This ambitious 2005 volume is a history of war, from the standpoint of international law, from the beginning of history to the present day. Its primary focus is on legal conceptions of war as such, rather than on the substantive or technical aspects of the law of war. It tells the story, in narrative form, of the interplay, through the centuries, between, on the one hand, legal ideas about war and, on the other hand, state practice in warfare. Its coverage includes reprisals, civil wars, UN enforcement and the war on terrorism. This book will interest historians, students of international relations and international lawyers.

This book analyzes a new phenomenon in international law: international organizations assuming the powers of a national government in order to reform political institutions. After reviewing the history of internationalized territories, this book asks two questions about these "humanitarian occupations." First, why did they occur? The book argues that the missions were part of a larger trend in international law to maintain existing states and their populations. The only way this could occur in these territories, which had all seen violent internal conflict, was for international administrators to take charge. Second, what is the legal justification for the missions? The book examines each of the existing justifications and finds them wanting. A new foundation is needed, one that takes account of the missions" authorisation by the UN Security Council and their pursuit of goals widely supported in the international community.

This book analyzes a new phenomenon in international law: international organizations assuming the powers of a national government in order to reform political institutions. After reviewing the history of internationalized territories, this book asks two questions about these 'humanitarian occupations'. First, why did they occur? The book argues that the missions were part of a larger trend in international law to maintain existing states and their populations. The only way this could occur in these territories, which had all seen violent internal conflict, was for international administrators to take charge. Second, what is the legal justification for the missions? The book examines each of the existing justifications and finds them wanting. A new foundation is needed, one that takes account of the missions' authorisation by the UN Security Council and their pursuit of goals widely supported in the international community.

Who is accountable under international law for the acts committed by armed opposition groups? In today's world the majority of political conflicts involve non-state actors attempting to exert political influence (such as overthrowing a government or bringing about secession). Notwithstanding their impact on the course of events, however, we often know little about these groups, and even less about how to treat their actions legally. In this award-winning scholarship, Liesbeth Zegveld examines the need to legally identify the parties involved when internal conflicts arise, and the reality of their demands for rights. Her study draws upon international humanitarian law, human rights law and international criminal law to consider a fundamental question: who is accountable for the acts committed by non-state actors, or for the failure to prevent or repress these acts? This study will be of interest to academics, postgraduate students and professionals involved with armed conflict and international relations.

Laws regulating armed conflict have existed for centuries, but the bulk of these provisions have been concerned with wars between states. Relatively little attention has been paid to the enormously important area of internal armed conflict. At a time when international armed conflicts are vastly outnumbered by domestic disputes, this book seeks to redress the balance through a comprehensive analysis of those rules which exist in international law to protect civilians during internal armed conflict. From regulations in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries according to the doctrine of recognition of belligerency, this book traces the subsequent development of international law by the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols, as well as through the more recent jurisprudence of the Yugoslav and Rwandan tribunals. The book also considers the application of human rights law during internal armed conflict, before assessing how effectively the applicable law is, and can be, enforced.

International organizations have become major players on the international scene, whose acts and activities affect individuals, companies and states. Damage to interests or violation of rights sometimes occur (such as during peacekeeping operations, for example). Karel Wellens considers what remedies are available to potential claimants such as private contractors, staff members or, indeed, anyone suffering damage as a result of their actions. Can they turn to an Ombudsman or national courts, or do they have to rely on support by their own state? Are the remedies provided by international organizations adequate? Wellens' conclusions include suggestions for alternative remedial options in the future.

At a time when human rights are coming under increasing pressure, in-depth knowledge and understanding of their foundations, conceptual underpinnings and current practice remain crucial. The second edition of Walter Kalin and Joerg Kunzli's authoritative book provides a concise but comprehensive legal analysis of international human rights protection at the global and regional levels. It shows that human rights are real rights creating legal entitlements for those who are protected by them and imposing legal obligations on those bound by them. Based, in particular, on a wide-ranging analysis of international case-law, the book focuses on the sources and scope of application of human rights and a discussion of their substantive guarantees. Further chapters describe the different mechanisms to monitor the implementation of human rights obligations, ranging from the regional human rights courts in Africa, the Americas and Europe and the UN treaty bodies to the international criminal tribunals, the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council. The book is based on an understanding of human rights as legal concepts that address basic human needs and vulnerabilities, and highlights the indivisibility of civil and political rights on the one and economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand. It also highlights the convergence of international human rights and international humanitarian law and the interlinkages with international criminal law as well as general international law, in particular the law of state responsibility.

War is invariably accompanied by debate, if not controversy, over the legitimacy of using force. Alongside the longstanding state practice of justifying use of force is the increasing codification of legal rules on the use of force. In this volume a leading group of international authorities consider the issues surrounding the legitimation of force from several distinct disciplinary perspectives, including political science, law, history and philosophy. In particular, they examine the underlying question of whether and how international society's traditional norms of sovereignty and non-intervention can coexist both with the new norm of humanitarian intervention and with an increasingly hegemonial (if not 'imperial') role played by the United States. What is the difference between 'legality' and 'legitimacy'? Is the latter a truly universal concept or mainly a Western one? Are earlier ideas about 'just war' still relevant?

Should states use military force for humanitarian purposes? What are the challenges to international society posed by humanitarian intervention in a post-September 11th world? This path-breaking work brings together well-known scholars of law, philosophy, and international relations, together with practitioners who have been actively engaged in intervention during the past decade. Together, this team provides practical and theoretical answers to one of the most burning issues of our day. Case studies include Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, and East Timor, as well as the recent US intervention in Afghanistan. The book demonstrates why humanitarian intervention continues to be a controversial issue not only for the United Nations but also for Western states and humanitarian organizations.

The concept of obligations erga omnes - obligations to the international community as a whole - has fascinated international lawyers for decades, yet its precise implications remain unclear. This book assesses how this concept affects the enforcement of international law. It shows that all States are entitled to invoke obligations erga omnes in proceedings before the International Court of Justice, and to take countermeasures in response to serious erga omnes breaches. In addition, it suggests ways of identifying obligations that qualify as erga omnes. In order to sustain these results, the book conducts a thorough examination of international practice and jurisprudence as well as the recent work of the UN International Law Commission in the field of State responsibility. By so doing, it demonstrates that the erga omnes concept is now solidly grounded in modern international law, and clarifies one of the central aspects of the international regime of law enforcement.

This book is the first comprehensive manual on the law of armed conflict prepared by a team of expert scholars and practitioners working for and with the UK Ministry of Defence. It covers all aspects of the law of armed conflict as applied today, including means and methods of warfare, the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants - including prisoners of war - and the conduct of operations in all three environments: land, sea and air. It also includes discussion of some of the key elements of relevance in the modern strategic environment, not least the legal aspects of internal armed conflict and the application of the law during peace support operations. This is a significant publication providing sound evidence of the legal views of one of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. As such it will become an essential reference and source for legal scholars working in this field, for officials working in foreign and defence ministries around the globe, and for military officers and lawyers requiring a sound grasp of the legal framework of military operations

Since the Nuremberg Trials of top Nazi leaders following the Second World War, international law has affirmed that no-one, whatever their rank or office, is above accountability for their crimes. Yet the Cold War put geopolitical agendas ahead of effective action against war crimes and major human rights abuses, and no permanent system to address impunity was put in place. It was only with the Cold War's end that governments turned again to international institutions to address impunity, first by establishing International Criminal Tribunals to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and then by adopting the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998. Domestic courts also assumed a role, notably through extradition proceedings against former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet in London, then in Belgium, Senegal, and elsewhere. At the same time, as some have announced a new era in the international community's response to atrocities, fundamental tensions persist between the immediate State interests and the demands of justice. This book is about those tensions. It reviews the rapid recent development of international criminal law, and explores solutions to key problems of official immunities, universal jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court, and the stance of the United States, seeking to clarify how justice can best be done in a system of sovereign States. Whilst neither the end of the Cold War nor the 'decline of sovereignty' in themselves make consistent justice more likely, the ICC may encourage a culture of accountability that will support more regular enforcement of international criminal law in the long term.

This second edition of C.F. Amerasinghe's successful 1993 book has been revised to include a new chapter on judicial organs of international organizations, as well as a considerably developed chapter on dispute settlement. Covering all the important institutional aspects of international organizations, it considers a range of topics, including membership and representation, international and national personality, the doctrine of ultra vives, liability of members to third parties, dissolution and succession. First Edition Hb (1993): 0-521-46317-3

Should states use military force for humanitarian purposes? Well known scholars and practitioners come together in this book to provide practical and theoretical answers to this burning question. Case studies include Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, and East Timor, as well as the recent US intervention in Afghanistan. The book demonstrates why humanitarian intervention continues to be a controversial issue not only for the United Nations, but also for Western states and humanitarian organisations.

Peace Agreements and Human Rights examines the place of human rights in peace agreements against the backdrop of international legal provision. The book examines the role of peace agreements in peace processes, drawing on a comprehensive appendix of over 100 peace agreements signed after 1990, in over 40 countries. Four sets of peace agreements are then examined in details, those of Bosnia Herzigovnia, Northern Ireland, South Africa and the Israeli/palestinian conflict. The Human Rights component of each of these agreements are comapred with each othe- focussing not on direct institutional comparison, but rather on the set of trade-offs which comprise the 'human rights dimension' of the agreements. This human rights dimension is also compared with relevant international law. The book focusses on the comparison of three main areas: self-determination and 'the deal', institution-building for the future, and dealing with the past. The purpose of the comparison is to illuminate thinking at three levels. First, it aims to provide some clear analysis of the role of human rights in peace agreements and the role of peace agreements in peace processes and conflicts more generally. Second, it considers whether and how international law guides or influences the negotiators who frame peace agreements, or whether international law is running to catch up with the mechanisms turned to in peace agreements. Finally, to provide a context from which to examine the relationship between justice and peace, and law and politics more generally. The author argues that the design and implementation prospects are closely circumscribed by the self-determination 'deal' at the heart of the agreement. She suggests that the entangling issues of group access to power with individual rights provision indicates the extent to which peace-making is a constitution-making project. She argues in conclusion that peace agreements are in effect types of constitution, with valuable lessons about the role of law in social change in both violent conflict and more peaceful contexts.

Millions of people are forced today to flee persecution. The core international legal instrument on which they must rely to find safety is the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This book examines key challenges the Convention faces, on the basis of nine papers by eminent international refugee lawyers, which were then discussed at an expert roundtable meeting in 2001 as part of UNHCR's Global Consultations on International Protection. The papers are published here in one volume, together with the conclusions of the roundtables and other documents.

This volume first addresses the material details of the Human Rights Act 1998 and then examines the schemes for immigration control mandated by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Further chapters contain in-depth analyses of the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on a number of areas of immigration and asylum law and practice in the UK.

The book examines current debates about the emergence of an international legal norm of democratic governance and also considers some of the wider theoretical issues to which those debates give rise. It asks should international law seek to promote democratic political arrangements? If so, on what basis, and using which of the many competing conceptions of democracy?

The world faces more than 60 million people displaced by armed conflict and disasters as of 2022. Climate change is set to trigger large-scale displacement in the future. Internal Displacement and the Law discusses to what extent the present law can contribute to preventing, responding to, and resolving internal displacement and protecting the rights of these internally displaced persons (IDPs). It also identifies its weaknesses and examines ways to improve action. The book's analysis reflects the realities of internal displacement and the challenges faced by displaced individuals and communities, their hosts, governments, and international actors. Assessing the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Kampala Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, this enlightening volume investigates the relevance of international human rights and humanitarian law to the problem of displacement with an eye toward durable solutions. In line with its human rights approach, this work promotes a narrative that, based on the concept of sovereignty as responsibility, emphasizes the primary responsibility of states to address the needs of IDPs and views them as citizens with rights and agency rather than as vulnerable beneficiaries of humanitarian action. The author concludes that the body of relevant law amounts to an emerging legal regime on internal displacement whose substantive norms are largely adequate, but which faces specific institutional challenges at domestic and international levels that weaken efforts to address the plight of IDPs.

This book focuses on the concept of state responsibility for international crimes which gained support following the First World War, but was pushed into the background by the development of the principle of individual criminal responsibility under international law after the Second World War. The concept became the topic of debate and controversy upon its inclusion in Part I of the United Nations International Law Commission's Draft Articles on State Responsibility adopted on first reading in 1980. The book considers the history and merits of a concept which, it is argued, is currently on the threshold between lex ferenda and lex lata and has a place and an existence in international law independent from the Draft Articles on State Responsibility.

This book reviews the rapid recent development of international criminal law, and explores solutions to key problems of official immunities, universal jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court and the stance of the United States, seeking to clarify how justice can best be done in a system of sovereign States.

When the Allies tried German war criminals at the end of World War II they were attempting not only to punish the guilty but also to set down a history of Nazism and of what had happened in Europe. Yet as Donald Bloxham shows in this incisive new account the reality was that these proceedings failed: not only did the guilty often escape punishment but the final solution was largely written out of history in the post-war era.

The Geneva Conventions are the best-known and longest-established laws governing warfare, but what difference do they make to how states engage in armed conflict? Since the start of the "War on Terror" with 9/11, these protocols have increasingly been incorporated into public discussion. We have entered an era where contemporary wars often involve terrorism and guerrilla tactics, but how have the rules that were designed for more conventional forms of interstate violence adjusted? Do the Geneva Conventions Matter? provides a rich, comparative analysis of the laws that govern warfare and a more specific investigation relating to state practice. Matthew Evangelista and Nina Tannenwald convey the extent and conditions that symbolic or "ritual" compliance translates into actual compliance on the battlefield by looking at important studies across history. To name a few, they navigate through the Algerian War for independence from France in the 1950s and 1960s; the US wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan; Iranian and Israeli approaches to the laws of war; and the legal obligations of private security firms and peacekeeping forces. Thoroughly researched, this work adds to the law and society literature in sociology, the constructivist literature in international relations, and legal scholarship on "internalization." Do the Geneva Conventions Matter? gives insight into how the Geneva regime has constrained guerrilla warfare and terrorism and the factors that affect protect human rights in wartime.

When does the waging of war become a criminal act? And who is in a position to judge? Ranging from the American Indian wars to the Civil War to World War I, and culminating with the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following the Second World War, Peter Maguire provides much-needed historical perspective on the crucial and ever more urgent issues of war and justice. His examples illustrate the gradations of political justice and the perpetual redefinition of war crimes across three continents and more than a century of American foreign policy.

Do people everywhere have the same, or even compatible, ideas about multiculturalism, indigenous rights or women's rights? The authors of this book move beyond the traditional terms of the universalism versus cultural relativism debate. Through detailed case studies from around the world (Hawaii, France, Thailand, Botswana, Greece, Nepal and Canada) they explore the concrete effects of rights talk and rights institutions on people's lives.