Â
Don Anton serves as critical observer and provocateur, with an insightful look at the development of international environmental law and its influence on the Rio+20 conference.
A Legal Solution to the South China Sea Dispute Andaleeb Akhand
Humanitarian Law and Just War Adam Spence
Non-Citizens in Latvia and the ECtHR Josefin Dahlerus
Kony 2012? Kevin Boreham
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
ADVOCATE VOL 1
|
ISSUE 2
|
May 2012
Â
Publications Director: Andrew Swanson Publications Team: Mallory Wankel, Emily Horn, Adam Spence THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN ARTICLES ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE SOCIETY OR THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.
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FEATURE
ARTICLE
ARTICLE
ARTICLE ARTICLE
ON CAMPUS
COURSE REVIEWS
STILL THIS ENDANGERED PLANET Donald K Anton
A Legal Solution to the South China Sea Dispute Andaleeb Akhand
Humanitarian Law and Just War Adam Spence
Non-Citizens in Latvia and the ECtHR Josefin Dahlerus
Kony 2012? Kevin Boreham
Friday CIPL Seminar Series Sherwood Du Summer/Winter in Geneva Kila Skorupa The Tokyo International Negotiation and Arbitration Competition Ben Goldsworthy & James Middleton
President’s Welcome Friends, Welcome to the second issue of the International Advocate. Term two is in full swing, and exams are fast approaching. Before you retreat into study mode armed with a week’s supply of energy drinks, I encourage you to take advantage of some of the opportunities the ILS has on offer. The Grand Final of the IHL Moot will be held in week 10, and will decide which two students will represent ANU at the ALSA conference in Melbourne. If you're new to mooting, this is a great chance to see firsthand what international law mooting is all about. An IHL Moot Dinner will be held in week 11 to recognise the outstanding effort that so many students have put into this year's successful tournament, including our wonderful director, Aleks Sladojevic. Students that initially registered but later withdrew are also welcome to attend. The ILS is submitting a proposal to the LLB Renewal Committee to reconsider the structure of the Jessup Moot course. Please let us know your thoughts by completing the survey on our website. Our first AGM will be held toward the end of this term. Come along to the meeting to hear about the workings of the society and offer your suggestions for improvement. Shortly after the break, we'll be hosting a Public and International Careers Fair, screening the film This is My Land Hebron, which focuses on one of the first Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and throwing an ANUSA sponsored Universal Lunch Hour with the Debating Society, who are fresh from the recent success of hosting the intervasity debating tournament, Easters. To stay in the loop, visit our website, www.anuils.com, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/anuils and follow us on Twitter, @ANUILS. Happy studying,
Katelyn Ewart INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
3
My role today is that of
The elimination of an ecological mindset is due
critical observer and provocateur. Today I will
in large part to the ascendance of the concept
talk about a disturbing story line in the
of sustainable development.
development
the use of sustainable development by the
Good afternoon.
of
international environmental
law and how it is shaping the approaching U.N.
international
Conference on Sustainable Development in
organizing
Brazil -- appropriately designated
Rio+20,
environmental policy and law is the main
because to call it Stockholm+40 in reference
reason why, from an environmental protection
to the first genuine environmental gathering of
point of view, the results of Rio+20 will almost
world leaders would require a much more
certainly be disappointing.
ecological focus than its “green economy”
that the use of sustainable development as our
theme can deliver.
pole star for the last 25 years helps show why,
Unlike today, it was generally recognised in 1972 that those who planned and attended the Stockholm Conference “had … the spiritual qualities of our relationship to the earth [and] the ecological health of our planet [formost in mind].” So far as I can tell, Rio+20 is devoid of this deep sort of environmental ethos.
despite
community
I maintain that
principle
the
as for
enormous
the
major
international
Indeed, I argue
proliferation
of
international environmental norms since 1972, almost all environmental indicators continue to be
in
decline
and
contain
some
deeply
disturbing prognostications. To study UNEP’s authoritative
Global
Environmental
Outlook
online data portal is to worry deeply about the prospects for posterity and to realize that we
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
4
are
-- to invoke the title of Richard Falk’s
path-breaking
1972
text
--
still
this
endangered planet.
that economic growth has become the not so beating
heart”
of
international
environmental policy and lies behind the law’s apparent inability to effectively protect the global environment. 1
The cult of economic
growth, like Toynbee’s cult of sovereignty, is a major
religion
of
although, Puhuja insightfully shows that over the last 50 years the narrow, reductionist
To explain my position: it seems clear to me “secret
society and state privilege above others --
humankind.
“Its
god
economic framework has taken account of the non-economic and non-market (including noneconomic
and
nonmarket
environmental
values) by subverting and subsuming them as part of neoliberal economic theory.
This has
allowed economics to continue to assert itself as the “master discipline” over all, including the environmental and social.
In the realm of
For Pahuja, the success of neoliberalism and
global environmental protection, the priorities
its partnership with the state has made it
of economic growth have become ascendant
“impossible for states to tell a story about
through
national ‘success’ in any terms other than
demands human sacrifice.”
a
perversion
of
the
concept
of
sustainable development rapidly embraced by
economic growth.”
states of every stripe following its detailed
ever
elaboration by the World Commission on
development growth, even though a reduction
Environment and Development in 1987 in its
in consumption or affluence is precisely what
well-known report, Our Common Future.
the planet requires. As Pahuja tells it, “we
One of my brilliant former students, Sundhya Pahuja, in her book Decolonizing International Law (a richly deserving winner of this year’s ASIL Certificate of Merit), illuminates how economic growth has “colonized” international law, including international law in the field of sustainable
development.
One
central
argument that Pahuja makes is framed around this
dominating
growth.”
influence
of
“economic
The “cowboy economy” described
by Kenneth Boulding in his well-known 1966 Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth is still alive and well for Pajuha. Production and growth remain unqualified goods that every
1
This characterisation is drawn from the expression “secret beating heart of international law” used by Sudyha Pahuja in a faculty seminar presented at the ANU College of Law in March 2012.
must
increasing
bow
All societies must have consumption
to
growth,
and
to
drive
search
for
[euphemistically] ‘sustainable’ ways to go on consuming
[ever]
more.”
This
sort
of
“economics imperialism” privileges economic knowledge and places it in a supposedly transcendent and apolitical position. Because it is made untouchable, it precludes the possibility of real action outside of economics and
eliminates
discussion
about
whether
growth is the correct lens through which to view
environmental
questions.
Conceptual
tools other than those of the economist can only be considered once the primary question of the relative cost of action versus inaction has been addressed. If these arguments are correct it becomes apparent that we are making little progress reversing
global
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
environmental
decline
5
global
advanced the idea of integration that has
environmental protection around a concept of
become part and parcel of the concept of
sustainable
sustainable
because
we
have
been
organising
development
that
has
been
development.
Environmental
colonised by economic growth for the last
concerns and policies were to be integrated
quarter century.
more broadly in planning by government.
Tracing the trajectory of
the same time, however, integration was not to
sustainable development bears this out. In very abbreviated compass, let’s consider what happened. We start in 1969 and the lead up to Stockholm.
Economically poor states
were at best ambivalent, but mostly resistant, to attending because of a reasonable view that environmental problems of the time were the creation
of
because
economically
agreed
rich
states
international
and
measures
designed to protect the environment might impose new constraints on their economic development.
At
To surmount these concerns,
Maurice Strong, the Secretary-General of the Conference, proposed linking environment and
operate as a limit on economic growth for either poor or rich countries. If environmental goals
and
economic
priorities
were
in
opposition, then difficult choices and “tradeoffs” would have to be made.
According to
the Founex Report, international law must be silent about these choices because they “can only be made by … countries themselves in the light of their own situations and … cannot be determined by any rules established a priori.”
This toothless form of integration,
without
any
definite
environmental
limits,
continues to bedevil us today. We now jump to 1987, the year the
development for the first time. Strong argued that the needs of economically poor countries
World
“would
the
Development issued Our Common Future, and
of
successfully pushed the adoption by all states
best
be
environment
as
served an
by
treating
integral
dimension
the
idea
was
initially
resisted
by
influential Southern development economists like Mahbub ul Haq and Gamani Corea, Strong was able to include (or co-opt) them and 25 others
in
an
economists,
instrumental
development
meeting experts,
of and
scientists from all parts of the world in Founex, Switzerland
in
June
1971.
The
meeting
produced the Report on Development and Environment (famously known as the Founex Report), which highlighted the urgency of environmental
problems
that
arise
out
of
poverty and made clear that for poor countries these were of priority.
on
Environment
and
of the well-known definition of the concept of
development rather than an impediment.” While
Commission
The Report also first
sustainable development as “development that meets
the
needs
of
the
present
without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The Report,
however, did much more than this. When Our Common
Future
Governing
was
Council
of
presented UNEP
to by
the the
Commission’s Chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland, she asserted that the idea of sustainable development was really (and I quote) a “new concept for economic growth”. 2
2 Gro Harlem Brundtland, James Marshall
It did not
Memorial Lecture,
19 October 1987 (“Sustainable development itself – the overriding political concept of the Commission – is, in fact, a
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
6
take long for those with free market, free trade
If all this had entailed was a lawyerly struggle
and laissez-faire capitalist agendas to seize on
with ambiguity created by new terminology it
this and for, at least some, to recast their
would not have been out of the ordinary.
ambitions for unbridled economic growth in
However, more than just a change of name
the
has been involved.
“green
language”
of
sustainable
The change from a
development. The first step was to equate
discourse of international environmental law,
sustainable
with
development
with
sustainable
a
specific
on
protection,
sustained economic growth (unlimited in any
sustainable development, with its focus on
way) was asserted to be the way to achieve
economic
sustainable development.
impact. As Marc Pallemaerts presciently saw
1989,
this
perversion
of
sustainable
development found its way into the General Assembly Resolution convening the 1992 Rio Conference.
The Resolution affirmed in a
number of places the importance of economic growth.
In particular, though, it proclaimed
“the importance of a supportive international economic environment that would result in sustained
economic
growth
.
.
.
in
all
countries.” Note the language. The resolution highlights purely “sustained” growth in all countries (rich and poor), not sustainable growth
that
is
environmental
limited
or
conditioned. By the time we got to Rio, the Brazilian delegate
on
Working
Group
III
of
the
Preparatory Committee of the Conference had successfully persuaded all the delegates to substitute the new term “international law in the field of sustainable development” for the established environmental
area law”
of in
all
“international the
conference
documents. It was reported that following his success, the Brazilian delegate flashed a mischievous look and said, “[t]hat will keep you lawyers busy well into the 21st Century”.
back
rhetoric
environmental
economic growth. Then, losing all pretence,
In
to
focus
growth,
in
has
1992,
subordinated
it
bound had
has
up
a
with
destructive
diminished
international
and
environmental
protection to economic growth and social development under what has become known as the principle of integration that I have already
referred
to.
The
principle
of
integration reduces environmental imperatives to just one factor (along with economic and social desires) to be weighed in decisionmaking.
The problem, of course, is that the
environment usually comes out on the losing end
because
sustainable
development
eschews any sort of legal limits that provide substantive environmental protection. The trajectory of displacement of specific environmental concern for the planet -- in favour of the idea sustainable development informed by growth -- proceeds apace today. Instead of law and policies to support the global
environment
by
the
necessary
modifications of our own economic and social activities, we find U.N. documents like the 4th Global Environmental Outlook turning the idea of
using
the
economy
to
support
environmental protection inside out like a glove.
The
Environment
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
4th for
Outlook Development
is
subtitled
and
states
7
“society has the capacity to make a difference
How to accomplish this transformation, though,
in the way the environment is used to underpin
is far from clear and will be a struggle no
[economic]
matter how approached.
development
.
.
..”
This
formulation clearly renders the environment an instrument of growth and development and, presumably, today, of the green economy. In this way environmental degradation is seen as a spoiler of development instead of seeing what is really needed – constraint on economic development These
to
retrograde
protect
the
environment.
views
about
sustainable
development equalling economic growth and the environment as instrumentality of the economy obtain in many of the documents now circulating around Rio+ 20. To give you a flavour, the most recent issue of Our Planet contains this economic growth dictate about Rio + 20 outcomes by Elizabeth Thompson, the Executive Coordinator of the Conference: Rio
+
20
“must
know,
confronting
however, complexity;
it
does
but
confronting
complexity with an embrace. 3 must
further
global
complicate
environmental
decoupling
Indeed, we
and
problematize
protection
economic
involve
not
growth,
by
social
considerations, and environmental priorities, but by establishing difficult and sensitive environmental limits on the main drivers of global
environmental
growth,
problems
consumption,
and
(population destructive
technological impact). These limits must be built into the principle of integration and applied at the municipal level when necessary in order to protect the planet.
It may seem
utopian to make this argument, especially in these economically hard times, but one should
continued
remember the admonition of Sir Wilfred Jenks.
growth and satisfy the South’s development
Jenks famously invoked Proverbs 29:18 in
needs and nuances. It needs to assure large
arguing for idealism in international law --
emerging
development
“where there is no vision, people perish”, he
trajectories will not be halted or present gains
insisted. A message with clear resonance for
reversed.”
us today.
and
economies
desire
the
do
North’s
industrialisation
respect
I
for
…[that]
All of this is far removed from the objective of global
environmental
important end in itself.
protection
as
an
Until we put this
objective front and centre as the primary focus of
international
environmental
diplomacy,
policy and law and as long as economic
3 Thanks to Di Otto for provoking me to
think further about
complexity here. Image courtesy of NASA
growth reigns, we will not have improvement.
Associate Professor Don Anton (Barrister and Solicitor, Victoria and High Court) specialising in International Environmental Law at the College of Law, Australian National University.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
8
A Legal Solution to the South China Sea Dispute Andaleeb Akhand
Tensions in the South China Sea have been
area: one-third of the world’s shipping transits
steadily
through its waters, functioning as “vital arteries
growing
since
2009,
when
China,
Vietnam and Malaysia submitted their respective claims in the region under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With China now conducting naval exercises in the area, tensions are now higher than at any moment since the end of the Cold War. 1
of world trade.” China’s burgeoning ability to project its naval power has seen it become more bellicose in enforcing its interests. Beijing believes that some Southeast Asian claimants are “plundering” maritime resources that naturally belong to
Other Southeast Asian nations have now joined
China, and it hasn’t been shy in deploying
the staking of territorial claims, including the
aggressive
Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan. But why have
perceived injustice. Such tactics have included
these tensions flared only recently? What makes
“cutting the cables of survey ships, planting
South China Sea sovereignty and exploitation
markers on unoccupied reefs, and harassing
rights so valuable as to endanger regional
foreign fishing boats.”
stability?
tactics
in
order
to
rectify
this
With regional tensions rising, what strategies
The South China Sea – a 3.5 million square
have competing claimants been employing to
kilometre area in the Pacific Ocean bound by
resolve this impasse?
China and several Southeast Asian nations – has hundreds of uninhabited islands and coral atolls that some of the world’s most diverse marine life call home. What makes the area so coveted, however, are potentially huge reserves of natural gas and oil.2 It is also rich in fish, a vital source of protein for hundreds of millions of people
The first is bilateral solutions. While Beijing has expressed
a
preference
for
this
over
“internationalisation” of the issue, Southeast Asian states see this as China’s way of freezing resource development in its favour, while not actually resolving the various competing claims.
across Asia, and a lucrative income stream.
The second strategy is multilateral solutions,
Besides this, there is the strategic location of the
using
organisation ASEAN (Association of Southeast
1 J Hemmings, The South China Sea dispute: a legal solution needed , East Asia Forum, 7 December 2011: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/12/07/the-‐south-‐china-‐sea-‐ dispute-‐a-‐legal-‐solution-‐needed/
Asian Nations) as a negotiating bloc to deal with
2
CNN Wire Staff, Philippines shuffle ships in maritime standoff with China , CNN, 12 April 2012: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/12/world/asia/philippines-chinanaval-standoff/
the
geopolitical
and
economic
China. But given that the dispute over the South China Sea involves only four of ASEAN’s members – Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines – China has been able to splinter the
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
9
positions of these four members from the other
The final strategy has been
ASEAN member states.
actors, as a way of solidifying their own position
The third strategy for China’s neighbours in the region has been to forge closer ties with the United States. The US still has vital economic and strategic interests in the region, and can serve as a stabilising counterbalance to Chinese aggression. During a high-profile visit to Manila last November, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood
on
the
deck
of
American
warship
Fitzgerald in Manila Bay, and reaffirmed the strong military relationship between the United States
and
the
Philippines.
3
Washington’s
position has been that territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be settled peacefully. “We are strongly of the opinion that disputes that exist primarily in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and China should be resolved peacefully,” Clinton said in a televised conference with Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Albert del Rosario. “Any nation with a
to involve outside
and exerting pressure. India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed a deal with Vietnam’s PetroVietnam to purchase BP’s stakes in oil and gas development in waters off the Vietnamese coast. Japan held talks with Filipino diplomats in September last year on peaceful
resolution
of
the
disputes
in
accordance with international law. It was also proposed that the two countries set up a ‘permanent working group’ to tackle disputes and
other
Asian
maritime
issues.
More
importantly, military and security ties were tightened,
with
their
bilateral
relationship
elevated to a ‘strategic partnership.’ But while outside involvement may secure some degree of protection
for
ASEAN
claimants
from
the
Chinese, it can also be a dangerous strategy, one which risks invoking a strong reaction from Beijing.6
claim has a right to exert it, but they do not have
While the aforementioned strategies have each
a right to pursue it through intimidation or
had their own merits, they have not been able to
coercion.”
4
former
effectively and comprehensively address the
wartime enemy, Vietnam has collaborated with
underlying issue of strategic competition in the
the US in staging joint naval exercises, over the
South China Sea which is continuing to fuel
objections of the Chinese.5
specific, competing claims. Tensions remain
Meanwhile,
America’s
3 J Hemmings, The South China Sea dispute: a legal solution needed , East Asia Forum, 7 December 2011: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/12/07/the-‐south-‐china-‐sea-‐ dispute-‐a-‐legal-‐solution-‐needed/ 4
Floyd Whaley, Clinton Reaffirms Military Ties With the Philippines , The New York Times, 16 November 2011: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/world/asia/clinton-reaffirmsmilitary-ties-with-thephilippines.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=clinton%20and%20philippines &st=cse
high and claims are still unresolved. The limited diplomatic gains of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and ASEAN summits in tackling
this
issue
have
underscored
the
shortcomings of a regional diplomacy-based approach.
6
5
US-Vietnam naval drill begins against China s wish , AFP, 15 July 2011: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jz1XaFjQ V9k9m17ombCaZ18PBBRQ?docId=CNG.9fbf1bb211a93e1890 ad9c91706d0f6e.e1
Andy Yee, India and Japan s involvement in the South China Sea disputes , East Asia Forum, 10 November 2011: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/11/10/india-and-japan-sinvolvement-in-the-south-china-sea-disputes/
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
10
One way forward could be the introduction of a
compromise. Conceding to another country
legal framework for the South China Sea. This is
would be tantamount to betraying national
a strategy that has long been discarded by
sovereignty, for China and other countries. A
academics, analysts and policymakers, but it
legal ruling, which places the responsibility on a
nevertheless should be seriously considered.
third, outside
Various international legal mechanisms have been
developed
to
arbitrate
and
party
however, would
neatly
sidestep this dilemma.
resolve
Moreover, as China grows both as a regional
precisely these kinds of disputes – the arbitral
and a global power, Beijing can be persuaded of
tribunals under the jurisdiction of UNCLOS, the
the benefits of working through the international
International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the
legal system. The international legal system
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
safeguards the rights of smaller states like those
(ITLOS).
in ASEAN, but also provides an opportunity for
With such high stakes involved, and the failure of the regional diplomatic route to come to a consensus, it is important that the ASEAN
big countries like China to demonstrate that they can be responsible global players as they comes of age. 7
member states collectively push for a legal solution to the issue. While China has resisted legalising the disputes, if ASEAN can unify behind this approach, China may be amenable to being persuaded. Moreover, the decade or so
7
John Hemmings, ‘Law not War in the South China Sea’, Maritime Security, 23 November 2011: http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/maritime-security-asia/lawnot-war-in-the-south-china-sea/
over which legal proceedings would take place can be used to educate public perceptions and allocate funds for university workshops and seminars on international law.
ONLINE RESOURCES UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
With a neutral body ruling on the matter, domestic populations are less likely to be concerned because it will be less likely that they
Overview and full text of the convention. http://www.un.org/depts/los
perceive that their government has been forced to
make
concessions
to
another
country.
Understanding nationalist sentiments is key to understanding why the various players in the South China Sea dispute have been loath to
Andaleeb Akhand is completing a Master of Studies at the Australian National University.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
11
has
paramount consideration in resorting to war. 4
demonstrated the great cost to lives and
The inhumanity that results is an unavoidable
The
course
of
human
history
1
property that inevitably comes with war. As
side effect or even necessary activity given the
war has evolved over time, so too have diverse
pressures faced in conflict. 5 Representing the
perspectives on thinking about it. At one
other extreme is pacifism, contending even
extreme sits realism, asserting that in the
one who is attacked should not fight back,
pursuit
much less launch an offensive war. 6
of
advantage,
violence
is
human
nature. 2 Karl Von Clausewitz suggested that war had neither intrinsic limits nor could be externally limited. 3 General William Sherman later described war as cruelty incapable of refinement. For realist thinkers Carneades and Machiavelli, maintaining the sovereign was the
1
Christian Enemark and Christopher Michaelsen, “Just War Doctrine and the Invasion of Iraq,” Australian Journal of Politics and History 51:4 (2005) 545. 545.
Both
extremes
elucidate
very
simplistic
viewpoints. Despite the evils of war, it would be wrong to deny its necessity at times. While war has served those who seek conquest, so too has it served to defend against them, marked in recent history by the defeat of Nazism in Europe. Just as war may serve as
4
Ibid.
2
Gregory M Reichberg, “Just Ad Bellum”, in War: Essays in Political Philosophy. Ed. Larry May (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 11. 14. 3 Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (New York: Basic Books, 1977) 23.
5
Michael W Lewis, The War on Terror and the Laws of War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009) 4.
6
Larry May, Aggression and Crimes against Peace (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 26.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
12
an implement for those with evil intentions, so
a just cause (traditionally self-defence), who
too can it serve those who, as Thomas
does so with the right intention. To go to war
Aquinas posited, wage it out of a desire for
must be the last preferred option (“last resort”).
peace.
7
The war must have a reasonable prospect of
Balancing these two extremes, just war theory contributes to a tradition of thought and principles
regarding
the
recourse
to
and
conduct of war. Some of these principles are now reflected in humanitarian law, the laws of war.
However, as with war itself, just war
theory and humanitarian law are capable of serving
both
those
with
good
and
bad
intentions. For while they have spurred the creation of limits that seek to restrict the harm of war, they have also been invoked by those seeking to justify what is arguably unjust.
succeeding, with costs not disproportionate to what can be gained from it. 10 The jus in bello attempts to limit the carnage in conflict by requiring parties to recognise the immunity of non-combatants, and ensure that harm is not disproportionate to the good that may come from conduct within the conflict. 11 Some of these principles are reflected in humanitarian law. The United Nations Charter of 1949 and preceding instruments mirror the ad bellum principle of just cause, limiting recourse to war to self-defence. codified for
Just War and Humanitarian Law
12
The Geneva Conventions
distinction between and standards
treatment
of
combatants
of
just
and
non-
theory
and
combatants. Existing between pacifism and realism, just war theory shares the aversion to violence of
Those
the former while accepting that circumstances
humanitarian law point to their perceived
may arise where war is ethically justified. 8 The
failures to deal with the costly wars of the
tradition
twentieth
has
evolved
over
time
with
critical
century.
war
Humanitarian
law
often
contributions from thinkers seeking to answer
developed as a reactionary tool, with major
two basic questions; when may war be used
instruments
forming
in
response
and how must it be waged? 9 The principles
ravages of the world wars.
that
history,
have
developed
to
answer
these
the
just
war
13
to
the
For periods in
tradition
has
been
questions are categorised as the jus ad bellum
forgotten or dismissed in favour of the belief
and jus in bello respectively.
that states should be able to wage war based on their subjective interests - the doctrine of
The jus ad bellum deems war permissible only where it is waged by a competent authority for
7
Anicee Van Engeland, Civilian of Combatant? A Challenge for the 21st Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) 7.
raison d’état. 14 To be sure, there are examples
10
David Fisher, Morality and War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) 66.
11
Ibid., 67.
12
Reichberg, War: Essays in Political Philosophy, 11.
8
Raymond Kuo, “Occupation and Just War”, International Relations 22:3 (2008) 299. 300. 9 Larry May and Emily Crookston, “Introduction” in War: Essays in Political Philosophy, ed. Larry May (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 1. 2.
13 Gabor Rona, “Interesting Times for International Humanitarian Law: Challenges from the War on Terror”, Political Violence 17:1 (2005) 157. 158. 14
Reichberg, War: Essays in Political Philosophy, 11.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
13
that point against the efficacy of just war
enforcement and criminalising specific acts. 18
theory and humanitarian law. US strategy in
Following the attacks, US strategy shifted,
Korea deliberately targeted locations to harm
declaring a “war” on terrorism and vowing to
civilian morale while campaigns in Vietnam
defeat
resulted in the destruction of farmland and
Reconciling the war on terror and US conduct
forests, neither of which showed regard for the
toward terror suspects with just war theory
principles of proportionality and discrimination
and humanitarian law is problematic.
in war.
15
However, to deny that just war theory
and humanitarian law can serve a useful purpose would be akin to dismissing domestic law as invalid if some do not obey it. One cannot ignore the progress made on issues such as land mines, a weapon deplored for lacking discrimination, where humanitarian law has done much to limit their use and spur their clean up.
16
Nor can we ignore the broad
legitimacy with which humanitarian law and just war principles are held in the international arena.
all
groups
with
global
reach.
19
Terrorism is a broad concept, for which an internationally proven
recognised
elusive.
The
US
definition
has
Department
of
Defence describes terrorists as those who use “force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce.” 20 Bellamy asserts that a war against such a vague foe cannot be “just” given the inability to assign a just cause to all terror groups alike. 21 In light of the number of groups to which the definition above could apply, I would agree. Vitoria spoke of the sole just cause for war being defence when harm
States, though, are able to interpret them in
has been suffered, a view reflected in the UN
ways that are repugnant to their spirit and
Charter. 22 While this may apply to Al-Qaeda for
invoke them to justify what is arguably unjust.
sponsoring 9/11 and the Taliban via state
The actions and strategic pronouncements of
responsibility in international law, one cannot
the US regarding the war on terror have on
attribute this just cause to terrorism, with its
occasion mirrored raison d’état , dismissing
diverse actors and aims as a whole.
their applicability.
17
Yet the United States has
invoked both of them to give legitimacy to their strategic endeavours too. Rather than regulating global conflict, they can become weapons for global conflict. The war on terror and Afghanistan Prior
to
responses
the to
attacks terrorism
of
September focused
on
11, law
With such a vague target, the ad bellum and in bello
principles
of
proportionality
become
18 Nigel White, “Terrorism, security and international law” in International Law, Security and Ethics, eds. Aidan Hehir, Natasha Kuhurt and Andrew Mumford (London: Routledge, 2011) 9. 15. 19 Evangelista, Law, Ethics and the war on terror, 60.; Nicholas Wheeler, “Dying for ‘Enduring Freedom’ Accepting Responsibility for Civilian Casualties in the War against Terrorism”, International Relations 16:2 (2002) 205. 205. 20 Uwe Steinhoff, On the Ethics of War and Terrorism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) 110.
15
Mathew Evangelista, Law, Ethics and the War on Terror (Cambridge: Polity Books, 2008) 35.
16
17
Ibid., 13. Ibid., 69.
21
Alex Bellamy, “Is the war on terror just?” International Relations 19:3 (2007) 275. 291.
22 Alia Brahimi, Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) 24.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
14
more difficult to calculate. Rodin ponders
connected outlets rather than a single body. 27
whether the millions who died and lasting
Bin Laden’s views have been rejected even by
effects on Europe were worth the price in
fellow radical Islamist figures such as Hamas
defeating Nazism.
23
Walzer concluded the
founder (and according to the definition above,
effort, including bombing German cities was,
terrorist leader) Ahmed Yasin. 28 While the US
given the “immeasurable evil” of Nazi victory. 24
has attempted to draw parallels between the
Calculating proportionality is difficult, for the
threat of Nazism and terrorism, the latter has
length and stakes of war cannot be predicted
fragmentation and subtlety the other did not. 29
with certainty. Murray spoke of the need to make a “moral calculus” based on factors including who is to be fought and what is at stake. 25 Though Walzer described the Nazi triumph as immeasurable, the allies knew of the size and capacity of the axis powers and of the populations at risk of being subject to their rule.
Characterising the war on terror as war brings with it responsibilities and freedoms regarding the in bello principle of discrimination and treatment of persons under humanitarian law. The indeterminate boundaries of the conflict have given the United States broad latitude, including carrying out the targeted killing of terror suspects that would otherwise be more
The same cannot be said for terrorism. Osama
clearly prohibited as extra judicial punishment
Bin Laden (citing the Quranic equivalent of just
under international law.
war theory) characterised the group’s actions
capitalised on this wartime freedom, it has
as defensive against the perceived western
obfuscated
invasion of the “umma,” and more specifically
treatment of those captured. Afghan suspects
the “occupation” of the holy lands.
26
At other
its
for
the
from 2002 onwards were denied any of the recognised
American. The gravity of the threat defines the
conventions
level of force we may use and the cost we are
combatants” instead. 31
whose intent, capacity and numbers are fluid
As the US has
responsibilities
times though, Al-Qaeda spoke of killing every
willing to pay, yet against an abstract foe
30
classifications and
under
labelled
relevant “unlawful
Expanding the war: Iraq
and ill-defined, determining the potential costs
The 2003 invasion of Iraq demonstrated the
against the potential benefits of going to war
strained invocation of just war principles and
is difficult. Even a single target like Al-Qaeda
is more akin to a franchise with loosely
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid,. 99.
23
David Fisher, Morality and War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) 74.
24 Terrence Kelly, “The just conduct of war against Islamic terror and insurgencies”, in The Price of Peace, eds. Charles Reed and David Ryall (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 25
Ibid.
26
Brahimi, Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror, 112.
29 Nicholas Wheeler, “Dying for “Enduring Freedom’ Accepting Responsibility for Civilian Casualties in the War against Terrorism, International Relations 16:2 (2002) 205. 215 30 Elizabeth Bates, Terrorism and International Law: Accountability, Remedies and Reform (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) 234. 31
Evangilista, Law Ethics and the War on Terror, 62.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
15
humanitarian law for an unjust cause. 32 Formal
humanitarian law come responsibilities that
justification
on
attach to parties to a conflict and legitimacy
reactivating UN resolutions from the 1990s, a
for the actions engaged in. 38 It is neither
move of doubtful legal soundness given the
possible to attach those responsibilities to a
passage
different
foe as vague as terrorism nor is it desirable to
resolutions
give terrorists the legitimacy of engaging in
specified. 33 This also casts doubt on whether
formal armed conflict. Terrorist activities are
ad bellum authority existed, as neither the US
criminal, as recognised by international legal
itself possessed it justly nor is it likely it was
instruments,
34
accordingly.
for
of
intervention
time
and
to
those
circumstances
rested
vastly the
legally derived from an international body.
The US additionally invoked the language of just war theory to support its cause, using the controversial notion of preventative versus pre-emptive war. The US justification centred on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and perceived
willingness
to
share
them
with
terrorists. 35 That Iraq had neither attacked the US nor was there any indication an attack was imminent meant US action was preventative, described by Grotius as an unjust cause. 36 US doctrine framed just cause as preventing a “serious” threat rather than pre-empting the “imminent” threat more readily accepted in just war theory. 37
of war against terrorism Considering the problematic nature of fighting terrorism with war, is this approach suitable, even
desirable?
With
just
war
and
32
Brahimi, Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror, 2.
33
Christine Enemark and Christopher Michaelsen, “Just War Doctrine and the Invasion of Iraq”, Australian Journal of Politics and History 51:4 (2005) 545. 556.
34
35
36
should
be
treated
It must also be recognised that entering into a conflict characterised as war may serve the purposes of terrorists. Bin Laden framed AlQaeda’s campaign as defensive jihad against western invasion of the holy lands. 39 Though Bin Laden’s interpretation is widely held to be faulty, utilising large-scale armed force risks lending credence to his claims, at least to those who may choose to support him. Indeed using force can push different people and groups
together
for
a
common
unifying terrorist elements.
40
interest,
One concludes
from this that a return to the emphasis on law enforcement would be desirable.
The perils of using just war theory and laws
or
and
Ibid. Ibid,. 550.
Conclusion “Those who have been attacked are permitted to take up arms because they have been wronged.” 41 Though similar, these are not the words of just war thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, Vitroria or Suarez, but a Quranic verse cited by Osama Bin Laden justifying
38
Rona, Terrorism and Political Violence, 159.
39
Brahimi, Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror, 112.
40
Reichberg, War: Essays in Political Philosophy, 27.
Robert Trager and Dessislava Zagorcheve, “Deterring Terrorism: It can be done”, International Security 30:3 (2005/06) 87. 121.
37
Marc Weller, Iraq and the use of force in International Law (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010)
41
Brahimi, Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror, 113.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
16
FURTHER READING attacks on America. It is poignant for it illustrates the inherent weakness of law and theory… the reliance on those who interpret and use it. The Islamic equivalent of just war
Selected works from this article’s bibliography. The War on Terror and the Framework on International Law Helen Duffy (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
theory was invoked by Al-Qaeda to justify its deeds, though their interpretation of it was judged as flawed by Islamic thinkers. 42 Just war theory and humanitarian law cannot be dismissed
as
intellectual
practical
purpose.
They
continue
to
the
have
folly
serving
no
have
done
and
great
potential
to
promote good. They however are merely tools
Terrorism and International Law: Accountability, Remedies and Reform Elizabeth Stubbins (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Iraq and the Use of Force in International Law Marc Weller (Oxford University Press, 2010)
that require a hand to wield them. If a state interprets them vulgarly or chooses to ignore them, the culpability belongs to the state that
In War: Essays in Political Philosophy Larry May (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
does so. Vitoria spoke of circumstances where both sides believe their cause just, stating that decision makers should exercise diligence and probity
while
seeking
arbitration and mediation.
opportunities 43
Just Wars Alex Bellamy (Polity Press, 2006)
for
The United States
though has not demonstrated this, instead
The War on Terror and the Laws of War Geoffrey Corn (Oxford University Press, 2003)
turning to just war theory and humanitarian law as a weapon of war.
Just War on Terror: A Christian and Muslin Response David Fisher and Brian Wicker (Ashgate, 2010)
42
Ibid., 112.
43
Reichberg, War: Essays in Political Philosophy, 21.
Morality and War David Fisher (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Image courtesy of United States Army
International Law, Security and Ethics Aidan Hehir, Natasha Kuhrt & Andrew Mumford (Routledge, 2011)
Adam Spence is a combined Law/Arts undergraduate, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. Outside of university, he’s an internationally awarded photographer and published writer. www.adamspence.com.au
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
17
Non-Citizens in Latvia and the ECtHR Josefin Dahlerus
Located between the Baltic Sea and the Russian
Other State.” In essence, this law designates
Federation, Latvia occupies
the geographical
former citizens of the USSR as “non-citizens,”
and cultural borderland between Western and
provided that their last registered place of
Eastern Europe. Having endured decades of
residence before July, 1992 was in Latvia.
Soviet occupation, this multi-ethnic state has recently sought to distance itself from the influence of its Russian neighbor by joining both NATO and the European Union. Yet the heritage of the red tsars continues to influence Latvian politics today. During the Soviet era, the share of ethnic Russians residing in the Latvian territory increased significantly; in 1989, ethnic Russians constituted 34 percent of the population, after only having made up 10.5 percent of the population in 1935. This shift was the combined result of mass deportations of ethnic Latvians and 'Russification' policies instituted by the Soviet
regime.
When
Latvia
finally
gained
independence in 1991, a large number of ethnic Russians and other ex-Soviet nationals remained in the country. As former citizens of a defunct empire,
however,
they
effectively
became
stateless.
“non-citizens cannot be compared with any other status of a physical entity, which has been determined in international legal acts, as the rate of rights, established for non-citizens, does not comply with any other status. Latvian noncitizens can be regarded neither as the citizens, nor the aliens and stateless persons but as persons with ‘a specific legal status.’” 2 Noncitizens hold special passports, but are deprived of a number of rights—the most significant of which is the right to vote.3 Non-citizens are also not allowed to hold government jobs. As of 2011, nearly 14.4 percent of Latvia’s total population of 2,224,230 held non-citizen status. Over 65 percent (or 209,934 individuals) of these noncitizens were ethnic Russians. It is worth noting that the average share of
Relying on a “restorationist policy of nationbuilding,” which aimed to revive the pre-war Latvian state and cultural identity, the fledgling Latvian legislature was reluctant to grant the stateless
According to the Constitutional Court of Latvia,
ex-Soviet
nationals
citizenship.
1
Instead, these individuals were granted a status of “permanent resident non-citizens.” Today, the non-citizen status is regulated by a 1995 law which, very appropriately, is titled “On the status of those former U.S.S.R. Citizens who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or that of any
1 David J. Galbreath and Niels Muižnieks, “Latvia: Managing Post-Imperial Minorities,” in Minority Rights in Central and Eastern Europe, ed. Bernd Rechel (New York: Routledge, 2009), 137.
foreign or non-citizens among EU member states is 6.4 percent. Moreover, approximately third of these individuals have migrated within the EU. In other words, these statistics indicate that Latvia (along with Estonia) is unique within the EU in terms of hosting a large stable population that is not granted the rights of regular citizens. The
European
Commission
argues that in"the case of Latvia and Estonia,
2 Case No. 2004-15-0106, The Republic of Latvia Constitutional Court, March 7, 2005. Available at http://www.satv.tiesa.gov.lv/upload/2004-15-0106E.rtf. 3 An extensive list of difference between the rights and privileges of citizens and non-citizens has been made available online by the Latvian Human Rights Committee at http://www.cilevics.eu/minelres/count/non_cit-rights_2.htm.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
18
the proportion of non-EU citizens is particularly
Hopefully, the ECtHR can continue to serve as a
large due to the high number of ‘recognised
mechanism for improving the situation of non-
non-citizens’. They are mainly citizens of the
citizens in Latvia—especially since the political
former Soviet Union, permanently resident in
pressure from the EU has waned after the entry
these countries, but who have not acquired
of Latvia a a member state. While subscribers to
Latvian, Estonian or any other citizenship.”4
the realist school of thought will undoubtedly
While
the
pro-Russian,
left-wing
Harmony
Center today is the single biggest party in the Saeima having gained nearly 30 percent of the total vote in parliamentary elections last year, it is not included in the governing coalition.
argue that international institutions
which rely
on voluntary cooperation, such as the ECtHR, are essentially toothless, the Latvian eagerness to integrate further into the European community may be a sufficient incentive for change.
Likewise, a proposal to adopt Russian as a
The ECtHR can serve an important role in
second official language was rejected by an
highlighting democratic deficits in the country.
overwhelming majority this spring (non-citizens
Considering the rapidly increasing number of
were
the
applicants, it seems that aggrieved individuals in
Niels Ušakovs, party leader of
Latvia are becoming ever more willing to take
not
referendum).
allowed
to
participate
in
Harmony Centre, was not surprised by the result. “This referendum is not creating problems,”
their legal battles to the ECtHR after exhausting their options in the domestic court system.
Ušakovs commented.“ It is a reflection of existing problems.” 5 The non-citizens of Latvia have recently, however, turned to international law for the enforcement of their rights. In 2009, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a significant ruling in Andrejeva v Latvia.
ONLINE RESOURCES European Court of Human Rights
citizen, had been discriminated by the state on
Case law, pending cases, reports and information about the court.
the basis of her citizenship status. The applicant,
http://www.echr.coe.int
In this case it was held that the applicant, a non-
who was born in Kazakhstan but arrived in Latvia at the age of twelve, had received a lower pension than regular Latvian citizens, despite the fact that she had spent her entire working life in Latvia. The ruling was the first of its kind.
4 European Commission, Demography Report 2010: Older, More Numerous and Diverse Europeans (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2011), 48. 5 David M. Herszenhorn, “Latvians Reject Russian as Second Language,” New York Times, February 19, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/europe/latviarejects-bid-to-adopt-russian-as-second-language.html.
Josefin Dahlerus is completing an undergraduate thesis in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in May 2012, specialising in Russian and East European studies.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
19
Kony 2022? Kevin Boreham
The consensus has rapidly formed: Kony 2012
crimes and the fact that he is still at large and
was ‘like sooo 10 minutes ago’.
Our fickle
committing atrocities, if on a diminished scale.
attention has moved on, Joseph Kony is still
Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of
free and You Tube has reverted to pop star
State, told Nicholas Kristoff of the New York
and sports trivia.
Times that ‘Shining a light makes a lot of
We should ask just what
happened when Invisible Children’s video hit You Tube and obtained 89 million views, before we completely forget the whole thing.
difference’. The broader question is whether the Kony 2012 episode shown us anything new about
Google searches for Kony rapidly slipped back
how to enforce international law, especially
to their negligible pre-Kony 2012 level.
international criminal justice.
The
follow-up video ‘Beyond Famous’ has had only 2 million views. ‘Cover the Night’ on 20 April was a fizzer, although there was some local activity in Canberra. ‘Slacktivism’ couldn’t get us up off our couches and actually doing something.
First, ‘shining a light’ has a useful effect. The late Louis Henkin sought to explain why ‘almost
all
nations
observe
almost
all
principles of international law almost all of the time’.
1
Part
of
the
answer
was
that
‘democracies tend to observe international law
The campaign itself has somewhat hit the wall.
more than do others’ because ‘free institutions
Invisible Children has been criticised for over-
make it more difficult for a government to risk
simplifying and distorting a complex issue,
violation in the hope that it will not be
advocating, military intervention to capture
detected’. 2 Social media spread the deterrent
Kony and, by gay organisations, for pushing
effect of detection beyond the borders of
Christian fundamentalism in Africa. There has
democratic states.
been an angry reaction to Kony 2012 in Uganda: at one screening ‘the mood turned more to anger at what many people saw as a foreign, inaccurate account that belittled and commercialised
their
suffering’.
Most
notoriously, and irrelevantly, Jason Russell, the director of ‘Kony 2012’ and co-founder of Invisible
Children,
suffered
a
very
public
personal meltdown.
community
of
international
crimes,
particularly
the
recruitment of child soldiers, and international justice.
The
attention
to
video the
provoked
guilty
verdicts
enhanced against
Democratic Republic of Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga in the International Criminal
1
Louis Henkin, How Nations Behave (Columbia University Press, 1979) 47.
Kony 2012 has drawn attention in the social media
Secondly, Kony 2012 has increased awareness
and
beyond
to
2
Ibid 63.
Kony’s
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
20
Court on 14 March, for conscripting and enlisting child soldiers, and against former Liberian
President
Charles
Taylor
in
the
Special Court for Sierra Leone on 26 April, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including recruitment, enlistment and use of child soldiers.
international law actors: all of us.
Twenty
years
effect’,
drawing
we
noticed
attention
‘the
of
CNN
the
international
community to scenes of mass suffering.
The
Kony 2012 effect came, not from a huge media corporation, but from the individuals who made it and the millions of individuals who watched it.
on Invisible Children we have tended to forget that they achieved their objective to ‘to make Kony famous’. One survey found that 58 per cent of adult Americans had heard of Kony after Kony 2012 hit You Tube.
Thirdly, Kony 2012 has added a new cohort to ago
But in the welter of criticism which has fallen
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-
Ocampo may have exaggerated in the follow-
Beyond that, as Charli Carpenter, an American academic commentator has said, value
of
the
KONY2012
‘the real
campaign
is
to
encourage a discussion about the optimal recipe,
given
today’s
technological
infrastructure, for inciting the right level of engagement / attention that will lead to the right kind of international law enforcement at the right time’. We have to continue with that discussion.
up video in saying ‘It’s a revolution’. But Kony 2012
has
achieved
quantitative
change
a in
qualitative
and
international
law
stakeholders. It would be silly to claim that there is any
ONLINE RESOURCES
direct effect between a social media uproar
If you’re viewing an electronic version of
and effective action.
Moreno-Ocampo has
been criticised for declaring that Kony 2012 would ‘produce the arrest of Kony this year’. An Adelaide radio station asked me the day after
the
guilty
verdict
against
Lubanga
this article, click on the blue underlined links throughout the text to see more, including online video content.
whether Kony 2012 had prodded the Court to take action on Lubanga.
The Court was
probably not panicked into producing a 600 page judgment over the weekend.
Kevin Boreham (Barrister and Solicitor High Court and Supreme Court ACT) is a lecturer in International and Humanitarian Law at the College of Law, Australian National University.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
21
Friday CIPL Seminar Series Sherwood Du
After signing up as a member of the ANU
The US Ambassador-at-Large Stephen Rapp who
International Law Society during Orientation Week
has
and looking through the complimentary bag, I
Justice and currently leads up the US Office of
found a letter inviting members to attend the
War Crimes Issues, former International Court of
‘Friday CIPL Seminar Series.’ As an impoverished
Justice
law student, my eyes fixed upon the words, ‘light
Narelle Morris from The University of Melbourne
lunch provided.’ Without further thought of what I
Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law and Professor
was getting myself into, over the following weeks I
William Buss from The University of Iowa, the
began to feel quite at home in the Phillipa Weeks
audience was provided with a valuable perspective
Staff Library.
on public international law, complementing legal
Held bimonthly on Fridays, the Staff Library is transformed, becoming a place where academics and seasoned legal experts such as Emeritus Professor Leslie Zines, Professor Kim Rubenstein, Associate Professor Don Anton and Dean Michael
served at the US Office of Global Criminal
Judge
Christopher
Weeramantry,
Dr
concepts you learn in lectures. It also prompted reflection on the impact that the law is making in the wider world, a rare opportunity to learn from the people who influence the shape of International Law.
Coper can casually mingle with students, chat
The CIPL Seminar Series initiative is a must-attend
about their work and ask students how they are
event
finding their studies. This in itself is quite exciting,
experienced legal professionals to share their
and
knowledge in a format that is easily digestible even
is
altogether
different
to
reading
or
paraphrasing their academic work! Once we had been watered and fed, we were
for
all
students.
An
opportunity
for
for non-law students — as my PhD friend who attends tells me (he majors in physics).
ushered by the Director of the Centre for
So for all the budding students interested in the
International and Public Law Professor Rubenstein
relevance of the law in the international arena, the
to take our seats and warmly welcome the
Seminar Series is free to attend!
presenter of the day. After thirty minutes of listening to speakers such as
Sherwood Du is studying for a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations & Political Science) and Bachelor of Laws at the Australian National University. He is a student assistance editor at Anton’s Weekly Digest of International Law.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATE | MAY 2012
22
COURSE REVIEWS
Summer/Winter in Geneva (SWinG) Value and Assessment: 6 units, 20% class participation and 80% essay (due during the following semester) Location: Geneva, Switzerland! Economic, Social and Cultural home of the UN, also the location of the WTO and the WHO headquarters. Structure: Three weeks, with a three day and a four day weekend during the course. Working days run from approximately 9am to 4 or 5pm (depending on security processes for the various international organisations). Pros: Learn international law from the international lawyers who are doing it all right now- speakers come from a wide range of areas (among others: nanotechnology, armed non-state actors in humanitarian law, climate change, disaster relief, refugees, human rights, intellectual property, health regulation, bilateral investment, multilateral trade negotiation, etc… if you can think of it, you’ll probably learn about it). You can also get valuable tips about becoming an international lawyer (how the speakers got to where they are today… sometimes the answers will surprise you!). Also, because of the structure of the course, you’ll be more than able to do a bit of traveling in Europe while you’re there. From skiing in the Swiss Alps, to beers in Berlin, the Queen in England or gelato in Italy, it’s all just a hop, skip and a jump from Geneva. Cons: The cost. Start saving now if this sounds like something you’d like to do. You do have to get to Geneva for it, the city itself has a quite high cost of living, and administration and accommodation fees add up quickly. - Kila Skorupa
The
Tokyo
International
Negotiation
and
Arbitration Competition The "Tokyo Competition" is offered as a course at the ANU, but you can also join the team without enrolling if you have an interest in Japanese or international law. The competition is held in Tokyo, generally in the first week of December. It will involve substantial work in the months before December and tests three areas, namely negotiation skills, mooting or arbitration skills and argument writing skills. All areas will need to be covered if the team is to succeed. There are two teams to join, either the English-speaking team or the Japanese-speaking team. Preference is usually given to English team applicants who will be likely Japanese team competitors in future years. In most years the competition comprises four English team members and four Japanese team members; both of these are made up of students from the ANU and University of Sydney, so another interesting aspect is that you get to work with like minded students from another university.
Pros: This course is a great pathway, not only for travel to Japan, which is amazing, but to hone skills that will be of great use after graduation. Also, some of our team members have secured internships in Tokyo commencing after the competition ends.
Cons: The competition involves a substantial amount of work before the actual competition in December and the due dates for memorial submission are usually just after or during final exams. You should not apply to the team if you are not prepared to contribute, but we can guarantee that the hard work will pay off in the end, especially for those with an interest in Northeast Asian law. - Ben Goldsworthy and James Middleton
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The Blogroll After more to read? Here are some of the blogs we’re following at the moment. If you know of any other great blogs or online publications, let us know!
United Nations: un.org/news The Anton Weekly Digest of International Law: theantonweeklydigestofinternationallaw.com Voices on International Law, Policy and Practice: intlawgrrls.com The Long War Journal: longwarjournal.org Opinio Juris: opiniojuris.org Supreme Court of the United States: scotusblog.com Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: lynch.foreignpolicy.com
© 2012 ANU INTERNATIONAL LAW SOCIETY
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