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Good relations between Argentina and Uruguay were disturbed in 2003 due to the project to build two cellulose manufacturing plants for the paper industry on the left side of the Uruguay River, which marks the frontier between these countries. Argentina claims that with the unilateral authorisation of the plants, its neighbor violated obligations assumed by virtue of general international law (including environmental norms) and the 1975 Statute of the Uruguay River. The apparent, official irregularity was met with actions undertaken by groups of Argentine citizens, who blocked the bridges that connect the two countries. For its part, Uruguay has condemned the lack of action of the Argentine government regarding the blockages of the roads, which severely harmed the Uruguayan economy. In the face of these situations, this work presents an analysis of the responsibility incurred by these two countries as a consequence of the breach of international obligations. The work concludes that, in both cases, there were deficiencies regarding the due diligence expected from both governments in terms of the principles of contemporary international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 4 September 2012, the official beginning of the peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), there has been much discussion about the possible application of the doctrine of command responsibility in the prosecution of international crimes by national courts. However, the scope of this doctrine, as developed in international criminal law, should be differentiated from the notion of criminal liability by omission under the Colombian Criminal Code (CCC). This paper explores the forms of criminal liability and the factual hypothesis that the doctrine of command responsibility covers. It also examines some decisions of the Colombian courts in which the notion of criminal liability by omission of armed force members is applied (especially with regard to the general provision contained in article 25 CCC), indicating some legal problems that have arisen in this regard. This paper seeks to demonstrate that the doctrine of command responsibility and the general provision of article 25 CCC, though closely related, are not the same. In doing so, it claims that Colombian courts should apply norms of the criminal code’s special part to cover some factual hypothesis which are not covered by article 25 CCC, but still fall within the scope of the doctrine of command responsibility as defined, for example, in the Rome Statute. Finally, it maintains that the confusion of these two regimes of criminal liability could lead us to transfer into the Colombian legal system some of the problems faced in the application of international criminal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how power feminism, a mainstream feminist trend in international legal discourse, was incorporated into the Colombian legal system through the process of design and discussion of indicators to measure the Colombian government's compliance with the Constitutional Court's orders regarding internal forced displacement in the country. To do so, this paper examines the participation of Corporación Sisma Mujer, one of the most well-known Colombian women's rights ngos, in the debates inside and outside the Constitutional Court that led this Court to adopt a battery of indicators to track internally displaced women's effective enjoyment of rights, and in general a women-sensitive approach to forced displacement. To unveil the theoretical foundations of Corporación Sisma Mujer's interventions and strategies before the Constitutional Court, this article combines a theoretical approach with documentary research and interviews. Nancy Fraser's paper Rethinking the Public Sphere, and Janet Halley, Prabha Kotiswaran, Hila Shamir and Chantal Thomas' concept governance feminism constitute the basic theoretical framework. Documents drafted by Sisma Mujer and Constitutional Court decisions that accepted, appropriated and transformed Sisma's claims are analyzed through the lens of Fraser and Halley, Kotiswaran, Shamir and Thomas' theoretical contributions. Interviews with Sisma's staff, and with other relevant actors complement what is found in documents and judicial decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the discussion about the international legal status of the "Acuerdo Final para la Terminación del Conflicto y la Construcción de una Paz Estable y Duradera" and the legal effects that such status would produce under constitutional law in Colombia. Thus, it analyses the scope of public international law sources with the aim of evaluate if the beforementioned Acuerdo complies with the requierements in order to be considered a legal source under public international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the rhetoric surrounding Non Governmental Organizations, NGOs, participation in the context of foreign investment arbitration. It argues that public participation is a crucial part of the investment arbitration mindset, not in a subsidiary role or as a mere legitimating devise, but as an expression of a substantial world view —which I call here the "public interest narrative" in foreign investment arbitration. The argument, though, is not normative, but rather seeks to show that, far from being a mere goal, this "public interest narrative" is a central aspect of investment arbitration today. To make this point, the paper explores three iconic cases: Methanex (under NAFTA/UNCITRAL), Aguas de Tunari (ICSID), and Biwater (the first case tried in its entirety under ICSID's Rule 37). The paper concludes that scholars and practitioners working in foreign investment law would be well advised in going beyond the view that participation in arbitral procedures is a contentious issue pushed by some activists in Geneva or Washington D.C. Participation is here to stay, and seems to be affecting, in very crucial ways, the substantive (and financial) outcome of arbitral procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the important role of domestic justice in the protection of the right to access to international justice, and in our case Inter-American justice. Within this purpose, the text explains the existence of a right to an effective international remedy in the Inter-American Human Rights System, and describes some of its peculiarities. Also, it shows the importance of national justice in the effectiveness of the international remedy and addresses certain issues with regard to the implementation of international judgments in the domestic sphere, considering that international rulings are binding and have the same nature of national judicial decisions. Finally, the paper deals with some reflections on possible internal remedies to comply with international rulings in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper results from research work performed on the enforceability of the Right to the Truth under Public International Law. This paper is intended to analyze the duties undertaken by the States regarding the compliance with this specific human right after serious violations of International Human Rights Law or International Humanitarian Law during non-international armed conflicts. The main purpose of this work is to demonstrate that States have no longer the discretion to handle post-conflict situations in breach of their international obligations regarding Human Rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses one of the major legal issues concerning the debate about the legal value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Is the UDHR ius cogens? The authors explain legal problems related to the concept of ius cogens in order to show that the Universal Declaration cannot be classified as an imperative rule of law, even though some of the prohibitions that are implied in the UDHR have this nature. The authors present the dangers of the trivialization of the concept of ius cogens and the importance of preserving its essence as a rule that does not support repeal of any kind and under any circumstances. This paper searches to reject all the interpretations that would unduly expand the content of the concept of ius cogens, which is contained in article 53 of the Vienna Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses one of the major legal issues concerning the debate about the legal value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Is the UDHR ius cogens? The authors explain legal problems related to the concept of ius cogens in order to show that the Universal Declaration cannot be classified as an imperative rule of law, even though some of the prohibitions that are implied in the UDHR have this nature. The authors present the dangers of the trivialization of the concept of ius cogens and the importance of preserving its essence as a rule that does not support repeal of any kind and under any circumstances. This paper rejects all interpretations that would unduly expand the content of the concept of ius cogens, which is contained in article 53 of the Vienna Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that states of emergency are a residue of the colonial idea underlying the birth of international law, which is also a product of modern law; colonial dynamics are no longer applied from a transnational point of view. That is, they are not only a matter of the imposition of European or North American ideas on the rest of the globe. Colonial dynamics are also a way by which domestic policies are carried out. Thus exceptionalism is a way to deal with the 'other' either in a transnational or national context. To show this, the article will be divided into three main parts. The first one attempts to specify how the term modern law will be understood in this paper. The second part will address the problem of international law as a modern project and thus as a colonial one. In the third section, a connection between modern international law and the presence of exceptionalism will be sketched, using a concrete example of Colombia's last declaration of a state of exception. The last part will offer the main conclusions of the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the emergence of private authority in contemporary global governance through the role taken by global law firms in the management of a particular international regime, such as the international investment arbitration. The aim of the research is to demonstrate the presence and influence of private actors in managing global agendas, issues, and affairs. Such role derives from their consideration as authorities of private nature. ICSID arbitrations related with the 1999-2002 Argentinian crises are the case study in order to illustrate the presence of private authority in the direction of an international regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to know the history and the international historical evolution in the recognition of the rights of the child and the origin to the principle of the best interest of the child through the dogmatic method to understand its meaning, nature and scope that gave origin to this into international law for the protection of the rights of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper attempts to understand the process of resistance and struggle of the Colombian indigenous people Awá at the international level to confront the problems related to the Colombian internal armed conflict in the period between 2009 and 2014. In order to reach this goal, fieldwork with the Awá community in the Llorente district of San Andrés de Tumaco (Nariño Department) was indispensable, in which information gathering techniques were used as group interviews with leaders of the community, who contributed to the construction of this article. In this way, the writing demonstrates that the struggle of Awá indigenous people for the defense of their rights has been mediated by the creation of Transnational Defense Networks and the Subaltern Instrumentation of International Law in a context in which the political strategy of internalization of "the indigenous cause" has taken force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The applicable law to the International Contract of Distribution of the European Union presented a lot of difficulties under the application of the Rome Convention of 1980, subsequently this uniform legal norm required establishing the law applicable to the international contract, to identify the characteristic performance in such legal relationship. The characteristic performance of the distribution contract could not be determined in a uniform way, because some of the courts of the Estates which made part of it understood that it was carried out by the distributor, others maintained that is was the grantor of the merchandize, while others considered that this contract could not be established under characteristic performance theory. The Rome I Regulation from the European Union has made important modifications regarding determining the applicable law to this contract, since it has established in a rigid and direct way the norm of the habitual country of residence of the distributor for this legal relationship to be applied. The present paper pretends to analyze if the rigid determination of the law applicable to the distribution contract in the Regulation of the European Union Rome I, manages to solve interpretation problems presented on the Rome Convention of 1980, bringing legal certainty through the foreseeable applicable law to the international contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public international law sources (hereinafter, international law or DIP) are binding for states mediating their consent. In the case of the main sources of DIP, namely treaties, customary, unilateral legal acts and general principles of law, it is clear the need for mandatory consent for its compulsoriness. Regarding the sentences of international tribunals, and according to Article 59 of the Statute of the ICJ, its obligation is, according to explicit text, binding to the states involved in the controversy addressed by the sentence that resolves it. Which expands to the entire judiciary in the international arena. In this paper, the obligation will be discussed, namely, the character of source of law for the content of the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter, the Court or CIDH), for those states not part to the dispute: effect erga omnes the judgments of the Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an exposition about the theory of justice of Fernando Vázquez (1512-1569). In particular, is a study of the nature of ius gentium (or international law), the principle of freedom of the seas and the natural law. Vázquez is one of the main authors of the Spanish Neo-scholastic. Even he is considered as the most important jurist of The Salamanca School. So, I think, the exposition of her doctrines has a special interest, for the historians and philosophers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is result of a research project on the impacts of globalization of law. The aim is to establish the role that has been taking the jurisprudence of international courts in internal judicial decisions, in particular the Court of Justice of the Andean Community -TJCA-, compared to some controversy in Colombia. It is a descriptive study with qualitative approach, which uses primary and secondary sources, using the literature review and case analysis techniques. It is conclude that the jurisprudence of international justice agencies has become very important within the domestic law becoming prevalent criterion of interpretation to perform constitutional control: for its side, TJCA jurisprudence is part of community secondary legislation of the CAN, which although not part of the block of constitutionality, it is mandatory for the national court to resolve a conflict between community law and the internal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays and concretely after the end of Cold War, it is quite visible that the activity of the Security Council is showing a variation to the traditional conception of the international system, as the increase of actions starting from the invocation of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United nations was accompanied by new controversial outcomes. This paper intends to describe several legal issues related to the imposition of economic sanctions by the Security Council, in order to show that even if it appears that such organ of the United Nations has a wide margin of appreciation when maintaining international peace and security, there are some limits arisen from the Charter of the United Nations -assumed here as a constitutional device-, but also from other branches of International Law, conceived nowadays as relevant for the protection of individuals from the adverse effects of these measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the rules that state the law to be applied to international contracts. The author reviews Conflict of Laws established in the Colombian Civil Code and the Colombian Commerce Code, drawing comparisons with conflict rules that have been established in modern international instruments. Such instruments include Regulation (EC) 59312008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17th June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I), and the Inter-American Convention on the Law Applicable to International Contracts, as well as others that make up the Uniform Law of International Trade such as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Through analysis of the aforementioned comparisons, interpretive guides are suggested that go beyond the inflexibility and gaps in Colombian legislation. It is presented in a way that seeks to aide, in the most helpful way possible, the needs of those involved in international trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the 2nd of February 2009 the European Union enacted the Directive 2008/101/EC, which amended Directive 2003/87/EC, to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community. The purpose of this paper is to define whether this unilateral measure constitutes a breach of international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction and maintenance of infrastructure has been identified as one of the main tools for economic development in Colombia. This requires huge amounts of investment. Recent economic studies in developing countries, such as Colombia, have shown that great part of infrastructure projects are financed through investment coming from the private sector. Of this, more than half constitutes foreign direct investment. Colombia has recently adopted a policy of openness towards foreign investment. Through International Investment Agreements, Colombia has committed to protect foreign investment following certain international obligations and standards. Great part of the foreign investment needed for the development of infrastructure in Colombia will fall under such investment agreements, and will thus be protected by the obligations agreed upon under said agreements. This paper seeks to describe how the actual obligations committed by Colombia are not always clear, and sometimes they introduce new concepts that are not well known in Colombian Law. This is the case, respectively, of the " fair and equitable treatment" and "indirect expropriation". Colombia should have caution in its governance of foreign investment, with a view of reducing the risk of being challenged under international arbitration that may result in multimillion disputes; even more in this era of financing projects through foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper undertakes a comprehensive quantitative research on the subject of American States' compliance with international judgments on human rights' issues. The research analyses the level of effectiveness of the Inter-American Human Rights System, showing that the data annually published by the Inter-American Court in its Reports might not be the only way of understanding the actual degree of effectiveness of the system. Furthermore, some ideas are evaluated regarding possible paths in order to improve the current situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes that diplomatic protection currently plays a prominent role in the establishment of State Responsibility derived from disputes involving foreign investors. Following a general introduction on the practical relevance of scholarly works on diplomatic protection in the field of International Investment Law, this article studies, firstly (I), the legal framework of diplomatic protection in the case law of International Courts (A) and the rules provided to that effect by Public International Law (B). On that basis, the article, secondly (II), seeks to illustrate the legal challenges posed by diplomatic protection in a context where the subject is mostly regulated by International Investment Agreements. For that purpose, on the one hand, the solutions provided by the IIA s signed and ratified by Colombia are studied (A). On the other hand, practical consequences of such normative regulations are inferred upon in relation with international investment disputes (B). Finally the article presents conclusions on the topic through a brief remark on the attitude that, in relation to diplomatic protection, States should assume when an International investment dispute emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the research of case law related to the application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, this article analyses what was held by a court of first instance, a court of appeals and the Supreme Court of Chile, in the case Industrias Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A. v. Sociedad Agricola Sacor Limitada, the first one discussed by Chilean Courts regarding the possible application of the abovementioned Convention. It studies the arguments and conclusions reached by the Chilean courts concerning the possible tacit exclusion of the Convention whenever it has not been claimed in the lawsuit, as well as the possibility to directly claim compensation for damages caused by breach of contract. It is shown that the Convention on the International Sale of Goods was, in fact, the applicable law for the contract subject of dispute, despite the fact that it was not called upon in the suit. Moreover, fully applying it, the plaintiff had the right to directly ask for compensation for breach, with no need to claim neither for specific performance nor for the resolution of the contract. This paper based on a comparative study of foreign case law in application of the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to contribute to understand if "the right to the truth" is per se legally binding and carries with it the correlative and autonomous obligation which if unfulfilled will create a consequence under international law or if it has no independence. The reflection is based on the evolution of the right to the truth and the consideration of the right to the truth as part of the international sources of law under the traditional, and for some, restrictive vision listed in the main sources of article 38 of the Statue of the International Court of Justice, ICJ. To obtain this outcome, previous certain introductory elements, I will try to analyze in a first part the historical origin and evolution of the right to the truth in its different dimensions and materializations so that, in a second part I can analyze its autonomous normative strength under the discussion of Soft-Law and traditional sources of international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a significance phenomenon, but little studied by the academy in Colombia: the rise of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as subjects of international law. These clusters, which some authors had called "third sector", in the twentieth century managed to gain such prominence, that in present days it is necessary take into account them in both, the international legal system and international political analysis. For this reason, since an historical perspective, and based on the theory of interdependence,the author explain how NGOs were able to open spaces within the international legal circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a significant phenomenon, little studied by Colombian academia: the rise of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as subjects of international law. These groups, which some authors have called the "third sector", managed to gain such prominence in the twentieth century that it is now necessary to consider them under the international legal system and in international political analysis. For this reason, from an historical perspective and based on the theory of interdependence, the author explains how NGOs were able to insert themselves in the international legal arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document addresses Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and the effect they have on the protection of intellectual property agreed between both parties. It examines the specific case of the BIT between Colombia and Spain, analyzing the specific clauses related to the subject. Finally, it concludes that for a country like ours, that is, a developing country (DC), it is more desirable to conduct debate and negotiations related to intellectual property in the international forums of the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Intellectual Property Organization, or even the Andean Community of Nations, rather than through bilateral relations as in the case of investment agreements. However, due to the government's trend toward BITs, this paper also concludes with a series of recommendations for the handling of intellectual property in this context and others to be considered in cases where there are claims by investors whose rights may have been infringed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the impact of multinational companies on indigenous territories, a situation that is creating a new kind of casualty —the environmental refugee. The development of multinational companies contributes highly to the violation, inter alia, of the right to life and health of vulnerable social groups. Environmental displacement affects millions of people and is likely to affect many more in the near future. These people have no official status and no official protection. The international community should respond to the humanitarian concerns of environmental refugees and the threat posed by the indiscriminate actions of the transnational companies. This article questions the absence of non-relief development assistance for environmental refugees, and consequently it is the obligation of the international community to substantively extend the definition of refugee to encompass those displaced for environmental reasons. The contemporary challenge is to interpret the definition of refugee in a suitable way that accommodates or includes current refugee flows. This paper argues that according to the Vienna Convention, an evolutionary approach for interpretation of the Refugee Convention should be necessary to protect this new kind of refugees and therefore fulfill the objectives and purposes of the Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper studies a superior's responsibility for war crimes according to International law. Following a review of some aspects of its nature, such as responsibility by omission, the three elements constituting this responsibility are extensively examined. In general terms, these are: a) The existence of a superior-subordinate relationship; b) the superior's knowledge of the war crimes committed by his/ her subordinates (mental element), and, c) failure by the superior to fulfill his/her duties to prevent and punish the war crimes committed by his/her subordinates. Analysis of International Criminal Court Statute and conventional norms of International humanitarian law, as well as the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, are the main sources for the study of this important characteristic of International law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most controversial issues discussed in the process of progressive development and codification of Unilateral Acts of States by the International Law Commission was the definition of unilateral act. This paper identifies the key elements of this definition and analyzes the different proposals until the adoption of the definition and their Guiding Principles in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sovereignty and the right to property share a common function, and may be seen as equivalent. This paper intends to argue such equivalence. In order to do so, it builds on COASE'S economic theory of property, and shows a close relation between COASE'S Theorem and the work of THOMAS HOBBES, which has, in turn, set much of the basic framework of modern international law. This interjection serves as the starting point for comparing HOBBES' Commonwealth with properly rights, but finds considerable differences in their nature. However, these differences are not present when comparing property with the Commonwealth's main feature: sovereignty. By applying certain methodological tools of comparative law, these similarities lead us to conclude that sovereignty and property, as legal institutions, follow the same logic, a conclusion that will be useful for further theorization on international law & economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]