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Search: crossing lines

20 May

...could be used in combination with their more modern versions (viz. theBITs), to attract the latter’s dispute resolution mechanism, notably investor-State conciliation and arbitration. Such an operation would be in keeping with the 1978 ILC Draft Articles on MFN clause, the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and arbitral precedents. Synthesizing Article 10 of the Draft Articles on the MFN Clause, the ICJ’s take in Ambatielos I case, and arbitral tribunals’ findings along the lines of Ambatielos II case, an MFN clause of a treaty can attract the...
20.05.20 | |

10 Dec

...is imprudent and impractical. The goal of our statecraft is to help create a world of democratic, well-governed states that can meet the needs of their citizens and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system. Attempting to draw neat, clean lines between our security interests and our democratic ideals does not reflect the reality of today’s world. Supporting the growth of democratic institutions in all nations is not some moralistic flight of fancy; it is the only realistic response to our present challenges. This is all very well and good,...
10.12.05 | |

20 Feb

...programme, saying that “Germany recognizes UNRWA’s essential role in providing vital food support to the people of Gaza with its strong presence on the ground.” Amidst a likely famine, the UNRWA itself predicts mass starvation should humanitarian support be prevented from reaching the Gazan population. Moreover, should the UNRWA be effectively dismantled through a lack of financial support, the logistical hurdles for alternative lines of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population are gigantic, it is claimed.  De facto, the withdrawal from UNRWA equals a death sentence to established humanitarian aid...
20.02.24 | |

31 Oct

...afforded some channel of influence. It’s a matter of basic democracy theory. There have been a flurry of press stories and polls relating to foreign preferences in this election (overwhelmingly favoring Obama), all along the lines of, a world wanting to vote. (The Economist has ginned up a global electoral college; here are the global poll numbers from Foreign Policy, and here’s a blog called “Voices Without Votes: Americans Vote. The World Speaks.”) Extending truly universal franchise in presidential elections is a nice thought experiment, but ultimately not very practical....
31.10.08 | |

31 May

...a Sovereign Debt Treaty.” Kevin posted on Regulation 55 of the Rome Statute in the context of the Gbagbo proceedings and what he terms the irrelevance of the confirmation hearing. He also posted on when the left shoots itself in the foot (IHL version). We had two guest contributions in the last two weeks. The first, from Rick Lines, Damon Barrett and Patrick Gallahue was entitled: The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: ‘Asian Values’ or Drug Treaty Influence? Marina Aksenova posted on Five Questions on the Colombian Sentencing Practice and...
31.05.15 | |

16 Sep

...much more than fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, and participation in decision-making; it is tied to a liberal political identity (p. 225). Such an understanding of the rule of law provides a path to rethink the boundaries of society, its membership, and the constitutional makeup of the state, and thus shed light on liberal citizenship rights. Teitel also offered a way to reconstruct the collective across potentially divisive racial, ethnic, and religious lines, a means grounded in a political identity arising from society’s particular legacies...
16.09.20 | |

09 Oct

...and able to navigate a nuanced relationship with the Court. Although the United States was centrally involved with the negotiations around the Rome Statute, the final treaty ultimately crossed too many of its red lines. At that time, the concern of the administration of President Bill Clinton was a rather amorphous one grounded in American exceptionalism: that a seemingly unaccountable prosecutor would bring meritless or politically-motivated prosecutions against U.S. personnel deployed in response to sovereign and global threats. Nonetheless, President Bill Clinton ultimately decided to sign the treaty on the...
09.10.18 | |

03 Oct

...the US Government who’d been given a killer assignment. Apparently somebody had walked over to the desk of this poor functionary, scribbling away in some basement office, and said something along the lines of: “You know, we have a bunch of islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean—little islands. How about you figure out what the deal is with all these places, legally speaking.” I was holding the result: The Sovereignty of Islands Claimed Under the Guano Act and of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, Midway, and Wake. And it was...
03.10.10 | |

29 Oct

...are therefore growing for a global treaty to help protect against cyber threats. As a step in that direction, the British government is convening next week the London Conference on Cyberspace to promote new norms of cybersecurity and the free flow of information via digital networks. International diplomacy like this among states and private stakeholders is important and will bring needed attention to these issues. But the London summit is also likely to expose major fault lines, not consensus, on the hardest and most significant problems. The idea of ultimately...
29.10.11 | |

06 Apr

...have escaped within your lines. I am Colonel Mallory’s agent and have charge of his property. What do you mean to do with those Negroes?” “I intend to hold them,” Butler said. “Do you mean, then, to set aside your constitutional obligation to return them?” Even the dour Butler must have found it hard to suppress a smile. This was, of course, a question he had expected. And he had prepared what he thought was a fairly clever answer. “I mean to take Virginia at her word,” he said. “I...
06.04.11 | |

21 May

...backing and only token opposition from Europe, could well be the final nail in the coffin of such norms. A world in which an international discourse codifying a consensus about the use of force had vanished would be a world in which only might would make right. And here we would do well to remember these famous lines from Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons: Sir Thomas More: “… What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”William Roper: “Yes, I’d cut...
21.05.20 | |

02 Jul

...treaty form. Still, from time to time, treaty negotiations and all the diplomatic machinations accompanying them return to center stage. July appears to be one of those times. Starting today and running through July 27, the UN is launching a new treaty negotiation in New York for an Arms Trade Treaty. The UN General Assembly first proposed such a treaty in December 2006 in its Resolution 61/89. You can review a summary of the work of the preparatory committee since then here, including the Chair’s 2011 non-paper that outlines what...
02.07.12 | |