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This book presents the case of humanitarian intervention within a discursive theory of international law. It identifies and examines the philosophical and legal concepts which inform the case of humanitarian intervention and scrutinises the pertinent practice. The book explores how legal rules which vie to control humanitarian intervention are moulded by theory and how they inform the relevant practice in cases such as Kosovo, Rwanda or Somalia. It presents the legal and theoretical narrative and its agonising attempts to produce objective, true arguments, to introduce a modicum of morality when faced with hard cases but also to concede a leeway for moral or political relativists. For instance, humanitarian intervention within natural law appeals to modes of justification springing from theistic assumptions such as the moral standing of humans as God's mirror or Kantian ones as partakers of universal reason. The cases of Uganda and Kampuchea should be evaluated in the same way, not according to their effects on the governmental structures but according to how they secured human dignity. Kampuchea was not totally propitious in this regard. Humanitarian intervention stopped widespread massacres at a genocidal level and in this way secured human dignity, but the ensuing situation did not correspond to the standards of human dignity. Following the position developed, cases such as Entebbe and Liberia are included within the concept of humanitarian intervention. Operation 'Restore Hope' for Somalia is marked by the disagreements between the United Nations and the participant states concerning its purposes and means.
Cinema has been an object of study for the social sciences for some time now. The relationship between law and cinema has been the subject of a certain number of reflections by jurists who work essentially within a national legal framework, and from the true genre that courtroom movies have become. One can point also to studies linking cinema and international relations. In short, the relationship between international law and cinema has never been the subject of a specific book. The objective of the present book is to show what image of international law and its norms is conveyed in films and series. Beyond a strictly legal analysis, the ambition is to take into account, in a broader perspective marked by interdisciplinarity, the relations between international law, cinema and ideology. The volume is aimed at a readership made of scholars, researchers as well as practitioners, in the field of international law, and related fields, all of whom will benefit from being introduced to a variety of perspectives on core international legal questions present in movies and TV series. Further, the volume can also be used with advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying international law, politics and international relations because it will provide the possibility of introducing students to a variety of perspectives on key issues in international law present in movies and TV series.
-ordination has been achieved, it has rested firmly on classical international law understandings of sovereignty and jurisdiction, and the activities of states in the tax field appear to reaffirm rather than upset in any way these notions. In this chapter, an outline will be given of the traditional bases of state jurisdiction and of the limitations on tax jurisdiction stemming from principles of customary
This book provides a critical exposition of the international law concerning child soldiers. It starts by looking at the situation of child soldiers in the world today, examining why children are recruited into armed forces and groups; why they volunteer for military service; and, once recruited, what treatment they receive. The book explores how perceptions of childhood and children's rights have changed, and how this has affected the ways in which child soldiers have been treated. It describes the activities of the United Nations with regard to the child soldier phenomenon. The book examines the legal regulation of the recruitment and use of children in hostilities. It shows that although international law comprehensively regulates the recruitment and use of child soldiers, owing to the plethora of treaties on the subject, states' obligations continue to differ and children can still lawfully be recruited and used to participate in armed conflict. The book discusses how, once recruited into armed forces and groups, international law treats child soldiers. It considers the status of child soldiers as combatants and as persons in the power of an adverse party in both international and internal armed conflicts, and states' obligations with regard the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers. An unusual feature of how child soldiers are viewed is that they are often seen as both victims of human rights abuses and as human rights violators. Finally, the book examines the extent to which the recruitment and use of child soldiers is an international crime.
Representing the first book-length treatment of the application of feminist theories of international law, The boundaries of international law argues that the absence of women in the development of international law has produced a narrow and inadequate jurisprudence that has legitimated the unequal position of women worldwide rather than confronted it.
With a new introduction that reflects on the profound changes in international law since the book’s first publication in 2000, this volume is essential reading for scholars, practitioners and students alike.
ceremoniously, and says in a calm but firm voice: ‘Since you refuse to abide by the laws of the civilised world, we must consider ourselves absolved from our duty to obey you. My officers will not do manual labour.’ ‘We shall see’ replies Colonel Saito. The renowned international humanitarian law specialist Eric David explains that this scene, which he saw when he was an adolescent, remained engraved in his memory, particularly as an expression of the Japanese official’s contempt for the law. 2 This anecdote has inspired a section dedicated to ‘International Law and
Introduction The subject of foreign investment is well trodden in both the practice and literature of international law. Activity can be broadly divided into two areas, standard-setting and dispute resolution, though there is a considerable degree of interpenetration between these fields. Underpinning each area is a common problem: the question of how private interests can
, the prohibition of the compulsory and forcible recruitment of children may be becoming a rule of customary international law. There is a substantial body of rules governing the recruitment and treatment of child soldiers, and they have been the subject of considerable augementation and development in recent years. It must, however, be asked whether they have been effective, that is, to what extent do
Introduction This chapter and the next examine various modes of international law- making to investigate the interests and perspectives they support. Here, we describe the law with respect to customary international law, general principles of law and subsidiary sources of law. Chapter 4 looks more specifically at the law of treaties. We deal with the traditional
collectivities rather than individuals. More recently, however, the individual recruiters themselves have been targeted. Child recruitment is now a crime in international law. A number of prosecutions are in progress and more are anticipated. However, this concentration on restricting the participation of children in armed conflict has meant that less attention has been paid to what rules govern the treatment and activities of child