Le conflit d'intérêts est un sujet passionnant notamment en raison de son omniprésence dans l'actualité. Cette expression s'est récemment diffusée en France dans le monde des affaires et au sein du jargon médiatique. Néanmoins, il n'existe en l'état actuel du droit positif français aucune réglementation spécifique de ces conflits d'intérêts. L'auteur s'interroge donc sur la définition et la valeur opératoire de cette notion et le régime juridique qui pourrait lui être réservé.
European Society of International Law
Interest Group on “International Environmental Law”
Agora to be held on ”Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Environmental Sustainability: Choices, Compromises and Priorities” on the occasion of the 13th ESIL Annual Conference on “Global Public Goods, Global Commons and Fundamental Values: The Responses of International Law”, Naples, 7–9 September 2017
Call for Papers
Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Environmental Sustainability:
Choices, Compromises and PrioritiesThe water-energy-food nexus is a theoretical concept describing the mutual interconnections between the complex systems of these resources. Its purpose is to develop solutions mitigating and promoting synergies able to maintain and further elaborate sustainable development. Currently there are numerous challenges this area necessary to face and policymakers all over the world struggle to balance between different priorities such as minimizing the ecological footprint of human activities, satisfying the needs of the constantly growing population, and in order to fulfill Sustainable Development Goals set.
While water is a vulnerable and valuable resource in itself, its importance for, and connection with, energy and food security cannot be understated. The over-exploitation of fresh water resources by both the energy and agricultural industry is one example of competing uses. Similarly, energy is needed for water sanitation and farming. Finally, nutrition is vital for livestock breeding, biofuel production and the maintenance of labor. Despite this factual indivisibility, regulatory solutions continue to be isolated and sectorial. Although some of these can be regionally effective, without thoroughly analyzing wider impacts they are likely to be counterproductive with respect to global sustainability.
This panel invites contributions on the W-E-F nexus, under the following themes:
This call is open for senior and junior academics, as well as practitioners of international organizations and NGOs working in these areas. The objective is to optimize research impact of our participants by engaging the different communities of practice in law, political science, bioengineering, climatology, hydrology or environmental science in this interdisciplinary field of sustainability, energy and environment.
- Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Implications for Sovereignty Principles, Self-Determination and Global Public Goods;
- Water-Energy-Food Nexus: International Trade and Investment Law Dimension
- Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Agriculture, Farmer Rights in the light of Human Rights, the Protection of the Environment and Democracy
- Water-Energy Linkage: Perspectives of a Water-Efficient Energy Production;
- Water-Food Linkage: Water-Food Security and Water-Food Safety in the light of the Sovereignty and Global Public Goods;
- Water-Food Linkage: Anthropogenic Forcing of Agriculture Causing Climate Change and Water Scarcity;
- Energy-Food Linkage: A Dangerous Race for Land, Water and Capital.
The result of this workshop will be three-fold:
1) relating the forward-thinking academic work to the on-going policy dialogue,
2) preparing a special issue for a relevant peer-reviewed journal or a book collection on “Water-Energy-Food Nexus”,
3) and enhancing the dialogue between the different academic disciplines through creating an inventory of the different theories and methodologies with a view to the specific research, teaching and publication environments.
Publication opportunities: The ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law will seek for publication opportunities of a Special Issue on Peer-reviewed or US Law Journal. In any event, IG on International Environmental Law has already an established agreement to publish the results of the agora and workshop in one of the Routledge Publishing (New-York/London) multidisciplinary book series on “Global Law and Sustainable Development” and “Transnational Law and Governance”.
Eligibility: All Members of the Interest Group on International Environmental Law, the members of other ESIL IGs and also the non-ESIL members (ESIL membership might be required if the abstract is selected) are invited to submit abstracts.
Evaluation Criteria: Abstracts will be selected for inclusion in the “International Environmental Law” IG agora proposal at the main conference on the basis of their alignment with the agora description and objectives as well as the overall coherence of the agora. The IG will organize an interest group workshop if the proposal was not accepted or, in case the agora will be accepted and depending on the time and available resources, an agora and a workshop will be both organized. Please note: the submissions will automatically be considered for participation in the separate workshops of the IG International Environmental Law held during the year and at the Annual Conference.
Applications: The following must be submitted to pdfarah@mail.wvu.edu and paolofarah@yahoo.com by 24th January 2017
Multiple abstracts from the same authors will be considered, but only one can be selected. Co-authored multidisciplinary papers are also welcomed. Submissions may be in either English or French. Applicants will be informed of the selection committee’s decision no later than 28th January 2017.
- The author’s name and affiliation;
- An 700-word abstract [Word file and PDF]
- The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications;
- The author’s contact details, including email address and phone number;
- Whether the author is an ESIL member; and
- Whether the abstract should be considered for the ESIL Young Scholar Prize.
The Interest Group is unable to provide funding for travel to and attendance at the conference. Please see the ESIL web site for information on finances and for other relevant information about the 2017 Annual Meeting.
The latest issue of the Chinese Journal of International Law (Vol. 15, no. 4, December 2016) is out. Contents include:
L'opposabilité est fondée sur le consentement des Etats. Il est le critère essentiel de la notion d'opposabilité définie comme le produit de la mise en oeuvre subjective du critère volontariste. Par ailleurs, les sources conventionnelle, coutumière et unilatérale du droit international sont opposables aux Etats en vertu de leur acceptation. Toutefois, sa place varie au sein des diverses sources, ce qui engendre une adaptation de l'opposabilité.
L'apparition de concepts tels que « communauté internationale », « personnalité objective », « législation internationale » ou « succession automatique » n'a pas remis en cause le fondement volontariste de l'opposabilité. Il semble néanmoins que ce critère soit concurrencé par des éléments objectifs dans le cas de traités établissant des régimes territoriaux. Il faudrait ainsi imaginer une émergence — très limitée — de l'objectivation de l'opposabilité. L'objectivation, sans être véritablement consacrée, serait in statu nascendi.
The latest issue of Legal Issues of Economic Integration (Vol. 43, no. 4, 2016) is out. Contents include:
The latest issue of the Journal of World Intellectual Property (Vol. 19, nos. 5-6, November 2016) is out. Contents include:
This book considers the effectiveness and fairness of using international cooperation to obtain confession evidence or evidence of a suspect or accused person’s silence across borders. This is a question of balance in limiting and protecting the right to silence. The functioning of the applicable law in Denmark, England and Wales and Australia is analysed in relation to investigative and trial measures such as police questioning, administrative questioning powers, covert surveillance and the use of silence as evidence of guilt.On the national level, this work examines the way in which domestic rules balance the right to silence in national criminal proceedings, and whether investigative and trial rules produce continuity throughout the criminal proceedings as a whole. From the transnational perspective, comparative legal analysis is used to determine whether the national continuity may be disrupted to such an extent that cooperation in the gathering of confession evidence causes unfairness. From the international perspective, this research compares the right to silence under the ICCPR and the ECHR to identify the overall effect of cooperating under particular human rights frameworks on the question of balance.
Although the influence and opinions of political elites, civil society, and the general public vary widely, the death penalty is universally in decline throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the death penalty is a site of accommodation and resistance to international human rights norms between African governments and the Global North. As in debates over membership in the International Criminal Court and legal protections for sexual minorities, some leaders resist death penalty abolition as “imposed” by the Global North, though the modern death penalty in Africa is a product of European colonialism. However, Sub-Saharan Africa is not a passive subject of global death penalty abolition driven by Europe. Courts around the continent have made important contributions to global death penalty jurisprudence and members of civil society have engaged in novel and successful strategies against the death penalty. In addition, precolonial notions of punishment and criminal responsibility in Africa have influenced debates over the death penalty, including whether to provide compensation to victims of crime. This book explores the African contribution to the global death penalty debate and lessons for the international death penalty abolition movement.
L'intervention des tierces parties dans le règlement des différends à l'OMC présente des spécificités par rapport à d'autres juridictions internationales. Dans l'ensemble, ces spécificités permettent aux tierces parties de jouer un rôle important dans ce système, en répondant aux besoins d'information du juge, en aidant la défense des intérêts à différents niveaux et surtout en renforçant les capacités et compétences des pays en développement. L'intervention comporte parfois des risques et des limites, mais son bilan, globalement positif, plaide en faveur du renforcement des droits des tierces parties.
The Conservative Human Rights Revolution radically reinterprets the origins of the European human rights system, arguing that its conservative inventors envisioned the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) not only as an instrument to contain communism and fascism in continental Europe, but also to allow them to pursue a controversial political agenda at home and abroad. Just as the Supreme Court of the United States had sought to overturn Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, a European Court of Human Rights was meant to constrain the ability of democratically elected governments to implement left-wing policies that conservatives believed violated their basic liberties, above all in Britain and France.
Human rights were also evoked in the service of reviving a romantic Christian vision of European identity, one that contrasted sharply with the modernizing projects of technocrats such as Jean Monnet. Rather than follow the model of the United Nations, conservatives such as Winston Churchill grounded their appeals for new human rights safeguards in an older understanding of European civilization. All told, these efforts served as a basis for reconciliation between Germany and the rest of Europe, while justifying the exclusion of communists and colonized peoples from the ambit of European human rights law.
Marco Duranti illuminates the history of internationalism and international law — from the peace conferences and world's fairs of the early twentieth century to the grand pan-European congresses of the postwar period — and elucidates Churchill's Europeanism, as well as his critical contribution to the genesis of the ECHR. Drawing on previously unpublished material from twenty archives in six countries, The Conservative Human Rights Revolution revisits the ethical foundations of European integration after WWII and offers a new perspective on the crisis in which the European Union finds itself today.
Since 2010, a significant quantity of international climate change finance has begun to reach developing countries. However, the transfer of finance under the international climate change regime – the legal and ethical obligations that underpin it, the constraints on its use, its intended outcomes, and its successes, failures, and future potential – constitutes a poorly understood topic.
Climate Change Finance and International Law fills this gap in the legal scholarship. The book analyses the legal obligations of developed countries to financially support qualifying developing countries to pursue globally significant mitigation and adaptation outcomes, as well as the obligations of the latter under the international regime of financial support. Through case studies of climate finance mechanisms and a multitude of other sources, this book delivers a rich legal and empirical understanding of the implementation of states’ climate finance obligations to date.
The latest issue of the Journal of International Economic Law (Vol. 19, no. 4, December 2016) is out. Contents include:
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is acknowledged as a landmark in the development of children's rights. Article 3 makes the child's best interests a primary consideration in all actions concerning children, and requires States Parties to ensure their care and protection. This volume, written by experts in children's rights from a range of jurisdictions, explores the implementation of Article 3 around the world. It opens with a contextual analysis of Article 3, before offering a critique of its implementation in various settings, including parenting, religion, domestic violence and baby switching. Amongst the themes that emerge are the challenges posed by the content of 'best interests', 'welfare' and 'well-being'; the priority to be accorded them; and the legal, socio-economic and other obstacles to legislating for children's rights.
International Human Rights Protection, addressed to judges and lawyers, diplomats and civil servants, researchers and students, is based on the author’s personal research and personal involvement with a wide range of subjects, such as the basic concepts of civil and social rights, discrimination and affirmative action, issues of procedure and jurisdiction and issues such as the death penalty and the protection of refugees, minorities and victims of armed conflicts. At the universal level, the book introduces the reader to the labyrinth of United Nations Charter-based and treaty-based procedures. As well as an overview of the Inter-American and African systems, it deals at the regional level particularly with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and also looks at the national level at the case law of the US Supreme Court and the South African Constitutional Court.
This book adopts a particularly critical approach to the so-called “dynamic” interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Court of Strasbourg. It is the author’s feeling that judges, in particular those belonging to courts specialising in human rights, have a tendency to systematically support interpretations benefitting the applicants, while overlooking too easily the far-reaching implications of judgments for society as a whole. He prefers a more balanced and more realistic approach taking into account the difficulties democratic governments face in coping with the challenges of our present time and with the pressing needs of the realities of today’s world.
Call for Papers
UN-Forschungskolloquium:
Postkoloniale Perspektiven auf die Vereinten Nationen
10.-12. März 2017 an der Helmut-Schmidt-Universität Hamburg
Deadline für Abstracts: 10. Januar 2017
Deadline für Papiere: 24. Februar 2017
Deadline für Anmeldungen: 24. Februar 2017
Das Kolloquium steht allen interessierten Teilnehmer*innen offen, auch ohne eigenen Beitrag.
Anmeldung hier.
Themenstellung
Im System der Vereinten Nationen ist die Erfahrung des Kolonialismus in vielen Aspekten präsent: Einerseits bekannten sich die UN-Mitgliedstaaten in der UN-Charta zum Recht auf Selbstbestimmung der Völker, andererseits war die Unabhängigkeit nur in einem Modell westfälischer Staatlichkeit möglich. In der Generalversammlung dienen postkoloniale Zusammenschlüsse wie die Frankophonie und das Commonwealth nach wie vor dazu, gemeinsames Abstimmungsverhalten zu koordinieren. Auch im Sicherheitsrat sind Großbritannien und Frankreich häufig informell für Situationen in Ländern als „Penholder“ zuständig, welche sie früher beherrscht haben. Die Praxis des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs, bisher vorwiegend Verbrechen in afrikanischen Staaten zu verfolgen, spiegelt aus Sicht einiger afrikanischer Staaten die Fortsetzung von paternalistischen Praktiken und Doppelstandards wider. Darüber hinaus sehen manche Kritiker*innen in der Agenda für fragile Staaten einen neuen „Standard der Zivilisation“: den Versuch des (ehemals) imperialen Westens Länder des (ehemals) kolonialisierten Südens nach seinem Vorbild zu formen. Obwohl sich Geberländer zur zentralen Rolle von „local ownership“ bekennen, ergeben sich in der Praxis gerade in Post-Konflikt-Ländern häufig schwierige Kompromisse. Gleichzeitig stellt die zunehmende Bedeutung aufstrebender Mächte in der Weltwirtschaftsordnung die postkoloniale Kritik auf eine Probe. Internationale Klimapolitik muss beispielsweise die historische Verantwortung der Industriestaaten in Einklang mit den aktuellen Verschmutzungen aller Staaten bringen. Die Agenda 2030 wiederum hinterfragt den Begriff des „Entwicklungslandes“ komplett, indem sie Fortschritte in allen Mitgliedstaaten der Vereinten Nationen einfordert.
Postkoloniale Theorien sind überaus vielfältig und verbinden sich häufig mit Diskriminierungstheorien: race, gender, age, sex, class gelten als fundamentale Unterscheidungsmerkmale in der Kritischen Theorie. Im 7. UN-Forschungskolloquium wollen wir daher explizit verschiedene postkoloniale Perspektiven auf das System der Vereinten Nationen einnehmen.
Mögliche Fragen und Aspekte können dabei die folgenden sein:
- Inwieweit spiegeln die gegenwärtigen Diskussionen über Rechte und Pflichten der UN-Mitgliedsstaaten deren jeweilige Erfahrungen während der Kolonialzeit wider?
- Wie ist das Verhältnis zwischen den Makrostrukturen globaler Ungleichheit, beispielsweise in der Weltwirtschaftsordnung, und den Handlungen von UN-Organisationen auf der Mikro-Ebene, zum Beispiel beim Thema Landrechte?
- Wie wirken das Design von Institutionen und deren Entscheidungspraxis aus postkolonialer Perspektive zusammen, zum Beispiel: Auf welche Weise beteiligt der Sicherheitsrat truppenstellende Staaten aus dem globalen Süden in seinen Entscheidungen für UN-Friedensmissionen?
- Welche Konsequenzen erwachsen aus einem möglichen liberalen Bias der Vereinten Nationen beim Aufbau legitimer Staatlichkeit in Nachkriegsgesellschaften?
- Wie kann ein emanzipatorischer Ansatz in der Zusammenarbeit mit fragilen Staaten aussehen, ohne autokratischen Herrschern und korrupten Eliten das Feld zu überlassen?
- Welche Relevanz haben postkoloniale Theorien und Nord-Süd-Unterscheidungen angesichts einer zunehmenden Rolle aufstrebender Mächte des globalen Südens in den Vereinten Nationen?
- Können Initiativen wie das Ständige Forum für indigene Angelegenheiten eine wirkliche Teilhabe im System der Vereinten Nationen sichern?
- Wie kann postkoloniale UN-Forschung im globalen Norden aussehen?
Organisatorischer Rahmen des Kolloquiums
Das 7. UN-Forschungskolloquium wird von den Mitgliedern der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Junge UN-Forschung in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen organisiert, deren Mitglieder aus den Fachbereichen Völkerrecht, Politikwissenschaft und Soziologie kommen. Das Kolloquium heißt Nachwuchswissenschaftler*innen und Studierende aller Fachrichtungen willkommen. Es bietet die Gelegenheit, Forschungs- und Studienarbeiten mit Bezug zu den Vereinten Nationen vorzustellen und zu diskutieren. Als besonders anregend hat sich erwiesen, wenn die eingereichten Papiere von Diskutant*innen vorgestellt werden und der jeweilige Beitrag im Anschluss intensiv diskutiert wird. Durch den interdisziplinären Blick werden gängige Definitionen hinterfragt und empirische Probleme neu betrachtet.
Autor*innen melden sich bitte bis zum 10. Januar 2017 mit einem Abstract (ca. 200 Wörter) zum Oberthema an. Eine Zusage erfolgt bis zum 17. Januar 2017. Die Frist für die Einreichung der fertigen Papiere (max. 5.000 Wörter) ist der 24. Februar 2017. Dies dient dem Zweck der Vorbereitung aller Personen auf das Kolloquium.
Weitere interessierte Teilnehmer*innen können sich bis zum 24. Februar 2017 verbindlich auf unserer Webseite anmelden. Bei der Anmeldung geben bitte Autor*innen und Teilnehmer*innen an, ob sie die Rolle eines Diskutanten oder einer Diskutantin übernehmen möchten.
Einen Teilnahmebeitrag gibt es nicht. DGVN-Mitglieder können einen Fahrtkostenzuschuss beantragen (bei der Anmeldung angeben).
Bei Fragen stehen wir unter info(at)uno-forschung.de zur Verfügung.
Diesen CfP als pdf.
The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (Vol. 28, no. 4, December 2016) is out. Contents include:
The latest issue of the Melbourne Journal of International Law (Vol. 17, no. 2, December 2016) is out. Contents include:
The latest issue of the International Journal of Refugee Law (Vol. 28, no. 3, October 2016) is out. Contents include:
The application and interpretation of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977 have developed significantly in the sixty years since the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) first published its Commentaries on these important humanitarian treaties. To promote a better understanding of, and respect for, this body of law, the ICRC commissioned a comprehensive update of its original Commentaries, of which this is the first volume. Its preparation was coordinated by Jean-Marie Henckaerts, ICRC legal adviser and head of the project to update the Commentaries. The First Convention is a foundational text of international humanitarian law. It contains the essential rules on the protection of the wounded and sick, those assigned to their care, and the red cross and red crescent emblems. This article-by-article Commentary takes into account developments in the law and practice to provide up-to-date interpretations of the Convention. The new Commentary has been reviewed by humanitarian-law practitioners and academics from around the world. It is an essential tool for anyone working or studying within this field.
Dieses Buch schließt eine Forschungslücke, indem es sich mit der «ratio» der Immunität des Souveräns in ihrem jeweiligen zeithistorischen Zusammenhang auseinandersetzt. Auf dieser Grundlage erfolgt die Einbettung der dem Souverän weitestgehend gleichgestellten Immunität amtierender Staatsoberhäupter im modernen Völkerrecht. So wird das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen dem Anspruch des Völkerstrafrechts und der Aufrechterhaltung der souveränen Staatengleichheit aufgelöst. Die Neuordnung der modernen Immunitätssystematik führt zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Immunität «ratione personae» amtierender Staatsoberhäupter vor einem echten internationalen Straftribunal a priori keine Wirkung entfaltet – und steht damit im Widerspruch zur herrschenden Meinung in Literatur und Rechtsprechung.
Transformative peace operations fall short of achieving the modern political order sought in post-conflict countries because the interventions themselves empower post-conflict elites intent on forging a neopatrimonial political order. The Peacebuilding Puzzle explains the disconnect between the formal institutional engineering undertaken by international interventions, and the governance outcomes that emerge in their aftermath. Barma's comparative analysis of interventions in Cambodia, East Timor, and Afghanistan focuses on the incentives motivating domestic elites over a sequence of three peacebuilding phases: the elite peace settlement, the transitional governance period, and the aftermath of intervention. The international community advances certain forms of institutional design at each phase in the pursuit of effective and legitimate governance. Yet, over the course of the peacebuilding pathway, powerful post-conflict elites co-opt the very processes and institutions intended to guarantee modern political order and dominate the practice of governance within those institutions to their own ends.
In The International Court of Justice and the Effectiveness of International Law, by Philippe Couvreur, Registrar of the ICJ since 2000, offers an account of the history and main achievements of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the only court with universal and general jurisdiction. This book discusses the hopes and aims of creating a permanent, international tribunal for settling disputes between States, and the ICJ’s role in ensuring the effectiveness of the rule of law at the international level. Taking into account the characteristics of the international legal order, this work provides a description of the main achievements brought about in this respect by the creation of the ICJ; the basis and scope of its function as a judicial institution; its relationship with other means of settling disputes and its integration in the United Nations; and finally its substantial contribution in two areas of great significance for the promotion and strengthening of peaceful relations between States, namely the settlement of land and maritime disputes and the implementation of the law of State responsibility.
The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Vol. 76, no. 4, 2016) is out. Contents include:
This paper considers the war crime at Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute, 'the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies', by addressing the doctrinal elements of the provision in light of the impact which the practice of transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied territory has had on the application of the rule of international law to the broader situation in Palestine. The provision is distinct among war crimes within the Court's jurisdiction as it refers to the activity of a state – the occupying power – in addition to that of the individual perpetrator. This feature reflects the structural issues that the provision was designed to address, and emphasizes that its purpose is not so much to confront direct physical violence, but rather to prevent colonial practices. Despite the political significance of the underlying conduct there has been comparatively little analysis of the war crime itself. Following an overview of how Israel's transfer of civilians into occupied territory challenges international law's distinction between civilian and combatant and has given rise to the charge of apartheid, the paper considers the drafting history of Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute, reflecting on the provision's unusual construction, before reviewing Israel's state responsibility for unlawful transfer, and considering the temporal jurisdiction of the ICC and the nature of continuing and continuous crimes.
The latest volume of the Israel Yearbook on Human Rights (Vol. 46, 2016) is out. Contents include:
The purpose of this paper is (1) to identify seven legal techniques through which certain situations that could otherwise fall within the scope of a rule or a set of rules are excluded from it (scope clauses, carve-outs, flexibilities, derogations, exceptions stricto sensu, excuses, and circumstances precluding wrongfulness) and (2) to clarify the implications (technical and practical) of using such techniques and the terminology that comes with them. Indeed, using the term ‘exception’ rather than other terms such as ‘carve-out’ or ‘exemption’ may have significant legal implications as regards matters such as (i) the burden of proof, (ii) the interpretative approach, (iii) the degree of deference accorded to a respondent under a provision, or (iv) the interplay with certain referral clauses.
It is often said that international law has developed from a legal order which is designed to protect sovereignty to a system which also promotes community interests. This shift is said to be reflected in structural changes of the legal system. The creation of rights and obligations for third parties is generally seen as a part of this perceived paradigmatic shift. Community interests can be furthered either by negative duties of abstention, by an entitlement for third states, or even by duties to take positive measures. Since the shift towards protecting community interests apparently requires some form of cooperation, positive rights and duties to protect and to promote appear to be indispensable. Authors relying on a community perspective often dismiss duties of abstention as an expression of indifference in the face of a violation of a fundamental norm. Solidarity seems to require that third states take a more proactive role in actively enforcing community interests.
The paper aims to test this understanding on the basis of an analysis of rights and obligations of third states in armed conflict. In order to argue that duties of abstention of third states are a central instrument for promoting community interests in relation to armed conflicts, the paper will first trace pertinent structural changes in international law. In particular, it will question the extent to which positive rights and obligations of third states have been firmly established in international law. In a second step, this contribution will evaluate the overall tendencies in the ongoing lawmaking process for promoting community interests in relation to armed conflict.
The latest issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Vol. 49, no. 4, October 2016) is out. Contents include:
APPEL A CONTRIBUTIONS
Cette année, le colloque annuel de la Société Française pour le Droit International (SFDI) qui se tiendra du 18 au 20 mai 2017 à l’Université de Lille 2, aura pour thème :
La souveraineté pénale de l’Etat au XXème siècle
LA DEMI-JOURNEE D’ETUDE ORGANISEE
PAR LE BUREAU DES JEUNES CHERCHEURS DE LA SFDI AURA POUR THEME :
« LA PENALISATION DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL »
LE 10 MARS 2017
À L’UNIVERSITE PARIS NANTERRE
DEMI-JOURNEE PRESIDEE PAR MME A.-L. CHAUMETTE
Le XXe siècle a vu l'émergence d'un droit international pénal, organisé autour d'un certain nombre de crimes (crimes contre l'Humanité, crimes de guerre, crime de génocide et crime d’agression.) réprimés directement à l'échelon international par des tribunaux internationaux (TPI, CPI, TMI.). En parallèle se sont développées des règles relevant d'un droit pénal international, par lesquelles les États entendent réprimer dans leurs ordres juridiques propres, des crimes commis en-dehors de leurs territoires par des responsables publics d'autres États (Affaire Hissène Habré en Belgique, Affaire des biens mal acquis en France, etc.). Il est donc possible de considérer qu’il existe désormais en droit international un ensemble de règles, plus ou moins organisé, relevant du droit pénal.
Dans une autre perspective, cette demi-journée se propose d’abord le droit pénal : non pas d’un point de vue statique, en tant qu’ensemble organisé de règles au sein du droit international mais d’un point de vue dynamique, en examinant plutôt les influences que celui-ci peut exercer au sein du droit international. Il s'agit en filigrane de se demander si ne s'esquisse pas un mouvement de pénalisation de l'ensemble du droit international. Les contributeurs sont ainsi invités à aborder le droit international pénal depuis un domaine spécifique du droit international, quel qu'il soit, et à s'interroger sur ses rapports avec le droit pénal.
À titre d'exemples, on peut envisager de mettre en relation droit international pénal et droit international de l'environnement, en se penchant sur la sanction des atteintes massives à l'environnement (crime d'écocide), ou bien encore de se pencher sur la pression exercée par la lutte contre l'impunité sur l'évolution du droit des immunités des responsables officiels en exercice. De même, en matière de maintien de la paix, il est possible de s'interroger sur l'influence du crime d'agression sur la qualification d'agression inscrite au Chapitre VII de la Charte. La question qui se pose est donc pour partie de lege ferenda en ce qu'elle concerne la capacité du droit international de punir certaines de ses violations : des théories sur le crime d’État en droit de la responsabilité internationale aux volontés de « punir » les investisseurs pour fait illicite en droit international des investissements, le droit international est soumis à de fortes pressions en faveur de sa « pénalisation ».
La demi-journée d'étude a pour vocation d'appréhender ce phénomène en balayant le plus vaste champ possible.
Les communications dureront 20 minutes chacune et seront suivies d’un débat. Elles donneront lieu, par la suite, à une publication en version électronique sur le site de la SFDI.
Nous attirons l'attention des éventuels candidats sur les points suivants : - cet appel ne doit pas être confondu avec l'appel à contributions des ateliers qui se tiendront lors du colloque annuel de la SFDI ; les candidats à la demi-journée sont libres de proposer une contribution au colloque annuel, étant entendu que les jeunes chercheurs ayant candidaté et étant retenus pour le colloque annuel seront tout de même invités à présenter leur contribution lors de la demi-journée, en « avantpremière » (il n’est donc pas attendu une contribution différente) ; - en raison de la limitation du budget alloué pour les demi-journées, aucun financement (déplacements, restauration, hébergement) n'est normalement prévu ; il est donc indispensable que les candidats retenus recherchent un financement auprès de leurs écoles doctorales et centres de recherches spécifiques ; des exceptions, motivées, peuvent être étudiées par un comité composé du Bureau des jeunes chercheurs, du président de la demi-journée, ainsi que du Bureau de la SFDI.
Les propositions de contribution devront être envoyées au format .doc pour le 3 février 2017 aux responsables du Bureau des Jeunes chercheurs à l’adresse suivante : jeunes.chercheurs@sfdi.org. Un curriculum vitae devra être transmis avec la réponse à cet appel. Le Bureau assurera la centralisation et les présentera au président de la demijournéeb aux fins de sélection. Les candidats retenus ou non seront ensuite contactés par mail par le Bureau.
Les contributions en langue anglaise sont acceptées. Les candidats sont cependant avertis qu’une très bonne compréhension du français à l'oral est cependant exigée, l'essentiel des débats devant se dérouler dans cette langue.
En espérant vous voir nombreux à répondre à cet appel,
Le Bureau des Jeunes chercheurs
Indications de présentation des contributions
Les propositions de communication peuvent être rédigées en français ou en anglais. Elles devront comporter un titre et un résumé de 2 pages maximum.
Il est conseillé de suivre les règles de mise en page et de présentation du texte suivantes :
Le titre doit apparaître d’abord, au format suivant : police Times New Roman, corps 12, gras, majuscules, centré. Les prénom et nom de l’auteur figurent deux lignes après, précédé du mot « par », en forme suivante : police Times New Roman, corps 12, italique, centrés.
Le corps du texte est en police Times New Roman, corps 12, justifié ; les notes de bas de page sont en police Times New Roman, corps 10, justifiées.
Calendrier indicatif
3 février 2017 : Date limite d’envoi des propositions de contributions. Sélection par le comité de lecture.
10 février 2017 : Annonce des contributions retenues par le comité de sélection
10 mars 2017 : Demi-journée d’étude
10 juin 2017 : Date limite d’envoi des contributions écrites au Bureau des Jeunes chercheurs. Relecture par le comité de lecture.
Avant fin 2017 : Publication des contributions sur la page « Publications de la Section Jeunes chercheurs » sur le site de la SFDI
The latest issue of the Revista Electrónica de Estudios Internacionales (No. 32, December 2016) is out. Contents include:
The primary role of international criminal courts and tribunals is to punish those deserving of punishment. But beyond dispensing individualized justice, the question still remains whether such tribunals can also help deeply traumatized and divided societies heal on a more fundamental level. To do that, the factual accounts these tribunals produce – about the guilt of specific individuals for specific crimes, but also about the systemic nature and causes of these crimes – at least at some point need to be accepted by their local audiences. Crimes need to be believed to be remedied.
Some courts, like the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, have failed in this broader task. But is every international criminal court or tribunal similarly doomed to fail? Can we at least with some measure of reliability predict when such failure is likely? Drawing on research in social psychology and on a series of opinion polls in the former Yugoslavia, as well as on an analysis of the successes and failures of the Nuremberg, Tokyo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Cambodia tribunals, this chapter puts forward such a general predictive theory.
The chapter thus argues that whether an international criminal tribunal and its account of responsibility for committed atrocities will be trusted by local populations depends little on the quality of the tribunal’s work, the fairness of its procedures, or the scope of its outreach programme. It depends mostly on whether the tribunal’s outputs – decisions on whom to prosecute, convict, or acquit – align with what these populations want to hear in their particular context and at that particular time. Psychological mechanisms of identity-protective reasoning can easily lead to the widespread rejection of the relevant tribunal and its factual account. Whether this will in fact happen depends largely on one variable – the reaction of dominant local political, media and intellectual elites. The likelihood and potency of an adverse reaction can, in turn, be predicted by reference to four factors: (1) the degree of continuing group cohesion and polarization; (2) the degree of elite continuity in terms of both personnel and ideology; (3) the degree of authoritarianism in the relevant society; and, most importantly (4) the degree of threat that the work of the tribunal is perceived to pose to the power and influence of these elites.
