Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro)

On 26 February 2007 the International Court of Justice ('ICJ') handed down its long-awaited judgment in the case concerning application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro).· The Court adjudicated alleged violations by Serbia and Montenegro ('Serbia') of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,2 examining whether genocide occurred during the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina ('Bosnia') and, if it did, whether those actions could be attributed to Serbia. The Court found that Serbia had not committed genocide, but had violated obligations to prevent genocide and to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ('ICTy,).3 The Court also found that the award of compensatory damages was not appropriate in this case. The case has generated public division over the Court's reasoning on difficult jurisdictional questions, as well as the characterisation of, and responsibility for, atrocities committed. The fact alone that the case concerns alleged breaches of the jus cogens prohibition on genocide makes the case significant

From The Hague to the Balkans: A Victim-Oriented Approach to International Criminal Justice

The international crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s have been the subject of both State responsibility claims and prosecutions establishing individual criminal responsibility. On 26 February 2007 the International Court of Justice handed down its judgment in the Genocide case while it is expected that in 2014 the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will con-clude all appeals from prosecutions. While these initiatives contribute to the acknowl-edgement of the commission of international crimes they have not provided the victims with any financial reparations. Instead victims have had to make compensa-tion claims under domestic law. The article examines how, in addition to the interna-tional initiatives at The Hague, a regionally focused victim oriented reparations approach can assist in attaining improved international criminal justice for interna-tional crimes committed during the Yugoslav wars. A victim oriented reparations approach would enhance victims' rights through the provision of financial repara-tions, reflect improved international criminal justice and assist in the attainment long-term stability in the war-torn States of the former Yugoslavia

Marine Pollution and Environmental Law

This book is a comprehensive guide to Australian coastal and marine law. Since the landmark enactment of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 (Cth), and the subsequent High Court decision in NSW v Commonwealth, there have been rapid developments in Australian coastal and marine law and policy. The Offshore Constitutional Settlement paved the way for offshore management between the Commonwealth, States and the Northern Territory, and from this foundation a raft of new environmental laws were adopted in the 1980s and 1990s, often promoted by international developments such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or through new marine pollution conventions adopted by the International Maritime Organisation. In the last decade as a result of the increased profile associated with concerns over climate change, whaling, and major maritime incidents such as the Pasha Bulker (2007), Pacific Adventurer (2009), the Montara oil platform spill (2009), and Shen Neng I (2010) there has been greater environmental consciousness and concern about the need to have a comprehensive legal framework in place to deal with these issues. The book particularly reflects upon how Australian law regulates and manages a range of environmental issues which arise in the coastal zone and the marine environment. The Australian maritime domain is the focus of analysis, including all areas within State and Territorial jurisdiction, and areas within Commonwealth control and regulation. Activities that are subject to specific consideration include the continental shelf, fishing, indigenous rights, marine parks, marine pollution, ports and harbours, and shipping

Compensating for Natural Resource Injury: A Comparative Analysis

Standards concerning the prevention and control of vessel-source marine pollution are one of the most extensively regulated areas of international law. Despite such extensive regulation issues surrounding compensation for natural resource injury consequential to an oil spill are unsettled. International law clearly recognizes the rights of victims of vessel-source oil pollution damage to be compensated for quantifiable injuries but injury to natural resources per se and their economic valuation is more controversial. The quantification of injury to natural resources involves difficult questions surrounding both the assessment of injury to natural resources and then the award of appropriate compensatory damages

Beyond the Global Summits: Reflecting on the Environmental Principles of Sustainable Development

In addition to challenges we face in the context of specific environmental problems, there is the greater challenge of creating legal rules for achieving sustainable development, which will in time play a central role in international and domestic environmental law and policy. In order to pave the way to a sustainable future, a new economic paradigm is necessary, which integrates traditional economics with ecological economics. A new economic paradigm is the only viable option to secure the path for future generations. [FN1] Our goal must be to meet the economic needs of the present without compromising the ability of the planet to provide for the needs of future generations. [FN2] The legal challenge for sustainable development is enormous: a legal framework is needed in which environmental and social considerations are integrated into developmental processes along with economic analyses so that decision making reflects the `real values and services that nature provides. Despite incorporation of sustainable development into treaties, and domestic environmental and planning legislation, the concept largely remains one of rhetoric and policy without clear legal parameters. Much discussion has occurred but little international law has emerged. Sustainable development is notoriously difficult to pin down. It is subject to competing interpretations, and its application to any particular problem is often contentious. [FN3] From the outset the difficulties faced in implementing sustainable development have been clear, and while legislation is needed, more crucial is the need to achieve political commitment and change

Reconciling the international and United States approaches to civil liability for oil pollution damage

This article examines the international and United States approaches to civil liability for environmerntal damage resulting from oil spills and the obligation to compensate for environmental damage to natural resources