Islam & International Criminal Law: A Brief (In) Compatibility Study

This paper explores why that incompatibility between Islam and international criminal law persists and considers recommendations for mitigating that dynamic. Why is this important? Primarily because the Western-influenced international criminal law apparatus and the Muslim world are likely to collide more often in the future. If a war crimes tribunal is established in Afghanistan, or if the trial of Syrian agents for the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister goes forward, it is imperative that Islamic societies touched by those processes feel a sense of “buy-in” or participation that is meaningful for them. Otherwise, it becomes the same old story of Western domination over conflicting Muslim interests, and that story only breeds more resentment and even hatred

United Nations Security Council Permanent Membership and the Veto Problem

Every time a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council casts a veto, or threatens to do so, to protect a client state committing atrocities, or perhaps to protect even themselves when they do so, the legitimacy of the UNSC is further eroded. This erosion has been decades in the making as the U.N. has grown but the UNSC has long ceased to reflect the new power structures in the world today; however, this behavior quickens the pace of that erosion exponentially. A weakened Security Council weakens not only our entire global governance project but also the very collective security goal the United Nations was designed to effectuate

Quiescent Sovereignty of U.S. Territories

Under modern democratic theory, the font of sovereignty springs from the people; however, traces of its past as a power emanating from the Crown continue to haunt the domestic and international status of sub-sovereign legal entities such as U.S. Territories. Quiescent sovereignty describes that which is possessed by the people of the Territories; a sovereignty that is theirs, but that is wielded on their behalf by the federal government. Although fiduciary responsibilities attach to this arrangement, cycles of attention/neglect are the modus vivendi. Bilateral relationships between the Territories and the federal government are varied, but such differences should not impact their voices in Congress. Institutional adjustments to provide more impetus to Territorial issues are readily possible. Just as the European Union came to realize the importance of sub-national input at the federal level by creating the European Union’s Committee of the Regions, so too should the U.S. House of Representatives create a Permanent Select Committee on Territorial Affairs chaired by a Territorial Delegate