Despite its Finnish initiative and pedigrees, "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" does not restrict itself to purely Finnish' topics. On the contrary, it reflects the many connections in law between the national and the international. "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" annually publishes articles of high quality dealing with all aspects of international law, including international law aspects of European law, with close attention to developments that affect Finland. Its offerings include: longer articles of a theoretical nature, exploring new avenues and approaches; shorter polemics; commentaries on current international law developments; book reviews; and documentation of relevance to Finland's foreign relations not easily available elsewhere. "The Finnish Yearbook" offers a fertile ground for the expression of and reflection on the connections between Finnish law and international law as a whole and insight into the richness of this interaction.

This book provides a modern and basic introduction to a branch of international law constantly gaining in importance in international life, namely international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict). It is constructed in a way suitable for self-study. The subject-matters are discussed in self-contained chapters, allowing each to be studied independently of the others. Among the subject-matters discussed are, inter alia: the Relationship between jus ad bellum / jus in bello; Historical Evolution of IHL; Basic Principles and Sources of IHL; Martens Clause; International and Non-International Armed Conflicts; Material, Spatial, Personal and Temporal Scope of Application of IHL; Special Agreements under IHL; Role of the ICRC; Targeting; Objects Specifically Protected against Attack; Prohibited Weapons; Perfidy; Reprisals; Assistance of the Wounded and Sick; Definition of Combatants; Protection of Prisoners of War; Protection of Civilians; Occupied Territories; Protective Emblems; Sea Warfare; Neutrality; Implementation of IHL.

Biotechnology is vital to counter biological and toxin weapons. Without biotechnology, the detection, identification and diagnoses of, and medical countermeasures to such weapons would be virtually impossible. As biological and toxin agents occur in natural outbreaks of disease or intoxications, there are both civil and military benefit to be had from the use of biotechnology in providing effective countermeasures to such agents. The role of biotechnology in countering biological and toxin weapons is here addressed under seven major headings: The wider political and economic contexts; Enabling technologies for BTW agent detection; The applicability of biotechnological methods for BTW agent detection on the battlefield, in a terrorist incident, and in an inspection environment; Pre-exposure medical countermeasures; Diagnosis and identification; Post-exposure treatment and decontamination; Contribution of biotechnology to strengthening international conventions against BTW agents.

Groundwater amounts to 97% of available global freshwater resources. Emphasising the crucial importance of this in the context of increasing population, climate change and the overall global water crisis, Francesco Sindico offers a comprehensive study of the emerging body of international law applicable to transboundary aquifers.

Global warming is the most severe environmental challenge faced by humanity today and the costs of responding effectively will be high. While Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol ensures the treaty's entry into force, lack of capacity, or incentives to renege on their commitments, will impede mitigation efforts in many countries. An important prerequisite for the proper functioning of the Protocol is that its compliance system - which is spelled out by the Marrakesh Accords - proves effective. Implementing the Climate Regime describes and analyses Kyoto's compliance system. Organized into four parts, Part I describes the emergence and design of the compliance system, while Part II analyses various challenges to its effective operation - such as the development of norms, verification and the danger that the use of punitive 'consequences' may also hurt compliant countries. Part III discusses the potential role of external enforcement, with particular emphasis on trade sanctions. Part IV addresses the relationship between Kyoto compliance on one hand, and international governance, oil companies and green NGOs on the other.

This major new study examines the developing practice of universal jurisdiction, as well as the broader phenomenon of "globalizing" justice, and its ramifications. With a detailed overview of the contemporary practice of universal jurisdiction, it discerns three trends at work: pure universal jurisdiction, universal jurisdiction "plus", and non-use. It also argues that these disparities in practice should raise serious concerns as to the legitimacy and perceived legitimacy of such globalized justice. It then turns to a further consideration, that of globalized justice, precisely because it takes place far from the locus of the crime, and is therefore "externalized" and may fail to achieve many of its putative goals. In addition, this is a key assessment of civil accountability, through the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act in the United States. It details how the use of civil penalties may offer new avenues for redress, particularly with relation to group accountability, whether that of armed groups or of corporations. However, it balances this approach to accountability with recognition of certain flaws within externalized criminal accountability. This study also focuses on mixed tribunals, or other methods of internationalized justice as viable alternatives, which may avoid some of the problems with external justice, but are themselves far from perfect. Mixed or hybrid tribunals in East Timor and Sierra Leone represent different models of hybrid justice and provide the reader with excellent examples of these new forms of justice in action. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of human rights international law and political science.

'UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called Climate Change "the defining issue of our era". It presents international law and lawyers with a wide range of novel issues, practical as well as conceptual. These challenges are addressed in this volume with great authority by many of the leading international law scholars of our generation. It is an important and distinctive contribution to the burgeoning literature on an issue critical for the future of our planet.' – David Freestone, George Washington University, US Climate change will fundamentally affect every area of human endeavour, including the development of international law. This book maps the current and potential impacts of climate change on the norms, principles, rules and processes of international law. This timely study brings together a group of leading scholars in their respective fields of international law to examine the impacts of climate change, and our responses to it, on the whole spectrum of international legal regimes, including those dealing with everything from climate displacement, human rights, and international trade and investment, to the oceans, the environment, armed conflicts and the use of force, and outer-space. the volume also examines the impacts of climate change on the underlying principles and processes of international law including those relating to the making and enforcement of international law and to third party dispute resolution. the book shows that there is much more to dealing with climate change than negotiating one global climate change-specific regime. Other areas of international law can, and must, be included in the solution. In this way international law can maximise its coherence and its efficacy. This well-documented study will appeal to international lawyers, academics, policy makers, government employees, negotiators, practitioners, international legal theorists and anyone interested in climate change and how to maximise our international legal and policy responses to it.

The Academy is an institution for the study and teaching of Public and Private International Law and related subjects. Its purpose is to encourage a thorough and impartial examination of the problems arising from international relations in the field of law. The courses deal with the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject, including legislation and case law. All courses at the Academy are, in principle, published in the language in which they were delivered in the "Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law," The contents of this volume consist of: - International Protection of the Environment by M.A. FITZMAURICE, Professor at Queen Mary University of London. To access the abstract texts for this volume please click here

The era of technology in which we reside has ushered in a more globalized and connected world. While many benefits are gained from this connectivity, possible disadvantages to issues of human rights are developed as well. Defending Human Rights and Democracy in the Era of Globalization is a pivotal resource for the latest research on the effects of a globalized society regarding issues relating to social ethics and civil rights. Highlighting relevant concepts on political autonomy, migration, and asylum, this book is ideally designed for academicians, professionals, practitioners, and upper-level students interested in the ongoing concerns of human rights.