Suchergebnisse

298International criminal law — Crimes against humanity — Nature and definition — Gravity — Sentence — Comparison between crimes against humanity and war crimes — Defences — Duress — Whether duress available as a defence on a charge involving the killing of innocent persons — Massacre of prisoners — Requirements for defence of duress — Serious threat to life and limb — Moral choice — Proportionality — Whether crime would have been committed in any event — Whether duress confined to mitigation of sentenceInternational tribunals — International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia — Object and purpose — Procedure — Plea of guilty — Whether acceptable — Requirement that plea be voluntary, informed and unambiguous — Plea of guilty not to prejudice fundamental rights of the accused — Differences between International Criminal Tribunal and national courts — Extent of reference to national law — Common law on pleas of guilty — National laws on duress as a defenceSources of international law — Custom — General principles of law recognized by civilized nations — Nature of reference to national law by international tribunal — Concepts of national law not transplanted in their entirety into international law — Sources of international criminal lawWar and armed conflict — War crimes and crimes against humanity — Massacre of large number of prisoners — Criminal responsibility of individuals involved — Whether duress available as a defence — Appropriate sentence

Despite renewed interest in metropolitan governance, little attention has been given to issues of representation by regional governing entities. Many regional bodies operate under an arrangement whereby each local government receives an equal vote-systematically underrepresenting large jurisdictions and unincorporated areas. The author describes an index to measure the (dis)proportionality of representation on the governing boards of regional institutions. Applying the index to metropolitan planning organizations in California, he finds that most have a substantially skewed representational structure. Such patterns may violate constitutional guarantees of equal protection, given the enhanced policy-making role of metropolitan planning organizations under recent federal transportation law.

Environment — War — Nuclear weapons — Effect of use of nuclear weapons upon the environment — Treaties for the protection of the environment — Whether applicable to military operations in time of armed conflict — Relationship between international environmental law and the law of armed conflict — Principle 24, Rio Declaration — United Nations Environmental Modification Treaty, 1977 — Additional Protocol I, 1977, Article 35(3)Human rights — War — Nuclear weapons — Whether human rights treaties applicable to military operations in time of armed conflict — Right to life — International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 — Relationship between the law of human rights and the law of armed conflictInternational Court of Justice — Advisory jurisdiction — Request by United Nations General Assembly — Request for advisory opinion concerning whether the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons permitted under international law — Whether within the jurisdiction of the Court — United Nations Charter, Article 96(1) — Discretion of Court not to reply to question — Statute of the Court, Article 65(1) — Whether question poses a legal question — Whether motives for asking the question relevant — Role of the Court in advisory proceedings164International criminal law — Genocide — Genocide Convention, 1948 — Nuclear weapons — Whether use of nuclear weapons would constitute offence of genocideInternational organizations — United Nations — General Assembly — Competence — Security issues — Nuclear weapons — Role of the Assembly in view of involvement of the Security Council — Whether Assembly competent to request advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice — Resolutions of the General Assembly — Whether a source of law — Normative significance of resolutions in the light of the practice of StatesReprisals and countermeasures — Reprisals involving the use of force — Whether armed reprisals lawful in time of peace — Belligerent reprisals — Use of nuclear weapons — Threat to use nuclear weaponsSources of international law — Custom — Requirements of custom — Importance of actual State practice — Persistent objector principle — Opinio juris — United Nations General Assembly resolutions — Normative significance — Resolutions on the use of nuclear weaponsWar and armed conflict — Nuclear weapons — Whether use or threat to use nuclear weapons lawful — Applicable law — Relevance of law on the environment and human rights — Law regarding the use of force — Right of self-defence — Relationship between right of self-defence and law regulating the conduct of hostilities — Possible tension between law of armed conflict and right of self-defence — Restrictions on the right of self-defence — Proportionality and necessity — Concept of threat to use force — Principles of the law of armed conflict regarding weaponry and targets — Unnecessary suffering principle — Requirement that civilians and civilian objects should not be attacked — Principle of proportionality — Collateral damage — Prohibition of poison and poisoned weapons — Martens clause — Applicability to the use of nuclear weapons — Neutrality — Obligations of belligerents towards neutral States — Characteristics of nuclear weapons — Whether use of nuclear weapons ever reconcilable with law of armed conflict — Whether use of nuclear weapons lawful in extreme circumstances of self-defence

252Aliens — Deportation — Deportation for criminal offences of alien who had always lived in Respondent State — Limits on rights of States to deport aliens — Human rights — Right to respect for family lifeHuman rights — Right to respect for family life — Whether deportation an interference with right to respect for family life — Whether deportation in accordance with the law and in pursuit of a legitimate aim — Whether deportation necessary in a democratic society — Requirements of a pressing social need and proportionality to the legitimate aim pursued — Seriousness of criminal record — Serious disability of applicant — Applicant's need for support from his family — Nationality of the applicant's family — Length of residence in Respondent State and inability to communicate in Arabic — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, Article 8

Aliens — Deportation — Deportation for criminal offences of alien who had always lived in respondent State — Limits on rights of States to deport aliens — Human rights — Right to respect for family lifeHuman rights — Right to respect for family life — Whether deportation an interference with right to respect for family life — Whether deportation in accordance with the law and in pursuit of a legitimate aim — Whether deportation necessary in a democratic society — Requirements of a pressing social need and proportionality to the legitimate aim pursued — Seriousness of criminal record — Nationality of the first applicant, his family and relatives — Length of residence in respondent State and inability to speak Arabic — Nationality of second applicant — Inability to speak Arabic and possible legal barriers to her transfer to Algeria — Resulting threat to marriage — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, Article 8160Nationality — Resumption of nationality — Compatibility of law regulating loss and retention of nationality with International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965