{"title":"US AND UK MILITARY STRIKES IN YEMEN AND THE JUS AD BELLUM","authors":"Christian Henderson","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000216","url":null,"abstract":"The United States and United Kingdom have carried out a series of strikes upon Yemeni territory since January 2024. The acting States have justified these on the basis of the right of self-defence in response to the series of attacks that have been perpetrated by the Houthi group in Yemen against various commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea. On the face of it this was a relatively straightforward justification. Yet, when subjected to analysis it becomes evident that not only is the justification itself not clear, but that the law governing the actions—the <jats:italic>jus ad bellum—</jats:italic>is not sufficiently settled to provide clear parameters by which to assess the legality of the strikes. Furthermore, the strikes themselves, and the purposes for which they were undertaken, may have set a precedent with unforeseeable consequences.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"VOTING PROTOCOLS AS INFORMAL JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS: THE POLITICS OF ENFORCEABILITY AND STRATEGIC BREACHING","authors":"Mauro Arturo Rivera León","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000150","url":null,"abstract":"Constitutional courts operate under a framework of formal and informal rules. While formal rules have been extensively studied, our understanding of informal rules remains limited. Courts often rely on internal practices, traditions and unwritten customs developed over time, posing a significant challenge due to their hidden nature. Numerous constitutional courts lack detailed voting protocols in their statutes and internal regulations, leaving essential aspects to the court's discretion, such as, inter alia, the voting order, deliberation style, outcome versus issue voting and tie-breaking protocols. By employing a case study of strategic breaching of informal voting protocols in the Mexican Supreme Court, this article highlights the complexity of enforcing informal voting rules given that external actors may be unaware of them, along with other factors. Even when informal rules are broadly known, certain circumstances may diminish the efficacy of informal sanctions addressing their breach. Thus, key judicial players, such as chief justices or judge-rapporteurs, may take advantage of the informal rules of voting protocols to advance their policy preferences.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"IN PURSUIT OF A TREATY'S SOUL: A STUDY OF THE OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION","authors":"Kubo Mačák, Ellen Policinski","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000113","url":null,"abstract":"The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War provides a practical and effective framework for the protection of civilians in international armed conflicts that has retained its relevance for 75 years since its adoption. As with all treaties, its ‘object and purpose’ has a concrete impact on how its terms are interpreted, giving insights into the ordinary meaning of the text and allowing the aim of the Convention to be fully realized. This article asks and answers a series of questions to elucidate the role of the object and purpose in treaty interpretation and how to identify the object and purpose of a given treaty before focusing on the specificities of international humanitarian law treaties. On that basis, it determines that the overall ‘object and purpose’ of the Convention is to protect civilians during armed conflict, including in circumstances where they are subject to permissible measures of control and security. The article then demonstrates how that ‘object and purpose’ assists with the resolution of specific, well-known interpretive dilemmas including the determination of protected status under the Convention and the application of provisions premised on the existence of a Protecting Power.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141063278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ekaterina Aristova, Catherine Higham, Ian Higham, Joana Setzer
{"title":"CORPORATE CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE OECD GUIDELINES FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES","authors":"Ekaterina Aristova, Catherine Higham, Ian Higham, Joana Setzer","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000125","url":null,"abstract":"In 2023, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched an updated version of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. The changes represent substantial and potentially far-reaching implications for business, particularly in the areas of climate change and biodiversity. This article examines the 14 climate-related complaints filed under the Guidelines prior to the adoption of the 2023 Update, showing how many of these cases illustrate the potential interlinkages between the human rights and climate change dimensions of the Guidelines. The article then discusses how the updated provisions may influence future complaints concerning climate change. Based on this analysis, the article concludes that the Guidelines could have been strengthened by the explicit integration of climate change into the scope of corporate human rights responsibilities under the Guidelines.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141063463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"FROM FEMALE MORALITY TO HUMAN DIGNITY: AN EVOLUTIVE INTERPRETATION OF ‘HONOUR’ UNDER ARTICLE 27(2) OF THE FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION","authors":"Rachele Marconi","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000101","url":null,"abstract":"This article suggests a new interpretative framework for Article 27(2) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits sexual violence against women in armed conflict. One specific aspect of this norm is particularly controversial: the notion of ‘honour’ has often been criticised as an obsolete concept linked to an outdated view of female morality. In the absence of a definition of the term, this article examines whether the gendered limitations of the norm can be overcome and the extent to which an evolutive interpretation of the concept is feasible. It argues that the concept of ‘honour’ can be treated as a generic term that is subject to evolutive interpretation, allowing for a renewed and gender-sensitive understanding to be developed, aligned with the concept of human dignity.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140834630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Duncan Fairgrieve, Christoph Busch, Erdem Büyüksagis, Zachary G. Garrett, Gert Straetmans, Antonios Karaiskos, Robin D. Linley, Christiana Markou, Jeannie Marie Paterson, Catherine M. Sharkey
{"title":"PRODUCT LIABILITY AND ONLINE MARKETPLACES: COMPARISON AND REFORM","authors":"Duncan Fairgrieve, Christoph Busch, Erdem Büyüksagis, Zachary G. Garrett, Gert Straetmans, Antonios Karaiskos, Robin D. Linley, Christiana Markou, Jeannie Marie Paterson, Catherine M. Sharkey","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000046","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the challenges that online marketplaces and e-commerce pose to traditional product liability doctrines. It uses a comparative perspective to examine whether an online platform can be liable to a consumer for a defective product purchased on its platform, and the adaption of product liability law to this challenge in a series of jurisdictions. It reflects on the role of litigation and regulation, focusing on Europe and the United States, and considers reform in a number of jurisdictions in this area. It concludes with proposals for increasing the accountability of online marketplaces for products sold on their websites.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140834275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"JUSTICE IN THE LIMINAL: THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND THE RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT","authors":"Corina Heri","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000071","url":null,"abstract":"As the human right to a healthy environment is codified around the globe, some systems still lag behind. One noticeable straggler is the Council of Europe, which is currently undergoing its fourth attempt to recognize the right. This article examines the proposals tabled within this system in light of overarching debates about climate justice and environmental rights, before focusing specifically on the spatial and temporal limits of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the institutional features of its Court. First, the article describes what the author sees as the current liminal moment in the development of human rights law, a time of transition in which established legal concepts can be questioned or reaffirmed. Second, it sketches recent proposals for locating and conceptualizing the right to a healthy environment within the Council of Europe. Evaluating different options, it makes the case for including this right in the ECHR. Third, the article discusses the right's potential to reshape the spatial and temporal limitations on legal subjectivity and Convention protections. These proposals come at a crucial time when the system's ability to protect human rights from environment-related impacts is being tested by climate litigation. The article understands these developments as interrelated and discusses whether current proposals could deliver on demands for climate justice by extending protection to future generations and for extraterritorial environmental impacts.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140627120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"COMPARING COMPARATIVE LAW: PERSPECTIVES FROM THAILAND","authors":"Surutchada Reekie, Adam Reekie","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000058","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article conducts an analytical review of the works of three prominent Thai comparative law professors: Professor Preedee Kasemsup, Professor Phijaisakdi Horayangkura and Professor Sanunkorn Sotthibandhu. Although influential in Thailand, their works are mostly in Thai and therefore have received little academic attention outside the kingdom. The authors argue that the works of these scholars have the potential to shine new light on comparative law theory and bring voices from the Global South to add fresh perspectives and contexts to a discipline dominated by scholars from the Global North. Moreover, this examination highlights the challenges that comparative law faces in freeing itself from this hegemony when using internally developed concepts and modes of questioning.</p>","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140615662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"THE ‘HIGHEST POSSIBLE AMBITION’ ON CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AS A LEGAL STANDARD","authors":"Benoit Mayer","doi":"10.1017/s0020589324000010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589324000010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Parties to the Paris Agreement have committed to communicate successive ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) to the global response to climate change. Each NDC is expected to reflect the Party's ‘highest possible ambition’ (HPA) on the mitigation of climate change. This article envisages the possibility of taking HPA seriously: that is, of approaching it as an effective legal standard. It shows that, in some circumstances, the HPA standard can help to assess whether a State has complied with due diligence obligations on climate change mitigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140562997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CHILD SOLDIERS AND PEACE AGREEMENTS","authors":"Sean Molloy","doi":"10.1017/s0020589323000544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020589323000544","url":null,"abstract":"For societies transitioning from conflict to peace, the phenomenon of child soldiers poses significant challenges. These include quandaries associated with assisting in the reintegration of serving child soldiers, determining how to prevent future recruitment of child soldiers, and pursuing accountability of those who utilize child soldiers. In addition, questions are also raised as to whether and how child soldiers responsible for crimes committed during conflict are to be held to account. While no one mechanism or response can adequately and sufficiently address the multifaceted issues that arise, peace agreements, as foundational documents that serve as the blueprint for peacebuilding and the post-conflict State, can make a useful contribution to some or all of them. Drawing on all references to child soldiers in 77 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022, this article examines the ways in which peace agreements address the issue of child soldiers.","PeriodicalId":47350,"journal":{"name":"International & Comparative Law Quarterly","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139024012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}