Syria and the red lines of international law. CEPS Commentary, 4 September 2013

As the US and its allies France and Turkey dither over whether or not to punish Assad for having used sarin gas to kill his own people, the crucial question is: What response might the outside world legally take without the authority of the UN Security Council, which remains blocked by two veto-wielding members, Russia and China? Sadly, international law provides no clear-cut answers to this dilemma. To respond to what US Secretary of State John Kerry has rightly called a “moral obscenity”, this commentary explores ways in which formal interpretations of international law might give way to a more pragmatic approach to punish the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons.

EU Law, International Law and Economic Sanctions against Terrorism: The Judiciary in Distress? Research Papers in Law, 3/2008

From the Introduction. This article seeks to examine the relationship between European Union law, international law, and the protection of fundamental rights in the light of recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance (CFI) relating to economic sanctions against individuals. On 3 September 2008, the ECJ delivered its long-awaited judgment in Kadi and Al Barakaat on appeal from the CFI.3 In its judgment under appeal,4 the CFI had held that the European Community (EC) is competent to adopt regulations imposing economic sanctions against private organisations in pursuance of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions seeking to combat terrorism; that although the EC is not bound directly by the UN Charter, it is bound pursuant to the EC Treaty to respect international law and give effect to UNSC; and that the CFI has jurisdiction to examine the compatibility of EC regulations implementing UNSC resolutions with fundamental rights not as protected by the EC but as protected by jus cogens. On appeal, following the Opinion of Maduro AG, the ECJ rejected the CFI’s approach. It held that UNSC resolutions are binding only in international law. It subjected the contested regulations to full review under EC human rights standards and found them in breach of the right to a hearing, the right to judicial protection and the right to property. Kadi and Al Barakaat is the most important judgment ever delivered by the ECJ on the relationship between EC and international law and one of its most important judgments on fundamental rights. It is imbued by constitutional confidence, commitment to the rule of law but also some scepticism towards international law. In the meantime, the CFI has delivered a number of other judgments on anti-terrorist sanctions assessing the limits of the “emergency constitution” at European level. The purpose of this paper is to examine the above case law and explore the dilemmas and tensions facing the EU judiciary in seeking to define and protect the EU’s distinct constitutional space. It is divided as follows. It first looks at the judgment in Kadi. After a short presentation of the factual and legal background, it explores the question whether the EU has competence to adopt smart sanctions. It then examines whether the EU is bound by resolutions of the Security Council, whether the ECJ has jurisdiction to review Community measures implementing such resolutions and the applicable standard of judicial scrutiny. It analyses the contrasting views of the CFI, the Advocate General, and the ECJ taking account also of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Further, it explores the consequences of annulling the contested regulation. It then turns to discussing CFI case law in relation to sanctions lists drawn up not by the UN Security Council but by the EC. The paper concludes by welcoming the judgment of the ECJ. Whilst its reasoning on the issue of Community competence is questionable, once such competence is established, it is difficult to support the abrogation of Community standards for the protection of fundamental rights. Such standards should ensure procedural due process whilst recognising the importance of public security.

Codification of American international law; addresses by Charles Evans Hughes, James Brown Scott, Elihu Root, Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirvén

Mode of access: Internet.

Refugees and U.S. asylum seekers from Central America : statement of Nancy R. Kingsbury, Director, Foreign Economic Assistance Issues, National Security and International Affairs Division; before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.

"For release ... March 9, 1989."

Final report of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy : joint hearings before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, on the final report of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy, May 5, 6, and 7, 1981.

Item 1042-A, 1041-B (microfiche)

The recognition policy of the United States since 1901,

Bibliography: p. 101-104.

The Soviet union and international law; a study based on the legislation, treaties and foreign relations of the Union of socialist soviet republics,

Half-title: Bureau of international research, Harvard university and Radcliffe college.

Reform of legal immigration [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on H.R. 5115 and S. 2104 ... September 7 and 16, 1988.

"Serial no. 101."

Report on the possibility of revision of the Bustamante code or the Code of private international law /

Mode of access: Internet.

Introduction to the study of international law, designed as an aid in teaching and in historical studies;

Appendix II: List of the most important treaties since the reformation, with a brief statement of their provisions: p. [423]-501.

Journal of comparative legislation and international law.

Includes annual "Review of legislation" covering the years 1859-1949.

The study of international law /

Includes bibliographical references.

Permanent arbitration in modern international law. A paper read at the conference of the International Law Association, at Glasgow, 20th August, 1901.

Mode of access: Internet.

International law reports.

Editors: 1919/22- H. Lauterpacht and others.

The Belgian people's war, a violation of international law,

Translation of Die Völkerrechtswidrige führung des belgischen volkskriegs.