Regulating disasters? The role of international law in disaster prevention and management

Purpose – This article explores the role of international law in disaster prevention and management, with a particular focus on the emerging field of international disaster law, and its relationship with international human rights law. It further introduces the four articles of the special column of this journal issue, dedicated to disasters and international law. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based upon primary sources of legislation and policy, as well as academic literature on disasters and international law. Findings – Although the field of international disaster law is at its infancy, we argue that this emergent area does have the potential to gain widespread recognition as a distinct field of law, and that this could be of benefit for the wider disaster management community. Originality/value – The article introduces key legal features and themes relating to international law and disasters, highlighting their relevance for disaster management. The added value is to widen the discussion on aspects of disasters regulated by international law, thus facilitating the future exchange with other academic subjects and operational fields. Keywords – disasters; international law; disaster management; treaties; human rights; international disaster law; international human rights law. Paper type – Research pape

Today's quest for international criminal justice: a short overview of the present state of criminal prosecution of international crimes

The subject of administering international criminal justice has again grasped our short lived attention when the decision of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to apply for an arrest warrant against the Sudanese state president Omar Bashir made the news. This chapter attempts to provide a short overview of the possibilities of holding individuals criminally accountable for human rights atrocities before the different existing international criminal forums