Saturday, August 13, 2011

Symposium: La justice internationale pénale : bilan, défis, perspective

The latest volume of the Annuaire français de relations internationales (Vol. 12, 2011) contains a symposium on "La justice internationale pénale : bilan, défis, perspectives." Contents include:
  • La justice internationale pénale : bilan, défis, perspectives
    • Serge Sur, Les juridictions internationales pénales, révolution ou illusion?
    • Philippe Kirsch, La Cour pénale internationale, de Rome à Kampala
    • François Roux, La défense devant les juridictions pénales internationales
    • Robert Kolb, Les influences du droit international pénal sur le droit international public
    • Frédéric Mégret, A quoi sert la justice pénale internationale?
    • Nicolas Michel, La justice pénale internationale : un bilan

Friday, August 12, 2011

New Issue: Revue belge de droit international

The latest issue of the Revue belge de droit international (Vol. 43, no. 1, 2010) is out. Contents include:
  • Dossier spécial: Le Sahara occidental, 35 ans après l'avis de la Cour internationale de Justice
    • V. Chapaux, Le Sahara occidental, 35 ans après l'avis de la Cour internationale de Justice
    • Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps: The Report of Human Rights Watch
    • E. Goldstein, Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps: A Commentary
    • E. David, L'exercice de la compétence universelle en Belgique dans le cas du Sahara occidental
    • S. Bock, Western Sahara and Universal Jurisdiction in Germany
    • A. Peyro Llopis, Le Sahara occidental face à la compétence universelle en Espagne
    • J. Etienne, L'accord de pêche CE-Maroc: quels remèdes juridictionnels européens à quelle illicéité internationale?
    • C. Poitevin, Vendre des armes européennes au Maroc. La réglementation européenne et la législation belge à l'épreuve
  • Études
    • F. Bastagli, Can Law make a Difference? Lessons Learned From a U.N. Experience
    • P. Klein, Les prétentions des Etats à la mise en oeuvre "unilatérale" du droit international

New Issue: International & Comparative Law Quarterly

The latest issue of the International & Comparative Law Quarterly (Vol. 60, no. 3, July 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Bruno Simma, Foreign Investment Arbitration: A Place for Human Rights?
  • Gerard McCormack, American Private Law Write Large? The UNCITRAL Secured Transactions Guide
  • Sebastian Peyer, Cartel Members Only—Revisiting Private Antitrust Policy in Europe
  • Sirko Harder, Statutes of Limitation Between Classification and Renvoi—Australian and South African Approaches Compared
  • Alberto Alvarez-Jiménez, Methods for the Identification of Customary International Law in the International Court of Justice's Jurisprudence: 2000–2009
  • Stephanie Switzer & Joseph A McMahon, EU Biofuels Policy—Raising the Question of WTO Compatibility
  • Simon Marsden, Invoking Direct Application and Effect of International Treaties by the European Court of Justice: Implications for International Environmental Law in the European Union

Call for Papers: Forces Without Borders: Non-State Actors in a Changing Middle East

The Cornell International Law Journal has issued a call for papers for its 2012 symposium "Forces Without Borders: Non-State Actors in a Changing Middle East," to be held February 17-18, 2012. Here's the call:

The Cornell International Law Journal is pleased to announce its 2012 symposium, Forces Without Borders: Non-State Actors in a Changing Middle East, February 17th – 18th, 2012 at Cornell Law School. Non-state forces have driven many of the recent historic events in the Middle East and North Africa. Our symposium will examine the legal status and significance of these forces in the context of the ongoing regional change, as well as pressing questions posed for the future of international law.

Scholars are invited to submit proposals for presentations, and those selected will be asked to submit rough drafts of papers for circulation among presenters before the conference. Selected works presented will be published in a symposium issue of the journal. One page proposals are due October5th, 2011, and those selected will be notified by October 20th, 2011.

International law is evolving to accommodate increasingly potent non-state actors. Terrorist organizations are able to project substantial military power, while digital communication facilitates organization among protest groups. The rising influence of non-state actors has enjoyed much academic attention in recent years, but the events of the Arab Spring focus fresh attention on this ongoing legal evolution. Possible themes might include:

  • Ways in which technological developments have empowered women’s groups that were previously less influential in certain Middle Eastern cultures.
  • Whether journalists have played a larger role in the Arab Spring than previous large-scale political and cultural movements, and how the law can better protect members of the press.
  • Whether the law provides sufficient accountability for non-state actors such as NATO in situations like the conflict in Libya.
  • The appropriate role of international groups, such as UN entities, in legal transitions within countries in the region.
  • The role of multinational corporations and their duty to respect economic, social, and cultural human rights which may conflict with domestic regulations.
  • A comparative analysis between the influence of non-state actors in the Arab Spring and other, analogous moments of significant regional change.

In order to encourage unique approaches to the topic, scholars are encouraged to define non-state actors creatively, potentially including journalists, rebels, protesters, new media, security alliances, NGOs, or others.

Proposals should be E-mailed to Symposium Editor Annie Eisenberg at ame26@cornell.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.

Conference: Litigating International Law Disputes: Weighing the Options

Macquarie Law School's Centre for Legal Governance will host a conference on "Litigating International Law Disputes: Weighing the Options," on September 23, 2011, in Sydney. Here's the idea:
"Litigating International Law Disputes" will provide a fresh understanding on why states resort, or should resort, to international adjudication or arbitration to resolve international law disputes. Through an examination of different substantive areas of international law—such as human rights, trade, environment, investment law—the speakers will consider the reasons for the use of international litigation, as well as other modes of dispute settlement. An examination of Australia's particular experience in litigation will provide a further opportunity to explain resort to international litigation.

Friedman: The Human Rights Culture: A Study in History and Context

Lawrence M. Friedman (Stanford Univ. - Law) has published The Human Rights Culture: A Study in History and Context (Quid Pro Books 2011). Here's the abstract:
Lawrence Friedman in his latest book turns a critical eye toward the human rights movement, and does not mind going against the grain. He explores the sheer phenomenon of a near-global arc favoring the idea, and sometimes even the practice, of human rights. Not the typical legal or philosophical examination of rights, this book instead asks: Why is it-as a social and historical matter-that rights discourse is so prevalent and compelling to the current world?

Thursday, August 11, 2011

New Issue: Diritti umani e diritto internazionale

The latest issue of Diritti umani e diritto internazionale (Vol. 5, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Studi
    • Paolo Picone, Considerazioni sulla natura della risoluzione del Consiglio di sicurezza a favore di un intervento ‘umanitario’ in Libia
    • Fabrizio Marongiu Buonaiuti, Azioni risarcitorie per la commissione di crimini internazionali ed immunità degli Stati dalla giurisdizione: la controversia tra la Germania e l’Italia innanzi alla Corte internazionale di giustizia
    • Andrea Atteritano, Crimini internazionali, immunità degli Stati, giurisdizione italiana: il contenzioso italo-tedesco dinanzi alla Corte internazionale di giustizia
    • Pia Acconci, La rilevanza per le imprese multinazionali degli obblighi convenzionali in materia di diritti della persona umana
    • Daniele Amoroso, Società civile, imprese private e diritto internazionale dell’ambiente in una recente decisione della Corte di giustizia dell’ECOWAS
  • Interventi
    • Andrea Bettetini, Identità religiosa del datore di lavoro e licenziamento ideologico nella giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani
    • Emanuele Rebasti, Corte europea dei diritti umani e sistema comune europeo in materia d’asilo
    • Francesco Seatzu, The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Disability: General Comment No. 5 and Beyond

Draetta: Behind the Scenes in International Arbitration

Ugo Draetta (Catholic Univ. of Milan - Law) has published Behind the Scenes in International Arbitration (Juris Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

Behind the Scenes in International Arbitration reveals what really happens behind the scenes of the large stage of the international arbitration -- a world of its own. Though arbitration has become a big business, its proceedings are not open to the large public, because of their confidential - and sometimes opaque - nature. Thus, Ugo Draetta offers his perspective as an insider, outlining some behaviours of the various players in the arbitration stage, which are sometimes irrational, emotional, bizarre or counterproductive.

Drawn from the personal experiences of the author's 30 years in the field, the book is essentially based on a number of real life anecdotes (obviously on a no name basis), some of which will have you laughing out loud. The players identified in the book are (a) the Parties, (b) the outside counsel, (c) the in-house counsel, (d) the arbitrators, and (e) the arbitral institutions. A separate chapter is devoted to each one of these players, ending with a “memo” summarizing the behaviours to be avoided.

New Issue: Internationales Handelsrecht

The latest issue of Internationales Handelsrecht (2011, no. 4) is out. Contents include:
  • Kieron O’Callaghan & Giles Hutt, Harmonisation of European Contract Law

Henham & Findlay: Exploring the Boundaries of International Criminal Justice

Ralph Henham (Nottingham Trent Univ. - Law) & Mark Findlay (Univ. of Sydney - Law) have published Exploring the Boundaries of International Criminal Justice (Ashgate 2011). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
This collection discusses appropriate methodologies for comparative research and applies this to the issue of trial transformation in the context of achieving justice in post-conflict societies. In developing arguments in relation to these problems, the authors use international sentencing and the question of victims' interests and expectations as a focus. The conclusions reached are wide-ranging and haighly significant in challenging existing conceptions for appreciating and giving effect to the justice demands of victims of war and social conflict. The themes developed demonstrate clearly how comparative contextual analysis facilitates our understanding of the legal and social contexts of international punishment and how this understanding can provide the basis for expanding the role of restorative international criminal justice within the context of international criminal trials.

Kelly & Cho: Promises and Perils of New Global Governance: A Case of the G20

Claire Kelly (Brooklyn Law School) & Sungjoon Cho (Chicago-Kent College of Law) have posted Promises and Perils of New Global Governance: A Case of the G20. Here's the abstract:

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a new global governance structure emerged. During and subsequent to the crisis, the G20 arose as a coordinating executive among international governance institutions. It set policy agendas, prioritized initiatives and, working through the Financial Stability Board, drew other governance institutions and networks such as the International Monetary Fund, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Organization of Securities Commissions to set standards, monitor enforcement and compliance, and aid recovery. Its authority cross-cuts regimes and creates collaborative linkages between economic law and social issues such as food security and the environment. Its leadership role, born out of exigency, now continues to evolve as part of the new international economic law order.

The G20’s coordination of institutions and networks exemplifies a new form of global governance. Network coordination offers an opportunity to confront complex problems with a needed comprehensive approach. The institutions and networks engage in an ongoing dialectical process that propels standard setters towards convergence on a number of fronts. The actors in this process employ a variety of tools to forge consensus and the G20 leverages this consensus-creating process to achieve its goals. Unpacking these tools can help us tackle intricate questions that arise from this new structure. In particular, we focus on concerns of effectiveness and legitimacy originating from the G20’s coordination of multiple networks and institutions.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

New Issue: Journal of World Investment & Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Investment & Trade (Vol. 12, no. 4, August 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Petros C. Mavroidis, Right Back Where We Started From (or Are We?)
  • Wenhua Shan & Sheng Zhang, FDI in China and the Role of Law: An Empirical Approach
  • Ichiro Iwasaki, Péter Csizmadia, Miklós Illéssy, Csaba Makó, & Miklós Szanyi, Foreign Direct Investment, Information Spillover, and Export Decision: Evidence from Hungarian Firm-Level Data
  • Sharmin Jahan Tania & Shawkat Alam, Liberalisation of Sewerage and Waste Management Services and the GATS: Implications and Challenges for Developing Countries
  • Anil Kumar Kanungo, Internationalization of Indian Firms: Overseas Investment A Key Strategy
  • Razeen Sappideen & Ling Ling He Dispute Settlement under Free Trade Agreements: The Proposed Australia-China Free Trade Agreement
  • Peyman Ghaffari, Jurisdictional Requirements under Article 25 of the ICSID Convention: Literature Review

Sadat: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity

Leila Nadya Sadat (Washington Univ., St. Louis - Law) has published Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). The table of contents is here. Here's the abstract:
Crimes against humanity were one of the three categories of crimes elaborated in the Nuremberg Charter. However, unlike genocide and war crimes, they were never set out in a comprehensive international convention. This book represents an effort to complete the Nuremberg legacy by filling this gap. It contains a complete text of a proposed convention on crimes against humanity in English and in French, a comprehensive history of the proposed convention, and fifteen original papers written by leading experts on international criminal law. The papers contain reflections on various aspects of crimes against humanity, including gender crimes, universal jurisdiction, the history of codification efforts, the responsibility to protect, ethnic cleansing, peace and justice dilemmas, amnesties and immunities, the jurisprudence of the ad hoc tribunals, the definition of the crime in customary international law, the ICC definition, the architecture of international criminal justice, modes of criminal participation, crimes against humanity and terrorism, and the inter-state enforcement regime.

Anton & Shelton: Environmental Protection and Human Rights

Donald K. Anton (Australian National Univ. - Law) & Dinah L. Shelton (George Washington Univ. - Law) have published Environmental Protection and Human Rights (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:
With unique scholarly analysis and practical discussion, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the relationship between environmental protection and human rights being formalized into law in many legal systems. This book instructs on environmental techniques and procedures that assist in the protection of human rights. The text provides cogent guidance on a growing international jurisprudence on the promotion and protection of human rights in relation to the environment that has been developed by international and regional human rights bodies and tribunals. It explores a rich body of case law that continues to develop within states on the environmental dimension of the rights to life, to health, and to public participation and access to information. Five compelling contemporary case studies are included that implicate human rights and the environment, ranging from large dam projects to the creation of a new human right to a clean environment.

Conrad: Processes and Production Methods (PPMs) in WTO Law

Christiane R. Conrad (Universität Bremen) has published Processes and Production Methods (PPMs) in WTO Law: Interfacing Trade and Social Goals (Cambridge Univ. Press 2011). Here's the abstract:
Despite a decades-long debate, starting with the 'Tuna-Dolphin' disputes of the 1990s, questions on the status of national regulatory measures linked to processes and production methods in WTO law have yet remained unsolved. Likewise, labelling requirements relating to unincorporated aspects of a product's life cycle remain strongly contested. These ongoing disputes at the WTO as well as global social and environmental challenges related to economic activities show how topical and important the search for adequate answers still is. Processes and Production Methods (PPMs) in WTO Law identifies and comprehensively analyses the key legal problems concerning such measures, setting them in the context of the current debate and its economic and regulatory background. Christiane R. Conrad develops a new approach to this debate which draws on the objectives and established economic rationales of the WTO Agreements.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

New Issue: Perspectives on Federalism

The latest issue of Perspectives on Federalism (Vol. 3, no. 1, 2011) is out. The issue can be downloaded here.

Workshop: How "Constitutional" Is Transnational Law?

On September 23-24, 2011, STALS (Sant’Anna Legal Studies) will host a workshop on the topic "How 'Constitutional' Is Transnational Law?" The program is here. Here's the idea:

When describing the relationship between globalization and politics, Beck pointed out that the former does not represent the end of the latter but, rather, the projection of national politics beyond the boundaries of the Nation-State. To describe this new generation of politics, Beck used the notion of “second modernity” and advanced the idea that the end of the parallelism one-Stateone-culture is revealing of the inability of State (and other classic sovereign bodies) to cope with the rise of transnational actors. In other words, globalization implicates the reconsideration of the Nation-State arena rather than the end of politics; if this finding were applied to the legal world, it should be possible to expect that globalization brought about the creation of a new global legal space or global legal order. In his recent book “Beyond Constitutionalism. The Pluralist Structure of Postnational Law” Nico Krisch emphasized the distinction between constitutionalism and pluralism and portrayed them as antithetical keys to interpret the legal phenomena of globalization.

This workshop aims at answering the following questions: to what extent can or indeed should constitutionalism be exported to the supranational and international level? Is constitutionalism a “one size fits all” concept? If not, what is the alternative? How to frame the socalled transnational law? What, if any, cognitive, epistemic, philosophical, last but not least, practical challenges does the emergence of law and politics beyond the state, as opposed to between the states, pose to scholars and practitioners? The set of speakers and panellists will be comprised of established scholars, young academics and doctoral students interested in the study of transnational and global legal dynamics, under different perspectives. Given the highly interdisciplinary content of the subject matter of this workshop, we decided to extend the invitation to political scientists and lawyers (experts in legal theory, EU and public international law, comparative and European constitutional law). All of them will be invited to adopt an interdisciplinary approach when preparing their contribution

New Issue: Die Friedens-Warte

The latest issue of Die Friedens-Warte (2011, nos. 1-2) is out. The theme is "Transitional Justice 2.0." Contents include:
  • Stefan Engert & Anja Jetschke, Einleitung: Transitional Justice 2.0. Zur konzeptionellen Erweiterung eines noch jungen Forschungsprogramms
  • Beatrice Schlee, Die Konsequenzen jahrzehntelanger Amnes(t)iepolitik in Spanien. Das Fallbeispiel der Kleinstadt Llanes (Asturien)
  • Reinhart Kößler, Zweierlei Amnesie und die komplexe postkoloniale Lage Namibias
  • Anja Jetschke, Der Kaiser hat ja keine Kleider an! – Strafverfolgung durch hybride Tribunale
  • Michel-André Horelt, Durch Recht oder Symbolik zur Versöhnung? Ein Vergleich der Versöhnungswirkung des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs für das ehemalige Jugoslawien (ICTY) und politischer Entschuldigungen im ehemaligen Jugoslawien
  • Stefan Engert, Die Staatenwelt nach Canossa: Eine liberale Theorie politischer Entschuldigungen
  • Mia Swart, Reparationen als Instrument der Transitionalen Gerechtigkeit. Was erklärt die Regeleinhaltung?
  • Florian Ranft, Vergehende Wahrheit und wahre Vergangenheit. Verspätete Wahrheitskommissionen in Lateinamerika und Afrika im Vergleich
  • Judith Renner, „Versöhnung“ als leerer Signifikant im Kontext politischer Transitionen: Eine diskurstheoretische Konzeptualisierung

D'Ascoli: Sentencing in International Criminal Law: The UN ad hoc Tribunals and Future Perspectives for the ICC

Silvia D'Ascoli (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) has published Sentencing in International Criminal Law: The UN ad hoc Tribunals and Future Perspectives for the ICC (Hart Publishing 2011). Here's the abstract:

This book deals with sentencing in international criminal law, focusing on the approach of the UN ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR). In contrast to sentencing in domestic jurisdictions, and in spite of its growing importance, sentencing law is a part of international criminal law that is still 'under construction' and is unregulated in many aspects.

International sentencing law and practice is not yet defined by exact norms and principles and as yet there is no body of international principles concerning the determination of sentence, notwithstanding the huge volume of sentencing research and the extensive modern debate about sentencing principles. Moreover international judges receive very little guidance in sentencing matters: this contributes to inconsistencies and may increase the risk that similar cases will be sentenced in different ways.

One purpose of this book is to investigate and evaluate the process of international sentencing, especially as interpreted by the ICTY and the ICTR, and to suggest a more comprehensive and coherent system of guiding principles, which will foster the development of a law of sentencing for international criminal justice.

The book discusses the law and jurisprudence of the ad hoc Tribunals, and also presents an empirical analysis of influential factors and other data from ICTY and ICTR sentencing practice, thus offering quantitative support for the doctrinal analysis.


This publication is one of the first to be entirely devoted to the process of sentencing in international criminal justice. The book will thus be of great interest to practitioners, academics and students of the subject.

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 93, no. 881, March 2011) is out. The theme is "Conflict in Afghanistan II." Contents include:
  • Conflict in Afghanistan: The Law
    • Robin Geiß & Michael Siegrist, Has the armed conflict in Afghanistan affected the rules on the conduct of hostilities?
    • Annyssa Bellal, Gilles Giacca & Stuart Casey-Maslen, International law and armed non-state actors in Afghanistan
    • Muhammad Munir, The Layha for the Mujahideen: an analysis of the code of conduct for the Taliban fighters under Islamic law
    • The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Layha [Code of Conduct] For Mujahids
    • Sadia Tabassum, Combatants, not bandits: the status of rebels in Islamic law
  • Conflict in Afghanistan: Humanitarian Action
    • Antonio Donini, Between a rock and a hard place: integration or independence of humanitarian action?
    • 30 years in Afghanistan. ICRC photo archives account by Alberto Cairo
    • Fiona Terry, The International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan: reasserting the neutrality of humanitarian action
  • Selected Articles on International Humanitarian Law
    • Jelena Pejic, The protective scope of Common Article 3: more than meets the eye

New Issue: Netherlands International Law Review

The latest issue of the Netherlands International Law Review (Vol. 58, no. 2, August 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Ulf Linderfalk, The Application of International Legal Norms Over Time: The Second Branch of Intertemporal Law
  • Siobhan Wills, The Legal Characterization of the Armed Conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq: Implications for Protection
  • Russell Buchan, The International Law of Naval Blockade and Israel's Interception of the Mavi Marmara

Monday, August 8, 2011

Guiora: Determining a Legitimate Target: The Dilemma of the Decision Maker

Amos N. Guiora (Univ. of Utah - Law) has posted Determining a Legitimate Target: The Dilemma of the Decision Maker (Texas International Law Journal, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Nation states are under attack by non-state actors; whether non-state actors present an existential threat to nation states is debatable, probably unlikely. Nevertheless, the threat to innocent human life that terrorism poses must not be underestimated. Because terrorist organizations have defined the innocent civilian population as legitimate targets, the state must develop and implement aggressive counter terrorism measures. That, in a nutshell, is the state of the world post 9-11. While reasonable minds may disagree as to the degree of threat that terrorism poses, there is little (never say never) disagreement that terrorism poses a (not necessarily the) threat to the nation state.

This reality has forced decision makers to address terrorism and terrorists literally ‘on the fly’. In retrospect, Tuesday morning September 11, 2001 not only caught world leaders by surprise, most were unprepared and untrained to respond in a sophisticated and strategic manner. In the US, as thoroughly documented elsewhere, the lack of preparation directly contributed to significant violations of human rights including torture, rendition, indefinite detention and unauthorized wiretapping. The executive branch in the US chose a path of granting itself unprecedented powers, with Congress and the Supreme Court largely acquiescing.

While historians will judge whether this combination made America safer, the wise words of Benjamin Franklin - “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” - were largely ignored in the aftermath of 9/11. The ten year anniversary of 9/11 serves as a useful benchmark for looking back to gauge what measures have been implemented, to what degrees of effectiveness, and at what cost. The anniversary additionally serves as a useful benchmark for looking forward and addressing how to develop, articulate and implement changes to existing counterterrorism strategy. This article will not offer a broad retrospective of post 9/11 decisions; rather, the article will focus on the definition of legitimate target.

Discussion regarding the AMW manual is particularly relevant to the question of legitimate target. After all, air and missile warfare is directly related to the legitimate target dilemma. Any analysis of air and missile warfare must include discussion regarding defining a legitimate target and then, subsequently, determining when the individual defined as legitimate is, indeed, legitimate. In that context, the link between legitimate target and AMW is inexorable.

Two central questions with respect to operational counterterrorism are who can be targeted and for when is the identified legitimate target a legitimate target. Those two questions go to the heart both of self defense and the use of power. In a counterterrorism regime subject to the rule of law, use of power is neither unlimited nor unrestrained. Regimes subject neither to external or internal restraints may engage in maximum use of force; needless to say, operational results will be uncertain.

A comparative survey of operational counter terrorism is telling for it highlights how distinct approaches color the legitimate target discussion: The Russian experience in Chechnya presents a particularly stark example of maximum force with questionable results. Conversely, Spain’s experience in the aftermath of the Madrid train bombing reflects a different paradigm, one implementing minimum force and maximum restraint. Seven years after 204 Spaniards found their deaths at the hands of Islamic extremists, Spain - as these lines are written - has not experienced a second attack. China’s policy regarding Uyghur’s in Xinxiang Province is best captured in its name: “Strike Hard” campaigns; India, largely in the face of Pakistani supported and facilitated terrorism, has adopted a policy of restraint predicated, largely, on mutual assured deterrence. Colombia’s policy, in the face of twin threats posed by drug cartels and terrorists is aggressive, not dissimilar from China’s. Israel and the US have largely, but certainly not consistently, sought to implement person-specific counterterrorism policies. Policies implemented by the US and Israel include targeted killing/drone attacks, Operation Cast Lead, and detainment of thousands of individuals in Afghanistan and Iraq, often for what can best be described as little, if any, cause.

With the primary focus on who is a legitimate target and when is the target legitimate, the article will be organized as follows: Section I offers a ‘word of caution’ in an age of uncertainty; Section II discusses operational counter terrorism; Section III offers a survey of how the term legitimate target has historically been defined and applied in the battlefield; Section IV focuses on the non-state actor and international law; Section V discusses defining the legitimate target; Section VI focuses on the practical application of the legitimate target discussion from the commander’s perspective; the conclusion proposes a road map moving forward regarding both definition and application of legitimate target.

New Issue: Leiden Journal of International Law

The latest issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law (Vol. 24, no. 3, September 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Articles
    • Nicholas Tsagourias, Security Council Legislation, Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, and the Principle of Subsidiarity
    • Emre Öktem, Turkey: Successor or Continuing State of the Ottoman Empire?
    • Sara Kendall, Donors' Justice: Recasting International Criminal Accountability
  • Hague International Tribunals: International Court of Justice
    • Annemarieke Vermeer-Künzli, The Subject Matters: The ICJ and Human Rights, Rights of Shareholders, and the Diallo Case
  • Hague International Tribunals: International Criminal Court and Tribunals
    • Michael Mandel, Aggressors' Rights: The Doctrine of ‘Equality between Belligerents’ and the Legacy of Nuremberg
  • Hague International Tribunals: Symposium on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's Appeal Decision on Terrorism
    • Elies van Sliedregt & Larissa van den Herik, Introduction: The STL Interlocutory Decision on the Definition of Terrorism – Judicial Ingenuity or Radicalism?
    • Kai Ambos, Judicial Creativity at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Is There a Crime of Terrorism under International Law?
    • Ben Saul, Legislating from a Radical Hague: The United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon Invents an International Crime of Transnational Terrorism
  • Current Legal Developments
    • Mélanie Samson, High Hopes, Scant Resources: A Word of Scepticism about the Anti-Fragmentation Function of Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
    • Cecily Rose, The Application of Human Rights Law to Private Sector Complicity in Governmental Corruption

New Issue: International Review of the Red Cross

The latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross (Vol. 92, no. 880, December 2010) is out. The theme is "Conflict in Afghanistan I." Contents include:
  • Conflict in Afghanistan: Socio-political and Humanitarian Environment
    • William Maley, Afghanistan: an historical and geographical appraisal
    • Ken Guest, Dynamic interplay between religion and armed conflict in Afghanistan
    • Imtiaz Gul, Transnational Islamic networks
    • Norah Niland, Impunity and insurgency: a deadly combination in Afghanistan
    • Jennifer Smith, Natalie Rea & Shabir Ahmad Kamawal, The right to counsel as a safeguard of justice in Afghanistan: the contribution of the International Legal Foundation
    • Lucy Morgan Edwards, State-building in Afghanistan: a case showing the limits?
    • Taiba Rahim, The future of Afghanistan: an Afghan responsibility

New Issue: Journal of World Investment & Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Investment & Trade (Vol. 12, no. 3, June 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • J. Martin Hunter & Javier G. Olmedo, "Enforcement/Execution" of ICSID Awards against Reluctant States
  • Charles-Emmanuel Côté, Looking for Legitimate Claims: Scope of NAFTA Chapter 11 and Limitation of Responsibility of Host States
  • Shintaro Hamanaka, Japan's Foreign Direct Investment in Services in ASEAN: The Implications of Services and Investment Agreements
  • Bi Ying, The Interaction of Trade and Competition Policy in the Globalization Process: A Survey of "Consumer Interest" in Chinese Antidumping Context
  • Youngjin Jung & Sangwook Daniel Han, What to do with the Dilemma facing the State of Necessity Defense under the Investment Treaties and How to Interpret the NPM Clause?
  • The 15th Geneva Global Arbitration Forum: Ahead of the Curve
    • Another way to settle disputes - can the success story of Dispute Boards be extended beyond construction to other fields? Contributions by: Pierre Genton, Paul Gelinas, Christopher Koch, Wolfgang Peter
    • Preventing a backlash against investment arbitration: could the WTO be the solution? Contributions by: Petros C. Mavroidis, Charles C. Adams, Christoph Schreuer, Guiguo Wang

New Issue: Rivista di Diritto Internazionale

The latest issue of the Rivista di Diritto Internazionale (Vol. 94, no. 2, 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Articoli
    • T. Scovazzi, Diviser c’est détruire: ethical principles and legal rules in the field of return of cultural property
    • L. Magi, La Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo e il diritto alla vita familiare e al matrimonio fra individui dello stesso sesso
  • Note e Commenti
    • P. Kindler, La legge regolatrice delle successioni nella proposta di regolamento dell’Unione Europea: qualche riflessione in tema di carattere universale, rinvio e professio iuris
    • F. Casolari,Prime (difficili) applicazioni del principio di integrazione sistemica da parte della Corte di giustizia dell’Unione Europea
  • Panorama
    • M. Lugato, Obblighi internazionali confliggenti e responsabilità dello Stato parte della Convenzione europea nel caso Al-Saadoon
    • F.M.Palombino, La decisione della Grande Camera della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo nel caso Lautsi: un uso incongruo della nozione di « simbolo passivo »
    • A. Adinolfi, Diritto di soggiorno di cittadini di Stati terzi per rendere effettivo il diritto di soggiorno di cittadini dell’Unione nel loro Stato di cittadinanza
    • L. Gradoni, La Corte costituzionale della Bosnia-Erzegovina plasma un « trasformatore permanente » applicabile ai trattati
    • E. Pistoia, La fine di una giurisprudenza? Sulla sentenza Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum in tema di applicazione dell’Alien Tort Statute alle società
    • P. Franzina, L’autonomia della volontà nel regolamento sui conflitti di leggi in materia di separazione e divorzio
    • F. Marongiu Buonaiuti, La disciplina della litispendenza nei rapporti tra giudici di paesi membri e giudici di paesi terzi nella proposta di revisione del regolamento n. 44/2001

New Issue: Journal of World Trade

The latest issue of the Journal of World Trade (Vol. 45, no. 4, August 2011) is out. Contents include:
  • Warren H. Maruyama, Climate Change and the WTO: Cap and Trade versus Carbon Tax?
  • Marcia Don Harpaz, China’s WTO Compliance-Plus Anti-dumping Policy
  • Michael N. Jacobs, The Offensive Power of Regional Trade Agreements
  • Daniela Persin, Market Access for Small versus Large Service Enterprises: The Preferential and Multilateral Trade Liberalization Tracks Compared
  • Lars Nilsson, Principles of EU Imports, Tariffs, and Tariff Regimes
  • Julien Chaisse, Debashis Chakraborty, & Jaydeep Mukherjee, Emerging Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Making: Assessing the Economic Feasibility and Regulatory Strategies
  • Florin Dorian Dascalescu, Threat of Injury in Anti-dumping Investigations: Some Comments on the Current Practice at EU and WTO Level

Sunday, August 7, 2011

New Blog: International Law Curry

Shashank P. Kumar has started a new blog called International Law Curry. ILCurry aims to offer a South Asian/Indian take on international law and diplomacy. The initial posts are quite interesting and helpful.

Conference: Military Law in a New Dimension: Armed Forces Deployed against Transnational Crime and Terrorism

From August 26-28, 2011, Melbourne Law School will host a conference on "Military Law in a New Dimension: Armed Forces Deployed against Transnational Crime and Terrorism." The conference is organized by the Armed Forces Law Association of New Zealand in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law at the University of Melbourne, the Lieber Society of the American Society of International Law, the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University, and the University of Canterbury. The program is here. Here's the idea:
Papers are to be presented by a mixture of practitioners and academics on topics as varied as the military as law enforcers, combating piracy, and cyber-crime, and will also include regional case-studies on ensuring civil stability in the face of terrorism and transnational crime. This highly focused conference will bring together practitioners, academics, commentators and policy advisers from the Pacific and around the world to discuss not only the occurrence of transnational crime and terrorism and the threat each place to regional and international stability but also the unique pressures such activities place upon the deployment of largely combat trained forces.