scholarly journals Channeling Unilateralism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Transaction Costs ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Human Security ◽  
Transnational Crime ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Multilateral Regimes ◽  
Technical Capacity ◽  
Over Time

56 Harvard International Law Journal 297 (2015)When crime reaches across borders to threaten human security or undermine democracy, states often respond by adopting multilateral treaties that obligate each of them to suppress the transnational crime at home. These treaties help, but only to the extent that parties comply with them. Because states generally cannot enforce their laws outside their own territory, transnational criminals can evade prosecution as long as some states are unable or unwilling to meet these treaty commitments. One solution for improving compliance with these treaties may be, counterintuitively, more unilateralism. Using case studies on transnational bribery and drug trafficking, as well as thick descriptions of several more transnational criminal regimes, this Article develops a theory of “channeled unilateralism” to explain how multilateralism and unilateralism can reinforce one another to the same ends. Treaties that channel unilateralism are structured to help motivated states apply their laws to crimes that reach beyond their borders. Specifically, the treaties endorse extraterritorial application of prescriptive jurisdiction and encourage the use of bilateral agreements for enforcement cooperation. These treaty provisions lower reputational and transaction costs for motivated states to expand their enforcement efforts as long as those efforts remain within the framework set by the treaty. Over time, these expanded unilateral efforts may promote broader compliance with the treaty regime by improving information, peer-to-peer contacts, and technical capacity. When channeled effectively, strong unilateral policies may strengthen rather than weaken multilateral regimes.

Part II Predominant Security Challenges and International Law, Human Security, Ch.22 Institutionalized Inhumanity: From Torture to Assassination

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mavronicola Natasa
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Human Security ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Relative Power ◽  
Human History ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Degrading Treatment ◽  
Over Time

Atrocity pervades human history. Over time, individuals and groups have wielded their relative power over other persons in a variety of cruel ways, not least torture and assassination. The legal framework that gradually emerged to counter such abuse reflected a deontic humanity—humanity not as it is, but as it ought to be. This deontic vision of humanity was premised on human dignity, an egalitarian idea according to which every single human person is fundamentally worthy of a certain level of respect. The lines set by international law are arguably orientated to serving as a bulwark against the desecration of this deontic humanity. The chapter considers the legal framework on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment and assassination, broadly conceived. It considers some of the main developments in respect of the law and the deontic humanity that underpins it as well as prominent challenges arising therein, at the heart of which are (national, global, or transnational) security structures, or appeals to security: from consequentialist arguments for abandoning the prohibition of torture, to the securitization of (groups of) persons in ways which contradict human dignity.

The New Terrain of International Law

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Alter
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The Political ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law

In 1989, when the Cold War ended, there were six permanent international courts. Today there are more than two dozen that have collectively issued over thirty-seven thousand binding legal rulings. This book charts the developments and trends in the creation and role of international courts, and explains how the delegation of authority to international judicial institutions influences global and domestic politics. The book presents an in-depth look at the scope and powers of international courts operating around the world. Focusing on dispute resolution, enforcement, administrative review, and constitutional review, the book argues that international courts alter politics by providing legal, symbolic, and leverage resources that shift the political balance in favor of domestic and international actors who prefer policies more consistent with international law objectives. International courts name violations of the law and perhaps specify remedies. The book explains how this limited power—the power to speak the law—translates into political influence, and it considers eighteen case studies, showing how international courts change state behavior. The case studies, spanning issue areas and regions of the world, collectively elucidate the political factors that often intervene to limit whether or not international courts are invoked and whether international judges dare to demand significant changes in state practices.

Is International Law International?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthea Roberts ◽  
Martti Koskenniemi
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
South China ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
International Lawyer ◽  
Spheres Of Influence ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
The World ◽  
Anglo American

Is International Law International? takes the reader on a sweeping tour of the international legal academy to reveal some of the patterns of difference, dominance, and disruption that belie international law’s claim to universality. Both revealing and challenging, confronting and engaging, this book is a must-read for any international lawyer, particularly in a world of shifting geopolitical power. Pulling back the curtain on the “divisible college of international lawyers,” the author shows how international lawyers in different states, regions, and geopolitical groupings are often subject to differences in their incoming influences and outgoing spheres of influence in ways that affect how they understand and approach international law, including with respect to contemporary controversies like Crimea and the South China Sea. Using case studies and visual representations, the author demonstrates how actors and materials from some states and groups have come to dominate certain transnational flows and forums in ways that make them disproportionately influential in constructing the “international”—a point which holds true for Western actors, materials, and approaches in general, and Anglo-American ones in particular. But these patterns are set for disruption. As the world moves past an era of Western dominance and toward greater multipolarity, it is imperative for international lawyers to understand the perspectives of those coming from diverse backgrounds. By taking readers on a comparative tour of different international law academies and textbooks, the author encourages international lawyers to see the world through others’ eyes—an approach that is pressing in a world of rising nationalism.

Trends in Global Disarmament Treaties

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Casey-Maslen ◽  
Tobias Vestner
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
State Party ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
Biological Weapons Convention ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Core Features

Abstract Since the adoption of the UN Charter, states have concluded numerous international disarmament treaties. What are their core features, and are there any trends in their design? This article discusses the five global disarmament treaties, namely the 1971 Biological Weapons Convention, the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention, the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions and the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It first considers how a broad set of prohibitions of activities with respect to specific weapons has evolved over time. Then, it analyses the treaties’ implementation and compliance support mechanisms as well as their procedural aspects regarding entry into force and withdrawal. This article finds that a pattern has developed over the last two decades to outlaw all and any use of weapons by disarmament treaty, without first instituting a prohibition on their use under international humanitarian law (IHL). It also finds that reporting obligations, meetings of States Parties and treaty-related institutions are generally created, either directly by treaty or by subsequent state party decisions. Finally, there is a tendency to make the treaty’s entry into force easier, and the withdrawal more difficult. It is argued that these trends arise from states’ attempt to establish more easily disarmament treaties, design more robust disarmament treaties and more effectively protect civilians. The article concludes by reflecting whether these trends form the basis of a new branch of international law—international disarmament law—and discusses them in the context of emerging weapons and technologies.

Software-driven Security Attacks: From Vulnerability Sources to Durable Hardware Defenses

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Lauren Biernacki ◽  
Mark Gallagher ◽  
Zhixing Xu ◽  
Misiker Tadesse Aga ◽  
Austin Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Security Attacks ◽  
Specific Point ◽  
Security Vulnerabilities ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Hardware Realization ◽  
Over Time

There is an increasing body of work in the area of hardware defenses for software-driven security attacks. A significant challenge in developing these defenses is that the space of security vulnerabilities and exploits is large and not fully understood. This results in specific point defenses that aim to patch particular vulnerabilities. While these defenses are valuable, they are often blindsided by fresh attacks that exploit new vulnerabilities. This article aims to address this issue by suggesting ways to make future defenses more durable based on an organization of security vulnerabilities as they arise throughout the program life cycle. We classify these vulnerability sources through programming, compilation, and hardware realization, and we show how each source introduces unintended states and transitions into the implementation. Further, we show how security exploits gain control by moving the implementation to an unintended state using knowledge of these sources and how defenses work to prevent these transitions. This framework of analyzing vulnerability sources, exploits, and defenses provides insights into developing durable defenses that could defend against broader categories of exploits. We present illustrative case studies of four important attack genealogies—showing how they fit into the presented framework and how the sophistication of the exploits and defenses have evolved over time, providing us insights for the future.

Practical Applications of Bed Scour Calculations: Two Case Studies

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leif M. Burge ◽  
Laurence Chaput-Desrochers ◽  
Richard Guthrie
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Flood Frequency Analysis ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Pool Depth ◽  
Regional Flood Frequency Analysis ◽  
Channel Degradation ◽  
Design Depth ◽  
Bed Scour ◽  
Over Time

Pipelines can be exposed at water crossings where rivers lower the channel bed. Channel bed scour may cause damage to linear infrastructure such as pipelines by exposing the pipe to the flow of water and sediment. Accurate estimation of depth of scour is therefore critical in limiting damage to infrastructure. Channel bed scour has three main components: (1) general scour, (2) bed degradation, and (3) pool depth. General scour is the temporary lowering of the channel bed during a flood event. Channel bed degradation is the systematic lowering of a channel bed over time. Pool depth is depth of pools below the general bed elevation and includes the relocation of pools that result from river dynamics. Channel degradation is assessed in the field using indicators of channel incision such as channel bed armoring and bank characteristics, through the analysis of long profiles and sediment transport modelling. Pool depth is assessed using long profiles and channel movement over time. The catastrophic nature of bed lowering due to general scour requires a different assessment. A design depth of cover is based on analysis of depth of scour for a given return period (eg. 100-years). There are three main steps to predict general scour: (1) regional flood frequency analysis, (2) estimation of hydraulic variables, and (3) scour depth modelling. Typically, four scour models are employed: Lacey (1930), Blench (1969), Neill (1973), and Zeller (1981), with the average or maximum value used for design depth. We provide herein case studies for potential scour for pipeline water crossings at the Little Smoky River and Joachim Creek, AB. Using the four models above, and an analysis of channel degradation and pool depth, the recommended minimum depth of cover of 0.75 m and 0.142 m, respectively, were prescribed. Variability between scour models is large. The general scour model results varied from 0.45 m and 0.75 m for the Little Smoky River and 0.16 m to 0.51 m for Joachim Creek. While these models are more than 30 years old and do not adequately account for factors such as sediment mobility, they nevertheless do provide usable answers and should form part of the usual toolbox in water crossing scour calculations.

scholarly journals Introduction

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-800
Author(s):  
MÓNICA GARCÍA-SALMONES ROVIRA ◽  
PAOLO AMOROSA
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
Normative Systems ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
History Of ◽  
Colonial Governance ◽  
History Of International Law

The deep relation between the colonial past and contemporary international law has been convincingly established. Scholars from diverse backgrounds, employing a variety of approaches, have shown the multifaceted ways in which the colonial enterprise occasioned the birth of doctrines and practices that are still in common use. The conference that occasioned this symposium, the last of the project History of International Law: Between Religion and Empire, directed by Martti Koskenniemi, was held in Helsinki in October 2016 and approached the issue of the colonial legacy of international law from the point of view of specific histories. The ‘techniques of empire’ raised at the conference encompassed colonial governance in the broadest sense, looking at practices, norms and normative systems, doctrines and concepts, and events. The case studies making up the articles featured in the symposium treat subjects as diverse as the experiences of colonialism have been, assuming an array of forms. Even so, from the multiplicity of techniques certain patterns and themes emerge.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW AND AR (AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC) LEGISLATION GENOCIDE CRIME AND ITS COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL CRIMES

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (04) ◽  
pp. 48-52
Author(s):  
Erkin Humbat Musayev Humbat Musayev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
International Law ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Transnational Crime ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Crimes

Key words: international law, international criminal law, genocide, war crimes, transnational crime

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document