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Showing posts from February, 2008

'Views from the Bridge' and discussion

Dr Natalia Alvarez will screen “ Views from the bridge ” on Tuesday 4th March from 11 to 12:30 in Taylor A37. Dr Alvarez explains that the film helps one to 'understand the problems that Kosovo might face in the near future. The portrayal it gives of the situation in Kosovo is quite different from that provided by newspapers and the media': VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE – the first documentary feature about post-war Kosovo. Confused with the earlier Balkan conflicts and overshadowed by Afghanistan and Iraq, Kosovo’s story may hold the most compelling lessons of all. Following the film, there will be a short discussion about the new status of Kosovo and the question of minority rights. This meeting is open to all law students, members of staff and research students interested in this topic.

Derek Fincham in The New York Times

Our colleague Derek Fincham , a co-founder of this Society, has already captured the imagination of the British media in interviews with BBC radio and BBC television . Now his blog has been quoted in one of the foremost US newspapers, The New York Times . This piece in The New York Times' 'Ideas and Trends' section addresses what Derek describes as the "Dr. No situation" in art thefts. Hearty congratulations are of course in order.

Presidential Politics and the Equality of Nations

It is becoming increasingly likely that the major candidates in the United States general election will be Senator Obama (D) and Senator McCain (R). The two Senators appear to view the status of nations in fundamentally different ways. Senator McCain supports the establishment of a League of Democracies ( Derek analyses the proposal here ). McCain's proposal envisions a League of Democracies that will not replace the United Nations, but that could act without its approval. While the idealism of the suggestion cannot be questioned, a League of Democracies hints at the creation of first-class and second-class States, with the former class assuming authority that international law does not afford it to date. This is in contrast with Senator Obama’s much-debated suggestion that he would meet with foreign leaders whether they are friends or foes of the United States, and whether they are friends or foes of ‘freedom’. I may be reading too much into this, but the way I see it the

LRS Presentation Tomorrow

Wednesday 20th February, 5pm - Taylor C28 Justin Borg Barthet, 'The Challenge of Online Gambling to European Socio-Economic Governance' Abstract: In Schindler the ECJ held that lotteries fall within the meaning of the freedom to provide services for the purposes of the EC Treaty, provided that Member States may derogate from the Treaty in order to protect public order and the interests of consumers. The judgment leaves much room for interpretation regarding the extent to which Member States may erect barriers to online gambling within the EC. In the absence of European legislation to clarify the limits of Member States’ powers, it is submitted that a lack of clarity gives rise to ample grounds for costly litigation. In addition, the law as it stands challenges the notion of shared sovereignty in the EC. Prescriptive jurisdiction is haphazardly distributed among the Member States, rather than being pooled supranationally. Moreover, the rules governing adjudicatory jurisdiction a

"Don't Tell Mama, I'm for Obama"

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This week’s Economist has an interesting leader in which it discusses the ability of the Democratic Primary frontrunner Barack Obama’s ability to deliver on his promising campaign and impressive surge in popularity. The leader, inter alia, asserts that a black president in the White House is likely to transform America’s image abroad – something that is desperately needed following the Bush tenure. Overall, the Economist notes, probably rightly so, that Obama has, thus far, not faced the same level of scrutiny as have his rivals, which has allowed him to rely on rhetoric and high expectations rather than political substance. Similarly, the economist notes that Obama’s voting record in the Senate is one of the most left leaning ones among Democrats. Although this is likely to appeal to most Europeans, as this would arguably place him firmly in the centre of the political scale over here, one should not get too carried away. It is evident that even a left leaning Democratic President is

An Independent Kosovo?

Rumours are fierce on the internet that Kosovo is set to declare its independence from Serbia this weekend. Whether Kosovo will formally announce its independence this weekend or not, it is evident that the partition is forthcoming. We have previously on the blog touched upon some of the implications of Kosovo’s independence here and here . The rumours follow announcements by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, vowing to protect Serbian minorities within Kosovo and statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry stating that any declaration of independence from Kosovo would be taken into account in regard to Russia’s relations towards the breakaway parts of Georgia aspiring to be independent themselves. Similarly, a number of European states are reluctant to recognise an independent Kosovo fearing that it will prove a rubberstamp to other regions in Europe seeking independence from nation states. However, it cannot be emphasised strongly enough that the will of the Kosovo Albania

South African Supreme Court of Appeal Judge in Aberdeen

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The LRS has the pleasure to announce that Judge Brand of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa will visit the University of Aberdeen on Friday 02 May. Judge Brand will deliver a talk on the subject of 'South African Contract Law and the Constitution' . Judge Brand holds a BA, an LL.B and an LL.M. from the University of Stellenbosch , and a Drs Juris from Leiden University . He was a practising advocate for fourteen years, before being appointed a Judge in 1992 and a Judge of appeal in 2001 (see here ). We are thankful to Prof David Carey Miller who made this event possible.

More on the Archbishop and Islamic Law

A few days ago I commented on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s proposal to have elements of Islamic law coexisting with the English legal system. I questioned the extent to which it would be possible for English law to recognise some facets of Islamic family law. An article on Conflictoflaws.net sheds further light on the matter. Gilles Cuniberti explains how the Cour de Cassation in France has refused to recognise a number of Algerian and Moroccan divorces. He describes the factual background as follows: The facts of the cases are almost invariably the same. The couple was of Algerian (or Moroccan) origin. They were sometimes born there, or even had got married there. They then emigrated to France, where they have been living ever since. They sometimes acquired French citizenship. It seems that it is normally the wife who wants the divorce. She therefore decides to sue, in France. But the husband then travels to Algeria or Morocco and gets an islamic divorce

Justice Scalia on “Self-Righteous” Europe

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In today’s Law in Action, on BBC Radio 4, US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gives a rare interview touching upon a few fascinating legal issues. Justice Scalia is one of the most controversial characters on the US Supreme Court; hailed by conservatives, and abhorred by liberals, for his approach to legal interpretation based on doctrines of originalism and (strict) textualism. This approach is in sharp contrast to the approaches seen in Europe, by for instance the ECJ, where norms of judicial activism are very much alive. Regardless of what one thinks of Justice Scalia he does have some interesting points on the issue of legislation, not just constitutions, being static instruments that do not evolve over time. Similarly, Scalia discusses the use of “smacking on the face” under the “ticking bomb scenario”, which is likely to cause offense. In addition, he has some good points on the appointment of judges in the US, which, he argues, is ultimately not any longer about the lawyerly

Resurrection of the Cartoon Crisis?

Although one hoped that calm would have by now been restored following the publishing of the infamous Muhammad cartoons by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005, it now appears that the predicament is far from over. This morning it emerged that Danish police and intelligence services had thwarted a plot to assassin a cartoonists behind one of the cartons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (I won’t post the cartoons here but a simple Google search should provide those who are interested with a chance to see the cartoons for themselves). Danish police arrested, in the early hours of Tuesday, three persons suspected of planning an attack on the Jyllands-Posten cartoonist; one being a Danish citizen of Moroccan descent and two Tunisian citizens. The Danish citizen has since been released but face charges in relation to the Danish penal code’s provisions on terrorism while the two Tunisian citizens are to be instantly deported. Although the news is still emerging, it is laudabl

An economic analysis of electoral laws

Malta’s electoral laws divide the tiny State into 13 districts of more or less equal size, each electing five members of Parliament. This means that in order to be elected to Parliament, a candidate must garner a quota of 16% of votes cast in a district, through a single transferable vote system (save for the fifth candidate elected in each district who often does not reach the quota but is elected because every other candidate is eliminated). In practice this also means that a political party must enjoy almost 16% support in an electoral district in order to be represented in Parliament.Proposals to adopt a 5% national quota have been resisted by the two major parties, thus virtually guaranteeing that they will be the only two parties in Parliament in a winner takes all system. This has been the subject of much heated debate on a popular Maltese blog . The democratic advantages of greater pluralism are intuitive to some, while the advantages of stability engendered in a two-party sys

Whither Self Determination II?

A few days ago, Justin wrote how the governments of Cyprus and Romania would refuse to recognise an independent Kosovo should the international community go ahead and, as planned, support Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia. On Friday, the newly re-elected President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, told participants at a security conference in Munich that the possible partition of Serbia would likely lead to the flaring up of old conflicts. Tadic said “Should Serbia be partitioned against its will... it could in turn result in the escalation of many existing conflicts, the reactivation of a number of frozen conflicts, and the instigation of who knows how many new conflicts”. Although Tadic is attempting to strike a balancing act between securing Serbia’s path towards the European Union, while, at the same time, trying to avoid the breaking up of Serbia, his comments are interesting for a number of reasons. For instance, it is paramount that any violence is avoided in the Balkans

Has the Archbishop Gone Bonkers?

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I take no credit, and, I hope, no blame, for the title of this post. Yesterday's lecture by the Archbishop of Canterbury titled 'Islam in English Law: Civil and Religious Law in England' has met with a deafening outcry, including newspaper headlines screaming ' Victory for Terrorism ' and columnists asking ' Has the Archbishop Gone Bonkers? ' The newspapers might leave one with the impression that the Archbishop wants us all to live under Muslim law, including Muslim criminal law. On reading the lecture (available here ) one wonders if all the fuss stems from the demonization of Islam, as opposed to the actual content of the lecture. The Archbishop was in fact making the case for the coexistence of secular and religious legal systems in the civil sphere. While I tend to disagree with the proposition that we should regress to a state in which religion enters the public sphere to a greater extent than by informing societal norms, I must admit that the Arch

Kenya and historic injustices – ongoing human rights violations and how history won’t go away

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More than 1,000 people have been killed and about 300,000 forced from their homes in the Kenyan post-election crisis. The UN Security Council has given its backing for the mediation mission led by the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. The violence in Kenya has eased slightly but the conflict is far from being resolved. In a recently published article the founder of the US Coalition for Peace with Truth and Justice in Kenya, John Barbieri refutes three “myths and misrepresentations” pervading the media coverage on the Kenya crisis which shall be synthesized here: Firstly, the conflict is not “ethnic” or “tribal”. It is rather a conflict between the rich and the poor and as such of political nature (with an ethnic element). Elites on both sides ruthlessly stir up violence. Labelling the conflict as “tribal” is racist, antiquated and inaccurate. Secondly, the current crisis is not a “shock”. It is often falsely presented as coming out of the blue as Kenya was supposed

CASS Conference 2008: Call for Papers

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The Law Section of the Organising Committee of College of Arts & Social Sciences Postgraduate Conference, at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland invites graduate students undertaking legal research to submit abstracts for consideration. The Conference will take place over two days (11-12 June) in the beautiful surroundings of King's College, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Please click here for further information.

February/March Programme (Updated)

The following is the Society's programme for the coming weeks: Wednesday 13th February, 5pm - Taylor C11 'Minority Report' and Discussion (moderated by Alessia Vacca and Ahmed Hassanein) Please click here for further information. Wednesday 20th February, 5pm - Taylor C28 Justin Borg Barthet, 'The Challenge of Online Gambling to European Socio-Economic Governance' Abstract: In Schindler the ECJ held that lotteries fall within the meaning of the freedom to provide services for the purposes of the EC Treaty, provided that Member States may derogate from the Treaty in order to protect public order and the interests of consumers. The judgment leaves much room for interpretation regarding the extent to which Member States may erect barriers to online gambling within the EC. In the absence of European legislation to clarify the limits of Member States’ powers, it is submitted that a lack of clarity gives rise to ample grounds for costly litigation. In addition, the l

Essay Competition in Private International Law

Conflictoflaws.net is running an essay competition for students of private international law. The first prize is $500 plus $300 worth of books. The best essays will also be considered for publication in the Journal of Private International Law . Further information can be found here .

'Minority Report' and Discussion

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We will screen ' Minority Report ' on Wednesday 13th February, 5pm in Taylor C11. In the future, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but one of the officers in the special unit is accused of one such crime and sets out to prove his innocence. Is this such a far-fetched proposition? Following the movie, Alessia Vacca and Ahmed Hassanein will moderate a brief discussion about the contemporary erosion of fundamental criminal law notions such as the requirement of both a mens rea and an actus reus for the commission of a crime.

Relativity of Rights and Revolutions

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All too often we talk about the inviolability and near absoluteness of human rights, the universality of shared principles that stem from basic human dignity. But consider the following. Hereunder Alavi Tabar, a reformist Iranian writer who often bumped heads with the conservative old guard, discusses some achievements of the Revolution that he sought to reform: 'Before the Revolution, you had traditional towns where parents wouldn't allow their daughters to go to school; they didn't want them being taught by men, in places where there was no hejab .' He was referring to the Islamic head covering for women, which Khomeini had eventually succeeded in making compulsory. 'After the Revolution, they brought in the hejab , and women teachers, and suddenly all these traditional families started sending their children - with great enthusiasm - to school. ...Those who say the Revolution rejected modernity are quite wrong. Before the Revolution, modernity was an exotic fo

Pakistan, Bangladesh and a Territorially Viable Palestinian State

'The electrified barrier is highly effective. It has made it virtually impossible to escape Gaza, and the result is a sense of imprisonment and suffocation. There are 3,766 people to every square kilometer in the territory. The towns, camps, and houses are hideously overpopulated. To escape the watching eyes of one's family and the pressure of the community at large requires almost superhuman ingenuity. People in Gaza live without windows on the outside. The only crumbs of comfort come from encounter with foreigners passing through - or from dreams peddled by Israeli TV or the satellite channels. The people speak of Gaza as a "rabbit hutch" or a "life-size jail." Most Gazans under twenty have never known anything other than the place where they were born. A test carried out on children and young people from the ages of ten to twenty-four has shown that three out of four people think that the map of Gaza is the map of Palestine. The inability to picture the n

Whither self determination?

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The governments of Cyprus and Romania have stated that they will not recognise the expected unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence (see report here ). Romania has gone so far as to state that it “will not be able to recognise an independence proclamation by Kosovo on any level (...) whether coordinated or unilaterally proclaimed". The Romanian president is reported to have expressed that this would send the wrong message to countries that face ethnic conflicts. Admittedly, the Romanian president raises an important point about the dismemberment of ethnically diverse States. There certainly is a principled argument for States to respect Serbia’s territorial integrity and cultural connection to Kosovo. Yet this conundrum must be resolved with reference to the sovereign will of the people of Kosovo, particularly when one considers the long list of aggravations that Kosovo has suffered at the hands of rule from Belgrade. In the light of recent history, is it not mo