Looking Beyond the Bancoult Cases: International Law and the Prospect of Resettling the Chagos Islands

During the 1960s, the US government entered into an agreementwith the UK government to construct a military facility in theChagos Archipelago. The UK government excised the Archipelagofrom the colony of Mauritius and created the British IndianOcean Territory (BIOT). Diego Garcia was transferred to theUnited States and the indigenous people of the entire Archipelagowere secretly banished. This process led to their chronic impoverishment.In the Bancoult cases, the English courts held the exile tobe unlawful and that the Chagossian people possess a publiclaw right of abode in the Chagos Islands. This article examineswhether international law can facilitate the resettlement tothe Chagos Islands via recognition of BIOT's non-self-governingstatus. It also explores the prospect of securing compensationfor the loss of ancestral lands by reference to existing andevolving international standards on indigenous rights.     

Police leniency in traffic enforcement encounters: Exploratory findings from observations and interviews

Despite the volume of time officers spend on traffic enforcement encounters, there was limited research exploring how they used their discretion in such interactions. Issues relating to police decision making patterns in the enforcement of motor vehicle laws were particularly salient in light of the on-going debate over racial profiling. This study examined how officers made decisions (in particular, to stop and to sanction) in the course of traffic enforcement. Using field observations and interviews with officers in a small midwestern agency, the authors described the factors and forces that officers used in making discretionary choices. The findings indicated that leniency in sanctioning was very common and that officers expected citizens to be contrite and acknowledge responsibility for their infractions. Implications for larger and more systematic observational studies are discussed.     

Clean Energy Development and China’s Climate Change Bargaining Position:Industry Policy,Innovation and Business Power

<正>This paper analyses developments in China's climate change diplomacy from the perspective of business power and conflict theory.It does so by:(i) accounting for the processes of clean energy industry policy and development in China;(ii) introducing the concept of business power and placing it in the context of climate change;(iii) applying the business power concept to China explore how the development of clean energy industry is expanding China's policy options and changing its bargaining position;and(iv) taking stock of developments thus far and assessing future prospects.It will thereby test both the theoretical proposition that the business power concept is applicable to the Chinese situation,and the empirical proposition that the ongoing development of the national clean energy sector is crucial to China's bargaining position at the international level.