618 research outputs found

    The Semisecret Life of Late Mao-Era International Law Scholarship

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    This Article is delimited by a focus on international law scholarship during the late Mao era, not on the PRC’s actual approach to or pronouncements on international law, mainly in order to respond directly to the assertion of U.S.-based international law scholars on late Mao-era scholarship. Of course, considerable ambiguity surrounds what constitutes scholarly work; no legal or even consensus definition generally exists. To be clear, definitions might exist in specific contexts such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) of the United States, which prohibits foreign lobbying except for “bonafide religious, scholastic, academic or scientific pursuits or the fine arts,” inter alia, although the distinction between scholarly and other types of activities is left entirely ambiguous under the legislation and the case law. In this particular context, Chiu signaled in 1966 what he might have meant by scholarly when he added the qualification to similar assertions from the past that Mao-era international law commentators exhibited “a lack of interest in original studies of international law problems,” suggesting that his definition of scholarly requires an element of originality and intellectual rigor concerning clearly identified problems. Whether the plain-language definition of scholarly contains such elements depends on which dictionary one consults. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to “learned, erudite” for its definition. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines scholarly as “containing a serious, detailed study of a subject,” which suggests the same type of study that a learned or erudite person would undertake. As this Article looks at U.S.based international law scholars, it might be helpful to look at U.S. dictionaries. The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides a similar definition as that of the Oxford English Dictionary— “of, characteristic of, or suitable to learned persons.” Collins Dictionary provides a first definition of “learned” and then a second of “having or showing much knowledge, accuracy, and critical ability.” Of course, accuracy might depend on the viewer’s perspective and the referent employed. Regardless, an amalgam of these definitions would include a large measure of detailed knowledge and serious independence in expressing that detailed knowledge, which presumably would create some form of originality in addressing the problem at issue. This Article uses all three elements—knowledge, independence and originality—to assess whether a particular Mao-era work between 1965 and 1979 represents a scholarly contribution. This is distinguished from non-scholarly contributions, which may relate to education but more closely resemble indoctrination and political propaganda

    Coercion, Causation, and the Fictional Elements of Indirect State Responsibility

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    This Article provides an in-depth analysis of Article 18 of the 2001 ILC Draft Articles on State Responsibility, which holds a coercing state indirectly responsible for an injurious act committed by a coerced state. Not only does this provision lack support from state practice, but the structural and logical flaws within the current formulation ensure that this provision does not significantly influence the evolution of state practice. Indeed, it would have been better for the ILC to have left Article 18 out of the Draft Articles, given that other, less problematic provisions could have covered such situations involving coercion. In reaching this conclusion, this Article explores the fascinating roles that coercion and causation play within the law of state responsibility

    Dionysian Disarmament: Security Coucil WMD Coercive Disarmament Measures and Their Legal Implication

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    This Article provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of the Security Council\u27s coercive disarmament and arms control measures involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In the process of providing this legal analysis, it presents a fresh perspective on a variety of widely held beliefs about disarmament and arms control law, as well as about U.N. law

    Gas Smalls Awful: U.N. Forces, Riot-Control Agents, and the Chemical Weapons Convention

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    This Article takes a comprehensive look at the use of riot-control agents (RCAs) by U.N. forces and the legal issues that arise as a result. This Article is the first to look at these legal issues from a practical perspective, not merely a theoretical one, because prior publications have questioned what would happen if U.N. forces used these weapons, whereas this Article analyzes forty instances of actual use. This Article is designed to spark debate within the areas of peacekeeping law, collective security law, the responsibility of international organizations, and arms control law relating to RCAs, and provides compelling legal and policy arguments for why U.N. forces should refrain from using them. This Article is particularly timely, given that some key states, such as the United States, recently have shown a willingness to reconsider their interpretation of disabling chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention and support the ICRC\u27s efforts in this realm. Moreover, as this Article was going to press, numerous news reports described how U.N. forces in Haiti heavily relied on RCAs in subduing victims of the January 12 earthquake who aggressively were demanding food from relief workers. These particular instances in Haiti are not included in the forty instances analyzed in Part II due to time constraints, although they are entirely relevant to this Article. With this overview in mind, the remainder of this Introduction sets out the thesis and the structure for defending that thesis throughout this Article

    Gas Smalls Awful: U.N. Forces, Riot-Control Agents, and the Chemical Weapons Convention

    Get PDF
    This Article takes a comprehensive look at the use of riot-control agents (RCAs) by U.N. forces and the legal issues that arise as a result. This Article is the first to look at these legal issues from a practical perspective, not merely a theoretical one, because prior publications have questioned what would happen if U.N. forces used these weapons, whereas this Article analyzes forty instances of actual use. This Article is designed to spark debate within the areas of peacekeeping law, collective security law, the responsibility of international organizations, and arms control law relating to RCAs, and provides compelling legal and policy arguments for why U.N. forces should refrain from using them. This Article is particularly timely, given that some key states, such as the United States, recently have shown a willingness to reconsider their interpretation of disabling chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention and support the ICRC\u27s efforts in this realm. Moreover, as this Article was going to press, numerous news reports described how U.N. forces in Haiti heavily relied on RCAs in subduing victims of the January 12 earthquake who aggressively were demanding food from relief workers. These particular instances in Haiti are not included in the forty instances analyzed in Part II due to time constraints, although they are entirely relevant to this Article. With this overview in mind, the remainder of this Introduction sets out the thesis and the structure for defending that thesis throughout this Article

    The Permanent Court of International Justice in Global History

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    The Permanent Court of International Justice\u27s contributions often are overshadowed by the fact that it was the predecessor of the overwhelmingly important International Court of Justice. This article is the first to look at the Permanent Court\u27s possible contribution to global history in its own right. While the case-study method adopted in this article does not allow for the determination of causal linkages between acts of the Permanent Court and consequences in global history, it nevertheless provides compelling support for liberal institutionalism and the notion that global history has been influenced by actors other than states, even though states remain the main shapers of global history

    International Water Law and China’s Management of Its International Rivers

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    This Article explores China’s management of its international rivers. China has various domestic pieces of legislation, including the Water Law of 2002, to regulate the uses and protection of its international rivers. It is clear that international water law influenced China inasmuch as there are similarities between the 1997 Watercourses Convention and the Water Law of 2002, and even China has recognized the influence of international law in the formation of its Water Law of 2002. This runs contrary to the widespread belief among Western commentators that China generally does not engage in these types of matters with international water law in mind. As evidence, these commentators point to China’s objection to signing the 1997 Watercourses Convention and its refusal to join any river-basin commissions for any of its international rivers. This Article, however, shows how China has been strongly influenced by the international water-law regime and has engaged with other states in the management of its international rivers, albeit with a limited number of states. This Article posits that China can further benefit from en-gaging in international fora when trying to manage its domestic water issues

    Moral Disarmament: Reviving a Legacy of the Great War

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    In short, this Article examines the concept of moral disarmament using a broad-spectrum definition of humanity rather than the traditional IHL perspective. Rather than referring to human rights that are impacted by armaments, this Article looks at methods through which human initiative can create a society that truly hungers for disarmament. In other words, this Article points out that the extent of change that society can bring about through education, intellectual cooperation, peace initiatives, international affairs awareness, and intercultural communication can be reflected in the economic growth, social growth, and development of states. The aim is to help the reader envisage a world where moral disarmament is part of the fabric of society, thus helping to create an environment where people begin to see disarmament as a way of life or a natural result of the peace and prosperity that they otherwise enjoy

    Nuclear-nuclear and nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions contribute to the reproductive incompatibility between two strains of the twospotted spider mite

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    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42711/1/10667_2004_Article_BF00190135.pd
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