Suchergebnisse

How did the transition from a world of empire to a global international system organised around the sovereign state play out? This article traces the transition over the past two centuries through an examination of membership debates in two prominent intergovernmental organisations (IGOs). IGOs are sites of contestation that play a role in the constitution of the international system. Discussions within IGOs reflect and shape broader international norms, and are one mechanism through which the international system determines questions of membership and attendant rights and obligations. The article reveals that IGO membership policies during this period reflected different compromises between the three competing principles of great power privilege, the 'standard of civilisation', and universal sovereign equality. The article contributes to Global IR as it confirms that non-Western agency was crucial in bringing about this transition. States in Africa, Asia, and Latin America championed the adoption of the sovereignty criterion. In this, paradoxically, one of the core constitutional norms of the 'European' international system – the principle of sovereign equality – was realised at the hands of non-European actors.

"In this second volume of his memoirs and final writings based on his life, Samir Amin describes his thoughts and experiences with an array of countries, primarily in the Arab World, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, recounting in detail the stages of his ongoing dialogue over several decades with popular movements struggling for a better future."

Objectives Illegal drug use continues to be a major threat to community health and safety. We used international drug surveillance databases to assess the relationship between multiple long-term estimates of illegal drug price and purity. Design We systematically searched for longitudinal measures of illegal drug supply indicators to assess the long-term impact of enforcement-based supply reduction interventions. Setting Data from identified illegal drug surveillance systems were analysed using an a priori defined protocol in which we sought to present annual estimates beginning in 1990. Data were then subjected to trend analyses. Main outcome measures Data were obtained from government surveillance systems assessing price, purity and/or seizure quantities of illegal drugs; systems with at least 10 years of longitudinal data assessing price, purity/potency or seizures were included. Results We identified seven regional/international metasurveillance systems with longitudinal measures of price or purity/potency that met eligibility criteria. In the USA, the average inflation-adjusted and purity-adjusted prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis decreased by 81%, 80% and 86%, respectively, between 1990 and 2007, whereas average purity increased by 60%, 11% and 161%, respectively. Similar trends were observed in Europe, where during the same period the average inflation-adjusted price of opiates and cocaine decreased by 74% and 51%, respectively. In Australia, the average inflation-adjusted price of cocaine decreased 14%, while the inflation-adjusted price of heroin and cannabis both decreased 49% between 2000 and 2010. During this time, seizures of these drugs in major production regions and major domestic markets generally increased. Conclusions With few exceptions and despite increasing investments in enforcement-based supply reduction efforts aimed at disrupting global drug supply, illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally increased since 1990. These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing. ; Medicine, Faculty of ; Other UBC ; Non UBC ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Researcher ; Graduate

Questo articolo propone un dibattito critico e costruttivo sui temi della cooperazione negli ambienti stessi della cooperazione, soprattutto sugli obiettivi reali e apparenti, sugli effetti sortiti inconsapevolmente, e sui vincitori e vinti dell'aiuto internazionale, il tutto visto da una prospettiva socio-economica mondiale. Sono qui presentati i primi esiti di un Seminario Partecipativo tenuto proprio su tali tematiche, articolato in quattro tavoli di lavoro: autodeterminazione e reciprocità, emergenza e sviluppo, formazione, co-progettazione / progettazione partecipata. ; A critical and constructive debate is proposed on and inside cooperation, specifically on the real and the apparent goals, on the unaware effects, and on the winners and losers of international aid, framed in a global socio-economic perspective. The first outcomes of a recent participatory workshop on such themes are hereby illustrated, divided in four working tables: self-determination and reciprocity, emergency and development, training, and co-design / participatory design.

It is determined that international standards of ad-ministrative and legal protection are based, first, on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Covenants. The European Court of Human Rights envisages both a negative (non-state interference) duty of the state and a positive (active action by the state) duty. The negative obligation is that the authorities do not have the right to interfere with the private and family life of the person, as well as to violate the right to respect for private housing and correspondence of the person. It is emphasized that the leading position in determining the directions of devel-opment of the field of administrative and legal protection in the EU member states is occupied by the administra-tion or the legislatively designated ministry responsible for policy, development, planning and coordination of the system of administrative and legal protection. It has been argued that the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not disclose the meaning of the term "private life" as it describes it as "a broad, definable term". It has been found that many coun-tries incorporate the basic provisions of the Declaration into their basic legislation. Its very principles underpin many human rights pacts, conventions and treaties.On the basis of the analysis of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the standards of human rights and freedoms in the field of administrative and legal protection are formulated, namely: the public administration has an obligation to respect human rights, and bodies of executive power and local self-government, in virtue of their competence, are to guarantee the restoration of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of all who are under his protection; everyone has the right to a fair and public hearing of his case within a reasonable time by an independent and im-partial tribunal; public administration must respect the right of private and family life of a person; everyone whose rights and freedoms have been violated, has the right to an effective remedy in an administrative manner, even if such violation has been committed by persons who have exercised their official powers; during a war or oth-er public danger that threatens the existence of a nation, the state may take measures to restrict certain rights and freedoms, but only within the limits that are required by the severity of the situation. ; Визначено, що міжнародні стандарти адміністра-тивно-правової охорони базуються, по-перше, на За-гальній декларації прав людини та пактах. Європей-ський суд із прав людини передбачає як негативний (невтручання держави) обов'язок держави, так і пози-тивний (активні дії з боку держави) обов'язок. Нега-тивний обов'язок полягає в тому, що суб'єкти владних повноважень не мають права втручатись у приватне та сімейне життя особи, а також порушувати право на повагу до особистого житла та кореспонденції осо-би. Наголошено, що провідне місце у визначенні на-прямів розвитку сфери адміністративно-правової охо-рони в країнах-учасницях ЄС посідає адміністрація або ж законодавчо визначене профільне міністерство, що відповідає за політику, розвиток, планування та координацію системи адміністративно-правової охо-рони. Доведено, що Конвенція про захист прав людини і основоположних свобод не розкриває змісту терміна «приватне життя», оскільки описує його як «термін із широким значенням, який не піддається визначенню». З'ясовано, що багато країн включають основні поло-ження Декларації у своє базове законодавство. Саме її принципи лежать в основі багатьох пактів, конвенцій і договорів із прав людини.На основі аналізу Конвенції про захист прав лю-дини й основоположних свобод сформовано стандарти прав, свобод людини і громадянина у сфері адміністра-тивно-правової охорони, а саме: публічна адміністра-ція зобов'язана поважати права людини, а органи виконавчої влади і місцевого самоврядування мають у межах своєї компетенції гарантувати відновлення прав, свобод і законних інтересів усіх, хто перебуває під їх захистом; кожен має право на справедливий і публічний розгляд його справи упродовж розумного строку незалежним і безстороннім судом; публічна ад-міністрація має поважати право приватного і сімейного життя особи; кожен, чиї права та свободи було поруше-но, має право на ефективний засіб юридичного захисту в адміністративному порядку, навіть якщо таке пору-шення було вчинене особами, які здійснювали свої офі-ційні повноваження; під час війни або іншої суспіль-ної небезпеки, яка загрожує існуванню нації, держава може вживати заходів щодо обмеження певних прав і свобод, однак виключно в тих межах, яких вимагає го-строта становища.

Transcripts of papers presented at a conference organized by International Society for Ecological Economics, held at New Delhi during December 2006

Executive summary•Cyber operations have become a reality in contemporary armed conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned by the potential human cost arising from the increasing use of cyber operations during armed conflicts.•In the ICRC's view, international humanitarian law (IHL) limits cyber operations during armed conflicts just as it limits the use of any other weapon, means or method of warfare in an armed conflict, whether new or old.•Affirming the applicability of IHL does not legitimize cyber warfare, just as it does not legitimize any other form of warfare. Any use of force by States – cyber or kinetic – remains governed by the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant rules of customary international law, in particular the prohibition against the use of force. International disputes must be settled by peaceful means, in cyberspace as in all other domains.•It is now critical for the international community to affirm the applicability of international humanitarian law to the use of cyber operations during armed conflicts. The ICRC also calls for discussions among governmental and other experts on how existing IHL rules apply and whether the existing law is adequate and sufficient. In this respect, the ICRC welcomes the intergovernmental discussions currently taking place in the framework of two United Nations General Assembly mandated processes.•Events of recent years have shown that cyber operations, whether during or outside armed conflict, can disrupt the operation of critical civilian infrastructure and hamper the delivery of essential services to the population. In the context of armed conflicts, civilian infrastructure is protected against cyber attacks by existing IHL principles and rules, in particular the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack. IHL also affords special protection to hospitals and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, among others.•During armed conflicts, the employment of cyber tools that spread and cause damage indiscriminately is prohibited. From a technological perspective, some cyber tools can be designed and used to target and harm only specific objects and to not spread or cause harm indiscriminately. However, the interconnectivity that characterizes cyberspace means that whatever has an interface with the Internet can be targeted from anywhere in the world and that a cyber attack on a specific system may have repercussions on various other systems. As a result, there is a real risk that cyber tools are not designed or used – either deliberately or by mistake – in compliance with IHL.•States' interpretation of existing IHL rules will determine the extent to which IHL protects against the effects of cyber operations. In particular, States should take clear positions about their commitment to interpret IHL so as to preserve civilian infrastructure from significant disruption and to protect civilian data. The availability of such positions will also influence the assessment of whether the existing rules are adequate or whether new rules may be needed. If States see a need to develop new rules, they should build on and strengthen the existing legal framework – including IHL.

Theory of International Law at the Threshold of the 21st Century is a remarkable book, and is destined to become a standard work, without which no International Law library will be complete. The essays contained in this volume are written by the foremost experts, and the topics have been chosen with the greatest care, to reflect the most pressing current problems facing the world community. The research and writing made available in this collection will be of enduring worth, and will be studied and quoted for decades to come. It follows in the finest traditions of the major collective works published by Martinus Nijhoff/Kluwer Law International. It is most appropriate that a remarkable book should be dedicated to a remarkable man, and the editor of the volume Professor Jerzy Makarczyk has ensured that the choice of writers, the choice of topics and the quality of the material do indeed honour one of the leading international lawyers of his generation: Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski

In recent years, scholarship on international organisations (IO) has devoted increasing attention to the relations in which IOs are embedded. In this article, we argue that the rationalist-institutionalist core of this scholarship has been marked by agentic, repressive understandings of power and we propose an alternative approach to power as productive in and of relations among IOs. To study productive power in IO relations, we develop a theoretical framework centred on the concept of 'metagovernance norms' as perceptions about the proper 'governance of governance' that are shared among IOs in a governance field. Drawing on discourse theory, we contend that metagovernance norms unfold productive power effects, as dominant notions of how to govern well and effectively (i) fix meanings, excluding alternative understandings and (ii) are inscribed into practices and institutions, hence reshaping inter-organisational relations over time. To illustrate our framework, we trace metagovernance norms in discourses among health IOs since the 1990s. We find a historical transformation from beliefs in the virtues of partnerships, pluralisation, and innovation, towards discursive articulations that emphasise harmonisation, order, and alignment. Moreover, we expose the productive power of metagovernance norms by showing how they were enacted through practices and institutions in the global health field.