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Books > Law > International law > Settlement of international disputes
International arbitration is a remarkably resilient institution, but many unresolved and largely unacknowledged ethical quandaries lurk below the surface. Globalisation of commercial trade has increased the number and diversity of parties, counsel, experts and arbitrators, which has in turn lead to more frequent ethical conflicts just as procedures have become more formal and transparent. The predictable result is that ethical transgressions are increasingly evident and less tolerable. Despite these developments, regulation of various actors in the systemarbitrators, lawyers, experts, third-party funders and arbitral institutionsremains ambiguous and often ineffectual. Ethics in International Arbitration systematically analyses the causes and effects of these developments as they relate to the professional conduct of arbitrators, counsel, experts, and third-party funders in international commercial and investment arbitration. This work proposes a model for effective ethical self-regulation, meaning regulation of professional conduct at an international level and within existing arbitral procedures and structures. The work draws on historical developments and current trends to propose analytical frameworks for addressing existing problems and reifying the legitimacy of international arbitration into the future.
This third edition of Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms the basis of their legitimacy. In particular, he covers the concept of universality and the widely used model that classifies human rights into clusters of different 'generations'. In this edition, the author brings together the fundamental aspects of human rights law, addressing human dignity as the ethical foundation of human rights, the principle of equality and non-discrimination as the essence of any culture of human rights, the protections against racial discrimination and discrimination against women, and assesses the individual as a subject of international law. The volume then moves on to assess the activities of the political institutions of the United Nations, the expert bodies established by the relevant treaties, and the international tribunals specifically entrusted at the regional level with protecting human rights. This edition also includes specific analysis of the actions mandated by the UN Security Council against Libya in 2011. It also includes greater coverage of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The author explains how and why the classical array of politically inspired informal devices has been enriched by the addition of international criminal procedures and by endeavours to introduce civil suits against alleged individual violators of human rights. Finally, the volume is rounded off by a consideration of the importance of humanitarian law as an instrument for the protection of human life and dignity and an exploration of the future of human rights.
Everyone condemns what they perceive as 'abuse of rights', and some would elevate it to a general principle of law. But the notion seldom suffices to be applied as a rule of decision. When adjudicators purport to do so they expose themselves to charges of unpredictability, if not arbitrariness. After examining the dissimilar origins and justification of the notion in national and international doctrine, and the difficulty of its application in both comparative and international law, this book concludes that except when given context as part of a lex specialis, it is too nebulous to serve as a general principle of international law.
This book evaluates the concept of the function of law through the
prism of the International Court of Justice. It goes beyond a
conventional analysis of the Court's case law and applicable law,
to consider the compromise between supranational order and state
sovereignty that lies at the heart of its institutional design.
This book provides a full analytical overview of the establishment and functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the newest and most controversial of the UN-sponsored international criminal courts. In 2005, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated in a huge blast that reverberated across Lebanon and the region. The Tribunal was established with a mandate to try the perpetrators of the Hariri killing, as well as those responsible for other killings that are 'connected' to this core crime. Individuals associated with the Hezbollah group have been indicted to be tried in the court in The Hague-but in their absence as their locations are unknown. The Tribunal is the UN's first attempt at addressing terrorism in an international criminal court, and the first attempt to set up international trials following crimes committed in the Middle East region. The court's narrow mandate and unique procedures have led many to question what kind of precedent it will set in a volatile region. This book looks at how the court was established, its foundational principles based on the Statute of the International Criminal Court and Lebanese domestic law, and the possible further development of its case law. It provides an authoritative guide to the procedure of the Tribunal,the status of the Registry, the rights of suspects and accused, trials in absentia, and the regulation of the conduct of counsel, drawing on comparisons to other international courts. The authors include those involved in setting up the court, prosecutors, defence counsel for the suspects, as well as judges and academic commentators who are experts on the issues covered in the book. They provide a probing insight into how the Tribunal came into being, its challenges, controversies, and its achievements to date.
Damages are a topic of central importance in international arbitration, being very often the principal concern of the parties, and an indication of the performance of their counsel. They are also one of the most complex topics. This book addresses the many competing factors that contribute to their nature and amount: while they are compensatory, they may be subject to counterclaims and set-offs, affected by failures to mitigate, or inflated by considerations such as interest and costs. Specialist evidence is relied on to complete composite calculations, taking into account such evasive factors as the destruction of market value, uncertainty of future revenues, projected interest rate changes, and lost dividends. The lack of understanding of the underlying considerations, methods such as "splitting the baby", or dogmas such as the misinterpreted "efficient breach of contract", combined with the already high level of burden of proof, can make successful damages claims or properly reasoned awards difficult to achieve. This book provides in-depth analysis of the legal, financial, and economic issues involved in the preparation of claims and arbitral awards for damages and loss of income, for the breach of complex long-term contracts in international arbitration. The authors address matters such as the but-for method and the reconstruction of the hypothetical course of events as well as the quantification of damages. It provides a detailed coverage of issues arising when structuring, arbitrating, or making an award on damages, making it a valuable reference for practitioners in the field. It includes a number of leading cases (including commercial and investment arbitrations), focusing on the damages analysis for breach of contract.
The idea of multi-culturalism has had a significant impact across many areas of law. This book explores how it has shaped the recent development of international human rights law. Custodians of human rights, especially international monitoring bodies, try to advance the effectiveness of human rights standards by interpreting these standards according to a method strongly inspired by the idea of cultural 'relativism'. By using elements of cultural identity and cultural diversity as parameters for the interpretation, adjudication, and enforcement of such standards, human rights are evolving from the traditional 'universal' idea, to a 'multi-cultural' one, whereby rights are interpreted in a dynamic manner, which respond to the particular needs of the communities and individuals directly concerned. This book shows how this is epitomized by the rise of collective rights - which is intertwined with the evolution of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples - in contrast with the traditional vision of human rights as inherently individual. It demonstrates how the process of 'culturalization' of human rights law can be shown through different methods: the most common being the recourse to the doctrine of the 'margin of appreciation' left to states in defining the content of human rights standards, extensively used by human rights bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights. Secondly, different meanings can be attributed to the same human rights standards by adapting them to the cultural needs of the persons and - especially - communities specifically concerned. This method is particularly used by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights. The book concludes that the evolution of human rights law towards multi-cultural 'relativism' is not only maximizes the effectiveness of human rights standards, but is also necessary to improve the quality of communal life, and to promote the stability of inter-cultural relationships. However, to an extent, notions of 'universalism' remain necessary to defend the very idea of human dignity.
What is arbitration? This volume provides a novel theoretical
examination of the concept of arbitration, attempting to answer
fundamental questions which have rarely been addressed
systematically in English. It explores the place of arbitration in
the legal process, offering a challenging, yet accessible overview
of the field and its theoretical underpinnings and contending that
arbitration is important enough to be understood in its own terms,
as a sui generis feature of social life.
Disputes in the energy and natural resources sector are at the heart of international arbitration. With more arbitrations arising in the international energy sector than in any other sector, it is not surprising that the highest valued awards in the history of arbitration come from energy-related arbitrations. Energy disputes often involve complex and controversial issues relating to security, sovereignty, and public welfare. International Arbitration in the Energy Sector puts international energy disputes into a global context, providing broad coverage of different forms and systems of dispute resolution across both renewable and non-renewable sectors. With contributions from leading arbitrators, academics, and industry experts from across the globe, the twenty chapters in the book enable readers to compare the approaches to, and learnings from, energy arbitrations across various legal systems and geographic regions. After outlining the international energy arbitration legal framework in Part I, the text delves into a detailed analysis of the problems which regularly arise in practice. These include, among other things, commercial disputes in Part II (e.g. over the upstream oil sector and long-term gas supply contracts), investor-state disputes in Part III (e.g. under the Energy Charter Treaty), and public international law disputes in Part IV (e.g. concerning international boundaries and the distribution of natural resources). Alongside recent developments in the international energy sector, attention is given to climate and sustainable development disputes, which raise important questions about enforcing sustainability objectives on individuals, corporations, and states. Backed by analyses of arbitral awards, national court and international tribunal decisions, treaties, and other international legal instruments, as well as current events and news in the energy industry, this text offers a unique contribution to international energy literature and provides insightful commentary on the prevalent issues in the field. It is essential reading for any practitioner or researcher in the energy and natural resources sector.
The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics provides a comprehensive analysis of the origins and development of one of the most striking supranational judicial institutions. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to cast new light on the substantial jurisprudence and ongoing political reform of the Court. The broad analysis based on historical, legal, and social science perspectives provides fresh insights into the institutional crisis of the Court and the future of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights is in many ways an unparalleled success. The Court embarked, during the 1970s, upon the development of a progressive and genuinely European jurisprudence. In the post-Cold War era, it went from being the guarantor of human rights solely in Western Europe to becoming increasingly involved in the transition to democracy and the rule of law in Eastern Europe. Now the protector of the human rights of some 800 million Europeans from 47 different countries, the European system is once again deeply challenged - this time by a massive case load and by the Member States' increased reluctance towards the Court. This book paves the way for a better understanding of the system and hence a better basis for choosing the direction of the next stage of the Court's life.
Fragmentation is one of the major debates within international law, but no detailed case studies have been made to show the problems that it creates, and how they can be addressed. This book asks whether the growing number of international judicial bodies render decisions that are largely consistent with one another, which factors influence this (in)consistency, and what this tells us about the development of international law by international courts and tribunals. It answers these questions by focusing on three areas of law, genocide, immunities, and the use of force, as in each of these areas different international judicial entities have dealt with cases stemming from the same situation and set of facts. The work focuses on four main courts: the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which often interpret, apply, and develop the same legal principles, despite their different mandates and functions. It argues that judicial fragmentation is damaging to the international legal system, as coherent and compatible pronouncements on the law by international courts are vital to retaining the confidence of the international community. Ultimately, the book makes a plea for the importance of judicial integration for the stability and reliability of the international legal system.
Questions as to when a state owes obligations under a human rights treaty towards an individual located outside its territory are being brought more and more frequently before both international and domestic courts. Victims of aerial bombardment, inhabitants of territories under military occupation, deposed dictators, suspected terrorists detained in Guantanamo by the United States, and the family of a former KGB spy who was assassinated in London through the use of a radioactive toxin, allegedly at the orders or with the collusion of the Russian government - all of these people have claimed protection from human rights law against a state affecting their lives while acting outside its territory. These matters are extremely politically and legally sensitive, leading to much confusion, ambiguity, and compromise in the existing case law. This study attempts to clear up some of this confusion, and expose its real roots. It examines the notion of state jurisdiction in human rights treaties, and places it within the framework of international law. It is not limited to an inquiry into the semantic, ordinary meaning of the jurisdiction clauses in human rights treaties, nor even to their construction into workable legal concepts and rules. Rather, the interpretation of these treaties cannot be complete without examining their object and purpose, and the various policy considerations which influence states in their behaviour, and courts in their decision-making. The book thus exposes the tension between universality and effectiveness, which is itself the cause of methodological and conceptual inconsistency in the case law. Finally, the work elaborates on the several possible models of the treaties' extraterritorial application. It offers not only a critical analysis of the existing case law, but explains the various options that are before courts and states in addressing these issues, as well as their policy implications.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. This book examines the law, national and/or international, that arbitral tribunals apply on the merits to settle disputes between foreign investors and host states. In light of the freedom that the disputing parties and the arbitrators have when designating the applicable law, and because of the hybrid nature of legal relationship between investors and states, there is significant interplay between the national and the international legal order in investor-state arbitration. The book contains a comprehensive analysis of the relevant jurisprudence, legal instruments, and scholarship surrounding arbitral practice with respect to the application of national law and international law. It investigates the awards in which tribunals referred to consistency between the legal orders, and suggests alternatives to the traditional doctrines of monism and dualism to explain the relationship between the national and the international legal order. The book also addresses the territorialized or internationalized nature of the tribunals; relevant choice-of-law rules and methodologies; and the scope of the arbitration agreement, including the possibility of host states presenting counterclaims in investment treaty arbitration. Ultimately, it argues that in investor-state arbitration, national and international law do not only coexist but may be applied simultaneously; they are also interdependent, each complementing and informing the other both indirectly and directly for a larger common good: enforcement of rights and obligations regardless of their national or international origin.
This book provides a complete overview into the work of the International Court of Justice in the last twenty years. Since 1989, the author, a former Principal Legal Secretary to the International Court of Justice, contributed frequent articles on this subject to the British Yearbook of International Law continuing the work begun by Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice in 1950. This work brings together these articles in one place for the first time, with extensive cross-references, and a thorough index and tables, making it more accessible than ever. This collection addresses all of the areas of international law that the International Court of Justice has addressed with depth and nuance. The topics considered include general principles of law, sources of law, treaty interpretation, substantive issues such as the law of the sea, state sovereignty, and state responsibility, questions of jurisdiction and competence, and questions of the Court's procedure. A comprehensive work of incredible detail, this collection is essential reading for those studying the law and procedure of the International Court of Justice, and its role at the heart of the international legal system, as well as for practitioners appearing before the Court.
International investments are governed by three different legal frameworks: 1) national laws of both the host country and the investor's home country; 2) contracts, whether between the investor and the host country or among investors and their associates; and 3) international law, consisting of applicable treaties, customs, and general principles of law. Together, these three frameworks profoundly influence the organization, operation, and protection of foreign investments. Investors, government officials, and their legal counsel must therefore understand the complex interaction among these frameworks and how best to employ them to advance their interests. This book examines the content of each of these three legal frameworks for international investment and explores how they influence the foreign investment process and the nature of investment transactions, projects, and enterprises. The book is divided into five parts. Part I, after explaining the contemporary nature and significance of international investment, examines the theoretical and practical links between law and the investment process. Part II explores the nature of national laws regulating foreign investment. Part III considers of the various contractual frameworks for international investments, looking at their negotiation, content, and stability. Part IV sets out the international legal framework governing foreign investment, focusing on the content and nature of investment treaties and on general principles. Finally, Part V discusses how the three legal frameworks interact with each other. By comprehensively examining each of the applicable legal frameworks, this book provides a vital overview of the laws, rules, and regulations governing foreign investment for lawyers, scholars, students, and government officials. Three different legal frameworks are applicable to foreign investment: the laws of the host state and the investor's home country, the contract between the host state and the investor, and the rules and principles of international investment law. These three bodies of law interact with each other and must be analysed together when interpreting an investment agreement or arbitrating a dispute. This book examines the content of each of these three legal frameworks and explores how they influence the flow of foreign investment. The book is divided into five parts. Part I, after explaining the contemporary nature and significance of international investment, examines the theoretical and practical links between law and the investment process. Part II explores the nature of national laws regulating foreign investment. Part III explores the nature of the contractual framework for international investments, looking at their negotiation, content, and stability. Part IV sets out the international legal framework governing foreign investment, focusing on the content and nature of bilateral investment treaties and on general principles. Finally, Part V considers how the three legal frameworks interact with each other. By comprehensively examining each of the applicable legal frameworks, this book provides a vital overview of the laws, rules, and regulations governing foreign investment for lawyers, scholars, students, and government officials working in the field.
Investment protection treaties generally provide for the obligation
to treat investments fairly and equitably, even if the wording of
the rule and its relationship with the customary international
standard may differ. The open-textured nature of the rule, the
ambiguous relationship between the vague treaty and equally vague
customary rules, and States' interpretations of the content and
relationship of both rules (not to mention the frequency of
successful invocation by investors) make this issue one of the most
controversial aspect of investment protection law.
International criminal justice has undergone rapid recent development. Since the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in the following year, the field has changed beyond recognition. The traditional immunity of presidents or heads of government, prime ministers, and other functionaries acting in an official capacity no longer prevails; the doctrine of superior orders is inapplicable except, where appropriate, as in mitigation; and the gap between international armed conflict and non-international armed conflict has closed. More generally, the bridge has been crossed between the irresponsibility of the state and the criminal responsibility of the individual. As a result, the traditional impunity of the state has practically gone. This book, by one of the former judges of the ICTY, ICTR, and the International Court of Justice, assesses some of the workings of the ICTY that have shaped these developments. In it, Judge Shahabuddeen provides an insightful overview of the nature of this criminal court, established on behalf of the whole of the international community. He reflects on its transformation into one of the leading fora for the growth of international criminal law first-hand, offering a unique perspective on the challenges it has faced. Judge Shahabuddeen's experience in international criminal justice makes this volume essential reading for those interested in, or working with, international criminal law.
The margin of appreciation is a judicial doctrine whereby
international courts allow states to have a measure of diversity in
their interpretation of human rights treaty obligations. The
doctrine is at the heart of some of the most important
international human rights decisions. Does it undermine the
universality of human rights? How should judges decide whether to
give this margin of appreciation to states? How can lawyers make
best use of arguments for or against the margin of appreciation?
This volume examines the prosecution as an institution and a
function in a dozen international and hybrid criminal tribunals,
from Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court. It is the
result of a sustained collaborative effort among some twenty
scholars and (former) tribunal staffers. The starting point is that
the prosecution shapes a tribunal's practice and legacy more than
any other organ and that a systematic examination of international
prosecutors is therefore warranted.
This book sets out and analyses the procedural law applied by international criminal tribunals and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It traces the development of international criminal procedure from its roots in the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg to its current application by the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia, and the International Criminal Court. All of these tribunals apply a different set of rules. The focus of this book, however, lies on the ICC and its procedural regime as contained in the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and the different Regulations of the Court and of the Prosecutor. The exceptional compromise between common and civil law which formed the basis of the ICC's Statute created a unique procedural order. This book systematically analyses the Court's organisational structure, overall procedural setting, and the individual procedural regulations, and compares and contrasts these to other international criminal tribunals. Amongst the many unresolved procedural issues are the rights of the accused before, during, and after the trial, the disclosure of evidence, the presentation of evidence, the participation of victims, the protection of witnesses, and the cooperation between the ICC and individual states. Through looking at these issues, the book develops a concise and fitting theoretical underpinning for the ICC's procedural order that is not founded on any specific legal culture.
Realizing Utopia is a collection of essays by a group of innovative international jurists. Its contributors reflect on some of the major legal problems facing the international community and analyse the inconsistencies or inadequacies of current law. They highlight the elements - even if minor, hidden, or emerging - that are likely to lead to future changes or improvements. Finally, they suggest how these elements can be developed, enhanced, and brought to fruition in the next two or three decades, with a view to achieving an improved architecture of world society or, at a minimum, to reshaping some major aspects of international dealings. Contributions to the book thus try to discern the potential, in the present legal construct of world society, that might one day be brought to light in a better world. As the impact of international law on national legal orders continues to increase, this volume takes stock of how far international law has come and how it should continue to develop. The work features an impressive list of contributors, including many of the leading authorities on international law and several judges of the International Court of Justice.
This book takes an inductive approach to the question of whether there is a hierarchy in international law, with human rights obligations trumping other duties. It assesses the extent to which such a hierarchy can be said to exist through an analysis of the case law of national courts. Each chapter of the book examines domestic case law on an issue where human rights obligations conflict with another international law requirement, to see whether national courts gave precedence to human rights. If this is shown to be the case, it would lend support to the argument that the international legal order is moving toward a vertical legal system, with human rights at its apex. In resolving conflicts between human rights obligations and other areas of international law, the practice of judicial bodies, both domestic and international, is crucial. Judicial practice indicates that norm conflicts typically manifest themselves in situations where human rights obligations are at odds with other international obligations, such as immunities; extradition and refoulement; trade and investment law; and environmental protection. This book sets out and analyses the relevant case law in all of these areas.
This book examines the concept of individual criminal
responsibility for serious violations of international law, i.e.
aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Such
crimes are rarely committed by single individuals. Rather,
international crimes generally connote a plurality of offenders,
particularly in the execution of the crimes, which are often
orchestrated and masterminded by individuals behind the scene of
the crimes who can be termed 'intellectual perpetrators'. For a
determination of individual guilt and responsibility, a fair
assessment of the mutual relationships between those persons is
indispensable.
The Function of Law in the International Community, first published
in 1933, is one of the seminal works on international law. Its
author, Sir Hersch Lauterpacht, is widely considered to be one of
the great international lawyers of the 20th century. It continues
to influence those studying and working in international law today.
There has been a quiet revolution over the course of the past
quarter century in the prosecution of individuals for war crimes
before international courts. Until recently, and with a few notable
exceptions in the wake of World War II, violations of the laws of
war and international humanitarian law were addressed primarily as
claims between states. However, this approach has changed radically
in just the last twenty years, as the international community has
increasingly accepted the idea of individual criminal
responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law.
The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda have played a key role in this transformation and, as the
trailblazers for a growing number of new international or hybrid
criminal courts, in establishing the field of international
criminal justice and encouraging the national prosecution of war
crimes. Understanding the Tribunals' origins, their ground-breaking
jurisprudence, and how they have addressed critical legal and
practical challenges is essential to understanding both the
revolution that has occurred over the past twenty years and how
international criminal law will change and grow in the years ahead.
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