The advent of the CRISPR/Cas9 class of genome editing tools is transforming not just science and medicine, but also law. When the genome of germline cells is modified, the modifications could be inherited, with far-reaching effects in time and scale. Legal systems are struggling with keeping up with the CRISPR revolution and both lawyers and scientists are often confused about existing regulations. This book contains an analysis of the national regulatory framework in eighteen selected countries. Written by national legal experts, it includes all major players in bioengineering, plus an analysis of the emerging international standards and a discussion of how international human rights standards should inform national and international regulatory frameworks. The authors propose a set of principles for the regulation of germline engineering, based on international human rights law, that can be the foundation for regulating heritable gene editing both at the level of countries as well as globally.

The advent of the CRISPR/Cas9 class of genome editing tools is transforming not just science and medicine, but also law. When the genome of germline cells is modified, the modifications could be inherited, with far-reaching effects in time and scale. Legal systems are struggling with keeping up with the CRISPR revolution and both lawyers and scientists are often confused about existing regulations. This book contains an analysis of the national regulatory framework in eighteen selected countries. Written by national legal experts, it includes all major players in bioengineering, plus an analysis of the emerging international standards and a discussion of how international human rights standards should inform national and international regulatory frameworks. The authors propose a set of principles for the regulation of germline engineering, based on international human rights law, that can be the foundation for regulating heritable gene editing both at the level of countries as well as globally.

The Sword and the Scales is the first in-depth and comprehensive study of attitudes and behaviors of the United States toward major international courts and tribunals, including the International Courts of Justice, WTO, and NAFTA dispute settlement systems; the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; and all international criminal courts. Thirteen essays by American legal scholars map and analyze current and past patterns of promotion or opposition, use or neglect, of international judicial bodies by various branches of the United States government, suggesting a complex and deeply ambivalent relationship. The United States has been, and continues to be, not only a promoter of the various international courts and tribunals but also an active participant of the judicial system. It appears before some of the international judicial bodies frequently and supports more, both politically and financially. At the same time, it is less engaged than it could be, particularly given its strong rule of law foundations and its historical tradition of commitment to international law and its institutions.

In response to the weaknesses of international tribunals and domestic courts in the prosecution of crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, a new generation of "internationalized" criminal courts has been established. This book addresses three active and one putative jurisdiction of this kind in East Timor, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia.

Over the last century, international law, once reserved for arcane matters of diplomacy and trade, has come to encompass a broad range of human experience and activity. In the wake of major historical developments, the nations of the world have created a new set of legal institutions designed to resolve disputes between global actors, to settle conflicts that might otherwise play out on the battlefield, and to offer the promise of justice to those who cannot find it within their own countries. The success of these institutions rests ultimately on the shoulders of just over 200 men and women who serve in a role unheard of less than a hundred years ago: the international judge.
In the United States, the work of international judges is poorly understood, and the institutions that they serve have been frequent targets of misinformed criticism. This volume corrects some of the common American misperceptions about international judges, while providing a balanced introduction to both the strengths and shortcomings of their work. As they rule on crucial issues of war and peace, human rights, and trade, in addition to high-profile criminal trials, international judges are playing a critical role in developments that will affect world affairs - and law and society in the United States -- for years to come.
Based on interviews with over 30 international judges, this volume is the first comprehensive portrait of the men and women in this new global profession. It begins with an overview of international courts and a profile of international judges as a group. The working environment of international judges is closely examined in courts around the world, highlighting the challenge ofcarrying out work in multiple languages, in the context of intricate bureaucratic hierarchies, and with a necessary interdependence between judges and their courts' administration. Arguing that international judges have to balance their responsibilities as interpreters of the law and as global professionals, the authors discuss the challenges of working in the fluid circumstances of international courts. Profiles of five individual judges provide insight into the experience and dilemmas of the men and women on the international bench.