Over the past sixty-four years, the world has progressed from the first man in space to landing on the moon, to permanent human presence on manned space stations. Mankind is now poised to explore even further. As the Augustine Commission wrote, ―The human exploration of space is historically intertwined with the recent evolution of America‘s international relationships.” Because of this global dimension, the competition of the 1960s space race and the cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS) were analyzed for lessons for the future. According to Launius, “Mirror image…
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ARM CONFLICT IN 21ST CENTURY : THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY
In International Human Rights Law(IHRL), victims have been defined as persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power. Offences in contravention of the laws of war are considered criminal offences and therefore, those who have suffered as a result of any offences conducted in the course of an armed conflict as…
Read MoreA FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF ILLEGAL AGRO-CONVERSION AND NATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR FOREST AND LAND AND TYPOLOGY OF ILLEGALITIES
Governments establish a legislative framework – policies, laws, and regulations – in order to best manage their resources. This framework should be developed to incorporate “good governance” principles, including: participatory and equitable policies and laws; transparent and efficient processes, reinforced by monitoring and evaluation; effective implementation that achieves policy objectives, including through enforcement where necessary; and accountability, including anti‐fraud and anti‐corruption mechanisms; all underlain by the application of the rule of law. A country’s legislative framework should advance four primary and legitimate objectives of the state with respect to its…
Read MoreMONUMENTAL TRIUMPH AND OUTCOMES FROM THE CLIMATE CHANGE REGIME
The adoption of the 2015 Paris Agreement has been widely celebrated as a ‘monumental triumph’ (UN News 2015). It enshrines a ‘new logic’ of global cooperation, representing a decisive shift away from the top-down regulatory approach that had previously underpinned the international climate change regime. This shift can best be understood in light of the historical evolution of the legal and institutional framework for global collaborative climate action. This policy brief provides a comprehensive overview of the development of the global climate change regime. It documents how climate change –initially…
Read MoreTHE NEW EMPIRICISM IN HUMAN RIGHTS: INSIGHTS AND IMPLICATIONS(75TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR)
Seventy five years ago, the nations of the world came together to make a revolutionary pledge: Together, they would work to promote “universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Although significant progress has been made toward this goal in the Seventy five years since the world remains rife with human rights abuses and it’s continuing? and in some parts of the world worsening? reality of human rights violations raises a difficult question for advocates and students of international law: Can international human rights law be used…
Read MoreTHE WEAPONIZATION OF OUTER SPACE: HARNESSING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Given the environmental challenges that are unique to the space domain and the exponential increase in the number and different types of actors in space, tenets of cooperation, collaboration, and communication are necessary to avoid unwanted escalation of potential conflicts or friction. The need for clarity and transparency in space is paramount to continued access to and use of space. In the space domain, increased transparency is something from which we can all benefit. Exchange of information, particularly in respect of space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management, must…
Read MoreSPACE TOURISM: PROBLEMS, LIMITATION AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Today, new kinds of space travel are emerging. The year 2001 marked the beginning of space tourism, as a wealthy California businessman, Dennis Tito, became the first paying passenger for a space flight. He paid $20 million to be launched by Soyuz TM-32 via arrangements made between an American company called Space Adventures and a Russian company MirCorp, which oversaw the Mir space station. The ticket sale was to fund the maintenance of the Mir space station; however, a premature deorbit decision diverted Tito’s destination to the International Space Station…
Read MoreHUMANITARIAN GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES FOR HUMANITARIAN AID AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Our notion that humanitarian governance must be understood as the interplay of different actors tallies with theories on governance. However, writing about humanitarian governance tends to overly focus on the international humanitarian system, neglecting local and national actors’ involvement. Also, governance theories of the 1990s show that state power is layered and fragmented, and that attaining collective purposes is not solely the domain of the state. The shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’, showed how “the state becomes a collection of inter-organizational networks made up of governmental and societal actors with…
Read MoreDISAPPEARING STATES, STATELESSNESS AND RELOCATION
Among the various environmental problems that cause the displacement of people from their habitats, none rivals the potential effects of sea level rise as a result of human-induced changes in the earth ́s climate. Lately, the climate change discourse has become aware of a possible consequence of climate change, the disappearance of the entire territory of a state. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determines that the earth is warming up. The linear warming trend for the last 50 years is twice that compared to the same over 100…
Read MoreTHE INEVITABLE SPACE MILITARISATION NOT WEAPONISATION
The satellites are increasingly being utilised as dual-use (can be used for both military and non-military purposes). A number of countries own between 10- 20 satellites, but at least 115 countries (approximately) in total own a satellite or a share the resources of one. There are about 529 plus operational dedicated military satellites worldwide, with the US operating approximately 239 satellites and China approximately 140 satellites followed by Russia approximately 105 satellites. These are the three countries with the most military satellites owned outright. Space is emerging as an important…
Read MoreROLE OF LAWS AND POLICIES FOR ADDRESSING THE UNIQUE HUMAN AND BIO-GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAIN AREAS
Law has an important, but by no means exclusive, role to play in promoting and securing the civil, political, economic, cultural and environmental rights of affected groups, and in ensuring that the benefits and burdens of development are equitably distributed. The absence of specific laws and policies for addressing the unique human and bio-geographical characteristics of mountain areas occurs in the context of the broader failure of nation states to develop appropriate domestic and international legal frameworks for human rights and community-based management of renewable natural resources. Indeed, the conservation,…
Read MoreSAFETY STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ROBOTICS
There is currently much discussion on how to ensure Artificial Intelligence(AI) applications do not lead to undesirable outcomes, particularly bias in algorithms that power recommendations such as who is a suitable job candidate. In most of these instances it is important to be able to establish what data the algorithm was trained on to ensure the data is representative as well as how the algorithm reaches its conclusions. Much of the proposed regulation around Artificial Intelligence(AI) – such as the European Commission’s ‘Proposal for a Regulation on a European approach…
Read MoreTHE ROLE OF DOMESTIC SHELL COMPANIES AND OFF SHORE FINANCIAL CENTRES IN FINANCIAL CRIMES
The term “shell company” generally refers to limited liability companies and other business entities with no significant assets or ongoing business activities. Shell companies – formed for both legitimate and illicit purposes – typically have no physical presence other than a mailing address, employ no one, and produce little to no independent economic value. Shell companies are often formed by individuals and businesses to conduct legitimate transactions, such as domestic and cross-border currency and asset transfers, or to facilitate corporate mergers and reorganizations. Shell companies can be publicly traded or…
Read MoreJUDGE: INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPALS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The judicial system in a country is central to the protection of human rights and freedoms. Courts play a major role in ensuring that victims or potential victims of human rights violations obtain effective remedies and protection, that perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice and that anyone suspected of a criminal offence receives a fair trial according to international standards. The judicial system is an essential check and balance on the other branches of government, ensuring that laws of the legislative and the acts of the executive…
Read MoreWORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION 75TH ANNIVERSARY: CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON GLOBAL HEALTH LAW
The political, legal, economic and social contours of the current international landscape present major challenges for global health governance. If ameliorating the most common causes of disease, disability and premature death require global solutions, then the future is demoralizing. The states that bear the disproportionate burden of disease have the least capacity to do anything about it. And the states that have the wherewithal are deeply resistant to expending the political capital and economic resources necessary to truly make a difference to improve health outside their borders. When rich countries…
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