Marcelo G. Kohen

Determining Boundaries in a Conflicted World: The Role of "Uti Possidetis"

She argues that nothing justifies conferring such a binding status on the principle and that the uti possidetis applied in Yugoslavia was an entirely new version that can derive no legitimacy from colonial precedents. While the doctrine may have considerable utility in some cases, it is only principle among many that must be considered if future disputes are to be resolved so as to promote long term peace and stability. Lalonde sounds a cautionary note, showing that the idea that uti possidetis provides a one-size-fits-all, legally incontestable solution to all territorial disputes is an illusion.

Secession : international law perspectives

List of contributors List of abbreviations Table of cases Table of international instruments Table of national legislation Foreword Introduction Marcelo G. Kohen Part I. The Foundations of International Law and their Impact on Secession: 1. Secession and self-determination Christian Tomuschat 2. Secession, terrorism and the right of self-determination Andrew Clapham 3. Secession and external intervention Georg Nolte 4. The role of recognition in the law and practice of secession John Dugard and David Raic 5. The state as a primary fact: some thoughts on the principle of effectiveness Theodore Christakis 6. A normative due process in the creation of states through secession Antonello Tancredi 7. Secession and the law of state succession Andreas Zimmermann 8. Are there gaps in the international law of secession? Olivier Corten Part II. International and Domestic Practice: 9. The question of secession in Africa Fatsah Ouguergouz and Djacoba Liva Tehindrazanarivelo 10. International law and secession in the Asia and Pacific regions Li-ann Thio 11. Secession and international law: the European dimension Photini Pazartzis 12. Secession and international law: Latin American practice Frida Armas Pfirter and Silvina Gonzalez Napolitano 13. Lessons learned from the Quebec secession reference before the Supreme Court of Canada Patrick Dumberry 14. The secession of the Canton of Jura in Switzerland Christian Dominice Conclusions Georges Abi-Saab Select bibliography.

Diplomatic and judicial means of dispute settlement

List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Marcelo G. Kohen and Jorge E. Vinuales Chapter 1: Opening Remarks H.E. Bernardo Sepulveda-Amor Section I: Interaction at the Initiation of a Dispute Settlement Procedure Chapter 2: Interaction Between Diplomatic and Judicial Means at the Initiation of Proceedings Marcelo G. Kohen Chapter 3: Diplomatic Means as a Trigger of Judicial Means: The Security Council and the ICC Vera Gowlland-Debbas Chapter 4: The Impact of Arrest Warrants Issued by International Criminal Courts on Peace Negotiations Paola Gaeta and Lyne Calder Section II: Interaction During the Proceedings Before an International Court or Tribunal Chapter 5: Recourse to the International Court of Justice for the Purpose of Settling a Dispute Pierre-Marie Dupuy Chapter 6: Diplomatic and Judicial Means of Dispute Resolution and How They Got Along in the Pulp Mills Case Pablo Sandonato de Leon Chapter 7: The Relationship Between Negotiations and Third-party Dispute Settlement at the WTO, with an Emphasis on the EC-Bananas Dispute Helene Ruiz-Fabri Chapter 8: Investment Disputes - Moving Beyond Arbitration Michael E. Schneider Section III: Interaction at the Implementation Stage Chapter 9: Between Saying and Doing: The Diplomatic Means to Implement the International Court of Justices iuris dictum Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Antonella Angelini Chapter 10: Implementation of Recommendations and Rulings in the WTO System Gabrielle Marceau and Jennifer A. Hamaoui Chapter 11: Monitoring Compliance with the Decisions of Human Rights Courts: Inter-American Particularism Magnus-Jesko Langer and Elise Hansbury Chapter 12: The Use of Alternative (Non-judicial) Means to Enforce Investment Awards Against States Jorge E. Vinuales and Dolores Bentolila Section IV: Perspectives on the Interaction Between Diplomatic and Judicial Means Chapter 13: Two Cases in Perspective: Boundary Delimitation in the Bakassi Peninsula and Criminal Accountability in Kenya Interview of H.E. Kofi Annan Conducted by Nicolas Michel Chapter 14: Observations on the Relationship Between Diplomatic and Judicial Means of Dispute Settlement Lucy Reed Chapter 15: Non-disputing State Submissions in Investment Arbitration: Resurgence of Diplomatic Protection? Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler Chapter 16: The Interaction Between Diplomatic and Judicial Means in Theoretical Perspective Georges Abi-Saab Concluding Observations Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Marcelo G. Kohen and Jorge E. Vinuales

Europe and the Standardization of the Law: Past and Present

European contributions, in the past, to standardize law in a variety of ways can be considered to be substantial. It may be said that all previous waves of globalization of law have had a distinct European flavour. Currently, the domestic law of countries from all continents either belong to, or are greatly influenced by, the two major legal systems: continental law and common law. It should be pointed out that the notion of sovereignty, the organization of power through the state in its modern form, the law that regulates the relations amongst states, are all, originally, European constructions.

Do people have rights in boundaries’ delimitations?: The Multiple Challenges

Human rights could support the rights of individuals to use shared water resources in border areas. In this regard, one might wonder whether the juxtaposition of territorial rights and human rights on the use of water resources could increase the risks of conflict or emphasize territorial disputes. This would certainly be paradoxical, given that one ways to achieve international peace and security is the promotion and encouragement of the respect for human rights. States, both downstream and upstream, can use the same justifications to argue their rights and duties regarding their populations in disputed areas. The right to water is not a prerogative of the individuals of one side of a river over another, but entitles every individual to have access to sufficient and safe water. The rights of both States and individuals can complement each other in the settlement of territorial disputes.

Succession of States in the Field of International Responsibility: The Case for Codification

This chapter briefly addresses the question whether a new appraisal in the form of codification and/or progressive development of the main issues that a situation of State succession creates vis-a-vis the States concerned by the responsibility for internationally wrongful acts committed before the date of that succession is needed and whetherit would be possible. A preliminary question that can arise is whether the matter of international responsibility requires a particular analysis in the field of State succession. Notwithstanding the general provisions contained in the codification conventions on State succession, and the position taken by the International Law Commission (ILC) in its commentary to the Articles on State Responsibility, some situations which international wrongful acts were committed before the date of the succession have been already addressed by the codification projects. Keywords:codification; date of succession; International Law Commission (ILC); international responsibility; international wrongful act; State responsibility; State succession

There Is No Need To Change The Composition Of The Security Council. It Is Time For Stressing Accountability

This chapter deals with the existence or not of a need to modify the composition of the Security Council (SC). The authors argument can be summarised as follows: at present, taking into account the realities of international society, it is neither possible nor necessary to modify the composition of the SC. To state that it is not feasible to modify its composition is, to some extent, self-explanatory. The chapter focuses on the argument that there is no need to change the present composition of the main UN organ charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. This includes the enlargement of SC membership, the inclusion of new permanent members - with or without a veto power - and the abolition of this power for those presently enjoying it, namely the five permanent members (P5). Keywords: international law; Security Council (SC)

International law is the most appropriate moral answer to territorial conflicts

I read with extreme interest Burke A. Hendrix stimulating article International Law as a Moral Theory of State Territory?. I did it with the eyes of an international lawyer open to other disciplines, who does not consider as would many so-called positivists of our times that justice and law are two completely different things. I have decided to give this comment a provocative title. I am not adopting, of course, a corporate attitude, aimed at defending my field at all costs. Indeed, it is my firm belief that international law provides the most appropriate moral answer to territorial conflicts in the world of today. I will try to explain why in a concise way. At the outset, I would like to stress my agreement with two of the main ideas of the article: (1) the state system is the starting point of any present theory of territory; and (2) an acceptable moral theory should provide a common language for solving conflicts. However, contrary to Mr Hendrix opinion, my view is that international law constitutes the already available common language he was unable to find elsewhere. Indeed, this idea is far from new. It is the application in the territorial field of the social function the law is called upon to play more generally. All other eventually moral answers, real or imaginary, founded on historic, economic, religious or political considerations, lack the necessary objective character of the law: what is perceived as decisive, for one side, is not perceived by the other in the same way. Moreover, who decides that one moral perception is more important than another, that one religion deserves more attention than another, that an economic or security factor raised by one is more important than that invoked by another? Who, indeed, is to decide how such decisions are to be taken? It is my assumption that the configuration of the territories of the countries of the world is the product of history. And history cannot be relived. Is it morally correct that Kuwait has such large oil resources and