Draft Convention Research Articles

Le concept du contrat du transport maritime de marchandises et les Conventions qui le rglementent

Somalian Piracy constitutes one of the main threats not only to internAlthough the contract of carriage sometimes looks similar to other contracts such as the contract of affreightment and tonnage contract, the legal system that governs it is different. Several Conventions, Protocols or International Rules regulate the carriage of goods. We can mention the American Harter Act, the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 25 August 1924 (The Hague Rules), the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 23 February 1968 (Visby Rules), the Protocol amending the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading of 25 August 1924 (The Hague Rules), as amended by the Protocol of 23 February 1968, signed at Brussels on December 21st, 1979. We can also mention the United Nations International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea adopted in Hamburg on March 31st, 1978 (Hamburg Rules). In an effort to organize the maritime transport of goods in an equitable manner, each Convention is intended to fill the gaps of the previous one and maintain a balance between the various parties to the contract of carriage. At the beginning of the century, each mode of international carriage continues to be governed by autonomous Rules. For the sake of globalization of trade and trade facilitation, jurists acted for the unification of the rules of international carriage. Thus, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted on July 3rd, 2008, the "Draft of Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea". On December 11, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the "the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea", and recommended that the rules laid down in the Convention are from now on known as the "Rules of Rotterdam". This Convention has since then been open to ratification by the states. It shall enter into force one year after the ratification meeting at least twenty states. These Rules have advantages, but they also have some disadvantages. A study of these advantages and disadvantages is interesting.: Piracy, international legal system, International Law, sovereign territory, non-liquet, UN resolutions, Universal Jurisdiction, United Nations Charter, Non-State Actor

IRAN’S POSITION ON THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE CASPIAN SEA

For some time after the collapse of the USSR, the Caspian Sea continued to belong to two states, namely Russia, as the successor to the USSR, and Iran. However, this caused serious contradictions between the coastal newly formed post-Soviet countries overthe use of the Caspian Sea water area, seabed and subsoil. To solve such problems, it was necessary to establis h a new legal status of the Caspian Sea, taking into account the interests of all Caspian littoral states.At the initiative of the Russian Federation, work began in 1996 on a draft convention on the lega l status of the Caspian Sea, which was to be oriented towards the interests of all littoral states. Including more than 50 meetings and 5 summits, the draft Convention reached its culmination in 2018 in Aktau. The purpose of this research paper is to examine Iran's perspective on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and assess the impact of the Aktau summit on Iran. The paper analyzes Iran's role in the negotiations and its position on various issues related to the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Through this analysis, the paper aims to provide insight into the complexities of the Caspian Sea legal framework and its implications for Iran's interests and its relations with other littoral states.

The Scandinavian Countries and the UN Genocide Convention, 1946–58: Constructive Pragmatism of the “Lesser” Democracies

ABSTRACT This article examines the position that three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – had assumed on the newly proposed crime of genocide and an international convention that addressed it. While the Great Powers’ politics vis-à-vis the draft Genocide Convention have been examined in detail, points of contestation and major concerns of so-called lesser democracies remain largely unexplored. Within the context of the UN Genocide Convention, the Scandinavian countries lived up to their reputation of democracies guided by the rule of law, yet with a caveat. The tenor of the interoffice discussions in the respective ministries in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo somewhat differed from the official statements of the representatives of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the United Nations. In aligning the provisions of the draft convention with the domestic legislation, the Scandinavian governments displayed the manifest lack of idealism. They regarded the passing of the Genocide Convention as an important milestone, though not at any cost. When it comes to evaluating the overall performance of each of the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark largely remained on sidelines. Norway approached the drafting of the Genocide Convention from a perspective of the national law. On the skepticism curve, Denmark (alongside Belgium and the United Kingdom) scored the highest. Norway was not far behind, though publicly it positioned itself as a principled supporter of the Genocide Convention (not unlike the United States). Sweden, then, belonged among the undecided. Significantly, due to the adopted policy of sustaining international cooperation, the Scandinavian countries did not follow the great powers in openly voicing their skepticism toward the Genocide Convention. Of the three Scandinavian delegations, the Norwegian had most consistently taken the middle road in order to ensure the broadest possible support for the Genocide Convention.

The Romanian and Soviet Military Potential – As a Means of Security in relation to the Draft Convention on the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments Debated at the League of Nations, within the Disarmament Conference of Geneva, from the period 1920-1934 –

During the period analysed in this research, in order to try to remedy the deficit situation in the Armed Forces, the country’s authorities took some legislative measures, including the “Law on the Organization of the Nation and the Territory for Time of War”, promulgated on 23 April 1933, in which it was specified that “the organization of the nation and the territory has as its purpose the capitalization on all the country’s forces and resources to ensure national defence”. The act basically stipulated obligations for the conscious engagement of the entire people in the effort to strengthen the national defence, the development of own defence industry, agriculture and communications. In the same context, the importance of the Convention on the Definition of Aggression played a major role for Romania in the subsequent negotiations for the normalization of diplomatic relations with the USSR, which was accomplished on 9 June 1934.

Squaring the Triangle of Cultural Property Law. Seventy Years of UNIDROIT’s Work

Squaring the Triangle of Cultural Property Law. Seventy Years of UNIDROIT’s Work A lot has been written about the “Eternal Triangle of Cultural Property Law”, the sale of a cultural object by a non-owner, and the innovative provisions of Article 4 of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. This article aims to demonstrate how almost 70 years of UNIDROIT’s work in the field have shaped the principles regulating a non domino sales of stolen cultural objects. The article focuses on the work conducted by UNIDROIT; from the drafting of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the draft Convention providing a Uniform Law on the Acquisition in Good Faith of Corporeal Movables to the adoption of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention; and examines its impact on domestic legislation and case law.

Indicators and Manifestations of the Balancing between International Carriage Parties according to the Rotterdam Rules

The regulations and rules governing maritime transport were not uniform among countries. Such uniformity is due to a failure to accede to a single convention. Countries were either acceded to or withdrawn from the Brussels Convention, and acceded instead to the Hamburg Convention, and so on. As a consequence, international maritime transport provisions no longer have the status of legal unification, making international commercial transactions unstable, in addition to the development in international trade and maritime transport in particular, such as reliance on containerized transport, use of technology in Multimodal transportation and consideration of door-to-door transport as a phase of maritime transport. In response, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) undertook to prepare a new draft convention on contracts for the international carriage of goods wholly or partly by sea ("Rotterdam Rules"), which was adopted on 11 December 2008. The texts of that Convention are international substantive rules concluded within the framework of an international organization (United Nations), representing a binding and acceptable global regulation, which contain solutions compatible with the relevant international treaties and a balance of the responsibilities and obligations of all parties (carrier and shipper) engaged in the international carriage of goods and associated third parties, And this balance was brought by the rules with many indicators in their rulings that indicated it which govern all different modes of transport as one contract. This is what the study deals with by presentation and analysis, leading to the confirmed results.

Electronic evidence in arbitration proceedings

This paper addresses electronic evidence focusing on arbitration rules of the leading ADR providers. It also narrows the topic to an empirical assessment using six categories of electronic evidence in a sample of 92 arbitration proceedings. The paper aims to offer the concept of electronic evidence in international arbitration, its admissibility and relevance criteria, and reach conclusions from an empirical analysis of a large sample of arbitration proceedings gathered from the Centro Brasileiro de Mediação e Arbitragem (Brazilian Center for Mediation and Arbitration). We conclude that electronic evidence is regularly used in arbitration and is relevant to the arbitrators’ reasoning. We propose a revision on the 2016 Draft Convention on Electronic Evidence to include arbitration.
 Index words: alternative dispute resolution; arbitration; electronic evidence; admissibility; relevance; weight; empirical analysis

The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty for Core Crimes

Abstract The Mutual Legal Assistance Initiative (mlai) was established to fill the widely acknowledged gap that currently exists within the international legal framework on inter-state cooperation in the prosecution of international crimes. Recent drafts of the mla Convention are concerned not only with mutual legal assistance and extradition, but a series of wider obligations for states on criminalisation in domestic law, exercise of jurisdiction and protection and reparations regimes for victims. It has become much more than a judicial cooperation treaty. This article analyses the developments and directional changes in the mlai, questioning whether the current draft Convention aligns with the Initiative’s original objectives and enables it to fulfil its aims.

The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration

In May 1955, the UN Secretary-General circulated to States and NGOs a draft convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.2 He invited comments and queried States on the desirability of an international conference to conclude such a convention. The United States was one of three responding countries (with Canada and South Africa) to decline interest in such a conference.3 Although the United States ultimately attended what became the 1958 New York Conference, its participation was minimal. It did not seek to influence the text of the draft convention, focusing instead on alternatives to a multilateral convention for arbitration.4 After the conference, the US delegation urged the US government not to join the resulting New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.5 The delegation was partly motivated by federalism concerns, hesitant to use the treaty power to override US State laws and judicial procedures.6 The delegation also worried that the convention could allow arbitrating parties to escape the control of US law and the supervision of US courts.7 And the delegation considered the convention unnecessary, as the US trading community had neither sought such a convention nor proclaimed its benefits.8 Accepting the delegation’s recommendation, for a decade the US government declined to sign the New York Convention or send it to the US Senate for advice and consent to ratification.9

American Diplomacy on the Eve of the Adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: the Evolution of the Position

At the X session of the III UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, which began in March 1981, two months after the Ronald Reagan administration came to the White House, American representatives announced their intention to conduct a comprehensive review of the informal text of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea adopted at the IX session for its compliance with the goals of the US national maritime policy. The course of American diplomacy was aimed at delaying negotiations until the completion of this process, thanks to which the United States managed to avoid the completion of the Conference and the adoption of the draft Convention in 1981. However, in the following year, 1982, the Convention was supposed to be opened for signature. The American representatives faced the question of choosing a strategy for the upcoming session. This article analyzes the development of the position of American diplomacy on the eve of the decisive XI session of the III UNCLOS based on published documents of the US Department of State and the Ronald Reagan Library.

Comparative study of soft drafting system and the conventional drafting system based on the ring spinning frame

A modified drafting system, named the soft drafting system, based on the ring spinning frame, has been introduced in the previous paper. In order to compare with the conventional drafting system, this paper analyzed pressure distributions of the two drafting systems and compared apron slippages based on the condition of spinning 18.2 tex combed cotton yarns. The results show that the floating area of the soft drafting system is only 6 mm, much smaller than that of the conventional drafting system at 12 mm. In addition, the soft drafting system can provide a longer and more stable friction zone and the curved channel is more conducive to the separation of fiber bundles to reduce yarn imperfections. The soft drafting system does not have the problem of apron-to-apron slippage that may cause deterioration of yarn quality. The slip rate of the soft drafting system between the lattice apron and the middle bottom roller is 0.03%, while the slip rate of the conventional drafting system between the bottom apron and the middle bottom roller is 8.58%, resulting in a reduction in drafting efficiency and poor stability of yarn quality. The experimental results show that the soft drafting system can significantly improve yarn evenness with CVm% of the soft drafting system decreasing 10.2% over the conventional drafting system. Also, the soft drafting system can reduce yarn imperfections, especially thick places with +35% thick places decreasing 71.9% and +50% thick places decreasing 70.4%.

Main Act or Side Show? Model Agreements by International Institutions and Their Reuse in Investment Treaty Texts

ABSTRACT Scholars and negotiators often assert that model treaty texts published by international institutions (IIs) shape investment treaty design. This paper empirically investigates the reuse of international institutions’ treaty templates. It tracks the imprint of six international institution templates on the text of negotiated international investment agreements (IIAs) using the Electronic Database of Investment Treaties. We find that the overall impact of international institution models has been low. No international investment agreement in our dataset was copied from an international institution’s model wholesale. On average, annual similarity between model texts and negotiated investment treaties is lower than 40% and significantly lower than the influence of international institutions’ models in the structurally similar international tax treaty regime. However, we do find evidence of an impact of international institutions' language on specific salient clauses. For example, the text of key investment protection clauses in the 1967 Draft Convention of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development was reproduced in hundreds of international investment agreements and novel clauses on investor responsibility first introduced in the 2006 International Institute for Sustainable Development model have subsequently been copied verbatim into negotiated international investment agreements. Our work concludes by discussing explanations for the comparatively low imprint of international institutions, notes other pathways for these institutions to influence treaty design, and sketches out an agenda for future research.

“XALQARO TERRORIZM TO‘G‘RISIDA”GI KENG QAMROVLI KONVENSIYA LOYIHASI BO‘YICHA XALQARO HAMKORLIK YO‘NALISHLARI VA XUSUSIYATLARI

The article describes the creation of international legal norms aimed at countering terrorism, their essence and features. In addition, the article analyzes the content, achievements and shortcomings of the comprehensive draft convention “On international terrorism” and its role in modern anti-terrorist policy. Analyzing the directions and features of international cooperation within the framework of this comprehensive convention, the author focuses on issues of human rights and jurisdiction. The author extensively covers the interrelated aspects of the directions of international cooperation from a humanitarian point of view in the implementation of the mechanism of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, citing the thoughts and opinions of various legal scholars on this issue. In conclusion, international treaties concluded on certain issues of combating terrorism should be recognized as the main source of international legal terrorism combat. Based on this, the author expressed the opinion that the draft convention “On international terrorism” should be periodically reviewed, amended and, of course, brought into line with the norms of international law in order to fill, eliminate and correct problems and gaps that may arise in the process of practical application.

Identification of Branched and Linear Forms of PFOA and Potential Precursors: A User-Friendly SMILES Structure-based Approach.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and related compounds are per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) of concern from toxicological, environmental, and regulatory perspectives. In 2019, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants listed PFOA, its salts, and PFOA-related compounds in Annex A to the Convention. Additionally, the listing specifically included PFOA branched isomers and compounds containing a perfluoroheptyl (C7F15)C moiety, with some noted exclusions. A draft updated "Indicative List" of 393 PFASs (335 with defined structures), each specified as falling within or outside the listing, was released for comment in 2021. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's CompTox Chemicals Dashboard has published a curated PFAS list containing more than 10,700 structures. Applying the PFOA and related compounds listing definition to screen this list required a structure-based approach capable of discerning salts and branched or linear forms of the (C7F15)C moiety. A PFOA SMILES workflow and associated Excel macro file, developed to address this need, applies a series of text substitution rules to a set of canonicalized SMILES structure representations to convert branched forms of the (C7F15)C moiety to linear forms to aid their detection. The approach correctly classified each Stockholm Convention draft Indicative List structure relative to the PFOA and related compounds definition, and accurately discerned branched and linear forms of the (C7F15)C moiety in over 10,700 PFAS structures with 100% sensitivity (no false negatives) and 99.7% accuracy (35 false positives). Approximately 20% of structures in the large PFAS list fell within the PFOA and related compounds definition, and 10% of those were branched. The present work highlights the need to computationally detect branched forms of PFASs and promotes the use of unambiguous, structure-based definitions, along with tools that are publicly available and easy to use, to support clear communication and regulatory action within the PFAS community.

The Draft Convention on the Right to Development: A New Dawn to the Recognition of the Right to Development as a Human Right?

Abstract The draft Convention on the Right to Development is being negotiated under the auspices of the Human Rights Council. This article seeks to explore the merits and the added value of the draft in terms of its normative contents particularly compared with its soft law predecessor—the Declaration on the Right to Development. It argues that the draft is a momentous step in the recognition of the right to development as a human right not only because it is binding, if adopted, but also contains concrete, detailed and implementable norms. While it maintained the abstract and aspirational formulation of norms under the Declaration to a certain extent, the draft also addresses some of the prevailing gaps and limitations of the Declaration.

Tenth Session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea: Changing of the US Position (1981)

40 years ago, the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea adopted the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). Although the United States, together with the USSR and other major maritime powers, initiated the conference, in 1981, after Reagan became President of the United States, it called for a comprehensive review of the draft Convention that had by then been prepared. Proponents of continuing the compromise policy were removed from the US delegation at the Conference. American efforts during the 10th session of the Conference were focused on delaying negotiations and preventing the formalisation of the Convention text to prolong the work of the Conference for another year. Drawing on US Department of State documents and up-to-date academic literature, the author examines the conduct of US diplomacy during the first year of the Reagan Administration at the 3rd UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, during the preparation and work of the 10th session of the Conference (1981). He concludes that US policy at the 10th session of the Conference was in line with the general policy direction of the US Administration, which had made a definitive break with the détente policy and staked on a new aggravation of the international situation. The Administration's relationship with big business, dissatisfied with the provisions of the draft Convention regarding deep seabed mineral development beyond national jurisdictions, also appears to have been an important factor behind the change in the US position on the draft Convention.

Draft Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships: A Chance for the Revolutionary Use of the Internet for Notification and Other Issues

Draft Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships: A Chance for the Revolutionary Use of the Internet for Notification and Other Issues

Draft tube design based on a borescopic technique in conical spouted beds

Draft tubes have emerged as promising internal devices to overcome the scale up limitations of the spouted bed. Although only a few parameters define draft tubes, the design of these devices is complex and remains a challenging task, as knowledge concerning the gas–solid flow pattern in the spouted bed is required for a proper implementation. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new criterion for the design of draft tubes (nonporous and open-sided) based on the average spout diameter measured by a borescopic technique in conical spouted beds without draft tube. Based on the radial and axial particle velocity profiles, hydrodynamic analysis, and cycle time distributions, the new configurations are compared with those without tube and with conventional draft tubes. The new open-sided tube provides maximum particle velocities of 480.90 ± 14.60 mm/s in the spout and 90.10 ± 4.40 mm/s in the annulus. These values are lower and higher than the particle velocities obtained without draft tube in the spout and annulus regions, respectively, which means it modifies particle residence time in these regions. The new open-sided tube provides a more efficient gas–solid contact than any conventional one, with spouting behaviour being very similar to the configuration without tube (differences in the minimum spouting velocity being in the 2–6% range), which is a key aspect for scale up purposes.

Treaty-Based Regulation and Evidence-Extradition Agreements as Critical Tools in the Fight against International Criminal Wrongdoing

Abstract Draft Article 7 of the UN Draft Convention regarding Crimes Against Humanity provides the terra firma for States to establish and exercise a range of jurisdictional bases, including universal jurisdiction, to be reinforced by State-to-State agreements regarding evidence-extradition for the benefit of downstream truth and justice seeking projects. Legal analysis demonstrates there persists an insistence on treaty regulation and clearly particularised laws at local and international levels to successfully pursue international criminal accountability. Draft Article 7 will give credence to universal jurisdiction, complement the International Criminal Court’s workings and counter its temporal limitations, and negate politically-motivated invocation of the doctrine. A case study involving Australian extradition proceedings highlights how evidence can be obtained efficiently on the basis of a pre-existing bilateral agreement between culturally distinct States. Formal arrangements regarding evidence-exchange will espouse a greater willingness by States to cooperate across borders and will strengthen universality by taking some of the guess-work out of its exercise.

‘With or Without You’: Why Italy Should Incorporate Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Into Its National Legal System

Abstract By ratifying the Genocide Convention, Italy undertook an obligation to enact legislation ‘to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide’. Accordingly, in 1967 the legislator incorporated the offences enumerated in the convention into the domestic legal system. As it was under no such obligation with regard to crimes against humanity, Italy has not criminalized them. Two major legal issues arise from this decision. First, Italy may be unable to execute cooperation requests submitted by the International Criminal Court, and thus breach an international obligation. Furthermore, domestic authorities can only charge suspects with ‘corresponding’ ordinary offences, which are subject to statutes of limitations. Both issues are addressed in the Draft Convention on Crimes Against Humanity adopted by the International Law Commission, whose provisions require States Parties to enact legislation to ensure that under domestic criminal law such crimes constitute offences and are not subject to a statute of limitations.