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Over the past few years, some parents and clinicians in the UK have argued about decisions on the fate of critically-ill children, with the cases ending in protracted and emotionally-sapping legal disputes. The long-running legal conflicts have played out in the public eye, eliciting conflicting opinions. At the core of the disputes is whether parents or clinicians should determine the appropriate course of action. In the event of the disagreements, the domestic court intervenes guided by the 'best interests' principle. A corpus of scholarship, falling on either side of the debate, has captured the contradictions. Until recently, the discourse had focused on the common recourses to domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. However, in the recent case of incapacitated 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, his parents sought redress from the international human rights system through the Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities to stop termination of his life support. The courts barred the involvement of the Committee on the basis that the UK had not incorporated the treaty which birthed the Committee. The case brought into sharp focus the relationship between international law and domestic law. First, this paper asserts that the weight (not) given to international law by the domestic courts was inconsistent with its treatment of international obligations in other cases. Secondly, the position that unincorporated treaties do not have legal effect in domestic proceedings is ambiguous. Finally, the treaty body appeared ill-suited to handle a case of a critically-ill child in the face of the impatient demands of local justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores whether international human rights standards can provide insights into the following questions: who can and should define what constitutes 'hate speech' for online moderation, and how can hate speech be detected and moderated on social media platforms? Regarding who should moderate hateful content, the article underscores the responsibility of social media companies, in reference to international human rights law and principles on business and human rights. This paper advocates for a multistakeholder approach where companies work in partnership with and under the monitoring of state actors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Given the complexity of what constitutes hate speech, the article proposes the localisation of terms of service and guidelines of social media companies. This approach, in line with human rights standards, enables the meaningful involvement of local experts and civil society groups in formulating, implementing and monitoring online community rules. Addressing the question of how social media companies can detect and moderate hate speech, the article argues that a globally standardised approach reliant on AI content moderation is limited in detecting contextual nuances of hate speech. Drawing from international human rights tools like the Rabat Plan of Action, the article suggests that social media companies should consider diverse local contexts for better interpretation and effective detection, with qualified human moderators with local knowledge and oversight boards with local expertise. By taking a human-centered, localised approach to content moderation and collaborating with relevant stakeholders, businesses can contribute to creating a digital space that upholds fundamental rights, prevents harm, and encourages inclusivity and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protection of human rights is one of the most important issues in the modern world and their development is a challenge for all legal systems. Human rights protection is an established fact in international law. This is both an expression of the expectations of the states that have created this system and an instrument designed to see the solutions contained therein incorporated into national legal systems. Human rights are of particular interest on the Old Continent. They have been developed both within the regional system of the Council of Europe and, as 'fundamental rights', within the European Union. Human rights are one of those areas where both legally binding instruments and 'soft law' acts are adopted. These acts of 'soft law' do not formally create legal obligations but they nevertheless affect their addressees, including states, by virtue of the respect given to the entities that adopt them. There are also examples of 'soft law' acts having institutional setting and significance with the creation of bodies to monitor their implementation. This paper contains introductory remarks in relation to current issues in the field of international and European human rights law that are presented in this Special Issue of the International Community Law Review (ICLR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the concept of international governance in the European Union. Promotion of human rights; Legal system of the international organizations; Principles underlying the concept of governance.

The present brief contribution reflects on the evolution of IUU fishing, its current status, and possible future pathways to prevent, deter, and eliminate this practice. IUU fishing not only presents a question of management and conservation, but also entails serious human rights and transnational crime components. From these perspectives, this paper concludes that IUU fishing must be addressed through a multi-regime and multi-institutional process requiring the involvement of many stakeholders, including non-State actors. In particular, the effective settlement of IUU fishing disputes requires enhancing the role of international courts and tribunals as part of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phrase "evolving capacities of the child" appears twice in the UNCRC, under articles 5 and 14(2) in the framework of parental guidance. Yet the term "evolving capacities" appears over 80 times in the General Comments of the CRC Committee. This paper examines the Committee's use of "evolving capacities" in its General Comments, suggesting that the term has been treated as an enabling principle, an interpretative principle, and a policy principle within the framework of the UNCRC. A broad principle of evolving capacities has thus emerged under the UNCRC that informs not only the framework of parental guidance, but the whole of the Convention. However, the CRC Committee does not recognise "evolving capacities" as a general principle or otherwise under the UNCRC. This paper examines why this might be, and concludes that more consideration needs to be given to the role of "evolving capacities" as a principle under the UNCRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artistic freedom of expression is guaranteed under the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and other international instruments. This paper examines its application in all forms of art including paintings, music, poetry, novels, and plays. The paper examines the different legislation used in the restriction of artistic freedom of expression. It argues that these restrictions are contrary to the guarantees of freedom of expression provided in the Constitution and in various regional and international instruments. Part I of this paper gives a historical background to artistic freedom of expression noting how it has been suppressed since colonial times. Part II examines international protection of artistic freedom of expression while Part III analyses the protection of artistic freedom of expression in Uganda as guaranteed by the Constitution. Part IV analyses the legislation limiting artistic freedom of expression and highlights how these are incompatible with international and local human rights standards. Part V puts forward the case for artistic freedom of expression. Finally, Part VI provides the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the increasing use of administrative measures, such as travel bans and control orders, in the counter-terrorism context. On the basis of a review of the use of these measures in three selected states (the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands), the paper provides a critical assessment of the use of administrative measures in counter-terrorism. It identifies situations in which the use of administrative measures might be justified, and assesses the impact of the use of these measures on the protection of human rights. In conclusion, the paper recommends that limits and safeguards be established around the use of administrative measures in counter-terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International law has been characterised by two interconnected and yet opposite trends. On the one hand, from World War II onwards, States have demonstrated an increasing commitment to human rights by concluding several multilateral treaties. Along with substantive provisions, these conventions have also established courts and quasi-judicial bodies charged with monitoring compliance by States Parties. Given the impact of these supervising mechanisms, States Parties have often refrained from expressing their consent to the treaty-based petitions systems. On the other hand, far from benefiting from a special legal regime, human rights treaties are governed by the general principles on the law of treaties. As a result, States Parties can enter reservations, understandings and declarations (RUDs) to avoid certain treaty obligations. To this purpose, using an approach based on the statistical data available, this paper analyses these two main "strategies" to which States Parties can resort in order to partially circumvent their obligations, assessing their possible impact vis-à-vis States' compliance rate with human rights provisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews five selected major decisions by domestic courts of Korea from the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023 by taking a closer look at the changing legal practices and attitudes of the Korean judiciary in applying international law in domestic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Treaty Establishing the Southern African Development Community (the Treaty) one of the institutions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was the Southern African Development Community Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal was established as the sole judicial organ of SADC. The Tribunal was established as part of the reorganisation of regional integration efforts within Southern Africa. The global atmosphere prevailing at the time the Tribunal was established, together with the lofty statements in the SADC's founding instruments, suggest that there was a regional commitment to the ideals of human rights, rule of law and democracy among SADC member States. The Tribunal's life, however, was short-lived. This paper analyses the prospects and lessons for regional integration within the SADC region from the perspective of the disbanding of the Tribunal and attempts to decipher the implications of the disbanding for regional integration in Southern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern state boundaries often cut through territories currently or formerly occupied by indigenous peoples. In many cases, the unmitigated application of laws on movement across the border can interfere with the rights and way of life of an indigenous group. This paper considers recent legal developments in Canada and Norway concerning cross-border rights and claims. It highlights conflicts that have emerged between constitutional principles that are regarded as fundamental within the state and norms drawn from international law, and in particular the norms set by United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We focus on the constitutional jurisprudence on cross-border rights of indigenous peoples in Norway, and draw on the Canadian law as a means of demonstrating that the Norwegian approach is unduly restrictive. This, we argue, is primarily due to the preference of the Norwegian court for a paternalistic model of indigenous claims. We contrast this with the recent jurisprudence from the Canadian Supreme Court on cross-border claims, where the reasoning is closer to a model that gives priority to the recognition of indigenous rights, as required under the UN Declaration. The final section returns to Norway, to consider the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR') to Sami rights. The leading case is under review by the European Court of Human Rights, and accordingly the article asks whether the paternalist model will withstand the closer scrutiny against human rights standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews three selected major decisions by domestic courts of Korea in 2022 by taking a closer look at the changing legal practices and attitudes of the Korean judiciary in applying international law in domestic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the turn of the 20th century, the United States was widely considered to be a world leader in matters of child protection and welfare, a reputation lost by the century's end. This paper suggests that the United States' loss of international esteem concerning child welfare was directly related to its practice of executing juvenile offenders. The paper analyzes why the United States continued to carry out the juvenile death penalty after the establishment of juvenile courts and other protections for child criminals. Two factors allowed the United States to continue the juvenile death penalty after most states in the international system had ended the practice: the politics of American federalism and a system of racial subordination that excluded some juvenile offenders from the umbrella of child protection measures, a conclusion suggesting that racial prejudice has interfered with U.S. compliance with international norms of child welfare and juvenile justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of possible responsibility of a member state for acts of an international organization of which it is a member. This particular issue forms part of the on-going work of the International Law Commission of establishing rules for the responsibility of international organizations. The particular challenge is posed by possible 'responsibility gaps', i.e. situations where a state might avoid compliance with its own obligations by prompting the organization of which it is a member to act instead. The paper compares the ILC approach, approaching the issue by way of trying to establish general rules of responsibility ('secondary rules') and the practice of the EU, which has addressed the issue by tailor-made solutions in the context of specific treaties ('primary rules'). The latter approach is more flexible as it allows individual solutions pertinent to particular circumstances and treaty regimes so as to ensure that either the organization itself or its member state is responsible, depending whichever is genuinely responsible. The paper concludes that the ILC work is progressing in the right direction as it narrows down the possibilities where a member state can be held responsible to cover only situations bordering abuse, rather than more open-ended standards for individual member state responsibility, which can open the door for unpredictable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most agree that prevention is the most important aspect of the Responsibility to Protect. The best way, after all, to protect populations from mass atrocities is to ensure that they do not occur in the first instance. Nonetheless, Since the adoption of the R2P Doctrine at the World Summit, academic and policy debate concerning the legal and normative content of R2P, continue to neglect its preventative dimension. This paper begins to fill that lacunae in policy and scholarship by examining seeks to develop the preventative dimension of R2P by examining the relationship between evolving international human rights law on prevention and R2P, with two objectives. The first objective is to bring a much needed focus to the law on prevention, and the second objective is to mediate the debate between those who claim R2P it is a major departure from existing law and those who claim it adds nothing new to the existing body of law. The paper argues that, resting upon international human rights principles, R2P provides, under certain circumstances, for an obligation of due diligence requiring states to take such reasonable measures of prevention as could be expected of states in a similar position. R2P's strength is that harnesses the disparate body of law on the duty to prevent and provides a modicum of conceptual clarity and discipline to its application to mass atrocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UNMIS Human Rights Section is called to promote respect for international human rights standards as part of a peacekeeping operation in a post-conflict society. As such, it is exposed to conflicting but equally legitimate demands from different stakeholders. To illustrate some of the dilemmas arising in practice from the tensions between these demands, the paper looks at three case studies taken from the work of the UNMIS Human Rights Section in Southern Sudan. They concern the tension between customary law and the protection of women's rights, the right to counsel in capital cases, and justice for atrocities committed during the civil war. The paper argues that, also because of the inherent fundamental contradictions in what a field presence such as the UNMIS Human Rights Section seeks to achieve, attempts to promote meaningful accountability of the field operation for the results obtained encounter significant limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project of governance, which has been heralded as a contemporary advance in the development of international law, has a very old lineage. Since the beginnings of the modern discipline of international law in the sixteenth century, international law has devised a number of doctrines directed at shaping and reforming the government of the non-European State. This Paper argues that good governance exerts an extraordinarily powerful influence on the thinking of the international community in part because it is connected with human rights, the universal language in this "age of rights". The link suggests that the Third World State is the focus of concern: it is the aberrant Third World State which both violates rights and engages in bad governance. The Paper critiques the stance that the problem of addressing international justice can be largely achieved through the project of good governance which would reform the Third World State. It seeks to argue that democratic experimentalism, not the so-called "McDonaldization" (globalization as homogenization) of the world, is important. This is based on the premise that "McDonaldization" minimizes the complex way in which the local interacts with the international. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples are amongst the most affected by climate change. Its effects threaten the very survival of their cultural identity which revolves around a strong connection to their ancestral lands and natural resources. Indigenous peoples have thus played a prominent role in the recent development of international human rights-based climate litigation. Against this background, this paper examines their specific status and legal tools in this regard. It first recalls how they obtained the recognition of their special relationship with their natural environment as well as specific environmental rights under international law, both in specific instruments of protection of indigenous peoples' rights and under general human rights law. After emphasizing their significant role in advancing environmental protection under international human rights law, the article then enquires whether the recognised environmental component of indigenous peoples' fundamental rights might allow them to develop stronger substantive legal arguments in human rights-based climate litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change threatens humanity more than anything else. If we talk of nationalism, we ought therefore consider its pros and cons in light of the climate emergency. Anatol Lieven believes that civic nationalism along the lines of Chaim Gans, David Miller, and Yuli Tamir helps combat global warming. He thinks that when nationalists recognize that climate change is just as threatening to the survival of their nation-state as wars, they will make the sacrifices necessary to avert the threat. In this view, the military has an important role, and migration will have to be restricted. In this paper, I show that this solution is at best highly risky, and more probably unsound. However difficult it will be to realize, addressing climate change must be based on international cooperation, normatively grounded in human rights. I show how international law rather than civic nationalism gives us examples of how to go forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although formally provided for in particular statutes, certain international administrative tribunals continue to hold oral hearings—if at all—only on the rarest of occasions. With specific attention to the International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal, the present paper aims 1) at recapitulating essential holdings of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to the right to access to a court in the context of employment-related claims against international organizations; and 2) at examining the relevance of oral hearings in the determination of proportionality of organizational immunity. The analysis shows that, in principle, the denial of oral hearings by international administrative tribunals results in the duty of states to afford individuals access to a court. In the realm of international law, a conflict with the obligation to grant immunity ensues. As yet, domestic courts have remained reluctant to overrule immunity on human rights grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to clarify the confusions regarding the relationships between international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the principle of equality of belligerents, and the use of the term "should" in treaties. For this purpose, it examines, as a case study, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, on which doctrine is divided whether Article 4(1) thereof is binding on armed non-State actors. First, this paper reconceptualizes international humanitarian law as a subset of international human rights law, which share the same purpose, mutually reinforce, and depend on each other. Second, drawing on the customary rules of treaty interpretation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and through a comprehensive analysis of the authentic texts in other languages and the travaux preparatoires, it argues that the term "should" in the operative part of treaties always creates legally binding obligations and that the equality principle does not strictly apply to norms applicable during peacetime. As such, despite its use of "should" and differential treatment between States and armed non-State actors, Article 4(1) of the Protocol creates a direct human rights obligation on armed non-State actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This submission challenges the presumption that UK nationals will lose EU citizenship following Brexit. Until now, the dominant narrative has been drawn from the law on treaties or international organizations, and this article adds the human rights perspective to Brexit. Firstly, EU citizenship can be assimilated to nationality. While EU citizenship is unique, the status protected under international law is a legal bond a person has with a political entity. This protection certainly covers nationality, and this paper argues it can be understood to also protect EU citizenship. Secondly, international law prohibits arbitrary withdrawal of this legal bond with a person. The UK does not have jurisdiction over EU citizenship, so it is doubtful the UK can terminate EU citizenship unilaterally. Even if the EU were to withdraw EU citizenship on its initiative, it would still constitute retroactive law, discrimination, and infringement of sovereignty. It is also disproportionate, because the loss of EU citizenship is not necessary for Brexit. When Greenland withdrew from the EU, its residents retained EU citizenship. For these reasons, the revocation of EU citizenship would be arbitrary. A distinction must be made between the membership of a state in the EU which can be terminated, and the direct legal bond formed between a person and the Union, which is far harder to revoke. On this basis, any UK national who has acquired EU citizenship prior to Brexit, should not be divested of it following Brexit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agreement by the Security Council to adopt thematic resolutions on children is a powerful expression of our collective commitment to children and their rights: specifically to ensuring children's right to protection from serious violations of international law. Still history is replete with examples of protectionism by powerful decision-makers; not all follow a rights-based approach as entrenched within international human rights law. The objective of this paper is to investigate the decision-making processes and related outcomes of the Security Council from the perspective of international law. At the core of this investigation is an analysis of two interconnected dynamics: first the extent to which the Council is bound under the Charter of the United Nations by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and second the extent to which the Council is in compliance with these obligations. This includes deconstructing the resolutions from the perspective of the procedural right of the best interests of the child and also assessing the outcomes with reference to the Council's primary responsibility the maintenance of peace and security Attentive to the normative power of the Security Council's decisions and recommendations, the paper cuts deeper to investigate: (i) the legal effects of the resolutions for the development international law relating to children and (ii) the consequences for children's right to protection from serious violations of international law present and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical uncertainty surrounding whether and to what extent non-state actors are obligated to abide by international human rights and humanitarian norms has impacted the policies and practices of human rights field presences, including those of the United Nations. The paper presents the case of Nepal, where international organizations have been forced by circumstance to engage with a range of non-state armed groups, to illustrate how current limitations of human rights law regarding non-state actors impact the work of human rights field monitors. Drawing upon the global administrative law paradigm, it argues for the development of a 'soft law' framework governing human rights aspects of international organizations' engagement with armed groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a particular critical conceptualization based on a focus on Third World peoples, their resistance and their histories offered by TWAIL holds immense potential for formulating alternative international legal theories, in general, and human rights theories in particular. However, it further argues that this potential remains unexplored and cannot be realized unless the search for alternative epistemologies also becomes an integral part of TWAIL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposal to ban minarets is controversial by its very nature. On the one hand Swiss citizens are sovereign and act as the ultimate supreme authority. By their will they may seek via popular initiative to enact, revoke or alter such, and any, constitutional provision as they see fit. On the other hand there are so-called material bars to Swiss constitutional amendments—such as human rights—arising from the provisions of international law. Not surprisingly, these material bars to absolute sovereignty are fiercely contested because they mean either greater or lesser powers to the citizen and, indirectly, to the political parties. The popular initiative to ban minarets raises not only questions in respect of the relationship between domestic and international law, but also appears to challenge the legal architecture of Switzerland. The initiative may be held invalid by the Swiss General Assembly (henceforth 'General Assembly' or 'Assembly') on the grounds that it breaches the peremptory norms of international law. If this proves to be the case, the Swiss people will not be given the opportunity to vote on it. Arguably, such interference is feasible only if the material bar to initiatives is widened beyond its originally accepted scope. Apparently, the powers of the Swiss Sovereign became thereby unequivocally curbed. The relationship between Swiss domestic law and international law is pivotal also should the General Assembly declare the initiative to be valid. The people would as a consequence of the Assembly's decision possess the right to vote either for or against the initiative. But regardless of the poplar vote's outcome, the second option prima facie implies that the sovereignty of the Swiss citizens has been upheld, and concessions need only to be made by those who are either for or against the proposed ban. Yet in its international context the matter is more complex and more far-reaching than that. The first part of this paper concentrates on the question of whether it is advisable for the General Assembly to compromise the people's sovereignty by widening the original scope of peremptory norms. The second part explores what a popular vote in favour of the ban on minarets could mean in law. In order to raise the awareness of the subject matter beyond its legal dimension, the introduction and conclusion of this paper will shed specific light on the rule of law as a philosophical doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In thinking of and formulating strategies for tackling the problem of access to good health care services in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is very tempting to look to the right to health as part of such strategies. However, given the genealogy and practices of the international human rights corpus, the question as to the value of utilising the right to health in such endeavours necessarily comes to the fore and demands investigation. Using the trajectory of the right to health, the paper analyses the usefulness or otherwise of international human rights in seeking solutions to problems relating to health in Sub-Saharan Africa. An argument is made that the right to health has low utility value despite the promises it makes. The paper concludes with the argument that an appreciation of the imperial-emancipatory paradox that is inherent in the corpus of international human rights not only enables one to expect less from the right to health but also opens up possibilities of crafting more productive strategies in the struggle to achieve the 'highest attainable standard of health' for the people of Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the protection accorded to the rights of those Irish children who have been identified by the Irish Courts as being children who may for a multitude of reasons be regarded as being children at risk. In such circumstances, these children become subject to State intervention where the State acts in parens patriae. The authority of the State to adopt this role is both constitutionally and legislatively mandated. The author notes that the failure of the State to secure the rights of a portion of its citizens who are in need of special care has placed the Irish State in violation of both its obligations under domestic and international law, violations that have been recorded not only by the domestic courts but also at the international level. This paper seeks to highlight the extent to which the Irish State is in violation of its national and international obligations to the rights of its child citizens. To that end, Part two of this paper outlines the protection afforded to the at-risk child by the Irish Constitution and legislative framework. Part three considers the manner in which the Irish Courts have interpreted such protection. Part four outlines the standards of protection to be afforded to children at risk by international human rights law.

The context that leads to human rights treaties being drafted or adopted has garnered much attention, especially concerning the developments in the 1970s. However, the link to the content of those human rights treaties is often missing in the analysis. In addition, less attention has been paid to one of the major developments at the time: The adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The article engages with these gaps from the perspective of the drafting process of the African Charter, using the unique wording of article 7 to illustrate four significant political and historical factors that helped determine its content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the practice and procedures of a range of international courts and tribunals with regard to the submission of amicus curiae briefs by non-governmental actors. The focus is on the recent practice in the ICJ, WTO dispute settlement system and in the regional human rights bodies, as well as in international criminal tribunals, with a view to identifying whether any common rules or approaches exist. The study sets out the current rules regarding the receipt of amicus curiae briefs and considers the procedural rules apply to the submission of such briefs. The paper focuses on the ways are international court and tribunal able to use the information and arguments submitted by amicus curiae briefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glen Coulthard's masterly work, Red Skin, White Masks, raises the theoretical work of Indigenous scholarship in North America to a new level, bringing Marxism into the mix in looking at the political-economic effects of settler-colonialism on Indigenous peoples in North America. He charts a way forward for Indigenous activism outside the state, eschewing the politics of recognition. In addition to assessing Coulthard's perspective on Marxism, this paper poses questions about privileging Indigenous social movements without addressing the national question and without including the role of the robust international Indigenous movement that has entered its fortieth year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frontex and the EU Member States have been criticised for not carrying out sea surveillance operations coordinated by the Agency in full compliance with human rights obligations. While Frontex and the Member States are clearly obliged to respect human rights when carrying out maritime surveillance operations within their territorial waters and contiguous zone, the question is much more complex on the high seas and especially in the territorial waters of a third country. Therefore, the most problematic question in Frontex operations is the extraterritorial application of human rights obligations of the EU and its Member States. The aim of this paper is to determine to what extent Regulation 656/2014 has introduced a clear regulation of the interception and rescue operations coordinated by Frontex while at the same time fully respecting fundamental rights and, in particular, the principle of non-refoulement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to discuss return flights in the context of international human rights standards. What are the standards that have so far been developed by international organisations and the international monitoring bodies and how these standards have been applied in practice during return flights? Besides evolving standards, the paper discusses unclarities that need to be addressed to increase the human rights compliancy of return flights. The article also address the major shortcoming in the monitoring of the process of returning migrants and rejected asylum seekers to their home countries, namely post-return monitoring. It is argued that new opportunities that modern technology offers have not been exploited to increase the international protection of returning migrants. Post-return monitoring could increase the transparency, dignity and human rights compliance of return operations. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, an estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. While over 3 million have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, 6.5 million are internally displaced within Syria. Whereas most research has focused on examining Syrian refugees' status and living conditions in host countries; few studies aimed to document their views and perceptions about transitional justice processes, including reparation issues and how they perceived a durable and sustainable peace in Syria. This paper focuses on Syrian refugees and displaced persons' role and contribution to transitional justice processes. It explores their views and perceptions about a wide range of political, civil, social, economic and cultural issues, including accountability, reparation, the nature of the future governance system, Syria's cultural identity, the rights of minorities and women, reconstruction and development priorities and Demilitarization, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witnessing the sometimes confusing and often nebulous debate on the position of cities in international law, one could wonder what cities are and what they do in contemporary international law. One could also wonder whether allowing cities to actively participate in the formation and implementation of international norms, and to contribute to international multilateral negotiations on issues of global concern such as sustainable development, climate change or human rights, does really imply a change in their status in international law. In this contribution, the reasons why cities are not subjects of international law, or better, why cities and local authorities still matter in international law because they are part of a State, are systematically assessed. Specific attention is paid to the status and role of transnational city networks. Before concluding, this article makes some final comments on the prospects for cities and transnational city networks in international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the legal consequences following the transfer of settlers into occupied territories more precisely the dichotomy between the rights of settlers the rights of protected persons victims. At the heart of the matter are the questions: What to do with settlers transferred into occupied territories in the post-conflict period? Should settlers be removed from the territory where they were transferred to allow victims to access restitution? In the alternative, should settlers be considered to have acquired a de facto 'right to stay' or a right not to be expelled under international human rights law the principle of humanity? Do settlers have rights? Do all settlers have the same rights? There is no consensual answer to these sensitive questions where proposed solutions vary on a spectrum from collective expulsion to the unconditional integration of settlers. Emerging from a case analysis is an international response to settler transfer that is complaisant of fait accompli resulting in a balance tilting in favor of the status quo to the not infrequent detriment of protected victims' rights. This article attempts to reconcile conflicting rights by proposing a response framework cognizant of all relevant branches of international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, both domestic and international law are increasingly starting to recognize corporations, other private non-natural persons and even public legal entities as subjects of human rights. A significant question of the study is whether such private or public legal entities can find any direct protection under the Inter-American Human Rights System, and if so, on what conditions. In this regard, the study analyzes the advisory opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights OC-22/16, adopted on 26 February 2016. The study also focuses on international standards concerning the rights of legal entities to seek protection in universal and regional human rights systems. The main method used in the study is a formal analytical model. Beyond the analysis of the advisory opinion, the study focuses on basics regulations of European, African and United Nations human rights systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the coronavirus counter-measures adopted by East African states from a legal perspective. The focus is whether the adopted measures infringe on the provisions of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (EAC) and domestic legislations, including the countries' constitutional provisions. The legal recourse for East African citizens in instances where domestic remedies have failed will be examined in light of the role of the judicial organ of the East African Community, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ). An examination will be made on protection of human rights under the EAC Treaty and the jurisdiction of the EACJ in adjudicating on allegations of human rights violation. This contribution will proceed to debate on the existing relationship between international law and domestic laws; whether international law is superior to domestic law and whether international bodies can entertain a complaint by an individual or an institution on violation of human rights where redress has not been exhaustively sought through domestic legal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, international organizations have frequently called upon their member States to respect the principles of good governance and international law. Increasingly, however, questions are raised concerning the behaviour of international organizations themselves and whether their own practice corresponds to what they expect from their member States. In other words: do organizations practise what they preach? Since many international organizations aim to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, it is reasonable to consider the extent to which these organizations respect such rights and freedoms themselves. Given the immunity of the United Nations, this paper examines some alternative legal procedures for the settlement of claims against the United Nations, taking into consideration contemporary international principles in relation to access to court, due process and reparation. It concludes with a number of recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austria is host state to several international organizations, and as a result the immunity of international organizations and their officials is a constant concern to the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from time to time this issue is considered by Austrian Courts. But who in Austria authoritatively decides on the presence of jurisdictional immunities: the judiciary or the government? What kind of acts or omissions count as a waiver of immunity, and who has the power to do just that? What is the scope of the organization's immunity ratione materiae, especially when compared to the immunity of states? What is the scope of the jurisdictional immunity of officials? And, finally, do Austrian courts balance the jurisdictional immunity of international organizations with the human right of access to courts? This paper outlines the international laws and domestic rules applicable to questions of immunity, and then analyzes eleven final judgments from Austrian courts that deal with the immunity of international organizations and their officials. It concludes with a brief evaluation of the scope of the immunity of international organizations and their officials in light of the Austrian legal order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last ten years or so, the international community has seen an increase in the suppression of revolutionaries or insurrectionists by authoritarian regimes. There has also been a growing urbanisation of violence, in which gangs infiltrate urban societies due to a lack of provision of State services. This landscape of violence continually morphs from one dominated by armed conflicts (to which international humanitarian law (IHL) applies) to one that increasingly involves 'other situations of violence' which fall short of the threshold of armed conflict (and which are not regulated by (IHL). These 'other situations of violence', whilst wildly disparate in many ways, share the tragedy (also shared with armed conflict) of the impediments they place on access to health care by those left vulnerable as a result of the breakdown of domestic legal order. This paper reviews existing laws and principles, which could apply to 'other situations of violence' such as those found in IHL and human rights law. It makes the case that an international framework could have a stronger presence in the regulation of 'other situations of violence', in order to ensure the protection of those who need it most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no denying that international human rights norms are enforced selectively. Some oppressive governments become the targets of military intervention, while the political sovereignty of other, equally oppressive regimes is left intact. My aim in this paper is to determine whether a military operation to defend human rights can possibly be made morally illegitimate by the fact that the state prosecuting it has failed, is failing or will fail to defend human rights under relevantly similar circumstances elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report highlights several contributions to a recent ICRC sponsored IHL conference on compliance and enforcement. Conference papers addressed a range of contemporary issues including: whether the Human Rights Council has a mandate to examine alleged breaches of IHL; the complementarity debate (IHL/IHRL); the problem of human shields; UN Security Council practice with regard to violations of IHL; and whether IHL should be reformed to provide non-State organised armed groups with greater incentives to comply with IHL during non-international armed conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is easy to detect a sense of achievement with the extent to which the human rights regime has progressed 60 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The relative international successes suggest a bright outlook for the future of the human rights regime. However, an important lacuna remains in the attention that ought to be paid to minorities, indigenous peoples and others in vulnerable situations, including in some instances, women. This paper argues that despite the creation of sophisticated systems of international human rights law, the regimes for the protection of minority rights were stronger before the United Nations (UN) era. In support of this argument it seeks to assess regimes that existed at three different times, attempting to extrapolate and analyse the snapshots presented by these through the lens of evolving human rights law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defends the legitimacy-positive impact of a “contextual-participation approach” to indigenous peoples' participation in international law-making. It argues that indigenous peoples' participation should be substantial where the issue being negotiated at the international level is of considerable interest to indigenous peoples and indigenous peoples have not consented to state representation. The “contextual-participation approach” to indigenous peoples' participation realises the justice in indigenous peoples' claims to remedial efforts to recognise their, mostly lost and historical, sovereignty, and to contemporary and evolving legal, and largely democratic, understandings of self-determination, as expressed, for example, in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, it balances indigenous peoples' self-determination entitlements to full participation in international law making, as unjustifiably excluded sovereigns, with contemporary political realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the jurisprudence of the ad hoc war crimes tribunals on torture. Through case law analysis, it investigates the development of a definition of torture at customary international law for international criminal law which differs from that in the UN Torture Convention and that generally applied in human rights law. The author examines this analysis for insights into individual responsibility and individual protection under international criminal law and international human rights law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comments on Professor Onuma Yasuaki's paper which inquires into the history of international law. The author is of the views that Professor Onuma Yasuaki raises very pertinent questions about the origin and development of modern international law. He correctly points out that one must answer the question, "what is international law?," in order to understand the origin of international law. There is a general assumption, especially among the European writers, that international law is only of European origin and lineage. But today's world, says Onuma, is not one of Europeans' making and "is also a world of various civilizations' making which date back much further than modern European civilization."

World politics is no longer about states interacting alone in a state of anarchy, but entails a complexity of interactions between states and a myriad of actors collectively referred to as non-state actors. Unlike non-state actors like multinational corporations (MNCs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), NGOs and other civil society groups and organizations do not enjoy full legal status and are often seen as anomalies in world politics. Yet, despite their alleged anomalous status, non-state actors like NGOs, not only outnumber states, MNCs and IGOs combined, but also are increasingly becoming almost indispensable players in global agenda setting, and in promulgating and enforcing global norms. Using NGOs as an example of non-state actors, this paper argues that NGOs have become or are increasingly becoming legitimate actors contrary to traditional theories of international law and international relations. First, it is argued the ontology of world politics has changed giving rise to multiple sites of authority (MSOA) and multiple sources of legitimacy (MSOL) rendering state consent less relevant as a source of legitimization. Second, NGOs may be deemed to be acquiring legitimacy or international legal personality implicitly. Specifically, recognition of NGOs in international legal instruments, their participation in the creation and enforcement of international law particularly in the environment, human rights, humanitarian areas, and increasing cooptation by states as agents through which to channel development funds are all evidence of NGOs' growing legitimacy in the system consistent with customary international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, minority issues regularly feature on the international agenda, due to growing concerns for human rights and stability. Minority rights instruments are being multiplied accordingly. While this is no doubt a welcome development, the fact that the effectiveness of any (present and future) minority regime remains to be tested through an adequate implementation machinery should not be overlooked. The aim of this paper is to examine the international monitoring mechanisms which are relevant to minority protection, with a view to discussing the prospects for improving State compliance. An overview of such mechanisms and a focus on some basic, contemporary elements of the resulting monitoring process, afford the basis for a set of forward-looking reflections on the problem of the implementation of minority rights standards. An attempt has been made at analysing the relevant patterns of scrutiny within a broad perspective, namely in relation to their real and/or potential impact on minority protection as embraced by international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]