Global prohibition regimes: the evolution of norms in international society

1990 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan A. Nadelmann

The dynamics by which norms emerge and spread in international society have been the subject of strikingly little study. This article focuses on norms that prohibit, both in international law and in the domestic criminal laws of states, the involvement of state and nonstate actors in activities such as piracy, slavery, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, the hijacking of aircraft, and the killing of endangered animal species. It analyzes the manner in which these norms have evolved into and been institutionalized by global prohibition regimes and argues that there are two principal inducements to the formation and promotion of such regimes. The first is the inadequacy of unilateral and bilateral law enforcement measures in the face of criminal activities that transcend national borders. The second is the role of moral and emotional factors related to neither political nor economic advantage but instead involving religious beliefs, humanitarian sentiments, fears, prejudices, paternalism, faith in universalism, the individual conscience, and the compulsion to proselytize. The ultimate success or failure of an international regime in effectively suppressing a particular activity depends, however, not only on the degree of commitment to its norms or the extent of resources devoted to carrying out its goals but also on the vulnerability of the activity to its enforcement measures.

1954 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Weis

The rôle of the individual in international law has for some time past been the subject of searching analysis by distinguished theorists. Recently the traditional doctrine that individuals are its objects only has been forcefully attacked by Professor Lauterpacht. It is intended to describe in this article certain developments on the international plane which affect the position of a specific group of individuals, the refugees.


Author(s):  
Scarlet Robertson

Transnational policing is an increasingly important issue in today’s globalised world. Transnational crime is an expanding industry and when crime crosses borders, cooperation between states is key. Arguably, this is most important in illegal drug trafficking, a crime of high concern to many states which almost always involves multiple countries. To this end, the UN Drug Control Conventions, introduced to tackle drug trafficking across the world, contain a number of provisions regarding law enforcement cooperation. This piece, by examining legal instruments and existing literature, will explore the role of the conventions regarding cooperation in policing the transnational trafficking of illicit drugs with a particular focus on the US, a major player in the field. Law enforcement cooperation between states existed for many years without international law obligations, however, it was often plagued by political and cultural differences and suffered when international relations were tense. By implementing obligations within the UN conventions, existing practices were codified into international law, meaning that cooperation should be a smoother, and legally-backed, process regardless of the political situation. This piece argues that, although the UN International Drug Control Conventions may not have added completely novel principles or practices to transnational law enforcement, they remain an important tool in facilitating transnational police cooperation and have made a valuable contribution to jurisprudence on the subject.


Author(s):  
Nikita Tarasov

The relevance of the topic is due to the scientific and practical importance of issues related to the search for effective means and mechanisms of building a legal state in the Russian Federation. The questions relating to the grounds and limits of the use of state coercion measures, which were the subject of the domestic police-legal theory are considered in article. At the late XIX – early XX century in the Russian police science actively discussed the role of state coercion in the system of public administration, the compatibility of state coercion and the desire to ensure the rights and freedoms of the individual. Understanding of these issues is reflected in the works of N. A. Griftsov, A. E. Nazimov, M. N. Palibin, Y. S. Stepanov, Ya. Felser, which to date in modern historical and legal science have not received a proper assessment. The works of these police scientists became the subject of this research. The aim of the study is to analyze the theoretical and legal heritage of policemen. Methodological basis of the research: General scientific (historical, system, functional) and special (formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal) methods of legal research. The method of interpretation of legal ideas was used. As a result of the analysis of the main provisions of the works of Russian police scientists, it was concluded that state coercion was considered by jurists as an element of domestic activity. Russian police scientists in the face of state seen the guarantor is able to ensure the security of citizens, therefore, recognized the possibility of using the state power of coercion. But at the same time, the police stressed the importance of determining the grounds and limits of the use of measures of state coercion.


Author(s):  
Astrid Kjeldgaard-Pedersen

This book scrutinizes the relationship between the concept of international legal personality as a theoretical construct and the position of the individual as a matter of positive international law. By testing four main theoretical conceptions of international legal personality against historical and existing international legal norms that govern individuals, the book argues that the common narrative about the development of the role of the individual in international law is flawed. Contrary to conventional wisdom, international law did not apply to States alone until the Second World War, only to transform during the second half of the twentieth century to include individuals as its subjects. Rather, the answer to the question of individual rights and obligations under international law is—and always was—solely contingent upon the interpretation of international legal norms. It follows, of course, that the entities governed by a particular norm tell us nothing about the legal system to which that norm belongs. Instead, the distinction between international and national legal norms turns exclusively on the nature of their respective sources. Against the background of these insights, the book shows how present-day international lawyers continue to allow an idea, which was never more than a scholarly invention of the nineteenth century, to influence the interpretation and application of contemporary international law. This state of affairs has significant real-world ramifications as international legal rights and obligations of individuals (and other non-State entities) are frequently applied more restrictively than interpretation without presumptions regarding ‘personality’ would merit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-80
Author(s):  
Wolfgang S. Heinz

Abstract: This article approaches the matter of institutional reform of the United Nations Human Rights Council from an international relations perspective. A well-known tension exists between State representatives acting for their governments in international organisations, but whose decisions are presented as UN policies. The latter should be guided primarily by the UN Charter and public international law. However, in reality, different worldviews and foreign policy considerations play a more significant role. In a comprehensive stock-take, the article looks at four major dimensions of the Council, starting with structure and dynamics and major trends, followed by its country and thematic activities, and the role of key actors. Council reform proposals from both States and civil society are explored. Whilst the intergovernmental body remains the most important authority responsible for the protection of human rights in the international sphere, it has also been the subject of considerable criticism. Although it has made considerable progress towards enlarging its coverage and taking on more challenging human rights crises, among some of its major weaknesses are the election of human rights-unfriendly countries into its ranks, the failure to apply stronger sanctions on large, politically influential countries in the South and North, and lack of influence on human rights crises and chronic human rights problems in certain countries. Whilst various reform proposals have emerged from States and NGOs, other more far reaching propositions are under sometimes difficult negotiations. In the mid- to long-term, the UN human rights machinery can only have a stronger and more lasting impact if support from national/local actors and coalitions in politics and society can be strengthened.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-158
Author(s):  
Carl C. Fischer

REGARDLESS of how we, as individual physicians, may feel about the role of the federal government in the individual practice of medicine, the time has long since passed when we can afford the luxury of ignoring it. In past years the influence of the government on medicine has been mostly in general areas and perhaps least of all in that of pediatrics; but under the present administration there has been a decided change. For this reason it seems necessary to me to call to the attention of all Fellows of the Academy the particular items in President Kennedy's message of February 26, 1962, which relate specifically to the practice of Pediatrics. These may be considered to be three in number: The first of these dealt with the subject of immunization. On this topic President Kennedy said: I am asking the American people to join in a nationwide vaccination program to stamp out these four diseases (whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, and poliomyelitis) encouraging all communities to immunize both children and adults, keep them immunized and plan for the routine immunization of children yet to be born. To assist the states and local communities in this effort over the next 3 years, I am proposing legislation authorizing a program of federal assistance. This program would cover the full cost of vaccines for all children under 5 years of age. It would also assist in meeting the cost of organizing the vaccination drives begun during this period, and the cost of extra personnel needed for certain special tasks.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 489
Author(s):  
John Salmond

This article is a report from the New Zealand Mail, 1 August 1906, which covered Professor John Salmond's inaugural address as the chair of law at Victoria College (now Victoria University of Wellington). Professor Salmond dealt with the subject of international law with regards to the conditions of modern warfare. He discusses important international treaties, the role of the civil population, and what would happen if war came to New Zealand. Professor Salmond concludes that a key player in resolving international disputes was arbitration, which he believed was full of hope and promise for the future. 


Author(s):  
Schloenhardt Andreas

This chapter focuses on the smuggling of migrants in the context of refugee movements, and examines the scope and application of international law pertaining to these phenomena. The principal binding global instrument on this topic is the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air which, on the surface, coexists alongside international refugee law in situations where smuggled migrants are seeking asylum. Although the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol expressly recognizes the protection afforded to refugees under international law, its interpretation, operation, and implementation often run into conflict with the Refugee Convention. All too frequently, measures to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants focus exclusively on law enforcement, criminal justice, and restrictive border measures without recognizing the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and smuggled migrants, which are the subject of this chapter.


2021 ◽  
pp. 162-174
Author(s):  
Geoff Gordon

The normative affirmation that international law could have been otherwise upholds material commitments to an actually-existing distribution of goods, which international law supports. To make this clear, this chapter begins by sketching a larger context by which the contingency of international law can be made legible. The larger context here pertains to a Western humanist tradition, following which international law relies on contingency to sustain a humanist fantasy of a temporal economic actor. The humanist fantasy includes an emancipatory pretension to political pre-eminence that is inscribed in its temporality, but at odds with its material, economic underpinnings. The pretension to pre-eminence corresponds historically with an ascendant normative regime that has succeeded as an economic programme but continuously failed as an emancipatory one. The frustrated emancipatory project is a complementary counterpart to the successful economic one. The former persists not despite but on the basis of failure and contradiction: in the face of historical failure, international law always already contains within itself the normative solution; its past failures are proof of future successes, a source of assurance and self-affirmation. When political ideals fail, specific temporal logics entangled with international law enable an affirmation of the subject who maintains those failed ideals, for no other reason than persisting as the same idealistic subject in the same material system that produced the failure. As a result, international legal practice redirects energy for social objectives into subjective self-affirmation, leaving other forces at work for political purposes.


Author(s):  
Lawrence Gostin

The objectives of this chapter are to help you understand: the impact of legislation, regulations, and litigation on the public’s health; the powers, duties, and restraints imposed by the law on public health officials; the potential of legal change to improve the public’s health; the role of international law and institutions in securing public health in the face of increasing globalization.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document