American Journal of International Law 

About: American Journal of International Law is an academic journal published by American Society of International Law. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): International law & Human rights. It has an ISSN identifier of 0002-9300. Over the lifetime, 8479 publications have been published receiving 113133 citations. The journal is also known as: The American Journal of International Law.

The Emerging Right to Democratic Governance

Abstract: Legitimacy in 1991 flows not from the barrel of a gun but from the will of the people. U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III I know what real democracy is, what democracy is worth. A thirty-seven-year-old Soviet lieutenant colonel who early on sided with anticoup forces More than two centuries have elapsed since the signatories of the U.S. Declara^ tion of Independence sought to manifest two radical propositions. The first is that governments, instituted to secure the “unalienable rights” of their citizens, derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” We may call this the “democratic entitlement.” The second proposition, perhaps less noted by commentators, is that a nation earns “separate and equal station” in the community of states by demonstrating “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.” The authors of the Declaration apparently believed that the legitimacy of the new Confederation of American States was not made evident solely by the transfer of power from Britain but also needed to be acknowledged by “mankind.” This we may perceive as a prescient glimpse of the legitimating power of the community of nations.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Abstract: The United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) took place in Rome at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization from June 15 to July 17, 1998 The participants numbered 160 states, thirty-three intergovernmental organizations and a coalition of 236 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) The conference concluded by adopting the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by a nonrecorded vote of 120 in favor, 7 against and 21 abstentions The United States elected to indicate publicly that it had voted against the statute France, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation supported the statute

Lawyers, Judges, and the Making of a Transnational Constitution

Abstract: Tucked away in the fairyland Duchy of Luxembourg and blessed, until recently, with benign neglect by the powers that be and the mass media, the Court of Justice of the European Communities has fashioned a constitutional framework for a federal-type structure in Europe. From its inception a mere quarter of a century ago, the Court has construed the European Community Treaties in a constitutional mode rather than employing the traditional international law methodology. Proceeding from its fragile jurisdictional base, the Court has arrogated to itself the ultimate authority to draw the line between Community law and national law. Moreover, it has established and obtained acceptance of the broad principle of direct integration of Community law into the national legal orders of the member states and of the supremacy of Community law within its limited but expanding area of competence over any conflicting national law.

Elazar, Barkan. The Guilt of Nations: Restitution and Negotiating Historical Injustices

Abstract: namely, political interference in the ind ic tment process—is unth inkable . In s tepping down from the ICTY in 1996, Goldstone m a d e good his promise to Mandela that he would re tu rn to the country 's new Constitutional Court . He left T h e Hague with a valuable par t ing gift: the astute identification of a capable successor in the person of Louise Arbour . So Richard Goldstone can take credit for the ICTY's accomplishments no t only dur ing his own regnum, bu t also, to an extent , for the three years that followed. Like all good volumes having a substantial autobiographical componen t , Goldstone 's has plenty of intriguing anecdotes. O n e that I particularly enjoyed was of a 1996 recept ion with Q u e e n Beatrix of the Nether lands . T h e South African Deputy-President F. W. de Klerk was on an official visit to T h e Hague . Goldstone, as a dist inguished South African resident in the capital, was invited to the event. Over d inner , the two of them, de Klerk and Goldstone, advised the Dutch queen on places she should see dur ing he r forthcoming state visit to South Africa. Goldstone naively suggested she visit the War Museum in Bloemfontein, to which de Klerk added that there she would see how the British had t reated Afrikaners in concentra t ion camps in a way no different than the Nazis. Q u e e n Beatrix p o u n c e d on de Klerk, asking how he dared to make such comparisons. By now a knowledgeable criminal lawyer, Goldstone a t tempted to ease the tension in explaining how the Nazis h a d acted with criminal intent , whereas the British had acted with criminal neglect, an explanat ion he admits was \"rather inadequate\" bu t e n o u g h to pe rmi t a diplomatic change of subject. Goldstone cont inues to contr ibute , in myriad ways, to the internat ional h u m a n rights movement , and seems almost as visible in his role as a nat ional j u d g e as he was as an internat ional prosecutor . In July 1998, for example , the Rome Statute of the Internat ional Criminal Court was adopted . Whe the r or no t to allow an \" independent\" prosecutor—or, in the j a r g o n of the negotiations, a proprio motu prosecutor with autonomous authority to initiate indictments— remained one of the most divisive issues until the very end. O p p o n e n t s of the idea invoked the spectre of a \"Dr. Strangelove Prosecutor,\" of a politically unaccountable zealot with a grudge against the mili-