Exceptions In International Law

Many international obligations are subject to exceptions. These can be expressed in several ways: an obligation may be vitiated by the presence of one of its constitutive negative requirements, an obligation may be set aside by the application of another more specific rule, or an actor might have a right to act in a certain way notwithstanding a contrary obligation. Exceptions are also of fundamental practical importance: for example, they affect the allocation of the burden of proof. This volume provides a systematic and analytic study of exceptions to legal obligations in international law and defences for breaches of these obligations. It features contributions written by legal philosophers, who introduce various theoretical approaches to the role of exceptions, and scholars of international law, who elaborate on generic issues applicable to exceptions in international law as well as examine specific issues arising from exceptions in their respective areas of expertise. Topics covered include the use of force, international criminal law, human rights, trade, investment, environment, and jurisdictional immunities.

This book provides an overview of disability exceptions to copyright infringement and the international and human rights legal framework for disability rights and exceptions. The focus is on those exceptions as they apply to visual art, while the book presents a comprehensive study of copyright’s disability exceptions per se and the international and human rights law framework in which they are situated. 3D printing now allows people with a visual impairment to experience 3D reproductions of paintings, drawings and photographs through touch. At the same time, the uncertain application of existing disability exceptions to these reproductions may generate concerns about legal risk, hampering sensory art projects and reducing inclusivity and equity in cultural engagement by people with a visual impairment. The work adopts an interdisciplinary approach, with contributions from diverse stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, cultural institutions and the 3D printing industry. The book sketches the scene relating to sensory art projects. Experts in intellectual property, human rights, disability and art law then critically analyse the current legal landscape relating to disability access to works of visual art at both international and regional levels, as well as across a broad representative sample of national jurisdictions, and identify where legal reform is required. This comparative analysis of the laws aims to better inform stakeholders of the applicable legal landscape, the legal risks and opportunities associated with sensory art and the opportunities for reform and best practice guidelines, with the overarching goal of facilitating international harmonisation of the law and enhanced inclusivity.

Jürgen Kurtz provides a theoretically grounded and doctrinally tractable framework to understand the relationship between international trade and investment law.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of national security exceptions in international trade and investment agreements. The subject has gained particular relevance in the past few years, as both the United States and the Russian Federation have invoked national security as justification for trade-restrictive measures in the context of WTO dispute settlement proceedings. The book describes the evolution of security exceptions in international economic law, from the GATT 1947 to the most recent economic treaties, such as the 2017 Buenos Aires Protocol for Intra-Mercosur Investment and the 2018 USMCA. Further, it presents an overview of the rich array of adjudicatory practices addressing national security clauses, covering the decisions of WTO dispute settlement bodies, the ICJ, and numerous investment arbitral tribunals. To this end, the book addresses the debates surrounding the alleged self-judging character of security exceptions and the standards of review applicable where the exception is considered to be justiciable.

The main challenges within international human rights law are generally thought to be in the fields of transitional justice, non-state actors, terrorism, development, poverty and environmental degradation. This volume of articles not only covers these mainstream challenges but also a wider and more systematic range, including justiciability of social and economic rights, extraterritoriality, health care and investment arbitration. The key literature selected for this collection includes articles that have appeared in mainstream journals and books from leading publishers as well as papers that have appeared in lesser known journals, hard to find books and UN documents. Some of these are classic essays whilst others are more recent additions that reflect the current state of the debate. The papers are put into context by a specially commissioned introduction by the volume editor. This volume is an invaluable resource for human rights lawyers in search of the key literature in fields outside their own specialization as well as for students, researchers and lecturers seeking an overview of the challenges in human rights law.

In the process of resolving disputes, it is not uncommon for parties to justify actions otherwise in breach of their obligations by invoking the need to protect some aspect of the elusive concept of public order. Until this thoroughly researched book, the criteria and factors against which international dispute bodies assess such claims have remained unclear. Now, by providing an in-depth comparative analysis of relevant jurisprudence under four distinct international dispute resolution systems – trade, investment, human rights and international commercial arbitration – the author of this invaluable book identifies common core benchmarks for the application of the public order exception. To achieve the broadest possible scope for her analysis, the author examines the public order exception’s function, role and application within the following international dispute resolution systems: relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements as enforced by the organization’s Dispute Settlement Body and Appellate Body; international investment agreements as enforced by competent Arbitral Tribunals and Annulment Committees under the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes; provisions under the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights as enforced by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, respectively; and the New York Convention as enforced by national tribunals across the world. Controversies, tensions and pitfalls inherent in invoking the public order exception are elucidated, along with clear guidelines on how arguments may be crafted in order to enhance prospects of success. Throughout, tables and graphs systematize key aspects of the relevant jurisprudence under each of the dispute resolution systems analysed. As an immediate practical resource for lawyers on any side of a dispute who wish to invoke or strengthen a public order exception claim, the book’s systematic analysis will be welcomed by lawyers active in WTO disputes, international investment arbitration, human rights law or enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Academics and policymakers will find a signal contribution to the ongoing debate on the existence, legal basis, content and functions of the transnational public order.

Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens): Disquisitions and Dispositions is a collection of contributions on various aspects of jus cogens in international law.

Despite the unprecedented growth of arbitration and other means of ADR in treaties and transnational contracts in recent years, there remains no clearly defined mechanism for control of the system. One of the oldest yet largely marginalized concepts in law is the public policy exception. This doctrine grants discretion to courts to set aside private legal arrangements, including arbitration, which might be considered harmful to the "public". The exceptional and vague nature of the doctrine, along with the strong push of actors in dispute resolution, has transformed it, in certain jurisdictions, to a toothless doctrine. At the international level, the notion of transnational public policy has been devised in order to capture norms that are "truly" transnational and amenable for application in cross-border litigations. Yet, despite the importance of this discussion—a safety valve and a control mechanism for today’s international and domestic international dispute resolution— no major study has ventured to review and analyze it. This book provides a historical, theoretical and practical background on public policy in dispute resolution with a focus on cross-border and transnational disputes. Farshad Ghodoosi argues that courts should adopt a more systemic approach to public policy while rejecting notions such as transnational public policy, which limits the application of those norms with mandatory nature. Contrary to the current trend, the book invites the reader to re-conceptualize the role of public policy, and transnational dispute resolution, in order to have more sustainable, fair and efficient mechanisms for resolving disputes outside of national courts. The book sheds light on one of the most important yet often-neglected control mechanisms of today’s international dispute resolution and will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of International Investment Law, International Trade Law, Business and Economics.

Many international obligations are subject to exceptions. These can be expressed in several ways: an obligation may be vitiated by the presence of one of its constitutive negative requirements, an obligation may be set aside by the application of another more specific rule, or an actor might have a right to act in a certain way notwithstanding a contrary obligation. Exceptions are also of fundamental practical importance: for example, they affect the allocation of the burden of proof. This volume provides a systematic and analytic study of exceptions to legal obligations in international law and defences for breaches of these obligations. It features contributions written by legal philosophers, who introduce various theoretical approaches to the role of exceptions, and scholars of international law, who elaborate on generic issues applicable to exceptions in international law as well as examine specific issues arising from exceptions in their respective areas of expertise. Topics covered include the use of force, international criminal law, human rights, trade, investment, environment, and jurisdictional immunities.

How should copyright exceptions be drafted? This is a question of ongoing concern in scholarly and law reform debates. In Drafting Copyright Exceptions, Emily Hudson assesses drafting options using insights from the standards and rules literature, and case studies from cultural institutions in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. Drawing on thousands of hours of interviews conducted over fourteen years, the book describes how staff engage with and interpret the law. Whilst some practices are guided strongly by copyright doctrine, others are influenced by the factors such as ethical views, risk assessment, and prosaic matters related to collection management. This work should be read by anyone interested in a detailed account of interpretative practices related to the drafting of copyright exceptions, but it also speaks to broader debates about the relationship between the 'law in books' and the 'law in action'.

This book addresses the relevance of the state of exception for the analysis of law, while reflecting on the deeper symbolic and jurisprudential significance of the coalescence between law and force. The concept of the state of exception has become a central topos in political and legal philosophy as well as in critical theory. The theoretical apparatus of the state of exception sharply captures the uneasy relationship between law, life and politics in the contemporary global setting, while also challenging the comforting narratives that uncritically connect democracy with the tradition of the rule of law. Drawing on critical legal theory, continental jurisprudence, political philosophy and history, this book explores the genealogy of the concept of the state of exception and reflects on its legal embodiment in past and present contexts – including Weimar and Nazi Germany, contemporary Europe and Turkey. In doing so, it explores the disruptive force of the exception for legal and political thought, as it recuperates its contemporary critical potential. The book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of jurisprudence, philosophy and critical legal theory.

This second edition identifies the problems of interpreting WTO agreements, addressing the legislative developments and updating the case law.

Peoples and International Law is the most comprehensive current account of the right of self-determination in international law. The book examines the law of self-determination as the product of the interaction between nationalism and international law. This broad and interdisciplinary work charts this interaction through different aspects of the legal process – in international instruments, judicial decisions, legal obligations and historical context – critically and in extensive detail. The book is essential reading for those with an interest both in peoples’ rights in international law and the study of nationalism.

In this book, leading scholars analyze the important role played by copyright exceptions in economic and cultural productivity.