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Full-Text Articles in Law
Delegating Peace Enforcement Missions- But To Whom? What The U.N.'S Recent Recommendation Reveals About Today's Crisis In Legitimate Actors For Robust Peace Operations, Karima Tawfik
Michigan Law Review Online
This Essay argues that in assessing whether or not to move towards the U.N. panel’s proposed model that champions regional actors and ad hoc coalitions over the U.N. itself, the international community must weigh the marginal costs and benefits of this plan. This essay follows the U.N. panel’s call for the international community to derive lessons from the past by examining three case studies where regional actors and ad hoc coalitions, rather than the U.N., have embarked on peace enforcement missions. It argues that if the international community chooses to follow the U.N. panel’s recommendation on deferring to regional actors …
Rescuing Policy And Terror Victims: A Concerted Approach To The Ransom Dilemma, C. Elizabeth Bundy
Rescuing Policy And Terror Victims: A Concerted Approach To The Ransom Dilemma, C. Elizabeth Bundy
Michigan Journal of International Law
Part I of this Note will analyze the current framework governing hostage situations to determine the permissibility of ransom payments under international law. Part II will examine the two dominant positions that have developed among states and identify the justifications and shortcomings of each. Part III will conclude, firstly, that for states to develop a multilateral approach to hostage situations, they must take the lead within their respective domestic spheres and, secondly, that the option to negotiate for ransomed release should be preserved as an essential tool for confronting terrorist organizations.
Identifying The Start Of Conflict: Conflict Recognition, Operational Realities And Accountability In The Post-9/11 World, Laurie R. Blank, Benjamin R. Farley
Identifying The Start Of Conflict: Conflict Recognition, Operational Realities And Accountability In The Post-9/11 World, Laurie R. Blank, Benjamin R. Farley
Michigan Journal of International Law
On December 19, 2008, the Convening Authority for the United States Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay referred charges against Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu Al-Nashiri for his role in the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. The charge sheet alleged that al-Nashiri committed several acts—including murder in violation of the law of war, perfidy, destruction of property—”in the context of and associated with armed conflict” on or about October 12, 2000 in connection with the bombing. At the time of the attack, the statement that the United States was engaged in an armed conflict would have been a surprise …
The Future Of The Law Of Armed Conflict: Ostriches, Butterflies, And Nanobots , Eric Talbot Jensen
The Future Of The Law Of Armed Conflict: Ostriches, Butterflies, And Nanobots , Eric Talbot Jensen
Michigan Journal of International Law
The historical fact that the law of armed conflict (LOAC) has always lagged behind current methods of warfare does not mean that it always must. This Article will argue that the underlying assumption that law must be reactive is not an intrinsic reality inherent in effective armed conflict governance. Rather, just as military practitioners work steadily to predict new threats and defend against them, LOAC practitioners need to focus on the future of armed conflict and attempt to be proactive in evolving the law to meet future needs.
War Is Governance: Explaining The Logic Of The Laws Of War From A Principal-Agent Perspective, Eyal Benvenisti, Amichai Cohen
War Is Governance: Explaining The Logic Of The Laws Of War From A Principal-Agent Perspective, Eyal Benvenisti, Amichai Cohen
Michigan Law Review
What is the purpose of the international law on armed conflict, and why would opponents bent on destroying each other’s capabilities commit to and obey rules designed to limit their choice of targets, weapons, and tactics? Traditionally, answers to this question have been offered on the one hand by moralists who regard the law as being inspired by morality and on the other by realists who explain this branch of law on the basis of reciprocity. Neither side’s answers withstand close scrutiny. In this Article, we develop an alternative explanation that is based on the principal–agent model of domestic governance. …
"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?
State Intelligence Gathering: Conflict Of Laws, Charles H.B. Garraway
State Intelligence Gathering: Conflict Of Laws, Charles H.B. Garraway
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article begins with an examination of the development of the law of war (Part II) and human rights law (Part III) before looking at the differing legal categories of armed conflict (Part IV). It then examines the applicability of human rights law in situations of armed conflict (Part V) and the increasing complexity of defining violence, whether as armed conflict or otherwise (Part VI). The Article proceeds with an examination of the overlap between the law of war and human rights law (Part VII) and the risk of divergence that this overlap causes (Part VIII). Finally, it seeks to …
What's International Law Got To Do With It? Transnational Law And The Intelligence Mission, James E. Baker
What's International Law Got To Do With It? Transnational Law And The Intelligence Mission, James E. Baker
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article describes a continuum of contemporary threats to U.S. national security, with a focus on nonstate terrorism. Part III addresses the role of intelligence and national security law, and in particular law addressed to process, in combating these threats. Good process advances the liberty and safety interests embodied in the concept of national security. Good process improves the quality of decision. It also enhances accountability, which in turn improves decision. Where good process is defined in law to include executive directive, it is better insulated from the immediate imperatives of secrecy and speed.
A Sign Of "Weakness"? Disrupting Gender Certainties In The Implementation Of Security Council Resolution 1325, Dianne Otto
A Sign Of "Weakness"? Disrupting Gender Certainties In The Implementation Of Security Council Resolution 1325, Dianne Otto
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
This Article will examine whether efforts to implement the Resolution suggest new ways to address the old problems: the reliance on stereotyped gender representations to rally women in the cause of peace and the vexed strategic question of how movements for transformative change might influence the mainstream institutions of international law and politics. The first concerns the way that the category of gender is deployed by women's peace activism and by international institutions as they respond to it. The author’s question is whether it is possible to rally women to promote peace, while also challenging the gender dichotomies that underpin …
Is Poetry A War Crime? Reckoning For Radovan Karadzic The Poet-Warrior, Jay Surdukowski
Is Poetry A War Crime? Reckoning For Radovan Karadzic The Poet-Warrior, Jay Surdukowski
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Note will suggest that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) can use Karadzic's texts and affectations to warrior poetry in the pretrial brief and in admitted evidence, if and when Karadzic ultimately appears for trial. The violent nationalism of radio broadcasts, political journals, speeches, interviews, and manifestos have been fair game for the Office of the Prosecutor to make their cases in the last decade in both the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals. Why should poetry, perhaps the most powerful maker of myth and in the Yugoslavia context, a great mover …
Sexual Slavery And The International Criminal Court: Advancing International Law, Valerie Oosterveld
Sexual Slavery And The International Criminal Court: Advancing International Law, Valerie Oosterveld
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article explores the advancement of the international crime of sexual slavery, from its initial inclusion in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court through further development in the delineation of the ICC's Elements of Crime document. This Article begins with a detailed exploration of the negotiation process that led to the inclusion of the crime of sexual slavery in the Rome Statute. The first Section describes the decision to include both sexual slavery and enforced prostitution as crimes, as well as the debate on listing sexual slavery as a crime separate from that of enslavement. Next, the Section …
The Promise Of Truth Commissions In Times Of Transition, Mariah Jackson Christensen
The Promise Of Truth Commissions In Times Of Transition, Mariah Jackson Christensen
Michigan Journal of International Law
Review of Unspeakable Truths: Confronting State Terror and Atrocity by Priscilla B. Hayner
Antiterrorism Military Commissions: Courting Illegality, Jordan J. Paust
Antiterrorism Military Commissions: Courting Illegality, Jordan J. Paust
Michigan Journal of International Law
On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a sweeping and highly controversial Military Order for the purpose of creating military commissions with exclusive jurisdiction to try certain designated foreign nationals "for violations of the laws of war and other applicable laws" relevant to any prior or future "acts of international terrorism." The Order reaches far beyond the congressional authorization given the President "to use all necessary and appropriate force," including "use of the United States Armed Forces," against those involved in the September 11th attack "in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by …
The Post-Conflict Transitional Administration Of Kosovo And The Lessons-Learned In Efforts To Establish A Judiciary And Rule Of Law, Wendy S. Betts, Scott N. Carlson, Gregory Grisvold
The Post-Conflict Transitional Administration Of Kosovo And The Lessons-Learned In Efforts To Establish A Judiciary And Rule Of Law, Wendy S. Betts, Scott N. Carlson, Gregory Grisvold
Michigan Journal of International Law
The study of post-conflict Kosovo presents an important opportunity to distill lessons that can provide guidance for future post-conflict, transitional administrations. The lessons-learned from an analysis of any post-conflict setting are many and varied. The goal of this short paper is limited to the identification of key lessons-learned in the effort to reestablish the judiciary and rule of law in post-conflict Kosovo. Even within this limited setting, this paper is not intended to provide exhaustive coverage of the issue. Rather, it is intended to provide the reader with basic information and central themes that are essential to a discussion of …
Rush To Closure: Lessons Of The Tadić Judgment, Jose E. Alvarez
Rush To Closure: Lessons Of The Tadić Judgment, Jose E. Alvarez
Michigan Law Review
In 1993 and 1994, following allegations of mass atrocities, including systematic killings, rapes, and other horrific forms of violence in Rwanda and the territories of the former Yugoslavia, two ad hoc international war crimes tribunals were established to prosecute individuals for grave violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide. As might be expected, advocates for the creation of these entities - the first international courts to prosecute individuals under international law since the trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo after World War II - aspired to grand goals inspired by, but extending far beyond, the pedestrian aims of ordinary criminal prosecutions. …
Force Without Law: Seeking A Legal Justification For The September 1996 U.S. Military Intervention In Iraq, Gavin A. Symes
Force Without Law: Seeking A Legal Justification For The September 1996 U.S. Military Intervention In Iraq, Gavin A. Symes
Michigan Journal of International Law
This note concludes that none of the various legal arguments offered in support of the September 1996 military intervention against Iraq adequately justifies U.S. actions under international law and that in fact international law was never a real concern in planning, implementing, or even justifying the intervention. Part I relates the general history of the "Kurdish problem" and the particulars of the incident under scrutiny. This Part then goes on to describe the aftermath of the intervention and its failure to achieve any of the stated goals of the United States. Part II addresses the general validity under international law …
The Right To Return Under International Law Following Mass Dislocation: The Bosnia Precedent?, Eric Rosand
The Right To Return Under International Law Following Mass Dislocation: The Bosnia Precedent?, Eric Rosand
Michigan Journal of International Law
On the night of May 2, 1997, some twenty-five abandoned Serb houses were set on fire in the Croat-controlled municipality of Drvar, part of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was clear from all the circumstances that Croats organized the arson of houses in Drvar to obstruct the return of the original Serb residents to the area. Croat authorities then made a concerted effort to resettle displaced Croats in Drvar in order to solidify a stretch of "ethnically-pure" territory adjacent to the Republic of Croatia. These displaced Bosnian Serbs are just a few of the estimated 2.3 million …
State Successions And Statelessness: The Emerging Right To An Effective Nationality Under International Law, Jeffrey L. Blackman
State Successions And Statelessness: The Emerging Right To An Effective Nationality Under International Law, Jeffrey L. Blackman
Michigan Journal of International Law
This paper surveys some of the recent developments in international law relating to nationality and state succession, and suggests a growing convergence among several legal principles-specifically the principle of effective nationality, the individual right to a nationality and the corresponding duty of states to prevent statelessness, and the norm of nondiscrimination. At some point this convergence of such diverse areas of law as nationality, diplomatic protection, and human rights will impose positive duties on successor states with respect to their inherited populations: namely the duty to secure effective nationality for persons affected by state succession.
Slow Down: New Interventionism, Yubo Song
Slow Down: New Interventionism, Yubo Song
Michigan Journal of International Law
Review of The New Interventionism 1991-1994: United Nations Experience in Cambodia, Former Yugoslavia and Somalia (James Mayall ed.)
The Emptiness Of The Concept Of Jus Cogens, As Illustrated By The War In Bosnia-Herzegovina, A. Mark Weisburd
The Emptiness Of The Concept Of Jus Cogens, As Illustrated By The War In Bosnia-Herzegovina, A. Mark Weisburd
Michigan Journal of International Law
The aim of this article is neither to condemn departures from jus cogens nor to engage in verbal gymnastics designed to obfuscate the fact that the international community is treating or will treat "peremptory norms" as moralisms irrelevant in practical terms. Rather, this article seeks to show that the problem lies in the concept of jus cogens itself. More specifically, the article intends to make the case that the concept is intellectually indefensible - at best useless and at worst harmful in the practical conduct of international relations.
United Nations Intervention In Internal Conflicts: Iraq, Somalia, And Beyond, Ruth Gordon
United Nations Intervention In Internal Conflicts: Iraq, Somalia, And Beyond, Ruth Gordon
Michigan Journal of International Law
Part I of this article will examine the concept of domestic jurisdiction. One of the principal purposes of the United Nations is the maintenance of international peace and security, which in 1946 was thought to essentially entail maintaining the peace between nation States. Internal power struggles and conflicts were thought to be within the jurisdiction of the State where they took place, unless they posed a rather substantial "threat" to the peace. Thus, the drafters of the U.N. Charter made sharp distinctions between internal and international conflicts. For instance, the Charter generally proscribes international, but not domestic, conflict, and the …
A Memorial For Bosnia: Framework Of Legal Arguments Concerning The Lawfulness Of The Maintenance Of The United Nations Security Council's Arms Embargo On Bosnia And Herzegovina, Craig Scott, Abid Qureshi, Jasminka Kalajdzic, Francis Chang, Paul Michell, Peter Copeland
A Memorial For Bosnia: Framework Of Legal Arguments Concerning The Lawfulness Of The Maintenance Of The United Nations Security Council's Arms Embargo On Bosnia And Herzegovina, Craig Scott, Abid Qureshi, Jasminka Kalajdzic, Francis Chang, Paul Michell, Peter Copeland
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Memorial seeks to present a framework of legal arguments with respect to the validity and legal effects of an arms embargo imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 713 in September 1991 on the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia), before its dissolution, and since treated as being in force with respect to the new states that have succeeded Yugoslavia. More particularly, the Memorial addresses the legality of maintaining (or, at least, having maintained during the crucial time period) the arms embargo in force, either de jure or de facto, against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) …
Palestine And Israel: A Challenge To Justice, James E. Hopenfeld
Palestine And Israel: A Challenge To Justice, James E. Hopenfeld
Michigan Law Review
A Review of Palestine and Israel: A Challenge to Justice by John Quigley
The United Nations And The Enforcement Of Peace, Eric Stein
The United Nations And The Enforcement Of Peace, Eric Stein
Michigan Journal of International Law
This essay is a revised version of an address given at a symposium held in the fall of 1986 in Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany, in commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the Heidelberg University. By one of the coincidences that haunt human life, the United Nations is again the topic.
Third State Remedies In International Law, Jonathan I. Charney
Third State Remedies In International Law, Jonathan I. Charney
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article explores issues arising from third state enforcement of international law. Support for third state remedies may be found in law, practice, and the literature. It is not, however, definitively stablished. Third state remedies may appear at first glance to serve only the desirable goal of promoting rules of international law, but they may also produce negative side effects. The challenge to the international community is to design an effective third state enforcement regime that minimizes undesirable side effects.
The Law Of Belligerent Occupation And The Legal Status Of The Gaza Strip, Bob Labes
The Law Of Belligerent Occupation And The Legal Status Of The Gaza Strip, Bob Labes
Michigan Journal of International Law
Israel's presence in the Gaza Strip does, in fact, raise many interesting issues in international law, including questions concerning the law of belligerent occupation, and the law of self-determination. This note examines some of these questions. Part I of the Note discusses pertinent aspects of the law of belligerent occupation. It points out that among the features of the traditional concept of belligerent occupation is the existence of an armed conflict between the occupying state and the state whose territory is occupied. Part II examines the history of the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to determine whether it can be …
Nussbaum: A Concise History Of The Law Of Nations, J. R. Swenson S.Ed.
Nussbaum: A Concise History Of The Law Of Nations, J. R. Swenson S.Ed.
Michigan Law Review
A Review of A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE LAW OF NATIONS. By Arthur Nussbaum.
Retaliation And Neutral Rights, Hessel Edward Yntema
Retaliation And Neutral Rights, Hessel Edward Yntema
Michigan Law Review
The readjustment of international law to the ever-changing conditions of maritime warfare has always presented problems of extreme difficulty. Particularly is this the case, when, as in the Napoleonic wars and the recent European conflict, belligerents, falling back upon the exceptional plea of necessity, attempt to modify the rights of neutral powers to their own advantage or even to involve them in the conflict. A question of this character, namely, the extent to which a belligerent in pursuing retaliatory measures against 'alleged violations of international law by his opponent, may thereby abridge the admitted rights of neutrals, was raised in …