Scholars of culture, humanities and social sciences have increasingly come to an appreciation of the importance of the legal domain in social life, while critically engaged socio-legal scholars around the world have taken up the task of understanding "Law's Empire" in all of its cultural, political, and economic dimensions. The questions arising from these intersections, and addressing imperialisms past and present forms the subject matter of a special symposium issue of Social Identities under the editorship of Griffith University's Rob McQueen, and UBC's Wes Pue and with contributions from McQueen, Ian Duncanson, Renisa Mawani, David Williams, Emma Cunliffe, Chidi Oguamanam, W. Wesley Pue, Fatou Camara, and Dianne Kirkby. This paper introduces the volume, forthcoming in late 2007. The central problematique of this issue has previously been explored through the 2005 Law's Empire conference, an informal but vibrant postcolonial legal studies network.

Law's Empire

Utilization of polymers as biomaterials has greatly impacted the advancement of modern medicine. Specifically, polymeric biomaterials that are biodegradable provide the significant advantage of being able to be broken down and removed after they have served their function. Applications are wide ranging with degradable polymers being used clinically as surgical sutures and implants. In order to fit functional demand, materials with desired physical, chemical, biological, biomechanical and degradation properties must be selected. Fortunately, a wide range of natural and synthetic degradable polymers has been investigated for biomedical applications with novel materials constantly being developed to meet new challenges. This review summarizes the most recent advances in the field over the past 4 years, specifically highlighting new and interesting discoveries in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications.

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Biomedical Applications of Biodegradable Polymers

The International Criminal Court has ushered in a new era in the protection of human rights. Protecting against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, the Court acts when national justice systems are unwilling or unable to do so. Written by the leading expert in the field, the fourth edition of this seminal text considers the Court in action: its initial rulings, cases it has prosecuted and cases where it has decided not to proceed, such as Iraq. It also examines the results of the Review Conference, by which the crime of aggression was added to the jurisdiction of the Court and addresses the political context, such as the warming of the United States to the Court and the increasing recognition of the inevitability of the institution.

https://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/07541/frontmatter/9780521707541_frontmatter.pdf

An Introduction to the International Criminal Court

Mesoporous SBA-15 HPLC evaluation for controlled gentamicin drug delivery.

Written by a team of international lawyers with extensive academic and practical experience of international criminal law, the fourth edition of this leading textbook offers readers comprehensive coverage and a high level of academic rigour while maintaining its signature accessible and engaging style. Introducing the readers to the fundamental concepts of international criminal law, as well as the domestic and international institutions that enforce that law, this book engages with critical questions, political and moral challenges, and alternatives to international justice. Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics and practitioners in the field, and cited by the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and the highest courts in domestic systems, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about international criminal law.

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An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure

On July 17, 1998, the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (Rome Conference) adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). One of the many significant provisions of the ICC statute is Article 7, which defines “crimes against humanity” for the purpose of the ICC. A significant difference between the definition in the ICC statute and the major precedents on crimes against humanity is that the former definition was not imposed by victors (as were those in the Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters) or by the Security Council (as were those in the Statutes of the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals). In contrast, Article 7 was developed through multilateral negotiations involving 160 states. For this reason, one could reasonably expect Article 7 to be more detailed than previous definitions, given the interest of participating states in knowing the precise contours of the corresponding obligations they would be undertaking. For the same reason, one might expect the definition to be more restrictive than previous definitions. Fortunately, although the definition in the ICC statute is more detailed than previous definitions, it generally seems to reflect most of the positive developments identified in recent authorities. For example, the definition does not require any nexus to armed conflict, does not require proof of a discriminatory motive, and recognizes the crime of apartheid and enforced disappearance as inhumane acts.

Defining “Crimes Against Humanity” at the Rome Conference

With the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, many issues which were once theoretical will soon have significant practical ramifications. Prominent among these is whether and when the ICC might defer to national reconciliation programmes that involve amnesties. This article discusses the provisions of the Statute that might allow deference and suggests propositions for the ICC. First, given the mandate of the ICC and the imperative of removing expectations of impunity for serious international crimes, prosecution is of the highest importance. Second, in situations of transition from mass violence, involving large numbers of perpetrators, the ICC could nevertheless defer to a national programme whereby only those most responsible are prosecuted and low-level offenders are dealt with by non-prosecutorial alternatives (truth commissions). Third, national programmes whereby amnesties may be sought even by those persons most responsible for international crimes are most unlikely to garner deference, but it is at least conceivable that the ICC could conclude that it would not be in the 'interests of justice' to interfere with a democratically adopted, good faith alternative programme that creatively advanced accountability objectives. Finally, blanket amnesties could never warrant deference, as they are the antithesis of the ICC; even in situations of extreme political necessity, to accept a blanket amnesty would be for the ICC to succumb to blackmail.

Serving the Interests of Justice: Amnesties, Truth Commissions and the International Criminal Court

An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure: Index

The general narrative of international criminal law (ICL) declares that the system adheres in an exemplary manner to the fundamental principles of a liberal criminal justice system. These fundamental principles distinguish a liberal system of criminal justice from an authoritarian system. However, recent scholarship has increasingly questioned the adherence of various ICL doctrines to such principles. The object of inquiry in this article is the discourse in ICL: the assumptions and forms of argumentation that are regarded as sound reasoning with appropriate liberal aims, and how these forms of reasoning in fact engender contradictions with the liberal values proclaimed by the system. This article argues that, in drawing (as it necessarily did) on national criminal law as well as international human rights and humanitarian law, ICL absorbed contradictory assumptions and methods of reasoning. These contradictions in reasoning lead to contradictions in doctrine and departures from the stated principles of the system. The article explores three modes by which the assumptions of human rights liberalism subtly undermine the criminal law liberalism to which the system aspires. These modes include: interpretive approaches, substantive and structural conflation and ideological assumptions. The identity crisis theory helps explain how a liberal system of criminal justice - one that strives to serve as a model for liberal systems - has come to embrace illiberal doctrines. The article argues that we need to critically examine not only what we think, but how we think, in order to advance ICL as a coherent discipline.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1718688_code1010966.pdf?abstractid=1127851&mirid=3

Darryl Robinson

Papers

An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure

Defining “Crimes Against Humanity” at the Rome Conference

Serving the Interests of Justice: Amnesties, Truth Commissions and the International Criminal Court

An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure: Index

The Identity Crisis of International Criminal Law