scholarly journals The Trump Administration and International Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Hongju Koh
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Legal Adviser ◽  
The Many ◽  
Transnational Legal Process ◽  
Trump Administration

Will Donald trump international law? Since Trump’s administration took office in January 2017, this question has haunted almost every issue area of international law. This book, by one of our leading international lawyers—a former Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department, former Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, and former Yale Law Dean—argues that President Trump has thus far enjoyed less success than many believe, because he does not own the pervasive “transnational legal process” that governs these issue areas. This book shows how those opposing Trump’s policies in his administration’s first two years have successfully triggered transnational legal process as part of a collective counterstrategy akin to Muhammad Ali’s famous “rope-a-dope.” The book surveys many fields of international law: immigration and refugees, human rights, climate change, denuclearization, trade diplomacy, relations with North Korea, Russia and Ukraine, and America’s “Forever War” against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and its ongoing challenges in Syria. This tour d’horizon illustrates the many techniques that other participants in the transnational legal process have used to blunt Trump’s early initiatives across a broad area of issues. While this counterstrategy has been wearing, the book concludes that the high stakes, and the long-term implications for the future of global governance, make the continuing struggle both worthwhile and necessary.

Introduction: Trumping International Law?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Hongju Koh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
World War ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Spheres Of Influence ◽  
Transnational Legal Process

How to resist President Donald Trump’s assault on international law? This introduction sketches the tripartite plan of this book. First, it discusses a counterstrategy of resistance based on transnational legal process. Second, it illustrates that counterstrategy with respect to immigration and refugees, and human rights; the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and trade diplomacy; with countries of concern such as North Korea, Russia, and Ukraine; and with respect to America’s wars: Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Afghanistan, and Syria. Third, it reviews what broader issues are at stake in the looming battle between maintaining the post-World War II framework of Kantian global governance versus shifting to an Orwellian system of authoritarian spheres of influence.

scholarly journals Repatriation as a Human Rights Approach to State Options in Dealing with Returning ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110326
Author(s):  
Setyo Widagdo ◽  
Kadek Wiwik Indrayanti ◽  
Anak Agung Ayu Nanda Saraswati
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Community ◽  
Islamic State

Since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), debates and questions on what states should do (individually and or collectively) with foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from their countries have become more relevant yet controversial. This article critically investigates whether states of origin have an obligation to repatriate ISIS FTFs under international law as well as what options are available for such countries in dealing with returning ISIS fighters based on a human rights approach. This article also highlights that the current international legal framework is generally moving toward the repatriation of FTFs for the purpose of prosecution and rehabilitation. While states have taken diverse and controversial approaches in dealing with fighters who wish to return, the option to repatriate and fairly prosecute them in their countries of origin is seen as the most comprehensive and preferred approach, not only for the countries of origin but also for the international community as a whole in the long term.

scholarly journals Member State Compliance with the Judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morse Tan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Member State ◽  
International Law ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
State Compliance ◽  
Transnational Legal Process

This essay fills a gap by exploring compliance theory in international law to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. After introducing the topic and setting the context, it delves into the question of why nations follow international law. Interacting with prominent theoretical models (including the managerial model, fairness and legitimacy, transnational legal process, self-interest, and a comparative perspective with Europe), it arrives at a critical synthesis in the conclusion.

An International Relations Perspective on the Reform Needs of the Human Rights Council

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-80
Author(s):  
Wolfgang S. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Subject

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.

Routes to Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-112
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Trump Administration

This chapter provides a detailed chronology of MBS and MBZ’s respective ascents. Firstly, their dynastic advantages are considered, along with their apparent early career ambitions and accomplishments. Secondly, their charismatic personalities and their relative youth are discussed, including the erection of charismatic facades by their supporters. Thirdly, their ability to position themselves as proponents of major economic reforms and long-term ‘visions’ during periods of economic crisis are emphasized. Fourthly, their capacity to repair Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s international reputations vis-à-vis the historical funding and support of terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and (in Saudi Arabia’s case) the Islamic State is investigated. Finally, the apparent mentor-mentee relationship between the more established MBZ and the younger MBS is examined, alongside their recent support from the Donald Trump administration.

5 Combatants and Non-Combatants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ipsen Knut
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Direct Part ◽  
Minimum Standard ◽  
Individual Protection ◽  
The Many ◽  
Enemy Combatant ◽  
The Individual

This chapter examines the regulation of combatant status in treaty law and the many challenges for combatant status in recent armed conflicts. The primary status under international law of persons in an international armed conflict will be one of two categories of persons: ‘combatants’ and ‘civilians’. Combatants may fight within the limits imposed by international law applicable in international armed conflict, that is, they may participate directly in hostilities, which members of medical or religious personnel and ‘non-combatants’ may not do because they are excluded—by international law and by a legal act of their party to the conflict—from the authorization to take a direct part in hostilities. The chapter then discusses ‘unlawful combatants’, or what may be considered the better term: ‘unprivileged belligerents’. The term ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ was particularly used after 11 September 2001, to introduce a third category of persons which under existing law may be either combatants or civilians, but are denied such status as not fulfilling essential conditions. To use this third category in order to reduce the individual protection below the minimum standard of human rights is under no circumstances legally acceptable.

scholarly journals Military Lawyers on the Battlefield: An Empirical Account of International Law Compliance

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
State Behavior ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Norm Internalization ◽  
Transnational Legal Process

International law scholarship remains locked in a raging debate about the extent to which states do or do not comply with international legal norms. For years, this debate lacked empirical data altogether. International law advocates tended to assume that most nations obey most laws most of the time and proceeded to measure state activity against international norms through conventional legal analysis. In contrast, international relations realists and rational choice theorists have argued that international law is simply an epiphenomenon of other state interests with little independent power at all. Meanwhile, constructivist and transnational legal process approaches have posited that international law seeps into state behavior through psychological and sociological mechanisms of norm internalization and strategic action. But even these studies tend to remain on a theoretical level, without on-the-ground data about which factors might influence compliance in actual day-to-day settings.

scholarly journals Emergence of the Individual as an International Juristic Entity: Enforcement of International Human Rights

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 534-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Cassidy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Norm ◽  
State Practice ◽  
International Rights ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Individual

In this article it is contended that state practice, as evidenced in the declarations of the judiciary and the many treaties and conventions guaranteeing human rights, reveals a consensus of opinion acknowledging the individual to be an international juristic entity. So extensive is this practice that it could be seen as marking the emergence of a new customary international norm; or at least a general principle of international law, yet to crystallise into a custom; acknowledging the individual as the beneficiary of international rights. This is important for individuals and minority groups because if they possess international rights independently of the State, enforcement of their rights will no longer depend on the interests of the State. Where the State is often the offender of human rights, international law will not effectively confer any real rights unless the individual is so recognised as an inter- national juristic entity.

scholarly journals THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON SANCTIONS TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-218
Author(s):  
Jessica Priscilla Suri
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Member States ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractThe United Nations Security Council (SC) holds the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security as stipulated in Article 24 of the United Nations Charter (UN Charter). The emergence of international terrorism as a threat to international peace and security encourages the SC to impose sanctions in the form of assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo towards targeted individuals through the SC Resolutions on Taliban, Al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, the implementation of UN targeted sanctions towards individuals has been violating the targeted individual’s human rights to property, rights of movement, rights to privacy, honor and reputation, and also the rights to a fair trial. This article will explain about the legitimation of the SC Resolutions in imposing sanction towards an individual, and the obligation of UN member states towards the SC resolution that imposes sanctions against its citizen. The violations of human rights stemming from the implementation of SC Resolutions on sanction towards individuals indicate that the resolutions have been adopted beyond the limits of international law. Therefore this condition makes the resolutions lost its legitimacy under international law. In accordance with Article 25 and 103 of the UN Charter, all member states have an obligation to accept, carry on and give priority to the obligation originating from the SC Resolution including to implement the sanction measures towards individuals. Nevertheless, member states must accommodate and harmonize its obligations in respecting, protecting and fulfilling all the individuals’ rights who are targeted by the SC along with its obligation to the SC Resolutions. Keywords: Human Rights, Sanction towards Individuals, United Nations Security Council.AbstrakDewan Keamanan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (DK) memiliki tanggungjawab utama untuk menjaga perdamaian dan keamanan internasional berdasarkan Pasal 24 Piagam PBB. Munculnya terorisme internasional sebagai ancaman terhadap perdamaian dan keamanan internasional mendorong DK untuk menjatuhkan sanksi berupa pembekuan aset, pelarangan perjalanan serta embargo senjata kepada individu yang ditargetkan melalui rezim Resolusi Taliban, Al-Qaida dan Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Dalam penerapannya penjatuhan sanksi tersebut menimbulkan pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM) yaitu hak terhadap properti, hak kebebasan berpindah, hak atas privasi, kehormatan dan reputasi serta hak atas proses pengadilan yang adil. Pelanggaran HAM tersebut memunculkan tujuan dilakukannya penulisan artikel ini yaitu untuk menunjukan mengenai legitimasi resolusi DK yang menjatuhkan sanksi kepada individu, serta memaparkan mengenai kewajiban negara anggota PBB terhadap resolusi DK yang menjatuhkan sanksi kepada warga negaranya. Pelanggaran HAM yang disebabkan oleh penerapan penjatuhan sanksi terhadap individu mengindikasikan bahwa resolusi yang mendasari penjatuhan sanksi tersebut diadopsi dengan melampaui batasan-batasan penjatuhan sanksi DK dan telah kehilangan legitimasinya menurut hukum internasional. Sehingga meskipun negara memiliki kewajiban berdasarkan Pasal 25 dan 103 Piagam PBB untuk tetap menerima, melaksanakan dan mengutamakan kewajibannya berdasarkan Resolusi DK yang menjatuhkan sanksi terhadap individu, negara tetap harus mengakomodir dan mengharmonisasikan kewajibannya dalam menghormati, melindungi dan memenuhi HAM individu yang dijatuhkan sanksi saat melaksanakan kewajibannya yang berasal dari Resolusi DK. Kata Kunci: Dewan Keamanan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa, Hak Asasi Manusia, Sanksi terhadap Individu

scholarly journals Civic Rights in Charter of Madinah and International Human Rights Conventions: A Comparative Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-211
Author(s):  
Abdullah Abu Bakar ◽  
Rafiullah Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Historical Document ◽  
Current Time ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Conventions

حقوق الإنسان المدنية من خلال وثيقة المدينة: دراسة مقارنة بالمواثيق الدولية This research aims to give the reader a comprehensive view of civil human rights through a comparative study of the Charter of Medina and international conventions. The Charter of Medina designed the foundation of a multi-religious Islamic state in Medina, as it was signed to end the rancorous intertribal aggression among the opposing tribes of Banu ’Aws and Banu Khazraj in Medina and to uphold harmony and co-operation among all Medinan groups. Its major accomplishment was fetching confrontational clans together to form a community and inaugurating long term peace among them. It put an end to the predominant disorder and sheltered the life, self-determination, property and religious freedom for all people. The paper highlights the relevance and importance of civil human rights through the Charter of Medina as well as international conventions in the up-to-date worldwide civilization. The present research examines the historical document of Charter of Medina and elucidates it through examples from Quran and Sunnah as well as compares its core values with international conventions. In this regard the views of the past and contemporary scholarship are also discussed to analyze the challenges and issues of current time. In recent times the efforts and implications of civil human rights have unfolded in many different ways so it is very important for Muslims to know and to relate the Sharī’ah ruling regarding it. The research concludes that as compare to the international convections the system of justice in the Islamic Sharī’ah ensures all rights and with liabilities.

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