The international law implications of the Turkish/Kurdish conflict

This article considers the threaties and customs governing armed conflict in the context of the long standing insurgency in southeast Turkey. The first part of the article analyzes the existing treaty and customary law concerning the threshold of an armed conflict and concludes that the insurgency in Southeast Turkey existing since 1984 rises to the level of an armed conflict based on criteria identified both in treaty and customary international law. The next consideration is the classification of this conflict and this part concludes that this situation is a non-international armed conflict due to lack of involvement of forces of another country. Finally, this article considers international humanitarian law applicable to this non-international armed conflict and reveals that as a result of the monumental International Committee of the Red Cross customary humanitarian law study, particularly with respect to the law of targeting, that the rules applicable to international and non-international armed conflict have never been closer.

Environmental justice and conceptions of the green economy

Green economy has become one of the most fashionable terms in global environmental public policy discussions and forums. Despite this popularity, and its being selected as one of the organizing themes of the United Nations Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, June 2012, its prospects as an effective mobilization tool for global environmental sustainability scholarship and practice remains unclear. A major reason for this is that much like its precursor concepts such as environmental sustainability and sustainable development, green economy is a woolly concept which lends itself to many interpretations. Hence, rather than resolve long-standing controversies, green economy merely reinvigorates existing debates over the visions, actors and policies best suited to secure a more sustainable future for all. In this review article, we aim to fill an important gap in scholarship by suggesting various ways in which green economy may be organized and synthesized as a concept, and especially in terms of its relationship with the idea of social and environmental justice. Accordingly, we offer a systemization of possible interpretations of green economy mapped onto a synthesis of existing typologies of environmental justice. This classification provides the context for future analysis of which, and how, various notions of green economy link with various conceptions of justice.

Bank regulation and the process of internationalisation: a study of Japanese bank entry into London

The paper provides a theoretical insight into bank regulation and the process of internationalisation by examining the concepts of regulatory push and market pull within the context of Japanese bank entry into London during the 1980s. Rugman and Verbeke's [(1998). Corporate strategy and international environmental policy. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(4), 819–833] Consistency of Home and Host Government Goals model is utilised to structure the discussion, which centres on a situation where there is a conflict of goals between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the home government but goal alignment between MNEs and the host government. As such the paper examines a relatively under-researched aspect of internationalisation and concludes that in certain circumstances internationalisation can occur despite great ‘psychic distance’. The paper also argues that although bank regulation can lead to a conflict situation it can also be conducive to the development of a strong home base and the development of firm specific advantages.

Regulating non-international armed conflicts: a review essay of 'The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict' by Sandesh Sivakumaran

This review essay engages with Sandesh Sivakumaran’s book The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict, exploring its significance both in international humanitarian law and international law more generally.

Beyond ‘best practices': the international regulation of capital markets

It is widely acknowledged that there is considerable international pressure for international ‘best practices’ to be adopted via national legislation. This would occur either by means of model laws or through the passing of country specific legislation that closely replicates foreign legal formats, administrative rules, and or regulation. These attempts to spread the implementation of ‘best practices’ have gained importance in the international debate due to the liberalization of international capital flows. The oversight, country reports, and technical assistance carried out by international organizations along with the growing internationalization of investors have also contributed to this growing pressure. In this respect, due to the constant evolution of transactions and the end objective of making sure that capital markets are developed with just rules, structures, and methods, this article looks to analyze the adoption of standardized models of capital market regulation. Furthermore it looks to examine the motivation and interest of states and other ‘stakeholders’ at the international level.

A plurifuncionalidade da segurança alimentar no meio ambiente como dever de solidariedade agroambiental

O presente trabalho trata da análise teórica da plurifuncionalidade da Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) no meio ambiente, que se sustenta como um dever de solidariedade agroambiental. O trabalho foi dividido em três partes, cada uma com dois capítulos, que foram desenvolvidos inicialmente com o estabelecimento do contexto em que se encontram os assuntos abordados, e finalizados com observações acerca das principais ideias estudadas, até a elaboração de considerações finais, que demonstram os resultados alcançados pelo trabalho. Utiliza-se a metodologia teórica e o raciocínio indutivo-crítico, pois se parte do estudo de um fenômeno individualizado, a SAN, para se prejetarem hipóteses que considerem seus efeitos e interações com o meio ambiente natural, para ao final buscar generalizar as soluções encontradas, notadamente a solidariedade em sua dimensão de dever jurídico. Procura-se sustentar a argumentação com obras de referência bibliográficas e outras produções científicas de entidades nacionais e estrangeiras. Discute-se introdutoriamente alguns motivos que levaram à realização da tese, quais sejam os graves problemas que envolvem a alimentação humana na contemporaneidade, destaca sua aproximação com os direitos humanos, especialmente com o princípio da solidariedade e suas características de transdisciplinaridade metodológica, que gera necessariamente efeitos em vários outros campos do conhecimento. São revisados criticamente conceitos firmados pela Organização das Nações Unidas para Agricultura e Alimentação (FAO), especialmente os referentes ao direito à alimentação, direito a estar alimentado, soberania alimentar, Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN), desnutrição, subnutrição e má nutrição. Considera-se a SAN em sua dimensão plurifuncional porque implica necessariamente em repercussões éticas e jurídicas no âmbito dos direitos humanos, a partir da ideia teórica da solidariedade, que é estudada desde a sua formação antiga, quando associada à virtude, até à modernidade e a aproximação com a política e o direito, entendida no presente como princípio que sustenta o dever jurídico ligado à gestão racional de bens ambientais voltados à alimentação, delimitados em especial no direito agroambiental, percebendo-se a solidariedade então como fundamento de direitos, valor superior qualificada pela fraternidade, e ao mesmo tempo prevista em documentos internacionais de direitos humanos e em diversas constituições. Os interesses difusos são necessariamente examinados, pois a SAN é um interesse geral da sociedade humana, e implica na preservação dos bens ambientais alimentares, considerados indivisíveis na visão solidária, que deve ser integrada aos valores liberdade e igualdade, tornando-os princípios com interpretação mais humana, limitando seu exercício absoluto e ainda justificando-os. A ideia de solidariedade faz com que seja possível chegar aos direitos partindo do dever agroambiental e, diante das várias correntes teóricas que tratam do dever jurídico, considera-se que seja autônomo em relação ao direito subjetivo, mas traduzindo deveres ligados a finalidades sociais, de interesse público, que se manifestam em ambiente democrático, podendo o dever agroambiental ser considerado fenômeno com raízes de ética pública, com elevados valores ambientais, decisivos em sua dimensão jurídica de obrigações e responsabilidades, de todos em relação a todos, inclusive com normas objetivas nacionais e internacionais de proteção de bens agroambientais. Sustenta-se que nesse sentido a ética pública ligada à ética ambiental pode ser decisiva na observância ao direito, para além do convencimento meramente externo, mas enquanto manifestação também interna, ética, que carrega de sentido o dever jurídico solidário ligado à plurifuncionalidade da SAN. Também são elaboradas críticas à tradicional argumentação acerca dos direitos das gerações futuras, pela imprecisão e incerteza científica que os cinge, afastando-os da possibilidade de figurarem como objeto do direito, para assentar que os direitos de que se falam são precisamente traduzidos como deveres das gerações presentes, sendo estes deveres o vínculo jurídico entre gerações sucessivas. Nesse sentido, a solidariedade intergeracional passa a ter um liame jurídico contínuo, estudado através da teoria dos direitos fundamentais, o que lhe confere como característica a fluidez entre as gerações, e que por isso exige o aproveitamento racional dos recursos ambientais naturais, amparado nos princípios da precaução e informação, na ética da responsabilidade dirigida a todas as gerações, que demanda a incorporação de longo tempo nas ações humanas, que possibilite a ampla educação ambiental, e o desenvolvimento do pensamento altruísta, transtemporal, que considere problemas ambientais transfonteiriços e os bens ambientais naturais finitos, sendo indispensável conscientização da geração presente e de sua classe política para a afirmação da solidariedade. Estuda-se ainda que o dever de gestão racional dos bens ambientais naturais alimentares é dever de solidariedade, pois se considera que cada indivíduo usa uma parcela imaterial e indivisa desse bem coletivo, que pode ser público ou privado, mas que se sujeita à solidariedade. Nesse contexto só prevalece o direito de propriedade, em relação aos seus atributos tradicionais, se o objetivo comum de preservação dos bens ambientais alimentares não fornecer uma justificativa suficiente para impor readequação da atividade, abstenção de conduta, ou mesmo medidas sancionadoras decorrentes de responsabilização objetiva. Finalmente, enquanto contribuição científica, o trabalho apresenta um ensaio para a construção das características do dever de solidariedade agroambiental, quais sejam, o seu objeto e os sujeitos, a sua estrutura, que abrange a natureza das obrigações dele decorrente, e o regime principiológico. A conclusão geral apresentada é que o dever de solidariedade agroambiental, demonstrado sua ocorrência pela plurifuncionalidade da SAN, corresponde à ideia de justiça e moralidade política, fenômeno no qual é percebida intensa conexão entre o direito e a ética ambiental, compreensão relevante para resolução de conflitos que envolvam alimentação humana e a utilização de bens ambientais naturais.

The International Three-Step Test. A Model Provision for EC Fair Use Legislation

The three-step test is central to the regulation of copyright limitations at the international level. Delineating the room for exemptions with abstract criteria, the three-step test is by far the most important and comprehensive basis for the introduction of national use privileges. It is an essential, flexible element in the international limitation infrastructure that allows national law makers to satisfy domestic social, cultural, and economic needs. Given the universal field of application that follows from the test’s open-ended wording, the provision creates much more breathing space than the more specific exceptions recognized in international copyright law. EC copyright legislation, however, fails to take advantage of the flexibility inherent in the three-step test. Instead of using the international provision as a means to open up the closed EC catalogue of permissible exceptions, offer sufficient breathing space for social, cultural, and economic needs, and enable EC copyright law to keep pace with the rapid development of the Internet, the Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC encourages the application of the three-step test to further restrict statutory exceptions that are often defined narrowly in national legislation anyway. In the current online environment, however, enhanced flexibility in the field of copyright limitations is indispensable. From a social and cultural perspective, the web 2.0 promotes and enhances freedom of expression and information with its advanced search engine services, interactive platforms, and various forms of user-generated content. From an economic perspective, it creates a parallel universe of traditional content providers relying on copyright protection, and emerging Internet industries whose further development depends on robust copyright limita- tions. In particular, the newcomers in the online market – social networking sites, video forums, and virtual worlds – promise a remarkable potential for economic growth that has already attracted the attention of the OECD. Against this background, the time is ripe to debate the introduction of an EC fair use doctrine on the basis of the three-step test. Otherwise, EC copyright law is likely to frustrate important opportunities for cultural, social, and economic development. To lay groundwork for the debate, the differences between the continental European and the Anglo-American approach to copyright limitations (section 1), and the specific merits of these two distinct approaches (section 2), will be discussed first. An analysis of current problems that have arisen under the present dysfunctional EC system (section 3) will then serve as a starting point for proposing an EC fair use doctrine based on the three-step test (section 4). Drawing conclusions, the international dimension of this fair use proposal will be considered (section 5).

Clustering Assessment: Enhancing Synergies among Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Against the background of a widely fragmented and diluted international environmental governance architecture, different reform options are currently being discussed. This issue brief considers whether streamlining international environmental regimes by grouping or ‘clustering’ international agreements could improve effectiveness and efficiency. It outlines the general idea of the clustering approach, draws lessons from the chemicals and waste cluster and examines the implications and potentials of clustering multilateral environmental agreements.

Do WTO rules improve or impair the right to food?

The global food crisis of 2007–08 seems to be forgotten. Media attention at the time focused on food riots in Haiti and Mozambique, while world leaders and more than a dozen international organizations gathered for several food summits, calling for immediate relief measures. But not a single government seems to remember its obligations under the Right to Food (R2F) which the United Nations (UN) had enshrined back in 1948. Today we have to acknowledge that the R2F still lacks an adequate response under the present multilateral rules and disciplines applying to food production and trade. This chapter examines the present rules and disciplines under the AoA and of those contemplated in the Doha Development Round. Here we find that despite claims to the contrary they contribute precious little to the R2F. Some of the present rules, or the lack thereof, can even act as disincentives for global and national food security. Various forms of production and export subsidies, food aid abuse and export restrictions, are still WTO-legal, with few remedies available to food insecure developing countries. This amounts to a violation of their R2F obligations by many WTO Members.

Foreign Direct Investment in Agriculture: Land Grab or Food Security Improvement?

“Large-scale acquisition of land by foreign investors” is the correct term for a process where the verdict of guilt is often quicker than the examination. But is there something really new about land grab except in its extent? In comparison with colonial and post-colonial plantation operations, should foreign investors today behave differently? We generally accept coffee and banana exports as pro-growth and pro-development, just as for cars, beef and insurance. What then is wrong with an investment contract allowing the holder to buy a farm and to export wheat to Saudi Arabia, or soybeans and maize as cattle feed to Korea, or to plant and process sugar cane and palm oil into ethanol for Europe and China? Assuming their land acquisition was legal, should foreigners respect more than investment contracts and national legislation? And why would they not take advantage of the legal protection offered by international investment law and treaties, not to speak of concessional finance, infrastructure and technical cooperation by a development bank, or the tax holidays offered by the host state? Remember Milton Friedman’s often-quoted quip: “The business of business is business!” And why would the governments signing those contracts not know whether and which foreign investment projects are best for their country, and how to attract them? This chapter tries to show that land grab, where it occurs, is not only yet another symptom of regulatory failures at the national level and a lack of corporate social responsibility by certain private actors. National governance is clearly the most important factor. Nonetheless, I submit that there is an international dimension involving investor home states in various capacities. The implication is that land grab is not solely a question whether a particular investment contract is legal or not. This chapter deals with legal issues which seem to have largely escaped the attention of both human rights lawyers and, especially, of investment lawyers. I address this fragmentation between different legal disciplines, rules, and policies, by asking two basic questions: (i) Do governments and parliaments in investor home countries have any responsibility in respect of the behaviour of their investors abroad? (ii) What should they and international regulators do, if anything?

An Enabling Regulatory Environment for Sustainable Investment: The Example of Trade Law

There is broad international agreement that investment flows to the agricultural sector in developing countries need to be increased. But there is also agreement that such investments need to be sustainable. For being sustainable, they must not only be beneficial to the public economy, but also to rural households and to the environment in the short and the long run. Whether sustainable investments take place, not least depends on the legal framework within which these investments are situated. This is true for the domestic legal frameworks of both the home country and of the host country of the investment. But also the international legal frameworks in which home and host states are embedded set either positive or negative incentives for investments to be sustainable. The paper presents an overview on regulatory frameworks which come to focus in this regard. It then elaborates on international agricultural trade regulation, by assuming that sustainable investments in agriculture presume a ‘sustainable trade regime’. By doing so, the paper presents parts of the debate about a sustainable agricultural trade regime, as it has been resumed and further developed by the author in recent years. Key words. Agricultural sector, sustainable investment, regulatory environment, sustainable trade regime.

Human rights and international trade

Economic globalization and respect for human rights are both highly topical issues. In theory, more trade should increase economic welfare and protection of human rights should ensure individual dignity. Both fields of law protect certain freedoms: economic development should lead to higher human rights standards, and UN embargoes are used to secure compliance with human rights agreements. However the interaction between trade liberalisation and human rights protection is complex, and recently, tension has arisen between these two areas. Do WTO obligations covering intellectual property prevent governments from implementing their human rights obligations, including rights to food or health? Is it fair to accord the benefits of trade subject to a clean human rights record? This book first examines the theoretical framework of the interaction between the disciplines of international trade law and human rights. It builds upon the well-known debate between Professor Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, who construes trade obligations as human rights, and Professor Philip Alston, who warns of a merger and acquisition of human rights by trade law. From this starting point, further chapters explore the differing legal matrices of the two fields and examine how cooperation between them might be improved, both in international law-making and institutions,in dispute settlement. The interaction between trade and human rights is then explored through seven case studies:freedom of expression and competition law; IP protection and health; agricultural trade and the right to food; trade restrictions on conflict WHO convention on tobacco control; and, finally, human rights conditionalities in preferential trade schemes.