International Law Commons^™

Mexico And The Settlement Of Investment Disputes: Icsid As The Recommended Option, Bernardo Sepúlveda

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The changes that have taken place in arbitration conditions, the greater fairness in the arbitration process, and the increasingly stringent qualifications to be met by arbitrators, as well as contemporary economic realities, have been instrumental in causing Mexico's about-face on its approach to arbitration. Although in certain quarters doubts remain in Mexico as to the advantages of international arbitration, it would be ill advised to ignore a legal and political reality. In signing treaties that include an arbitration clause, Mexico has assumed rights and obligations. Politically speaking, a border has already been crossed. In the face of this indisputable fact, …

Planning For International Disputes (And What Makes Them Distinctive), Jack J. Coe Jr.

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Interactive speech given at the Conflict Management Culture seminar, hosted by Pepperdine's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.

Bride-Burning: The "Elephant In The Room" Is Out Of Control , Avnita Lakhani

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article is an attempt to answer the question of why the practice of bride-burning continues and propose alternative ways to not only look at the problem, but also to define workable solutions. It is only via a thorough conflict analysis of this complex issue that the world might rein in a problem that is clearly out of control in this day and age. Section II examines the origins of bride-burning, its continued practice, and societal ramifications. Section III analyzes some of the current and proposed efforts in place for banning bride-burning and punishing those who illegally engage in this …

The Gacaca Experiment: Rwanda's Restorative Dispute Resolution Response To The 1994 Genocide, Jessica Raper

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Since its rise to power in July of 1994, the Rwandan government has been committed to prosecuting all those accused of genocide. To prosecute the approximately 130,000 defendants, Rwanda has adopted a program called gacaca, based on Rwanda's traditional customary dispute resolution system. The gacaca law provides a reconciliation component that allows defendants to trade confessions of past genocide crimes for indemnification, as well as a prosecution component that holds the most serious offenders accountable in a Western style prosecution in a formal court of law. One of the main goals of gacaca is to end the so-called "culture …

Negotiation And Settlement In Nagorno-Karabak: Maintaining Territorial Integrity Or Promoting Self-Determination? , Argam Derhartunian

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The little-known region of Nagorno-Karabakh, known to Armenians as Artsakh, has been no stranger to conflict. This land, nestled in the historic "Armenian Plateau," has been ruled by many different dynasties and seen the faces of many different ethnicities and cultures. Today, both Armenians and Azeris claim an absolute historic right to Nagorno-Karabakh, periodically fighting over the region. Although the intense fighting ended in 1994, negotiation efforts regarding the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh remain stalemated. This has caused the leaders of Karabakh to declare the region an independent republic, although no state, including Armenia, has recognized this status. This article will …

International Arbitral Appeals: What Are We So Afraid Of? , Erin E. Gleason

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will explore the advantages of instituting appellate mechanisms in investor-state disputes and international commercial arbitration. Part II begins with a review of the WTO Appellate Body's development and workings, followed by an analysis of other appellate procedures for international trade law arbitration, including the MERCOSUR system's Permanent Court and the Grain and Feed Trade Association's appeals process. Part III examines the current methods for reviewing investor-state arbitration awards under ICSID and NAFTA. Part III goes on to advocate for the creation of an Appeals Facility, separate from current arbitral institutions, which would be empowered to hear appeals in …

Who Killed The Friendly Settlement? The Decline Of Negotiated Resolutions At The European Court Of Human Rights , Gregory S. Weber

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The "Friendly Settlement"--the negotiated settlement of cases at the European Court of Human Rights--is on the decline. The Friendly Settlement's decline will likely provoke mixed sentiments in the international human rights camp. Some may applaud the development, including those who believe that only judgments by the Court are likely to chastise member states sufficiently and to announce standards of conduct for other states to follow. But others may shed more than a few mournful tears. An active settlement program can help reduce the Court's huge case backlog and give complaining parties a faster, and often more generous, measure of resolution …

Honolulu: Geneva Of The Pacific?, Robert K. Wrede

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Simply stated, this paper proposes revitalization of a long dormant Hawaiian legislative plan to create a state-of-the-art facility in the Aloha State specializing in avoiding, managing and resolving international commercial conflicts using methods other than traditional litigation. The paper's premise is that a mid-Pacific facility specializing in the use of non-litigation methods for dealing with Pacific Rim transnational commercial disputes would both enhance Pacific Rim commerce, in general, and posture Hawaii as a major player in that valuable and rapidly growing sector of global affairs.

The Iranian Hostage Crisis And The Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal: Implications For International Dispute Resolution And Diplomacy, Warren Christopher, Richard M. Mosk

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of what has become known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. We shall look back on those events in order to point to possible issues, lessons and solutions for the future.

Negotiating With Deity: Strategies And Influences Related To Recent North Korean Negotiating Behavior , Jesse D. Steele

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

As images of nuclear missiles flash across television screens and news reports containing indiscernible Asian writing warn of conflict on the other side of the world, this article addresses one of the single greatest threats to global stability-the North Korean Nuclear Weapons Crisis-and assesses the negotiation strategies that have brought the world to its current situation. By looking at the historical negotiation tactics that have been utilized by each of the parties involved, particularly in light of societal norms and cultural influences, one can ascertain a great deal of insight regarding each party's respective strategies and objectives. This insight gleaned …

Looking Into A Crystal Ball: Courts' Inevitable Refusal To Enforce Parties' Contracts To Expand Judicial Review Of Non-Domestic Arbitral Awards, Eric Chafetz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will first discuss the legislative history of the NY Convention in general and the history of its vacatur provisions in particular. Second, it will summarize certain federal court decisions that address the Expansion Issues and reach the Consensus. Third, it will argue that the Expansion Issues were resolved incorrectly, because the courts addressing them do not recognize how the operative/material language in section 207 of Ch. 2 of the FAA and section 9 of Ch. 129 of the FAA has a virtually identical meaning, and therefore should have been construed and applied in the same manner. Fourth, this …

Foreword, Nicole J. Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This issue of the San Diego International Law Journal is composed of articles that exemplify the value in utilizing an international comparative approach to analyze and compare differing historical experiences. Taking a comprehensive review of the successes and failures of legal structures abroad provides an opportunity to harness and develop new possible solutions to today’s legal problems. By analyzing and understanding differing international prospective on legal issues, we gain a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we may better face the future.

The Evolution Of A New International System Of Justice In The United Nations: The First Sessions Of The United Nations Appeals Tribunal, Tamara A. Shockley

San Diego International Law Journal

In this overview of the new U.N. administration of justice system, a review has been undertaken of the evolution of the process from the former internal justice system to the development of the new administration of justice system. The Appeals Tribunal had a partially blank slate upon which to begin a new jurisprudence in international administrative law. In the first two sessions, the Appeals Tribunal decided upon a wide range of issues ranging from receivability, case management, disciplinary measures and pension cases. As the U.N. attempts to reform and streamline its bureaucratic structure for the 21st century, the judicial tribunals …

Protecting The Children Of The World: A Proposal For Tracking Convicted Sex Offenders Internationally, Nicole J. Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This comment will compare and contrast the laws governing sex offenders in the United States and European Union and address the current obstacles in establishing a comprehensive international law about sex offenders. Finally, this comment will propose a global sex offender registry to allay the problem of sex offenders in the international community.

When “Not Getting Caught” Is Not Enough: Preventing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations And Liability In International Project Finance, Clinton R. Long

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

Reinhard Siekaczek, a skeptical former accountant of Siemens A.G., expressed little optimism that Siemens’ violations of German law and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (“FCPA”) prohibitions against bribing foreign officials would deter others in a world full of corruption. Siekaczek states, “[p]eople will only say about Siemens that they were unlucky and that they broke the 11th commandment. The 11th commandment is: ‘Don’t get caught.’” At Siemens, Siekaczek participated in large-scale bribery by helping maintain a budget of tens of millions of dollars per year that was dedicated to bribing foreign officials, what one bureaucrat described as the “Siemens’ …

"Moral Ambivalence Is No Recipe For Engagement", Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The bottom line is that the crisis in Syria is tragic and extremely complicated. Some of its more complex issues include the threat of ethnic conflict, refugee flows, Iran's regional influence, and the impact of this uprising on other protests in the Arab world, ongoing and in the future. However, there are also several incontrovertible facts: the regime of Bashar al-Assad, in the name of putting down a protest movement that turned violent, is responsible for at least 7,500 deaths and shows no signs of relenting.

Sovereignty In Theory And Practice, Winston P. Nagan, Aitza M. Haddad

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article deals with the theory and practice of sovereignty from the perspective of a trend in theoretical perspectives as well as the relevant trend in practice. The Article provides a survey of the leading thinkers’ and philosophers’ views on the nature and importance of sovereignty. The concept of sovereignty is exceedingly complex. Unpacking its meanings and uses over time is challenging. An aspect of this challenge is that the discourse about sovereignty is vibrant among diverse policy, academic, and political constituencies. At times, its narratives are relatively discrete and at other times, the narratives overlap with the discourses from …

Cyberbullying: What's The "Status" In England?, Krupa A. Patel

San Diego International Law Journal

This comment will explore the growing concern of cyberbullying and will highlight the need for the English Parliament to create its own national anti-cyberbullying legislation, or to incorporate this activity into existing laws as a preventative measure. Part II will define cyberbullying, highlight the various ways in which cyberbullying differs from traditional forms of bullying, and explore specific forms and mediums of cyberbullying to underscore the difficulty in regulating such actions through the law. It will also include illustrative examples of cyberbullying incidents. Part III explores the current laws that English prosecutors are attempting to use to penalize those who …

The Role Of Women In Mediation And Conflict Resolution: Lessons For Un Security Council Resolution 1325, Roohia S. Klein

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Be Careful What You Wish For: Changing Doctrines, Changing Technologies And The Lower Cost Of War, Rosa Brooks

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The collective security structure created by the U.N. Charter is becoming shakier than ever, and two recent trends pose particular challenges to Charter rules on the use of force. The first trend involves a normative shift in understandings of state sovereignty, and the second trend involves improvements in technology--specifically, the rapid evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles, precision weapons, and surveillance technologies. Each trend on its own raises difficult issues. Together, they further call into question international law’s ability to meaningfully constrain the use of force by states.

March Roundtable: Responding To Syria, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Save Us from the Liberal Hawks” by David Rieff. Foreign Policy, February 13, 2012.

“Thinking Through, And Beyond, Triumphalism”, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The humanitarian crisis in Syria has instigated calls to activate the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine to stop the Assad regime from its murderous rampage. Armed with a failed UN Security Council resolution that would have endorsed an Arab League peace plan, thanks to Russian and Chinese vetoes, David Rieff reproves widespread liberal consensus for intervention in a February 2012 Foreign Policy article.

Who Let The Dogs Out? R, R2p, Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As a long-time human rights advocate I find myself uncomfortably sharing Rieff's central concern over the link between military intervention and human rights advocacy, forged through the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. This common concern is uncomfortable because I don't share his broader sentiments. However, it is also uncomfortable because it involves me swimming against the human rights tide, which seems to have embraced R2P.

A Permanent Resolution Mechanism Of Cultural Property Disputes , Maria Granovsky

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Despite the frequency of cultural property disputes, there is currently no permanent and universally acceptable framework for their resolution. Rather, each dispute is approached on an ad hoc basis. Even though each dispute presents a unique set of circumstances, there is sufficient commonality within the class of such disputes to make it amenable to a standardized, if flexible, system of resolution. This paper proposes one such possible system. The proposed system would include a new permanent international organization dedicated solely to the settlement of cultural property disputes. Under its auspices, a process would exist to guarantee a binding solution while …

Comparative Law As Rhetoric: An Analysis Of The Use Of Comparative Law In International Arbitration , Frédéric Gilles Sourgens

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The bulk of the comparative work of an arbitration counsel will go towards finding effective means of persuading a tribunal. It is part of his advocacy tool kit. Typically, there are three distinct ways in which counsel would then deploy these tools in practice: (1) he could use comparative law to explain law foreign to the tribunal in a manner helpful to his case, (2) he could use it as a means to close legal gaps in the law applicable to the dispute, and (3) he could use it to extract general principles of international law or trade usages. This …

East Meets West: An International Dialogue On Mediation And Med-Arb In The United States And China, Thomas J. Stipanowich, Jung Yang, Jay Welsh, Chen Qiming, Peter Robinson, Tan Jinghui, Chen Guang, Jeff Kichaven, Denise Madigan, Wang Hongsong, Zhang Jianhua

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This Second Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC)/Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution International Videoconference, following up on last year's successful inaugural program, will provide different perspectives on the current BAC initiative and evolving attitudes toward mediation and med-arb. Topics include: (1) the development and current state of business mediation in the U.S.; (2) the challenges and opportunities confronting China in developing stand-alone business mediation; (3) reflections on the skills necessary for mediators; (4) common pitfalls in mediation; (5) perspectives on med-arb (as opposed to stand-alone mediation); and (6) how to most effectively use mediation in conjunction with arbitration procedures.

Victorious Youth In Peril: Analyzing Arguments Used In Cultural Property Disputes To Resolve The Case Of The Getty Bronze, Alexander Mackintosh Ritchie

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

There has been a great deal of press in the recent years concerning the illegal exportation of cultural objects, their illicit sale to museums and private collectors, and the arguments that would compel either the return or restitution of such objects. This article will offer an introduction to this area including the current law and arguments by focusing the dispute surrounding a tremendous cultural asset, currently owned and residing in the United States-the Getty Bronze. The status of the statue is in question because the Italian authorities are claiming that the statue was illegally exported and, therefore, could not be …

Culture In International Parental Kidnapping Mediations, Melissa A. Kucinski

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Mediating an international parental kidnapping case involves much more than knowing some family law-it involves complex emotions, strict time constraints, multiple nations' laws and policies, intricate international treaties, juggling interpreters, attorneys, government officials, judges, and parents who may be physically located thousands of miles apart, and the blunt reality that you may have no understanding of either parent's cultural customs or the way each will communicate with the other parent or with you. While the "culture" part of the mediation may appear to be the least significant element, it could be key to the success of the mediation. Nonetheless, "culture" …

Negotiating And Mediating Peace In Africa , Nancy Erbe, Chinedu Bob Ezeh, Daniel Karanja, Neba Monifor, George Mubanga, Ndi Richard Tanto

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Last year, a law review solicited my thoughts about, in their words, pushing the envelope with social justice and negotiating peace in a world dominated by power and violence. Taking their language literally, one must ask how to effectively address contemporary obstacles to ensure that the message and, most importantly, the means of justice are truly delivered to those in need. One answer-which may seem obvious to readers but is actually much too rare in practice-is to work with, empower, and support the conflict work of the community members themselves. This article introduces the plans of five African professionals, demonstrating …

Outward Bound To Other Cultures: Seven Guidelines For U.S. Dispute Resolution Trainers, Harold Abramson

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

"Would you like to go to Delhi to train people in negotiations?" the email message inquires. "Are you kidding?" you think to yourself. "Of course, I would get to do in an exotic location what I enjoy doing at home – helping others to resolve conflicts. And I also would meet fascinating people and tour an intriguing city and country with a local host." "YES," you reply after working out the logistical details. Now as you begin to pack your off-the-shelf training materials, you start to wonder how you should adapt your training for this foreign location. You do not …