul Gormley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention has not only codified the relatively scant corpus of international law relating to the rubrics of enclosed semi-enclosed seas, but it has also given some guidance toward the future evolution of this unique body of sea law. Accordingly the underlying thesis advanced by a number of distinguished authors at a conference - convened by the Inter-University Center in Dubrovnik - is that the Law of the Sea Convention does not represent a definitive or complete corpus of law; rather the general articles will acquire substance from state practice, bilateral agreements between …

Conscientious Objection And International Law: A Human Right, Marie-France Major

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Oil In The Persian Gulf War: Legal Appraisal Of An Environmental Warfare., Margaret T. Okorodudu-Fubara

St. Mary's Law Journal

Oil, modern history’s most “powerful” natural economic resource stood at the epicenter of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and became the latest unconventional weapon of warfare. The objective of this Article is to assess the legal implications of this recent environmental warfare involving the “oil weapon,” the first of its kind in recorded history. The experiences from national and international wars demonstrate one sure victim of wars, even barring human losses, is the environment. The delicacy of mankind’s planetary ecosystem necessitates urgency addressed to protecting the environment in the international struggle for arms control and disarmament agreement. This Article indicates …

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 …

Forward And Preface - Volume 64

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Moving International Law From Theory To Practice: The Role Of Military Manuals In Effectuating The Law Of Armed Conflict, W. Michael Reisman, William K. Leitzau

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.