The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail

شهد القانون الدولي العام تطوّرًا موازيًا وحذرًا لتطوّر العلاقات الدولية، وخصوصًا فيما يتعلّق بالدبلوماسيّة القسرية القائمة على استخدام الدول للعقوبات الاقتصادية، في شكل مقاطعة أو حظر أو حصار، لدول أخرى ذات سيادة. إنّ استخدام مثل هذه التدابير القسرية بشكل أحادي، أو بشكل جماعي لكن بغياب قرار أممي بذلك، باء بفشل تحقيق الأهداف المرجوّة منه في معظم الأحيان، حيث لم تنتج هذه السياسات القسرية أي تغيير يذكر في منهج أو سياسات الدول المستهدفة. وعلى وجه الخصوص، أثبتت العقوبات الاقتصادية عدم فعاليتها في تحقيق النتائج المرجوة منها، متسببة بدلًا من ذلك بعواقب جسيمة على مسرح الاقتصادي العالمي وإن كانت غير مقصودة. فعلى سبيل المثال، ثبت أنّ للعقوبات الاقتصادية آثار سلبية شديدة على التجارة الدولية ما أدّى في معظم الأحيان لانتهاك الركائز الأساسية لحقوق الإنسان ولركائز السياسة والأخلاق، في الوقت الّذي يظهر فيه أنّ اللجوء إلى مثل هذه العقوبات لا يحقق إلّا نجاحات ضئيلة لا تذكر في تصحيح الأمور المتنازع عليها بين الدول. في هذا الإطار، يأتي هذا البحث لنقاش مدى إمكانية وضع إطار قانوني محدد بشأن استخدام العقوبات الاقتصادية وبالذات في ضوء الأزمة الخليجية المتمثّلة بحصار دولة قطر، وتبيّن أن العقوبات الاقتصادية المفروضة على قطر هي تمثيل واقعي لعقوبات دولية اقتصادية وتثير جدلًا سياسيًا وقانونيًا لا بد من سبر غوره، وذلك باعتباره يمثّل حصارًا فعليًا (نظرًا لجغرافية المنطقة وشدة الإجراءات المتخذة)، ويمثل خرقًا للمبادئ القانونية الدولية العرفية والتعاقديّة. Contemporary international law has developed a cautious attitude toward the use of coercive diplomacy, specifically in the deployment of economic sanctions in the form of boycotting or blockading one sovereign state by another. If used unilaterally or collectively, particularly in the absence of a UN mandate, such coercive measures have often failed to change the policies of target states. In particular, economic sanctions have proven ineffectual in achieving the desired results and have instead caused unintended consequences on the complex global economic stage. Economic sanctions have had severe negative impacts on international trade and they often infringe on the basic pillars of human rights, politics, and morals. Indeed, resorting to such sanctions has achieved little success in rectifying disputed matters between opponent states. As such, the debate surrounding the possibility of producing a specific legal framework on the use of economic sanctions continues. To this end, and in light of what the state of Qatar has recently suffered from its neighboring states, this paper argues that the economic sanctions imposed on Qatar are a clear case of an extraterritorial application of sanctions that has generated immense political controversy and international resentment. Furthermore, this dubious application of sanctions and the resulting blockade of Qatar (it is undoubtedly a “blockade”, given the geography of the region and the intensity of actions taken) represent a breach of international legal norms embedded in both customary and treaty law

Accommodating Artificial Intelligence in International Law: An Overview and New Frontier

Within vivacious international relations, human rights dictums developed whilst racing to advance offensive and defensive capacities. Lately, artificial intelligence (AI) systems have been utilized in the spectrum of these advancements. This has led to a new form of arms race and human rights abuses whilst resisting any attempt to conclude a binding regulation in developing or using AI technology, and although AI has been a frontline issue in many disciplines from various angles, it nonetheless has not been as much in the legal profession, and specifically in international law. The unprecedented AI technology changes, despite the many advantages, alarms the need to continuously explore its impact within various aspects of international law. The absence of a conclusive international threshold for AI development and use might cause hindering international relations if international law orthodoxies in humanitarian law and human rights become improperly effected. Accordingly, this paper examines whether there is a need to develop the existing international legal order, whether directly or indirectly, and suggest establishing an IGO entity with a mandate to reshape rules and embedded values in the face of a rapid AI technological advancement.</p

The "Right to Privacy" v. telecommunications interception and access: International regulations and implementation in the Arab Region

The right to privacy is a complex and controversial issue. Concerns pertaining to the 'Right to Privacy' have often become a stumbling block when preparing draft laws on telecommunication, specifically those that relate to governmental interception and access, and can prompt governments to cancel the drafting of the law. Governments attempting to defend the right to invade citizens' privacy in communication, whilst at the same time adhering to international obligations, habitually have to face opposition. Recently though, the dual concerns of national security and public security have repeatedly been used as tools to shift away from privacy protection toward allowing telecommunications interception and access by governments when needed. Some Arab states have enacted interception and access laws, but only in an intermittent fashion, making it difficult to refer to it as a complete template for implementing an interception and access law. It is accepted that new, hi-tech systems are required to regulate the use of telecommunication tools so as to be in line with developed countries. The Arab states seem to be behind in introducing telecommunication legislations, or at least have not amended their laws to comprise interception and access in telecommunication. These states should be directed to securing a balanced approach between the rights of citizens and the necessary security needs. This paper seeks to outline the gaps in existing legislative order in Arab countries. It also attempts to draw some guidelines towards introducing effective regulatory systems for telecommunications interception and access law in the Arab world.qscienc

The Proportionality principle in telecommunications interception and access law in an environment of heightened security and technological convergence

As nations expand the telecommunications interception and access powers of their law enforcement agencies to address heightened threats to national security and accelerating technological convergence, the proper application of the proportionality principle is becoming an increasingly contentious issue. The 'proportionality principle' in telecommunications law mandates the weighing of a likely threat to public security against the potential violation of individual rights so as to ensure that the intrusive impact of a particular interception and access activity is reasonable proportionate to the potential outcome sought. The reform discourse of recent years has largely focused on expanding investigative powers, to the possible detriment of the protection of individual rights. Whilst the present environment makes such a focus wholly understandable, the present paper considers potential legislative and policy measures that could strengthen the proportionality principle in the telecommunications regulatory framework to support a more precise calibration of the relevant competing public and private interests. As Australia has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of its telecommunications access and interception laws, commencing with a 2013 referral to its Senate Committee and culminating in a 2015 law reform report, the article focuses on that nation's experience. The analysis is, however, placed within an overarching public policy framework to ensure that the discussion is of relevance to nations around the world who are similarly engaged in telecommunications law reform.18 page(s

Strengthening data privacy: the obligation of organisations to notify affected individuals of data breaches

The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 (Cth) introduced a new Part IIIC into the Privacy Act to strengthen the existing information privacy laws by requiring the designated organisations to notify the Information Commissioner and affected individuals of data breaches that are likely to cause serious harm. The objective of this article is to consider the proper public policy basis for data breach notification laws, the likely ambit of operation of the new provisions and the merits of the law in enhancing data security. Whilst the article focuses on the Australian legislative framework, the provisions European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, 27 April 2016, will also be considered to extend the discussion of appropriate law in this area. The article will conclude by identifying continuing areas of concern and suggesting initiatives to further strengthen the data privacy of individuals