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35112. Roaming Charges: Moments of Dignity: Keepers of the Sultan's Treasures, Brunei Regalia Museum
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- We deal in EJIL with the world we live in – often with its worst and most violent pathologies, often with its most promising signs of hope for a better world. But, inevitably, since our vehicle is scholarship, we reify this world. Roaming Charges is designed not just to offer a moment of aesthetic relief, but to remind us of the ultimate subject of our scholarly reflections: we alternate between photos of places – the world we live in – and photos of people – who we are, the human condition. We eschew the direct programmatic photograph: people shot up; the ravages of pollution and all other manner of photojournalism.
35113. F.F. Martens and His Time: When Russia Was an Integral Part of the European Tradition of International Law
- Author:
- Lauri Mälksoo
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This introductory article opens the symposium which examines the legacy of the Russian international lawyer Friedrich Fromhold von (or Fyodor Fyodorovich) Martens (1845–1909). In the first section, the article critically reviews previous research and literature on Martens and discusses the importance of the Martens diaries that are preserved in a Moscow archive. In the second section, the article offers an intellectual portrait of Martens and analyses the main elements in his international legal theory as expressed in his textbook. In particular, his claim that international law was applicable only between 'civilized states' is illuminated and discussed.
- Topic:
- International Law
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe
35114. F.F. Martens – Man of the Enlightenment: Drawing Parallels between Martens' Times and Today's Problems
- Author:
- Rein Müllerson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This article concentrates on two controversial aspects of the writings of Friedrich Fromhold Martens – his treatment of the so-called mission civilisatrice of European nations and the potential clash of the two roles an international lawyer may have to perform: in the service of international law and representing national interests of his/her country or other clients. Both of these aspects in Martens' work have not lost their topicality; it is illuminating to draw parallels between his time and today's world.
- Topic:
- International Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe
35115. The Enactment of Irony: Reflections on the Origins of the Martens Clause
- Author:
- Rotem Giladi
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The Martens clause has made F. F. Martens one of the 'household names of our profession'. Since its first appearance in the preamble to the 1899 Hague Convention (II) on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, the clause has incessantly been puzzled over, historicized, celebrated, and re-enacted. Much of the extant discourse, however, is geared towards normative construction of the clause. This article, by contrast, seeks to depart from normative construction of the clause and draw attention, instead, to the discourse it has generated. To facilitate discursive exploration and demonstrate its pertinence, I offer a critical reading of the clause's origins as the enactment of an irony. Thus, the making of the clause saw words used to express something in the opposite of their literal meaning. In time, the clause itself came to represent that which is entirely the opposite of what it was first used for. These and other ironies underpin how the clause itself, its making, and Martens' role therein are interpreted, historicized, and celebrated today. They also pave the way for critical explorations of the clause's epistemic significance.
- Topic:
- War
35116. Friedrich F. Martens on 'The Office of Consul and Consular Jurisdiction in the East'
- Author:
- Andreas T. Müller
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Friedrich F. Martens is famous for the clause named after him and his Cours of 1882. Much less known is his doctoral thesis of 1873 on 'The Office of Consul and Consular Jurisdiction in the East'. Apart from dealing with consular rights and duties in the Oriental states in general, Martens' special interest is in a particular institution of consular law in the 'East', i.e., consular jurisdiction. By virtue of so-called capitulations entered into in favour of Western states from the 16th century on, nationals of the latter nations were exempted from the territorial jurisdiction of their Oriental host states. In lieu of it, Western consuls exercised judicial authority over their fellow countrymen. Martens' analysis of consular jurisdiction is deeply immersed in the 19th century dichotomy of civilized and non-civilized nations, with this institution, from his point of view, assuming a key role in managing the relations between the two. He is convinced that intercourse between the West and the East and consequently a rise in the level of civilization of the Oriental states is only possible by mediation of consular jurisdiction. Thus, studying Martens' doctoral thesis contributes both to a better balanced assessment of Martens as an international lawyer and reminds us how quickly humanitarian arguments and purported promotion of civilizational purposes can turn into paternalistic reasoning.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid
35117. A Study of Lawyers Appearing before the International Court of Justice, 1999–2012
- Author:
- Shashank P. Kumar and Cecily Rose
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This article provides empirical support for what might strike some as a truism: oral proceedings before the International Court of Justice (the Court) are dominated by male international law professors from developed states. In order to test this claim, our study examines the composition of legal teams appearing on behalf of states before the Court in contentious proceedings between 1999 and 2012. We have focused, in particular, on counsels' gender, nationality, the development status and geographical region of their country of citizenship, and their professional status (as members of law firms, barristers or sole practitioners, professors, or other). The results of our study raise questions about the evident gender imbalance among counsel who have appeared before the Court during the timeframe of this study, as well as the apparent preference that states have shown for 'repeat players' and professors of public international law. By presenting data on the composition of legal teams, and discussing possible explanations for the patterns that we have observed, this study aims to contribute to the development of a body of scholarship on international law as a profession.
- Topic:
- International Law
35118. The Judicialization of International Law: Reflections on the Empirical Turn
- Author:
- Gleider I. Hernández
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The proliferation of international courts and tribunals in the last two decades has been an important new development in international law, and the three books under review are at the vanguard in substantiating the claim that the judicialization of international law reflects its deepened legalization. All three have adopted ambitious empirical frameworks through which to assess the impact of international courts, and present valuable insights with respect to the phenomenon. Whilst all seek to make intelligible the growing relevance of the various international courts, their empirical methodology and mapping exercise reflects a faith that the legalization/judicialization of international law is a positive development, one that might nevertheless be contested. With the Oxford Handbook's mapping exercise, Karen Alter's 'altered politics' model of effectiveness, and Yuval Shany's 'goal-based' method for assessing effectiveness, the three books represent the forefront of scholarly efforts to study the practice of international courts. One should be careful, however: because the empirical exercise attempted in these three books goes beyond mere description into an attempt to model future outcomes, it has the drawback of privileging certain modes of cognizing the phenomenon of the proliferation of international courts. Although an important contribution, a solely empirical approach would create the impression of a purely linear progression in the judicialization of international law, one which might not be borne out in reality.
- Topic:
- International Law
35119. International Law for a Water-Scarce World. Fresh Water in International Law. The Right(s) to Water. The Multi-Level Governance of a Unique Human Right
- Author:
- Sara De Vido
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Water has been a challenging issue over the centuries. From questions of national boundaries and navigation, quite common in the past, to the development of a human right to water, this essential element for human life has always spurred debate among international lawyers, economists, political scientists, geographers, and anthropologists. The reason may be found in the scarcity of water, a phenomenon which affects both developed and developing countries. Much has been written on the topic, but the three books under review significantly contribute to a critical analysis of some pertinent legal issues related to water. The title of each monograph reflects the purpose of the respective study. Hence, International Law for a Water-Scarce World by Brown Weiss starts from the acknowledgement that 'the fresh water crisis is the new environmental crisis of the 21st century' (at 1) and provides an integrated analysis of water law, which considers climate implications, river basins, and the availability and quality of fresh water. Boisson De Chazournes' Fresh Water in International Law investigates the status of fresh water in international law. The choice of the titles of the chapters is particularly evocative. Thus, after a chapter on regulation of fresh water use, the book continues with chapters on the 'Economization' of the law applicable to fresh water, its 'Environmentalization', followed by its 'Humanization', and 'Institutionalization Trends in Fresh Water Governance', before focusing on dispute settlement mechanisms. The use of the ending '-zation' gives the immediate impression of the evolution of the law on fresh water resources, which now includes several separate but clearly interrelated aspects. The title of the third book, written by Thielbörger, deserves attention for two elements, the first being the letter 's' inside the parentheses and the second being the adjective 'unique' used for identifying the human right to water. The Right(s) to Water. The Multi-Level Governance of a Unique Human Right pursues a different purpose from the two other books under review which adopt a more comprehensive approach. Thielbörger's book (based on his doctoral dissertation) studies the human right to water from a comparative and international perspective, emphasizing the complexity of a right which is strictly linked to other rights but constitutes at the same time a right of its own.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Rights, and International Law
35120. Kate Miles. The Origins of International Investment Law: Empire, Environment, and the Safeguarding of Capital
- Author:
- David Schneiderman
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Mainstream investment law scholars have delivered their verdict on the relevance of the past: it is 'anachronistic and obsolete'. Historic controversies over the meaning of customary international law between capital-exporting and capital-importing states have been overtaken, it is said, by nearly 3,000 bilateral investment treaties. This looks mostly like a strategic denial – cabining investment law's past makes the present appear free of the dynamics of domination that characterized prior conflicts. That history, the mainstream maintains, bears no relationship to the meaning and content of contemporary commitments made by states acting in their sovereign capacity and in relative positions of equality.
- Topic:
- History