Human Rights Law Commons^™

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Extraterritorial Employment Standards of the United States: The Regulation of the Overseas Workplace

By James Michael Zimmerman

New York, New York: Quorum Books, 1992. Pp.206.

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Fact-Finding before International Tribunals

Edited by Richard B. Lillich

Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: Transnational Publishers Inc., 1992, Pp. 338.

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International Human Rights Law in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Edited by Angela D. Byre and Bevereley Y. Byfield

Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1991. Pp. 398.

A Contemporary Definition Of The International Norm Of Self-Determination, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Case For Self-Determination, Guyora Binder

Journal Articles

This lecture offers an analysis and defense of the right of self-determination of peoples. The argument begins by analyzing self-determination into its universalist and nationalist components. The universalist component of self-determination is satisfied wherever institutions of government are majoritarian. The nationalist component of self-determination is satisfied to the extent that institutions of government are identified with particular communities. The universalist compoent is now widely recognized as an authoritative principle of international law. The nationalist component remains controversial, particularly outside of the particular context of the dismantling of European colonial empires. The lecture proceeds to defend the nationalist component by attacking …

The Japanese International Law 'Revolution': International Human Rights Law And Its Impact In Japan, Kenneth L. Port

Faculty Scholarship

Some observers have argued that because of a lack of enforcement powers, international law has relatively little impact on the conduct of nations and, in fact, may not be "law" at all. Others have inquired whether legal norms which underlie international human rights law have any influence on the domestic law of signatory nations. This article argues that international law can profoundly influence the development of the domestic laws of nations regardless of the lack of coercive enforcement powers. This point becomes clear through a consideration of Japan's experience in adopting and internalizing international law norms.

Human Rights In The World Court, Stephen M. Schwebel

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Judge Schwebel reviews the cases of the International Court of Justice and its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, that have substantial human rights implications. He observes that, while the World Court is not a human rights court in the contemporary sense of that term, since standing in contentious cases is limited to States, it nevertheless has constructively dealt with a number of important issues of human rights, as in its early holding that individuals may be the direct beneficiaries of treaty rights.

The Court has played a notable role in promoting the protection of human …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Taxation in the People's Republic of China

By Jinyan Li

New York, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991. Pp. 208. $49.95.

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Liberating the Law: Creating Popular Justice in Mozambique

By Albie Sachs and Gita Honwana Welch

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books, 1990. Pp. 132. $55.00.

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International Fugitives: A New Role for the International Court of Justice

By Barbara M. Yarnold

New York, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991. Pp. 168. $37.95.

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Effective Lobbying in the European Community

By James N. Gardner

Boston, Massachusetts: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers,1991. Pp. xix, 162. $45.00.

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European Human Rights Law

By …

Indigenous Rights Norms In Contemporary International Law, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

Rule Of Law In A State Of Emergency, John P. Humphrey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Is there any such thing as an absolute human right? Part of the answer to this question will be found in article 4 of the United Nations' Convenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article says in part that "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation ... the States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating from their obligation under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation ... " Similar provisions will be found in regional conventions on the human rights.

Le Rôle Organisations Internationales Dans La Protection Du Droit À La Vie., Paul Gormley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The emerging role of international and regional organizations toward the realistic protection of the right to life (along with closely related guarantees) constitutes the scope of the scholarly treatise, which is an outgrowth of the author's participation at the Research Center of the Hague Academy of International Law. Precisely Johannes van Aggelen of the Center for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva, is one of the rising scholars of the coming generation of human rights lawyers. Indeed, his work in such closely related fields as humanitarian law, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the right to an adequate food supply and supporting …

The Human Rights Committee And Articles 7 And 10(1) Of The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights, 1966, P R. Ghandhi

Dalhousie Law Journal

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Resolution 2200A (XXI) t of 16 December 1966, entered into force on 23 March 1976 in accordance with Articles 49 of the Covenant and 9 of the Protocol respectively. As at 28 July 1989, there were eighty-seven States Parties to the Covenant and forty-five States Parties to the Protocol.

Testimony Before The Senate Committee On Foreign Relations, Convention Against Torture, David F. Forte

Law Faculty Presentations and Testimony

Hearing to examine issues related to U.S. ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment requiring nations to take measures to prevent torture and cruel and inhuman treatment, to prosecute or extradite alleged torturers, and to provide civil remedies for torture victims.

Support for U.S. ratification of UN convention against torture; examination of and concerns about proposed reservations and conditions to convention text (related materials, p. 49-60, 69-72); justification for certain reservations relating to U.S. sovereignty.

Major Contemporary Issues In Extradition Law, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

In this piece Professor Blakesley provides remarks on high crimes in international law, and the ability to extradite state and high government officials for committing them.

International Human Rights Law Concerning Women: Case Notes And Comments, Rebecca J. Cook

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Essay addresses the application of international human rights law to women. Most of the cases addressed in this Essay involve alleged discrimination based on sex or marital status. Professor Cook notes that international, regional, and national courts have applied human rights principles to ensure that women's human rights are upheld, although not always to the full extent originally envisioned under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To illustrate this point, Professor Cook reviews cases arising under international, regional, and specialized treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the extent to which such discrimination interferes with …

The Capacity Of International Law To Advance Ethnic Or Nationality Rights Claims, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Concept And Present Status Of The International Protection Of Human Rights: Forty Years After The Universal Declaration, Annemieke Holthius

Dalhousie Law Journal

John P. Humphrey, the first Director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations, in his preface to The Concept and Present Status of the International Protection of Human Rights - Forty Years after the Universal Declaration, observes that the question of the international protection of human rights "has received far too little attention from scholars, statesmen, diplomats and human rights activists". There "has so far been no attempt ... to provide a comprehensive account" of the concept of "protection" within the international law of human rights. In his new book, Dr. B.G. Ramcharan, the distinguished lawyer-adviser in the …

Nicaragua: United States Assistance To The Nicaraguan Human Rights Association And The Nicaraguan Resistance, Suzanne B. Goldberg, Lee Crawford, Kevin Reed, John Tennant

Faculty Scholarship

The question of providing aid to the Nicaraguan Resistance has been significant to United States human rights policy throughout the Reagan Administration. Although events have changed repeatedly during the winter of 1988, including a truce between the Nicaraguan Government and the Resistance and a Congressional decision not to provide military aid to the Resistance, the underlying policy issues remain constant. The Harvard Human Rights Yearbook presents two notes, infra, discussing the Military Construction Appropriations Act of 1987, which granted $100 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Resistance. The first note discusses the Nicaraguan Human Rights Association (Asociacidn Nicaraguense Pro-Derechos Humanos …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE JURIDICAL BAY

By Gayl S. Westerman

New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Pp. xii, 290. $39.95

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HELSINKI, HUMAN RIGHTS AND EUROPEAN SECURITY: ANALYSIS AND DOCUMENTATION

By Vojtech Mastney

Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1986. Pp. xxxv, 389. $49.50 hard cover, $18.95 soft cover

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NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY

By Stuart McMillan

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. Pp. viii, 177

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INTERNATIONAL LAW OF TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS: THE EEC, NORTHERN EUROPE, AND SCANDINAVIA

By H. Leigh Ffrench

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986. Pp. viii, 390

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INTERNATIONAL LAW: PROCESS AND PROSPECT

By Anthony D'Amato

Dobbs Ferry, New York: …

Panel Discussion, Professor Jonathan Charney, Professor Thomas Franck, Professor Jordan Paust, Professor John Murphy, Geoffrey Levitt, Professor Kenneth Abbott, Professor Robert Friedlander, Professor Alberto Coll, Professor Jerome Reichman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Kelsen, in his writings, took the position that in law, particularly international law, there are superior and inferior limits to the law; that is, when a norm is articulated and the society behaves in conformance with the norm, and it would do so even in the absence of the norm, the norm is not serving a legal function; it is not serving a normative function of encouraging behavior because the behavior would be in conformance with that norm in any event. There's also the inferior limit to the law; that is, a situation where a rule is articulated but the …

Regional Human Rights Regimes: A Comparison And Appraisal, Burns H. Weston, Robin A. Lukes, Kelly M. Hnatt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For Americans at least, active concern for human rights on the international plane is demonstrated perhaps most conspicuously in the promotion and protection of human rights through the United Nations and its allied agencies--apart, that is, from the promotion and protection of human rights through United States foreign policy and the work of such nongovernmental organizations as Amnesty International. Supplementing this globally-oriented human rights activity, however, are international human rights regimes operating regionally in Western Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Concededly, Asia is not yet represented, and only the first three of the represented regions have gone …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received

The Utilization of Nuclear Energy and International Law By Vanda Lamm Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press International, Inc. 1984 Pp. 151. $29.95

War, Foreign Affairs, and Constitutional Power By Henry Bartholomew Cox Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger,1984. Pp. xx, 331 $35.00

Guidelines For International Election Observing Prepared by Larry Garber Washington, D.C.: The International Human Rights Law Group, 1984. Pp. iii, 90. $7.95

International Codes and Multinational Business: Setting Guidelines for International Business Operations By John M. Kline Westport, Connecticut: Qurom Books, 1985Pp. vi, 184. $35.00

Public Enterprises in Mixed Economies: Some Macroeconomic Aspects By Robert H. Floyd, Clive …

Political Refugees, Nonrefoulement And State Practice: A Comparative Study, Robert C. Sexton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article will survey and assess the attempts of five of the major refugee receiving countries of the West, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, and Italy, to comply with the mandates of the Convention and Protocol. Specifically, inquiry will focus on the two issues most applicable to the admission and exclusion of political refugees: (1) domestic interpretation of the Convention definition of "refugee;" and (2) adherence to the principle of nonrefoulement, which is the Convention's proscription on returning persons falling within its refugee definition to countries of alleged persecution.

Section II explores the precise substantive provisions of the …

The European Jurisprudence Of Human Rights, J. A. Andrews

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Received, Law Library Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received

Aspects of the International Banking Safety Net

By G.G. Johnson, with Richard K. Abrams

Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1983. Pp. v, 36. $5.00

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The Soviet Viewpoint

By Georgi Arbatov and Willem Oltmans

New York: Dodd, Mead, 1983. Pp. xviii, 219. $13.95

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The Law of Corporate Groups: Procedural Problems in the Law of Parent and Subsidiary Corporations

By Phillip I. Blumberg

Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1983. Pp. xxxii, 527. $65.00

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Iraq & Iran: Roots of Conflict

By Tareq Y. Ismael

Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982. Pp. xii, 226. $24.00 cloth; $12.95 paper …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Japan's Reshaping of American Labor Law By William B. Gould Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1984. Pp.xii, 166. $19.95.

World Economic Outlook By The Staff of the International Monetary Fund Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund,1984. Pp. ix, 162. $15.00.

Recent Multilateral Debt Restructurings With Official and Bank Creditors By E. Brau and R.C. Williams Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1983. Pp. vii, 28. $5.00.

The Fund, Commercial Banks, and Member Countries By Paul Mentre Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 1984. Pp. v, 35. $5.00.

International Law and the New States of Africa By Yilma Makonnen New York: Unipub, 1983. Pp. …

The Frolova Case: A Practitioner's View, Anthony D'Amato

Faculty Working Papers

The Frolova case may provide a substantial basis for continuing a trend away from the unfortunate decision in Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino which may some day be viewed as the Alast gasp@ of the act of state doctrine as an impediment to the realization of the international rule of law.

Book Reviews, Howard D. Coleman, Clark C. Siewert, John T. Smith Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Book Reviews

Human Rights: International Petition System

Binders 1 and 2

Maxine E. Tardu

Dobbs Ferry: Oceania Publications, Inc.,1979 and 1980. $75.00 per Binder.

Reviewed by Howard D.Coleman

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The International Law and Policy of Human Welfare

Edited by R. St. John Macdonald, D.M. Johnston and L. Morris

The Netherlands: Sijthoff and Noordhoff, 1978. Pp. xviii, 690. $95.

Reviewed by Clark C. Siewert

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Deep Sea Mining

Judith T. Kildow, Editor

Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: MIT Press. 1980. Pp. 251.

Reviewed by John T. Smith II

Charter 77 In Czechoslovakia And The International Protection Of Human Rights, Roger Errera

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Charter 77 was published in Prague in early January, 1977. At that time the document contained 240 signatures, a number which increased by 1977 to over 600. This Charter marked the beginning of a new period in the political history of Czechoslovakia, a period of public affirmation of fundamental liberties. It is useful to recall briefly reactions to the publication of this document in the East and the West, and to analyze its profound significance. It is also important to examine the major events that have taken place since 1977 and the inspiration which Charter 77 derived from the United …

The Right Of The Individual To Know And Act Upon His Rights And Duties: Monitoring Groups And The Helsinki Final Act, Virginia A. Leary Professor Of Law,

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The provisions of the Helsinki Final Act relating to human rights stimulated a most extraordinary and probably unforeseen development the creation of ad hoc private citizen monitoring groups in signatory countries. No other international instrument on human rights has had a similar effect. The activities of these monitoring groups cannot be over emphasized. The phrase in Principle VII of the Final Act that the signatory states confirm the right of the individual to know and act upon his rights and duties constituted international recognition of the legitimacy of participation by private individuals in the monitoring of their own country's conformity …

The International Legal Significance Of The Human Rights Provisions Of The Helsinki Final Act, Alexandre C. Kiss, Mary F. Dominick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It may be submitted that the Helsinki Final Act is not a treaty, nor is it similar to resolutions of international organizations. In light of the language used in the text and the signatories' public expressions of intent, the human rights provisions must be deemed to have the same legal nature as the other provisions. The document as a whole falls within a special category of international legal instruments not anticipated by traditional definitions of the sources of international law--that is, non-binding, but directive texts which produce limited legal effects. Its foundation is agreement on a common objective: detente. Its …

Table Of Contents: The Use Of Force, Human Rights, And General International Legal Issues

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.