Problems and Prospects for the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Twenty Years On*

Abstract

Twenty years after its adoption, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) remains unique among fisheries agreements in its declared commitment to considering the impact of existing or proposed fisheries on the entire ecosystem, rather than on just the harvested species. However, the recent picture of fisheries activities within the Convention area suggests a substantial ‐ and perhaps widening ‐ gap between theory and practice. The fishery that has most clearly proven beyond CCAMLR's capacity, and which has resulted in the most significant damage to the Antarctic environment in modern times is that for Patagonian Toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides. That fishery is discussed in more detail below. The roots of that problem in conjunction with structural problems that have contributed to CCAMLR's inability to deal with the toothfish challenge threaten to be repeated in the second‐generation krill fishery that is rapidly developing in Antarctic waters. The authors provide suggestions for structural and procedural changes within CCAMLR to permit it to effectively manage the marine living resources of the Southern Ocean.     

Japan's 'Research Whaling' in the Antarctic Southern Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean in the Face of the Endangered Species Convention (CITES)

Over the past 20 years, Japanese whalers have taken more than 10,000 whales from the Antarctic Southern Ocean and the north Pacific Ocean for 'scientific purposes', under a controversial exemption clause in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). After analyzing the relationship of the ICRW regime with other applicable multilateral agreements, this article concludes that Japan's current pelagic 'research whaling' programmes are not only a growing embarrassment for the country's meritorious ongoing research in both polar regions; they are also in open breach of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In light of different options for international legal action, the author recommends the initiation of 'compliance procedures'– potentially leading to a collective trade embargo – in accordance with CITES Conference Resolution 14.3 (2007).     

Diego Garcia: British-American Legal Black Hole in the Indian Ocean?

Environmental risks from US military construction on the atollof Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) since 1971include damage caused by large-scale ‘coral mining’,the introduction of invasive alien plant species, continuoustransits of nuclear material and unreported major fuel spills;these risks are now compounded by those of sea-level rise andocean acidification due to global climate change. The US andUK governments have evaded accountability by way of a persistent‘black hole’ strategy, contending that some nationallaws and international treaties for the protection of humanrights and the environment do not apply to the island—aposition confirmed by a controversial appellate judgment ofthe House of Lords in October 2008, essentially relying on ‘prerogative’colonial law. This article draws attention to the fallacy ofthe black-hole syndrome, and to its potentially fatal consequencesfor the British claim to a 200-mile environment protection zonein the Chagos Archipelago.     

The perspective of “justice” of international law in the global context

After the Cold War and the quick development of globalization, non-state acts by international organizations, transnational corporations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), etc., are becoming more active. Global issues with regard to, inter alia, environment, human rights, terrorism are constantly emerging, which bring great challenge to the Westphalia System that is based on state sovereignty and centered on the national state. At the same time, the values, which include “individualism” and “global justice,” are constantly casting impact on international legal system. Doubtlessly, in the current context of international relations, “justice among states” is still the reasonable positioning of the value of modern international law. However, making “individualism” and “global justice” compatible and modifying “justice among states” is an inevitable trend. At the same time, the rule brought about by the modification on the value of justice must be handled properly.     

Evasion in the conflict of laws and its possible solution in China

Evasion in private international law differs from fraud of law in domestic law, which has been generally agreed upon in academic and judicial circles. However, in China’s private international law, the theories on “evasion,” are very confusing and quite a few Chinese academicians appear more declined to accept it as natural phenomenon in conflict of laws. Similarly, both Chinese judges and legislators take a conservative approach towards it. By comparative and historical methods, the definition of evasion is to be clarified in this paper. Also, it is to argue that evasion differs from fraud of law in the context of domestic law and it is necessary to elucidate it.     

Thoughts on the theories and practice of chinese private international law

“The parties can only choose facultative legal norms,” “the parties of all foreign-related civil and commercial cases may agree to choose Chinese law as the applicable law governing their legal relationship,” and “the applicable law to the contract chosen by the parties shall not avoid the mandatory provisions of Chinese law” —such viewpoints that have substantial influence among the theorists and in the judicial practices of Chinese private international law are actually based on misunderstandings of Chinese private international law. It is a task of the private international law community of China to eliminate such misunderstandings, hence facilitating the healthy development of Chinese private international law.     

Linguistic Justice in International Law: An Evaluation of the Discursive Framework

Claims by minority groups to use their own languages in different social contexts are often presented as claims for “linguistic justice”, that is, justice as between speakers of different languages. This article considers how the language of international law can be used to advance such claims, by exploring how international law, as a discourse, approaches questions of language policy. This analysis reveals that international legal texts structure their engagement with “linguistic justice” around two key concepts: equality and culture. Through a close examination of the way in which these concepts function within international legal discourse, the article suggests that this conceptual framework may sometimes constrain, as well as enlarge, the possibilities for justice for minority language speakers. Thus while international law may provide a language for challenging injustices in the linguistic sphere, limitations inherent in this discourse may also restrict its emancipatory potential.     

How are Argentina and Chile facing shared biodiversity loss?

Biodiversity loss remains one of the most pressing issues for global governance. This situation can be seen in Argentina and Chile through the effects of biodiversity loss caused by the introduction and expansion of beavers in Southern Patagonia. This case is interesting because, despite the Beagle conflict (i.e., the border dispute) between these countries some decades ago, nowadays Argentina and Chile are facing shared environmental problems and both are actively seeking solutions. The main question in this paper is, how did Argentina and Chile search for a solution to shared environmental problems caused by the expansion of beavers in Southern Patagonia? This paper tackles this question and presents the results of the conducted qualitative research. The results indicate that, in order to understand what Argentina and Chile are doing to achieve a solution to their shared environmental problems, research cannot be exclusively focus on domestic affairs. Instead, this issue requires taking into account how international dimensions influenced domestic policies. As this paper argues, in Argentina and Chile, international cooperation is a method of influencing biodiversity governance through funds granted by international organizations and international expert recommendations.     

Interdisciplinary research on international relations theory and international law in China over the past 10 years

From the origin, there has been a strong connection between international relations and international law. In the development of the history of different academic subjects, the research on international relations and international law are interdependently promoting each other. As a result, the realization of interdisciplinary research on international legal theory and the study of international law is inevitable. As a matter of fact, even though the interdisciplinary research of the two subjects has been separated for almost half a century, the need for the development of the subject and the changing world political and economical status give them a new chance for reunification. Recently, the interdisciplinary research on international relations theory and international law by the Western academic is becoming the order of the day, which has become the latest shining point of the recent development of the two subjects, which is even regarded as the new revolution of international relations theory and the study of international law. In this context, the past ten years is a period of emergence of Chinese international relations and the interdisciplinary research of international law. In the past ten years, some scholars have overcome “the difficulty of interdisciplinary research,” “the prejudice within the subject” and “the gap among different subjects,” and made pioneering research in the field of “systematic connection” and “issues in overlapping field.” Moreover, they gradually make the interdisciplinary research to be a popular method and a common recognition. Based on the current studies, interdisciplinary research will have a broad future in the fields such as “the interchange of concepts,” “the exchange of method,” and “the mutual assistance of materials,” which will provide scholars in this area with a broad space for research.     

Fit and proper

The current trend of regulation in international financial mattersof service providers and trustees is an inevitable consequenceof trustees of international trusts being remote from the settlorand the beneficiaries. The ‘fit and proper’ persons'requirement for international trust companies, and others, properlyaddresses the need for international investors’ assetsto be in the hands of those properly experienced and qualified.The success depends upon how this ‘fit and proper’criteria is defined and monitored by the regulator in each jurisdiction. In most international jurisdictions,     

Stateless Crimes,Legitimacy, and International Criminal Law: The Case of Organ Trafficking

Organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ transplantation are recognized as significant international problems. Yet these forms of trafficking are largely left out of international criminal law regimes and to some extent of domestic criminal law regimes as well. Trafficking of organs or persons for their organs does not come within the jurisdiction of the ICC, except in very special cases such as when conducted in a manner that conforms to the definitions of genocide or crimes against humanity. Although the United States Code characterizes trafficking as “a transnational crime with national implications,” (22 U.S.C. § 7101(b)(24) (2010)), trafficking is rarely prosecuted in domestic courts. It has thus functioned in practice largely as what might be judged a “stateless” offense, out of the purview of both international and national courts. Yet these forms of organ trafficking remain widespread—and devastating to those who are its victims. In this article, we begin by describing what is known about the extent of organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the purpose of removal of organs. We then critically evaluate how and why such trafficking has remained largely unaddressed by both international and domestic criminal law regimes. This state of affairs, we argue, presents a missed chance for developing the legitimacy of international criminal law and an illustration of how far current international legal institutions remain from ideal justice.     

Inclusive National Governance and Trafficked Women in Australia: Otherness and Local Demand

Trafficked women are used and consumed in different ways and by different users in Australia. They are used by the traffickers and by the consumer of the destination country. They are used as prosecutorial tools by the national criminal justice agents. They are used by the national politicians to pursue border control policy objectives and to be seen as abiding by international protocols. In all these uses, the identity of the trafficked woman is formed and shaped to fit the users’ need. However, these women’s otherness and abjection is constantly maintained and reinforced. They are used as a commodity. Meanwhile, the discussion on the demand side, and the consequent responsibility of the destination country, is virtually omitted. This paper will raise the question of how the socio-legal analysis and discourse would evolve if a literal interpretation of trafficking women as a commodity was taken into account, exploring an international trade approach. The social construction of trafficked women as a commodity has been identified and criticised by academic scholars, NGOs’ and UN’s rapporteurs. By pursuing this line of approach, the destination country is forced to take more responsibility for how the woman is demanded within its territory. As a consequence of this international trade approach, the State should deliver equality and non-discrimination. Rather than being a cynical application of a trade framework to trafficked women, this approach aims to highlight the paradox of such a situation in legal terms. It is highlighted that approaching trafficked women from this legal and jurisprudential way may offer more possibilities to expand their claims against the State. Currently, in Australia, when a trafficked woman is located by the State, she would attract limited and temporal rights, her being the ‘other’ as well as an abject entity remains, notwithstanding the fact the she was imported because there is a demand within the territory.     

Intellectual property laws integrated with the national development policies in China

As a developing country, China has been pressured by the developed countries to increase the levels of intellectual property (IP) protection and to adopt IP rules that even go beyond the minimum international standards. IP regimes are established to promote advances in science and culture by rewarding creation and invention. However, developing countries do not necessarily appropriately share the benefits from the harmonization of IP protection standards over the world. Fortunately, not every developed country or international organization is concerned only with its own interest when evaluating the tendency of international IP protection policies. In fact, they have made many studies or findings in favor of the concerns and interests of developing countries. This paper investigates the conflicts between IP rights and human rights, as well as the validity of IP laws under constitutional arguments, with the purpose of providing new strategic policy arguments in China’s future amendments to IP laws, and related negotiations with developed countries. __________ Translated from Faxue Yanjiu 法学研究 (Law Research), 2005, (6): 105–115     

论海法的统合

国家海洋战略是中国进入21世纪后的重大课题,其法律形式为统合的海法。在法律框架内,存在着独立于陆法之外的海法,这是海法实现统合的逻辑基础。海法的国际法与国内法的统合方式是国际海法的国内化;海法国内法体系的统合的现实选择是消解海法纵向与横向冲突;海上执法机构的统合意味着中国从分散到统一的海上执法模式的转变。传统海洋强国、周边临海国家及台湾地区在海洋战略推动下的海法统合经验都具有一定的借鉴价值。     

Penal ideology, sentencing and the legitimacy of trial justice

The paper explores the link between penal ideology and international trial justice from the perspective of sentencing. The argument is based on the premise that the perceived legitimacy of punishment is directly related to effective governance in criminal justice. As such, loss of faith, or lack of moral empathy by individuals and communities with the ideologies, processes and outcomes of punishment compromises the ability of criminal trials to function effectively in maintaining the ‘rule of law’. The paper argues that more emphasis should be given explaining the moral foundations that underpin perceptions of ‘justice’ in sociological accounts of the ‘reality’ of sentencing, and proposes an analytical framework for conceptualising this. Adopting this approach, the paper draws on examples from national and international criminal justice to illustrate how the hegemony of penal ideology and its implementation compromises the ability of sentencing outcomes to resonate with the trial‘s ‘relevant audience’. The paper then focuses on how penal ideology influences the construction of the factual basis for sentencing in international criminal trials, and considers the consequences of this for the perceived ‘legitimacy’ of international trial justice.     

Self-Representation versus Assignment of Defence Counsel before International Criminal Tribunals

After examining the drafting history of Article 14 of the UNCovenant on Civil and Political Rights, which lays down a defendant'sright ‘to defend himself in person or through legal assistanceof his own choosing’ — the relevant national andinternational case law and scholarly commentary — theauthor argues that the underlying purpose of the right at issueis to ensure a fair trial. This objective can best be met incases of former leaders accused of international crimes by assigningthe defendant a highly qualified attorney who is vigilantlycommitted to representing his client's interests. In his view,there are two main reasons why a court in international crimestrial should be able to require the defendant to work throughcounsel: (1) the likelihood that a defendant will act in a disruptivemanner; and (2) the unique need in a complex international crimescase for an orderly trial.     

Internationalisation of R&D and embeddedness: the case of Austria

Internationalisation of corporate R&D—driven mainly by multinational enterprises (MNEs)—has received increasing interest recently. As a small open economy, Austria faces special challenges with regard to this on-going process. The share of Austrian R&D financed from abroad is outstanding in international comparison. Indeed, a significant portion of R&D activities in Austria is defined by strategic decisions of international corporations, which are re-assessing their spatial division of labour continuously. In our paper, we analyse the characteristics of these foreign-owned corporations in Austria and demonstrate that they form the more ‘modern’ part of Austrian industry. At the same time, we show that these companies and R&D facilities are embedded in the Austrian national innovation system (NIS) to a large extent. This embeddedness is also explicitly and implicitly supported by the Austrian technology policy. We conclude that this high degree of embeddedness in the NIS may be crucial for the sustainability of foreign-owned R&D facilities.

An Inquiry into the Turkish 'School' of International Law

This paper seeks to examine major Turkish textbooks of publicinternational law, focusing particularly on a small number ofcore areas in this discipline: historical origins and basicfeatures; formal sources; main subjects; the law of territory;international law and development. These textbooks show a stronginclination towards Eurocentrism and positivism due to theirdenial of the vigour of ‘soft law’, as manifestedfor instance in UN General Assembly resolutions, and of theirmarginal treatment of ‘international law and development’.What is more, substantive issues of international law are notdiscussed in a critical way; rather the procedures of the disciplineare given priority. This is almost to suggest that Turkish internationallaw scholars hold the view that their raison d’êtreis confined to ‘technical expertise’, and that therelationship between law, other disciplines and society liesoutside their domain. In the final analysis, therefore, thehard core of issues integral to international law and havinga deep impact on international politics, such as the searchfor a New International Economic Order (NIEO), the principleof self-determination and human rights are either entirely bypassedor treated only very narrowly in Turkish international law textbooks.     

Domestic Courts’ Reading of International Norms: A Semiotic Analysis

This article focuses on a number of cases in international law in which US domestic courts have produced judgments that conflict with those given by the International Court of Justice. The nature of these courts’ judgments has been extremely closely tied to the interpretation given by the US national Executive to a certain international norm. This situation raises a number of questions, which can be broadly categorized into two spheres: the legal (regarding the overall legality of the courts’ decisions) and the semiotic (regarding the manner in which a ‘meaning’ for the norm has been claimed by the courts). In this article we aim to provide answers to a number of these questions, both from the standpoint of international law and from that of a reader-response model of semiosis. We also analyse the level of interdependency that exists between the two spheres.     

Interactions between National and International Criminal Law in the Preliminary Phase of Trial at the ICC

The author discusses the interaction between international andnational law in determining whether a case is admissible fromthe viewpoint of complementarity (Article 17 of the Statuteof the International Criminal Court) and with regard to theconcept of ‘interests of justice’ (Article 53 ofthe same Statute). Complementarity does not separate nationalfrom international criminal jurisdiction; nor does it put themin conflict with each other — rather, it favours the aforementionedinteraction. In addition, the concepts of ‘ability’and ‘willingness’ tend to ensure an indirect harmonizationof national criminal systems around common international criteria.As for reliance on the notion of ‘interests of justice’when determining whether to initiate proceedings, accordingto the author, Article 53 envisages a compromise between prosecutorialdiscretion and strict legality, thereby enshrining a hybridizationbetween various national traditions. The author notes that thedecision to open investigations should be objective and foreseeable;to this end, she suggests some general criteria, which are intendedto serve as guidelines for establishing whether, in a specificcase, the interests of justice warrant the initiation of proceedings.