International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

A Chink In The Armor: How A Uniform Approach To Proportionality Analysis Can End The Use Of Human Shields, Margaret T. Artz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The appropriate response to human shields is a recurring issue in modern warfare. Technological asymmetry, disparate obligations, and doctrinal divergence between state and nonstate adversaries combine to make civilians account for 84 percent of combat deaths. Just as a slot machine entices a gambler though he rarely wins, the international community's inconsistent response to human shields has placed shield users on an intermittent reinforcement schedule, thereby ensuring that this tactic remains part of insurgent strategy. Long-term protection of civilians requires eliminating this tactic. Principles of behavior science indicate that an effective way to do so is to uniformly remove its …

Victim Participation At The International Criminal Court And The Extraordinary Chambers In The Courts Of Cambodia: A Feminist Project?, Susana Sacouto

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION: Over the last couple of decades, and particularly since 1998, incredible advances have been made in the effort to end impunity for sexual and gender-based violence committed in the context of war, mass violence, or repression. Before this, crimes committed exclusively or disproportionately against women and girls during conflict or periods of mass violence were either largely ignored, or at most, treated as secondary to other crimes. However, evidence of the large-scale and systematic use of rape in conflicts over the last two decades helped create unprecedented levels of awareness of sexual violence as a method of war and …

International Humanitarian Law Of Armed Conflict: A Critical Annotated Bibliography For Collection Development, Madeline Cohen

Publications and Research

This article is an annotated bibliography of selected monographs published from 2001 through 2012 in the fields of International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflict (Laws of War) and International Human Rights Law. The aim is to provide a collection development guide for librarians and scholars in this area of international law. Key topics that are covered are: Internal conflicts, asymmetric warfare, laws of war, humanitarian intervention, treatment of insurgents, non-international armed conflict, targeted killings, terrorism, drones, robotics.

Book Review. The Legacy Of The International Criminal Tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia Edited By B. Swart, A. Zahar And G. Sluiter, Timothy W. Waters

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Humanitarian And Human Rights Duties Of The United Nations Security Council, George E. Weber

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

International intervention has increased in recent history for the abuses of humanitarian law and human rights. This article reflects on the history of human rights and humanitarian law reasoned interventions authorized by the United Nations Security Council and examines whether a duty now exists in international law for future action. The question of whether a duty exists, and the legal repercussions of failing to exercise that duty, is of paramount importance to international law. Whether the duty currently exists or is currently developing, the analysis that follows will show why the Security Council should have the duty of intervention and …

“Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere” Internal Vs. International Armed Conflicts: Should The Distinction Be Eliminated?, Laura Chafey

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

This article discusses international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols. It analyzes the rights of protected persons under the Geneva Conventions, such as prisoners of war and civilians, as well as the obligations of States during armed conflicts. Furthermore, the article points out the flaws in the Geneva Conventions, such as the discrepancy between the obligations of States during an international armed conflict vs. during an internal armed conflicts. It argues that this distinction between international and internal armed conflicts should be eliminated and that States’ obligations should be the same for both conflicts.

The End Of The Beginning - A Comprehensive Look At The U.N.'S Business And Human Rights Agenda From A Bystander Perspective, Jena Martin

Faculty Articles

With the endorsement of the Guiding Principles regarding the issue of business and human rights, an important chapter has come to a close. Beginning with the then U.N. Secretary-General's "global compact" speech in 1999, the international legal framework for business and human rights has undergone tremendous change and progress. Yet, for all these developments, there has been no exhaustive examination in the legal academy of all of these events; certainly, there is no one piece that discusses or analyzes all the major instruments that have been proposed and endorsed by the U.N. on the subject of business and its relationship …

Sovereignty And The Promotion Of Peace In Non-International Armed Conflict, Anna Spain

Publications

No abstract provided.

Using International Human Rights Law To Combat Racial Discrimination In The U.S. Criminal Justice System., Terrence Rogers

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Statistics tend to show Black people commit most of the crime in the United States. Those statistics fail to account for unequal treatment of minorities at each stage of the criminal justice system. This unequal treatment may take the form of buy-and-bust operations, racial profiling, street sweeps, and other police activities which target people in low-income communities populated mainly by minorities. The American criminal justice system contains a cyclical, self-perpetuating aspect to the treatment of certain minorities. These perceptions direct a disproportionate amount of law enforcement attention on minorities, which leads to disproportionate arrests of minorities. The result shows racial …

Hard Times For Peace Between Two Internally Divided Societies, Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

These are not promising days for those who desire peace between Israelis and Palestinians, with two states respected by each other and recognized by the international community, living securely side by side. Richard Falk’s article rightly stresses the negative role played by the US Government in its sharp rejection of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations Security Council. The problem, however, seems to lie deeper in these complex societies and their current political leaderships.

November Roundtable: The Palestine Bid For Statehood At The Un, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Statehood versus “Facts on the Ground””. By Richard Falk. Aljazeera, September 20, 2011.

The Us On The Palestinian Statehood Bid: Weighing The Costs, Thomas Pegram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Reflecting on the controversy surrounding the Palestinian bid for statehood, Richard Falk neatly subverts the opening words of the UN Charter, “we the people,” as having always surrendered to “we the governments,” and, in the modern era of American empire, “we the hegemon.”

This may well be true. The UN Security Council (UNSC), in particular, is viewed in Washington as a vehicle for hegemonic ambitions—to be indulged when it serves its purpose and vetoed and sidelined when it does not. Unfolding events at the UNSC, reportedly due to vote on the Palestinian resolution on November 11 but now postponed perhaps …

The Sum Of The Parts, Therese O'Donnell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

From one perspective the Middle East lends itself as a macabre mise-en-scene where the triumph of realpolitik over the legitimacies of international law can be continually re-staged. To be sure, at least two sovereign states seem to go their own way, even in the face of rampant and valid international criticism—the end of a construction freeze on illegal settlements and failures to condemn clearly illustrate this point. However, two can play at that game. The US veto of the October 2003 draft Security Council resolution declaring as illegal Israel’s construction of its security fence, beyond the 1949 Green Line and …

Indonesia: Problem Encountered In Some Unresolved Boundaries And The Outermost Island Issues, Etty R. Agoes.

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Within the framework of national integrity the ocean possesses two key aspects that is, of security and prosperity. The demarcation of the outer limits of national mari- time territory and jurisdiction including delimitation of boundaries with neighboring countries will provide a legal basis for a number of marine activities such as defense, fisheries, navigation, seabed and subsoil exploration and exploitation, marine tourism and others. Boundary issues for Indonesia, whether on land, at sea even in the air, have always been a matter of national priority. At present, Indonesia still have some unresolved boundary delimitation with its neighboring countries. The completion …

Once More Unto The Breach: Some Thoughts On The Future Of The Eez, Guy Des Rosiers

Indonesian Journal of International Law

By public international law standards, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) maintains a relative newcomer, the product of State practice following the end of the Second World War and multilateral negotiations culminating with the entry into force, in November 1994, of the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, In defining the EEZ, the Convention has created a sui generis legal regime over vast areas that were previously part of the high seas. Neither Grotian nor Seldenian in spirit, the EEZ regime forgoes the absolute language of territory and sovereignty in favor of discrete sets of rights and …

Geographical Indications Under International Intellectual Property Law: An Indonesian Perspective, Mariana Molnar Gabor Warokka

Indonesian Journal of International Law

There are currently two systems for the registration of GI and Appellations of Origin. First, the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration of 1958. Second, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Madrid Protocol of 1989 for countries that protect GI under the trade mark regime. Indonesia has provided for GI protection under its Trade Mark Law No. 15 of 2001, and the appertaining Government Regulation No. 51 of 2007 concerning Geographical Indication. Several cases have been reported of Indonesian GI potential products, such as Kopi Toraja and Kopi …

Principle Of Responsibilities And Sanctions In Pollutions Of The Marine Environment By Offshore Minning, Dina Sunyowati

Indonesian Journal of International Law

In a period of 5 (five) years of pollution of the marine environment caused by exploration and exploitation on the continental shelf and the area (the seabed) is increasing. Like the marine pollution in the Timor Sea which transnational pollution, because it involves three countries, namely Australia, Timor Leste, and Indonesia. Settlement efforts to revolve the impact caused by too have done well by the Australian Government nor by the Indonesian Government. Pollution of the marine environment also occurs in blasting offshore mining that pollute the Gulf of Mexico. As mentioned in the 1982 UNCLOS, Article 208 that one of …

The Abuse Of Guaranteed Pending Trial In The Chinese Criminal Process: A Violation Of International Human Rights Law, Li Enshen

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Guaranteed pending trial (Qubao Houshen) is one of the coercive measures used by the Chinese authorities to release suspects on bail in the criminal process. Unlike the western general practices, this instrument is not characterized as a legal right of suspects, but an effective means to circumvent the procedural requirements of investigation and prosecution in the laws. Further, the abuse of guaranteed pending trial is in fragrant violation of minimal international standards of human rights protection in the criminal justice system. The article first examines the procedural and practical deficiencies of this measure in the Chinese context. It then argues …

The Right To A Fair Trial And Combatting Terrorism: The Case Of Indonesia, Amira Paripurna

Indonesian Journal of International Law

After the 9/11 attack, the US government called upon global war on terror (GWOT). Then terrorism has been considered as a threat of global security. It is, therefore, has led both national and international concern under US hegemony. Furthermore, it has affected the proliferation of many national counter-terrorism laws. The terrorist attacks have threatened Indonesia over years. Under the act No.15/2003 jo No.1/Prp/2002 the Indonesian government has successfully conducted prosecutions to the terrorism perpetrators. However, it is identified that there are such violations regarding to international human rights rules and standards. The concern in handling terrorism demands a balance concern …

From Bali To Copenhagen: Indonesia's Position And Role In International Negotiation To Establish A Post-Kyoto Protocol Agreement On Climate Change, Syamsul Hadi

Indonesian Journal of International Law

In the light of upcoming end of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, international society is in the urgent need to arrange a new international agreement to cope more with the issue that has been threatening both today and the future generation. In this context, Indonesia has attempted to contribute a positive role to seek international consensus on the climate change negotiations, including by becoming the host of Un Conference on Climate Change in Bali (2007), whoch resulted in the Bali Roadmap and Bali Action Plan, both of which has become important stepping stone for the Post-Kyoto Protocol international regime. However, …