Introduction

Near the Senkaku Islands, Chinese and Japanese vessels regularly engage in tense encounters about who has rights to control the nearby waters. Their standoffs represent just one of several points of friction that center on who controls the world’s oceans and what the rules are for their use. The oceans are often described as lawless or anarchic, but that characterization obscures as much as it explains. For centuries, there has been a rudimentary legal framework for the oceans: “freedom of the seas.” Yet freedom of the seas has come under strain in recent decades as governments have won more control of ocean space and as international regulation of the oceans has intensified. Constructing a stable basis for future ocean governance remains a significant international challenge.

The Concept of Business and Human Rights in the Context of Current Global Trends

The article is devoted to the concepts of business and human rights in metamodernism era (postpostmodern), when the contradictory processes of globalization and glocalization of economical and legal relations simultaneously create new opportunities and challenge the actuality and effectiveness of legal mechanisms of promotion of human rights in business field.It is emphasized that despite some progress in promoting the concept of business and human rights,the question whether international and national law is able to oblige businesses to sustain humanrights remains relevant. It is determined that the concept of business and human rights is based onthe categories of public interest, which is realized and taken into account by voluntary commitmentand implementation of relevant obligations of business entities and positive obligations of the statein the field of human rights. The article analyzes political and economic global trends and challenges which influence theconcept of business and human rights. Increasing asymmetry and inequality, changes in the systemof international economic institutions, especially financial, development of digital technologies,contradictory processes of integration and disintegration, expansion of illegal business and migration,the phenomenon of “Black Swans,” global economic crises and the covid -19 pandemic areprompting the necessity to provide sustainable development and social responsibility to business.Emphasis is placed on raising the level of awareness of business about the necessity and expediencyof observing human rights standards not only for ethical reasons, but also as a means of improvingtheir own success and competitiveness.The article also examines the main trends in the development of law which occur under the influenceof globalization and the demand for a new social contract, such as socialization, anthropologizationand ecologization of law, increasing the impact of crises, conflicts, pandemics on the content of law,expanding the scope and range of legal issues. changing the ratio of international and national legalregulation, changes in the subject area, raising the topics of non-state and global law, convergenceof public and private, changes in the system of sources of international law, blending of legal andnon-legal forms of regulation.It is emphasized that one of the trends in the development of international regulation of businessresponsibility in the field of human rights is the demand for more “strict” legal regulation, but thequestion is the realism and effectiveness of “strengthening” the legal force of international acts aboutbusiness responsibility in the field of human rights.The opinion on its own regulatory value of norms of soft law in the given sphere is expressed.

Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Regulation

This chapter discusses the rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) as an example of the wider phenomenon of overseas state investment. It sets out the striking expansion in the number and financial size of SWFs, most of which are located in the Middle East and Asia, and then summarizes the lively debates about whether SWF investments are a threat to the West and how they should be regulated at the international level. It then considers the international legal and normative framework that has been created to regulate SWFs, as well as the key relevant elements of the EU’s policies and legal regulation. It concludes that there is little evidence that a binding international regulatory framework that strongly constrains the choices of recipient countries through law or norms has been established. Thus, much scope for national choices about policies towards SWF equity investments remains.

DETERMINISTIC-BASED SHIP ANTI-COLLISION ROUTE OPTIMIZATION WITH WEB-BASED APPLICATION

Most of the accidents are caused by human error at sea so, decision making process made by navigators should be more computerised and automated. The supported decision making can be a step forward to decrease the risk of collision. This paper, in this respect, aims to present a deterministic approach to support optimum collision avoidance trajectory. This approach involves a collision avoidance course alteration. A web-based application coded with "JavaScript" programming language on the "Processing" software platform which allows the own ship to change her course in a deterministic manner to avoid collision optimally has been introduced. Algorithm structure of the method has been formulated and organized according to the International Regulation for Preventing Collision at Sea (COLREGs). The experimental tests results have revealed that the system is practicable and feasible and considerably outperforms heuristic-based method. It is thought that the developed method can be applied in an intelligent avoidance system on board and provides contribution to ship collision avoidance process, automation of ship motion control and ship traffic engineering.

The ‘Infodemic’: Is International Law Ready to Combat Fake News in the Age of Information Disorder?

This article considers the readiness of international law to protect States from information operations that are launched as the means of disrupting government response to the spread of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. It examines both the external- and internal-facing dynamics for international regulation of misinformation, with the focus on the principle of non-intervention as an external regulation of misinformation under general international law and freedom of expression guaranteed under human rights treaties for internal regulation.

Protection of Non-Traditional Trademarks in China

The paper attempts to investigate the issue of the protection of non-traditional trademarks in the People’s Republic of China that is ranked first in the number of registered trademarks in the world. The author analyzes the national legislation on the registration of trademarks that permits the registration of such types of non-traditional trademarks as sound, color combination and a three-dimensional designation, as well as judicial practice on appealing decisions of the National Trademark Office of China to refuse registration of three-dimensional, color and sound trademarks. The author determines the criteria for the protection of non-traditional trademarks, analyzes their application to each type of such marks. The paper highlights the main problems of registration of non-traditional trademarks in China. A conclusion is drawn about the need to improve legal, including international, regulation to stabilize and simplify the protection of non-traditional trademarks in the world.

Theoretical and methodological framework for the analysis of international forest political processes by stakeholders´ perceptions at national level

Forests cover about 30% of the world´s land area and provide people and nature with essential ecosystem services and goods. Despite their importance, forests continue to be degraded. A variety of international forest governance and policy arrangements have developed to foster protection and sustainability of forests. However, number of studies point to nonexistence of a global forest policy regime per se, and growing institutional fragmentation of forest governance arrangements. In line with continuing priority of national sovereignty in the international regulation of forest policy, the role of domestic policies, mainly domestic forest policy actors, is considered central to international forest governance analysis by many researchers. The paper aimed to set the framework for the international forest policy analysis by domestic forestry stakeholders´ perceptions. The dimensions of Policy Arrangements Approach modified for purpose of meeting the nature of research, serve as theoretical foundations. In the first part, the paper aim to define dimensions theoretically. In the second part, specific international forest-focused political processes are described through adapted dimensions. The two steps serve as the basis for research to be subsequently applied in selected European countries.

Non Conformity to Norms: Why Do States Proliferate in Opposition to Well Established and Powerful Non-Proliferation Norms

<p>Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons and of these only three have acquired them in the past 40 years. The primary reason for this has been the establishment of a powerful nuclear non-proliferation regime and its associated norms. The powerful influence of both the regime and the resulting norms on state behaviour is unquestionable. However a limited amount of state proliferation continues and some states’ behaviour suggests that they either reject, or believe that they are outside of the influence of the regime and its norms. My study is looking at the problem of non-conformity to the non-proliferation norm to see why it occurs. The issue is specifically a nuclear one however non-conformity to norms has wider implications in the study of international relations (IR). Regimes and norms clearly do not exist in a vacuum but operate within an international social environment. This nuclear issue remains a central consideration for state foreign policy and hence has justified extensive examination in the field of IR. The intellectually and ethically complex issues that surround access to this technology were acknowledged from its devastating baptism in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. International regulation was seen as the most appropriate form of control of nuclear weapons. This was in part due to the potential consequence of the misuse and the impact of accidents transcending national boundaries. This ultimate destructive capability has only been in the hands of a few states and the dissemination and control of this capability has been contentious from the day it was first used. Initially its power came from its potential to completely dominate militarily. As soon as the second country gained the same capability it became a lot more complicated. The destructive capability of nuclear weapons is such that any future war that saw their use could result in the annihilation of the human species. The Cold War and its extreme vertical nuclear proliferation actualised this fear. Nuclear technologies dual purpose functionality, of both peaceful power generation and the creation of a military nuclear capability make for a complex situation. There is an obvious power imbalance between the nuclear haves and have-nots and a self protective desire to stop or at least limit the number of countries attempting to join the ‘nuclear club’. Both realism and neo-liberal institutionalism are able to explain, in part, conformity and non conformity to regimes and their associated norms within today’s social environment. In this study I will use a social constructivist approach, which is based on the outcomes of persuasion, identification and social conformity, to see if it can add to the current explanations of state nuclear proliferation.</p>

Non Conformity to Norms: Why Do States Proliferate in Opposition to Well Established and Powerful Non-Proliferation Norms

<p>Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons and of these only three have acquired them in the past 40 years. The primary reason for this has been the establishment of a powerful nuclear non-proliferation regime and its associated norms. The powerful influence of both the regime and the resulting norms on state behaviour is unquestionable. However a limited amount of state proliferation continues and some states’ behaviour suggests that they either reject, or believe that they are outside of the influence of the regime and its norms. My study is looking at the problem of non-conformity to the non-proliferation norm to see why it occurs. The issue is specifically a nuclear one however non-conformity to norms has wider implications in the study of international relations (IR). Regimes and norms clearly do not exist in a vacuum but operate within an international social environment. This nuclear issue remains a central consideration for state foreign policy and hence has justified extensive examination in the field of IR. The intellectually and ethically complex issues that surround access to this technology were acknowledged from its devastating baptism in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. International regulation was seen as the most appropriate form of control of nuclear weapons. This was in part due to the potential consequence of the misuse and the impact of accidents transcending national boundaries. This ultimate destructive capability has only been in the hands of a few states and the dissemination and control of this capability has been contentious from the day it was first used. Initially its power came from its potential to completely dominate militarily. As soon as the second country gained the same capability it became a lot more complicated. The destructive capability of nuclear weapons is such that any future war that saw their use could result in the annihilation of the human species. The Cold War and its extreme vertical nuclear proliferation actualised this fear. Nuclear technologies dual purpose functionality, of both peaceful power generation and the creation of a military nuclear capability make for a complex situation. There is an obvious power imbalance between the nuclear haves and have-nots and a self protective desire to stop or at least limit the number of countries attempting to join the ‘nuclear club’. Both realism and neo-liberal institutionalism are able to explain, in part, conformity and non conformity to regimes and their associated norms within today’s social environment. In this study I will use a social constructivist approach, which is based on the outcomes of persuasion, identification and social conformity, to see if it can add to the current explanations of state nuclear proliferation.</p>

Cultural Relativity, Human Rights and the International Regulation of Broadcasting

<p>When a broadcaster broadcasts directly to people living in another state disputes can arise. The audience may find the programmes offensive. The programmes may foment disorder and rebellion and corrupt the values and traditions of the inhabitants of the receiving state or even threaten their very survival. The problem is not new. It has been a source of international tension since the inception of broadcast technology. The problem has however become more pointed as that technology has become ever more sophisticated. The power of radio is aptly illustrated by recalling the panic caused in 1938 by Orson Welles' famous hoax broadcast announcing the invasion of Earth by Martians. More recently commentators such as James Miles, BBC correspondent in Peking at the time, have suggested that the rebellion in China before and after the massacre at Tianamen Square was fomented, prolonged and to a degree coordinated by programmes broadcast on overseas radio stations such as Voice of America and the BBC. Television has a much greater graphic capacity than radio and is also vulnerable to abusive techniques such as subliminal suggestion and advertising. The impact of television is set for another great leap ahead as the development of High Definition Television technology proceeds apace. The development of communications satellites has greatly increased the range and quality of broadcasts. There have been a number of attempts to address this problem but none have met with much success. The international community has polarised into two camps, one taking a position based on a very strict view of the right to freedom of expression, and the other insisting that that right yield to a degree at least to accommodate peoples' rights to determine their own economic, social and cultural development. This paper offers a solution to this impasse. It offers guidelines to help resolve international broadcasting disputes. The guidelines are based on the international human right to freedom of expression as viewed particularly by the two bodies responsible for drafting that right's most famous exposition in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the host of other international and constitutional instruments which it inspired. It is argued that cultural relativity in the human rights context is consistent with the sources of international law specified in article 38 of the statue of the International Court of Justice, and that by incorporating a degree of cultural relativity the guidelines advocated herein are similarly consistent with current international law. It is also shown that the view of human rights the guidelines evince is consistent with a version of constructivist human rights theory which accords with observable practice and which enjoys widespread academic support. Some alternative methods for addressing the problem arising from international broadcasting are examined and their shortcomings identified. This leads to the conclusion that the method proposed in this paper for regulating international broadcasting, notwithstanding that it is most surely within the realm of de lege ferenda, is both consistent with current international law and jurisprudentially defensible, and therefore better than the alternatives.</p>