Why the International Criminal Court is Different.
The author discusses how the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court differ from the jurisdictions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and concludes that power matters.
Terrorism and International Adjudication
In the past few years the international community has seen a rise in international terrorism, and international law has been stunned with a new problem that it has not been prepared for. Without international legislation defining what constitutes international terrorism, no alternative dispute settlement bodies are prepared to deal with such a phenomenon. This paper focuses specifically on the proliferation of international adjudicative mechanisms and whether or not this momentum can promote the creation of a new international adjudicative body to cope with the rise of international terrorism as an alternative means to the War on Terrorism.
Embezzlement of Public Funds: A Crime against Humanity in Cameroon
Joseph Agbor Effim studies embezzlement in Cameroon, arguing that the consequent suffering experienced by Cameroonians that follows renders it tantamount to a crime against humanity.
Genocide in Rwanda: Draft Case Study for Teaching Ethics and International Affairs
This case aims to use the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda to help students appreciate what may be the roots and common causes of genocides. It is written in the suspicion that there may be some sort of “recipe” that can be followed by political elites bent on the extermination of a group. This article was originally published on http://www.ciaonet.org/isa/wrs01/
Switzerland’s “Minaret Conflict”
Switzerland’s “Minaret Conflict” Author: Lucy Dubochet Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on 10/06/2008 I. Description In 2006 and 2007 a few Muslim communities had requested building permits to add a minaret to their mosques. In many cases, although local administrations had considered that there was no legal basis to reject these demands, […]
Can the European Union be a peace-maker in the world? In Kosovo?
Jan Oberg discusses the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, the dangers of an increasingly militant and tactless EU foreign policy, and the continued need for creative thinking and enlightened policy reform.
Recognition of Statehood or Recognition for Statehood: The Legal Strategy behind Palestine’s Application for UN Full Membership
UPeace graduate student Bernard Ntahiraja examines the legal basis behind the strategic 2011 application for full membership of Palestine within the United Nations. He concludes that strategy as opposed to a sincere legal claim to statehood inspired Palestine’s bid before the UN, with the clear objective of accelerating the process toward true international recognition of a Palestinian state.
Who Will Save Darfur
Genocide in Darfur is stuck between international bureaucracy and lethargic, discriminate Sudanese politics. Pkalya probes Western states, special interests, and humanitarian aide initiatives, while we sit and wait to see who will save Darfur.
International Law and the War in Gaza: from fog of war to fog of law
The Gaza War (December 2008 – January 2009) left 1,166 to 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. Professor Juan Amaya Castro discusses the conflict with reference to sources of international law.
Comfort Women and the Failure of International Law
Seong Eun Lee discusses the failure of international law to hold states responsible for their use of women as sexual slaves during the Pacific War. The history of international treaties and regulations outlawing such behaviour are briefly reviewed, as is the current state of the former comfort women’s struggle for justice. The author argues that interlocking structures of oppression based on power imbalances of gender and ethnicity have continued to frustrate this struggle in the arena of international law.
Key words: Korea, Japan, comfort women, international law, development, South Asia, World War II, gender, peace and conflict, ethnicity, sexual slavery, justice.