Courts

American International Law Cases: Third Series (Oceana: 2001) [Vol. 1 of 5] ISBN 0-379-21342-7. Price: None given.

This is a handy collection of primarily federal trial court level cases--mostly published--presenting issues arising under International Law. The organizational scheme of the first volume is as follows: I. International Law in General; II. Territories (presumably contained in another volume); and III. Procedure. The remaining volumes cover: IV. Diplomacy & Diplomatic Immunity; V. Treaties & Agreements; VI. Aliens; VII. International Organizations; VIII. War, Belligerency & Neutrality; IX. International Trade; X. Customs; XI. Environmental Law; XII. International Communications; XIII. Human Rights; and XV. Criminal Law.

Access to content is facilitated by each volume’s Table of Cases and a Consolidated Table of Cases in the fifth volume. Counsel of record are listed. These cases are complete, and are presented without any editorial enhancements such as headnotes–which would make this collection far more expensive. Its primary value is the editorial organization of civil and criminal cases, all published in 2001 (in the first volume), with various subsections in each of the above fifteen main sections.

B. Patel (ed.), The World Court Reference Guide: Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice 1922-2000 (Kluwer: 2002) ISBN 90-411-19078. Price: Euro 195.

This is a rich indexing addition to the literature on the work product of the two World Courts. It provides a novel form of access to the seventy-nine PCIJ contentious cases and advisory opinions, and the ninety-eight such matters of the ICJ–thus covering nearly eight decades and 177 judicial dispositions in one volume. The gap filled by this book includes not only the procedural history of each case, but the people associated with its evolution and disposition. As Shabtai Rosenne sates in the Introduction, "The Court is not an abstract entity but a body of human beings working together ... and the practitioner and any student of the Court frequently need to know something about the people concerned in a case."

It also indexes the Statute, Rules of Court, lists of treaties, and other documents applied in each case. It provides a quite useful abstract of the statement of original claims, counter-claims, original questions for advisory opinion analysis, citations, texts, duration of various phases, public sittings, composition of the Court, headnotes, text of operative paragraphs, final paragraphs, names of judges–all in an intuitive format. It is thus a brilliantly conceived research tool for any user in need of such detailed information about the various cases and opinions in the Court’s history.

The essential organizing theme is in three parts: cases and opinions of the PCIJ, ICJ cases, and then ICJ advisory opinions. The cases are further subdivided into various sections. There is an introductory section that includes how the case was instituted, the original claim/question, basis for jurisdiction, and statement of any counterclaim. The author refers to pages and paragraph numbers, a device which greatly enhances access to the content of this book and the overall work of these two courts. Thumbing through the Table of Contents and its Index quickly illustrates the utility of this handy reference guide to the work of the World Court(s).

M. Franda, Launching Into Cyberspace: Internet Development and Politics in Five World Regions (Lynne Reinner: 2002) [paper: 295] ISBN 1-58826-037-2. Price US $22.00.

This book provides insight into the Internet’s impact on world politics in its various regions. Its chapter assessments include Africa, Israel, the Middle East, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union nations, China, and India. The book contributes a resource-rich study of comparative politics and international relations in the above and sometimes polar national settings.

The polar positions about Internet’s impact are: (1) it is a device established by people acting outside of both government control and the existing international order–which will one day be resistant to many international institutions, including States; and (2) the opposite extreme, whereby governments will ultimately realize the threat of "Internet activists," such that network architectures will evolve into control of the Internet structure and the assumption of positions of power never contemplated, even in modern times. The author advocates an interim position, whereby the relationship between the Internet and international relations is not evolving to the point where either extreme is inevitable.

All nations have accomplished some degree of Internet control by regulating legal controls within and between nations. But meddling bureaucrats have been counterbalanced by varied judicial challenges in ways suggesting the promotion of democratic societies. This book provides a valuable analysis of the complex nature of Internet’s impact on international relations in these formative years of its existence (transcending its earlier exclusive governmental/military applications). It is actually the second in a related series of works, the first focusing on events occurring in the advanced societies including North America, Europe, and Japan (Franda, Governing the Internet). The geographical areas for this ensuing book were selected because of the distinctly different responses to, and how each is likely to shape, the evolution of the future of the Internet.

° S. Dillon, International Trade and Economic Law and the European Union (Hart: 2002) [paper: 391] ISBN 1-84113-113-X. Price: 25 English pounds.

Gender Perspectives

H. Chatsworth & C. Chinkin, The Boundaries of International Law: A Feminist Analysis (Juris: 2000) [paper: 414] ISBN 0-7190-3739-5. Price: US $52.00.

There is now a cornucopia of publications presenting the various faces of this critical, but somewhat neglected, feature of International Law. This first book-length treatment richly adorns a sprouting thicket of articles, by comprehensively analyzing the essential question about why gender matters in International Law. Its key assertion is that the evolution of International Law yielded a somewhat narrow application which effectively legitimated, rather than confronting, the unequal role of women in a variety of contexts. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels ... for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict." Its promulgation, shortly after this book was published, is certain to provide added impetus to this movement.

The ten chapters begin with a background explanation of the problem, including feminist theories regarding International Law, and an exploration of the important public-private distinction which has served as a basis for avoiding State responsibility for acts of non-State actors. The various sources such as treaties, sovereign immunity, Statehood, organizations, and force are all skillfully brought to bear upon the authors’ thesis regarding the need to rethink the boundaries of International Law. Otherwise, "the traditional rules of international law fail to respond to the new realities of the [current] global order" (p.337).

H. Kusha, The Sacred Law of Islam: A Case Study of Women’s Treatment in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Criminal Justice System (Ashgate: 2002) [314] ISBN 1-84014-729-6. Price: US $89.95.

The author is a professor at Texas A & M International University. His contribution provides much needed insight into Islam’s basic Sharia (Sacred) Law based on the Qur’an, which replaced the secular justice system established in 1925. It focuses on how women fare under Iran’s system of justice. A comprehensive set of tables are sprinkled throughout this work to provide significant access to its content (e.g., literacy rates by gender, area and population dynamics, and social, economic status of persons executed for political crimes, and indigent females and males stoned to death in Iran). Professor Kusha herein provides a comprehensive but succinct challenge to the contemporary government’s claim that its application of the Sharia emulates the Prophet Muhammad’s style of adjudication, as applied to the women of Iran.

Chen Huiping, OECD’s Multilateral Agreement on Investment (Kluwer) [156] ISBN 90-411-8893-2 Price: Euro 70.

This is a polished Ph.D. thesis (Leiden University), prepared by a member of the Xiamen University Law School of Fujian, China. She analyzes the OECD’s Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) Negotiating Text–which is essentially the international investment code. The author assesses the flaws which she believes now pose barriers to the very nations which could most benefit. The MAI’s closed negotiations process, although partially designed to benefit developing nations, has worked to the contrary. Its treatment of foreign investors, the nature of investment itself, and the MAI dispute resolution mechanism all operate adversely to the needs of developing countries.

The author’s command of the English language places her in an unusually good position to present such perspectives to western readers. She has wisely organized her assessment into nine quite readable and well documented chapters, including the following: an overview of the MAI negotiations; general features of the resulting MAI--which are not well known, even in developing nations; treatment of foreign investors; investment protection devices; and the MAI’s dispute resolution mechanism. This assessment of the "Rich Man’s Club," as she describes it, all combine to provide a rather provocative snapshot of the salient features of the MAI and its shortcomings for developing societies. It is a "must read" for not only the teacher and the student of international economics, but also the informed entrepreneur.

Law and Judicial Systems of Nations (4^th rev. ed. WJA: Wash., DC) [653] ISBN: none given. Price: US $180.00 (print or CD-ROM).

The World Jurist Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has collated the contributions of some 200 worldwide experts to meet the significant challenge of intelligently summarizing the judicial systems of 193 nations between two covers. (Its editor has wisely excluded Afghanistan and East Timor, to assure both completeness and excellence in the coverage provided in this new edition).

The organizational scheme provides useful indicia of the basic legal system of each country. The national sections include the classification of lawyers, requirements for the practice of law, legal education institutions, court structure (civilian, military, etc.), derivation of the legal system. This book is also "webified," in the sense that it includes numerous website footnote references which greatly expand the legion of useful information available in this handy guide. This work will thus be a valuable addition to both the public and private libraries of practicing lawyers, diplomats, academics, or any researcher in need of the structural essentials of the legal system of all nations.

A. Schnable & R. Thakur (ed.), Kosovo and the Challenge of Humanitarian Intervention: Selective Indignation, Collective Action, and International Citizenship (UN Univ: 2000) [paper: 536] ISBN 92-808-1050-2. Price: none given.

This significant contribution to the literature on the Kosovo conflict consists of thirty-one individually-authored chapters by experts in the field of humanitarian intervention. After a succinct introduction, the seven parts of this collection provide a well-documented, superbly written guide to the humanitarian challenge posed by the only area of the world being run by an international organization. Kosovo also has the potential to reach another political flash point at any moment, as news headlines in Europe repeatedly address the question of its ultimate status, which could be disrupted by the delicate balance being maintained by the UN and various other States and organizations dedicated to keeping this powder keg from erupting into yet another Balkans war.

Part One generally chronicles the scenario, followed by the Part Two and Three assessments of the major national players and their respective interests in Kosovo. Part Four offers a potpourri of international perspectives regarding humanitarian intervention in the Muslim world, Latin America, South Africa, and India. Part Five presents the major challenges in this post-conflict society. Parts Six and Seven then move on to other important perspectives, including the media, developing global awareness, and how Kosovo has challenged traditional concepts regarding the use of force (e.g., humanitarian intervention without Chapter Seven authority from the UN).

The variety of well-conceived perspectives contained in this handy volume make it a "must" for any public or private collection which specializes in the use of force and humanitarian intervention. The International Law generalist should also consider this book for a better understanding Kosovo’s contemporary challenge to conventional international legal theory.

° Compilation of Legal Materials Related to Kosovo (Ver. 3 ABA: 2002) CD-ROM. Price: none given.

M. Katayanagi, Human Rights Functions of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (Martinus Nijhoff: 2002) [316] ISBN 90-411-1910-8. Price: Euro 100.

UN forces have received a significant share of attention in contemporary, post-Cold War use of force analyses. This provocative contribution focuses on two main functions of UN peacekeeping: State uses of force which surpass acceptable self-defense limitations and inhibit the curative effect of the responsive multilateral human rights initiatives by peackeeping forces.

The UN Security Council is addressing the many faces of human rights violations as threats to peace. The author thus invokes the rather diverse case studies of El Salvador, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia–to provide a richly adorned backdrop for re-assessing UN peacekeeping operations as a mode for penetrating State-based sovereign immunity defenses to international security efforts. The author, an experienced peacekeeping operative, convincingly illustrates how future operations must include more coercive methods to deflect traditional State-imposed barriers to matching word (peacekeeping) with deed (peacemaking).

Self-Determination

D. Raic, Statehood and the Law of Self-Determination (Kluwer: 2002) [495] ISBN 90-411-1980-X. Price: Euro 125.

This is a particularly well-written and documented addition to the growing body of literature on self-determination. It provides a succinct but comprehensive treatment of the subject, in a manner befitting both the novice and seasoned academic. Part I focuses on Statehood; Part II, Self-determination; and Part III, an integrated amalgam of the two. The author thus provides a fascinating snapshot of contemporary factors in the formulation of modern Statehood.

The last decade has produced the rather diverse dissolutions of the Soviet Union, the more violent breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and comparatively nonviolent changes in State infrastructure (e.g., the former Czechoslovakia). The end of decolonization has not resulted in clonish State-like entities springing into existence across the globe. Self-determination, and its more stunning corollary–the so-called right of unilateral secession–have clashed with traditional notions of State sovereignty. The State supposedly exercises its right to secure that sovereignty from both within and without its borders. Yet, the international community of nations seems poised to support changes in State territory. The author’s essential purpose, then, is to help the reader assess the question of when does an entity qualify as a "State" under International Law and what is the supposed role of self-determination in that process?

P. Van Krieken, Terrorism and the International Legal Order: with Special Reference to the Un, the Eu and Cross-border Aspects (TMC Asser: 2002) [482] ISBN 90-6704-148-3. Price: none given.

The results and causes of September 11, 2001 have been the primary literary focus of the last dozen-and-a-half months of international legal discourse. This particular analysis is an unusually perceptive and provocative contribution to the rich vein of insight about the appropriate legal framework for combating domestic and international terrorism. It covers a fascinating and intricate web of jurisdiction, extradition, safe havens, international instruments and institutions. It provides a comprehensive but succinct journey through the basics of International Law–now existing in a somewhat symbiotic relationship with domestic legislative reactions which do not readily dovetail with basic human rights instruments.

Dr. Van Krieken’s work is thus a "must have" for any International Law collection, especially public or private libraries in universities, embassies, and governmental institutions which must now concentrate on the numerous faces of terrorism. This work will prominently occupy center stage in the reading and the successful waging of today’s "war on terrorism."

United Nations Yearbook Collection : 1946-1999, Network Version Volumes 1-53 (UN: 2002) CD-ROM Price: US $500.00 (renewals $150.00).

Having had the pleasure of reviewing the latest annual volume of the UN Yearbook in a recent issue of this publication, the recent appearance of the CD-ROM version of Volumes 1-53 (two CDs) provides a remarkable opportunity to once again sing its praises on a grand scale. This version is a veritable librarian’s and researcher’s dream come true: one can not only save voluminous shelf space, but also have ready access to content in an electronic format.

The raison d'etre of our ASIL section is to promote better understanding of the UN and its incalculable contribution to the pressing issues of the day. This UN role is no more evident than in the late 2002 context in which the organization finds itself as the US is poised to go to war with Iraq.

One can conveniently trace, and readily access, the UN’s evolution over the last five decades through 1999–and beyond, as renewals become available. Navigation is simple. One chooses a particular year, not unlike the search for resolutions on <www.un.org>. Then, one can browse or conduct an index search. Two caveats: (1) one may need to uninstall Adobe Acrobat Reader (AR), and then reinstall the latest version, to ensure full search capabilities. Instructions are provided; and (2) one should peruse the AR help files, unless you are already proficient in using AR.

It almost goes without saying that no collection would be complete, even if one housed all 53 volumes, with this incredibly handy CD-ROM version. This is clearly an example of "value added" by the current availability of the UN’s annual yearbooks in a far more searchable format than the print indexes.