1,721,082 research outputs found
Second Thoughts on the Crime of Aggression
No full textThe article is a critique of the proposal for the codification of the crime of aggression by the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression. It concentrates on four main points � the inherent indeterminacy of the definition of aggression, its uncertain application to recent cases concerning the use of force, the involvement of the Security Council in the exercise of jurisdiction, and, finally, the danger of concentrating issues of jus in bello and jus contra bellum in one single court or tribunal. The contribution concludes that the time is not ripe for a codification of the crime of aggression at a time at which the Court is still struggling to establish itself
Rechtswissenschaft in der globalisierten Welt – Globalisierung und Fragmentierung als Herausforderungen der Rechtswissenschaft
No full textReflections on Constitutional Adjudication in a Democracy
No full textAbstract This article examines the necessity for constitutional adjudication in a democracy. Democracy is not the government of the minority by the majority, but self-government of the people in a pluralist society. The article regards constitutional adjudication as a necessary component of a constitutional democracy to preserve self-government and individual rights as a pre-condition for the acceptance of majority decisions by the minority. Thus, constitutional adjudication is needed to uphold the possibility of democratic change and to protect individual rights also against the majority. Recent critique of individual decisions does not change this basic insight and practice of constitutional democracies
Potential and Limits of the Economic Analysis of International Law: A View from Public International Law
No full textThe law-and-economics movement has only recently turned its attention to public international law, where it has encountered a particular set of epistemological problems, from the question of the relevant actors to the assumption of their rationality. This article argues that, while law and economics in its different shades constitutes an important contribution to present-day international legal scholarship, it will complement, but not replace, doctrinal normative analysis. It may, in particular, provide insights into the consequences of international legal regulation and provide for alternative solutions to collective-action problems. (JEL A 12, F 59, K 33
Customary Law in the Postmodern World (Dis)order
No full textB.S. Chimni's thought-provoking article presents a welcome opportunity to reflect on both the value and the shortcomings of custom as a source in contemporary international law. Chimni convincingly identifies points of concern with respect to the representativeness of the relevant state practice and the availability of non-Western practice. His article is part of a stream of recent scholarship that examines the relationship between public international law and the so-called Third World under the label of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). The contribution, like much of the TWAIL literature, is helpful in that it reveals the biases of international law in favor of the former colonial powers and identifies the ways in which these inform the identification and interpretation of (customary) international law. Yet we do not agree with some of the premises of Chimni's critique or his suggested remedies. In particular, we would like to offer a different perspective on the importance of power, the distinction between formal and material sources, and the legitimacy of his concept of postmodern custom
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