Search: crossing lines
18 Dec Guest Post: Has the US just called for unilateral interpretation of multilateral obligations?
[Dr Rick Lines and Damon Barrett are the Chair and Director of the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy, University of Essex] These are interesting times for drug law reform, which, as it gathers pace, is asking important questions of international law. A UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs is set for 2016 just as national reforms are challenging international treaties that form the bedrock of a global prohibition regime that has dominated since the turn of the twentieth century. States parties to the three UN drug...09 Jan Is the EU Adopting a Double-Standards Approach toward Israel and the Palestinian Territories? (Part 1)
...as a realist rather than normative power, the EU adopted an approach which contradicts some of its own policies applied in other contexts. This is particularly evident once that the fisheries agreement is analyzed in the frame of the recent (July 2013) EU guidelines barring loans (which constitute less than 10 percent of funds the EU allocates in Israel) to Israeli entities established, or that operate, in the territories captured in June 1967 (the “EU Guidelines”). The EU-Morocco deal applies not just to the area under internationally recognized Moroccan sovereignty,...04 Jun Too Clever by Half: Why the ICC Will Probably Find No Jurisdiction Over the Deportation of the Rohingya
[Roi Bachmutsky is a human rights lawyer, recent graduate of Harvard Law School, and a Public Service Venture Fund and Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellow.] The International Criminal Court (“ICC”) made headlines in April upon Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s filing of an Article 19(3) request for a ruling on whether the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh. This is a big deal, but not for the reason you may think. As grave crimes appear to have been committed in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the...
26 Sep Preserving Morality or Crossing Boundaries? Assessing the Legality of Sanctions on Russia through the WTO’s Public Morals Exception
[Dhaval Bothra is a law student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune.] Introduction This blog specifically analyzes the legality of unilateral economic sanctions imposed by Member States, excluding UNSC sanctions. The primary focus is on evaluating the compatibility of these unilateral economic sanctions with the WTO’s Public Morals Exception, with particular emphasis on Article XX(a) of the GATT. It should be noted that invoking the public morals exception under Article XX(a) entails a more rigorous review process compared to invoking Article XXI(b) or (c). Recognizing this potential risk...25 Apr Is the Gaza Strip Still Occupied by Israel?
...over the Israeli side of the crossing points between Israel and the Gaza Strip is a natural reflection of Israel’s sovereignty within its own territory, which includes the prerogative to set policy for movement of people and goods from and to its own territory, and therefore cannot be regarded as proof of control over the Gaza Strip. This is similar to the right of control that any sovereign state has over its borders and border crossings. As for the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the Rafah crossing...08 Nov Leticia & Pancho: The alleged historic precedents for unwilling or unable in Latin America, explored (Part II, Pancho Villa)
...participating in, gathering elements, crossing the boundary or sailing from their territory for the purpose of starting or promoting civil strife; (ii) disarm and intern every rebel force crossing their boundaries; (iii) forbid the traffic in arms and war material, except when intended for the Government; and (iv) prevent the arming or equipping of any vessel seeking to favour the rebellion. Similar obligations were included in the 1911 Agreement on Internal Commotions and Neutrality, in force between Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. In essence, no rule akin to the...04 Jun Administration Internal Divisions Over Drone Strikes in Pakistan?
...at war, the CIA supervised the mission under Title 50, which allows the agency to conduct “deniable” activities overseas. The system worked in the Abbottabad raid. But over the past 10 years, there have been instances when crossing the traditional lines created potential problems for the United States. It’s especially important to understand these boundaries now as Gen. David Petraeus prepares to take over as CIA director. If the rules aren’t clear, people at home and abroad may worry about a possible “militarization” of U.S. intelligence. The issue, I think,...
14 Nov Symposium on Erin Pobjie’s Prohibited Force: Use of Force as Family Resemblances – A Cautionary Take
...impermissible behaviour. In other words, law in this context must critically have a “noise reducing” function. The less sharp these lines are, the greater the noise; and the greater the noise, Morrow concludes, the greater the possibility of unrestrained violence escalating. This reasoning speaks to the importance of bright lines in construing a legal regime that is effective in influencing behaviour and, in particular, in avoiding the escalation of violence. By contrast, the framework proposed by Pobjie is characterized by blurry lines, and this may ultimately end up undermining a...03 Apr The US’s New Nuclear Posture Review: Blurring the Lines of Anticipatory Self-Defense
[ Yulia Ioffe is a DPhil (PhD) candidate and a tutor in Public International Law at University of Oxford and Olga Bozhenko is an LL.M student in International Litigation (Public International Law) at Institute of International Relations Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University.] In February 2018, President Trump issued his Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which was widely anticipated by the international community. It was hoped that this document would soften the US President’s previous aggressive rhetoric (including the threat of ‘total destruction of North Korea’) and bring the US...
12 Sep Military Information Sharing by Ukrainian Citizens in the Digital Environment: DPH? – Blurring of Lines Between Civilian and Military Actors in Ukraine
[Luke James, LLM. is a security analyst interested in peace processes. He has worked at the ICC, OSCE, British Red Cross, Platform for Peace Humanity, UNV and is an Army Reservist.] On 5 July, Ret. Colonel John Spencer spoke at NATO’s Urban Warfare Conference in London. He described how Ukrainian President Zelensky “turned his civilians into fighters”, telling the Ukrainians citizens to “go out and resist”. From Spencer’s Urban Warfare perspective, “civilians were the first line of defence for the battle of Kyiv.” Spencer describes how Ukrainian...