International law Publications - Page 15 of 17

Research Briefing

The African Union, Kenya and the International Criminal Court

Wednesday, 16 October, 2013

At an extraordinary summit of the African Union on 11-12 October 2013, heads of state and government agreed that Kenya should send a letter to the UN Security Council requesting the deferral of the ICC’s ongoing proceedings against the President and Deputy President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, both of whom have been charged with crimes against humanity in the context of the post-election violence during 2007-08. Western governments face an acute dilemma. Until now, they have been strong supporters of the ICC’s work in Kenya. However, in recent years, Kenya has become an active regional player in combating Islamist terrorism and recently suffered a major attack by al-Shabaab on a shopping mall in Nairobi. If the UN Security Council were to defer the proceedings, this would be the first time that this has happened since the Court’s inception.
Research Briefing

Conditions for using force in humanitarian intervention

Thursday, 29 August, 2013

Could the Government’s legal position on intervention in Syria contribute to setting a new precedent?
Research Briefing

Military interventions: some comparisons

Thursday, 29 August, 2013
Research Briefing

Leaving the EU

Monday, 01 July, 2013

The Treaty on European Union provides for a Member State to leave the EU, either on the basis of a negotiated withdrawal agreement or without one. If the UK were to leave the EU following a referendum, it is likely that the Government would negotiate an agreement with the EU, which would probably contain transitional arrangements as well as provide for the UK’s long-term future relations with the EU. There is no precedent for such an agreement, but it would in all likelihood come at the end of complex and lengthy negotiations.
Research Briefing

Syria: The legality of arming the rebels after the lifting of the EU arms embargo

Tuesday, 18 June, 2013

Would arming the Syrian rebels be illegal, notwithstanding the lifting of the EU arms embargo?
Research Briefing

The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: tension between Japan and China in the East China Sea

Tuesday, 16 April, 2013

Tensions between Japan and China in connection with long-standing rival claims to sovereignty over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have deepened since September 2012, with nationalist sentiment being stirred up in both countries. Taiwan also claims the islands. Japan, which administers the islands, does not accept that there is a dispute to be resolved. China insists that there is. This note briefly summarizes the competing claims and reviews developments over the last six months or so.
Research Briefing

Recognising the killings of Iraqi Kurds as genocide

Thursday, 21 February, 2013

The killings of thousands of Iraqi Kurds under Saddam Hussein's rule has been recognised by some as genocide, which has a specific definition under international law.
Research Briefing

In brief: North Korea and the nuclear issue one year on from the succession

Monday, 28 January, 2013

After a failed ballistic missile launch by North Korea in April 2012, an apparently more successful one took place in December, characterized at the time by the regime as a satellite launch. The UN Security Council passed a resolution further toughening sanctions. North Korea has responded to the new sanctions with its customary threatening rhetoric and has announced that it is preparing to conduct a third nuclear weapon test, following on from those undertaken in 2006 and 2009. This note surveys the state of play on the nuclear issue in the light of internal developments in North Korea, where Kim Jon-Un appears to have consolidated his power.
Research Briefing

Antarctic Bill – Committee Stage

Thursday, 17 January, 2013

The Antarctic Bill is presented as a Private Member’s Bill by Neil Carmichael MP. This note sets out the issues discussed in the Bill Committee on 21 November 2012. These included: the timing of the enactment of the provisions relating to the liability annex, compatibility with existing shipping liability provisions, and the wider issue of the future of the British Antarctic Survey.
Research Briefing

Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war

Thursday, 20 December, 2012

Sri Lanka's civil war ended in May 2009. Since then President Mohinda Rajapakse has consolidated his power at home but has been unable to shake off international controversy about alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by the security forces during the final phase of the conflict. There are also grave doubts about whether the govermment is willing to promote the kind of regional autonomy that many observers believe is essential to avoiding renewed conflict in the longer-term.
Research Briefing

Antarctica: the treaty system and territorial claims

Wednesday, 18 July, 2012

The unique treaty system that protects the Antarctic is constantly updated and sometimes challenged. A current Private Member’s Bill would implement recent changes in the UK.
Research Briefing

Bangladesh: the International Crimes Tribunal

Thursday, 03 May, 2012

The Government of Bangladesh has re-established a long dormant International Crimes Tribunal to try people for alleged 'international crimes' committed during the 1971 war of independence. Eight men, all senior figures in opposition parties, currently face trial. While steps have been taken to strengthen the rules of procedure of the Tribunal, there are criticisms that the process still falls short of interntional standards.
Research Briefing

The UK and Reform of the European Court of Human Rights

Monday, 30 April, 2012

The UK holds the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe until mid-May 2012. The UK has Government supported proposals to reform the European Court of Human Rights contained in the Interlaken and Izmir Declarations and has proposed in the draft Brighton Declaration that more account be taken of the principles of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation.
Research Briefing

The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: views in other EU Member States

Tuesday, 03 April, 2012

This Note looks briefly at views on the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union in the other EU Member States, the US, China and Russia.
Research Briefing

Is it legal to use force against Iran?

Thursday, 15 March, 2012

The answer to this question depends largely on your view of whether Iran is about to use nuclear weapons.

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