Regional Legal Regimes Research Articles

Genetic resources as an object of international law

The article examines whether the legal regime of genetic resources is outlined in the context of applicable rules relating to biological diversity. The purpose of the research is to confute the prospects for the formation of a universal legal regime for genetic resources, in the context of the draft UN Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, and the possibilities of using regional mechanisms in this domain.The methodology of the research includes the formal legal, comparative, historical, systemic and structural methods. The authors analyze and examine applicable international legal sources, including the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and its 2010 Nagoya Protocol. On the basis of the systemic and structural method the authors carry out the analysis of the sources of international law related to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic and other biological resources.The main results. The international community’s interest in genetic resources results from the growing need to take more informed environmental decisions. The relevant universal legal basis, created by the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, does not provide answers to some important questions, including the detailed legal definition of the term “genetic resources”, though the relevant definition contained in the 1992 Convention remains the only one that has been accepted by a large number of states. It is possible that states will be able to develop a more concrete legal rules relating to the genetic resources in the course of negotiating the UN Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. However, the development of such a universal international treaty might require a lot of effort in order to reconcile the divergent interests of states.Conclusions. Based on the analysis of applicable international law, the authors assert that the generally outlined legal basis for conservation of biodiversity, laid down by the 1992 Convention, demands further detailing in the modern context. The UN process on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction is likely to take considerable efforts of participating actors before the appropriate legal mechanisms are agreed upon. So regional legal regimes might be an appropriate way to ensure the efficient management of genetic resources taking into account peculiarities of each individual region.

The Right to a Healthy Environment and Law's Hidden Subjects

In this essay I reflect upon whether and how the recent international recognition of the right to a healthy environment might––or might not––provide greater support for efforts to define and protect the rights of what one could term “law's hidden subjects,” namely future generations and nature. Although there are several examples of rights-based regimes that aim to protect future generations and nature, few would disagree that these hidden subjects require better legal protection, and that thoroughgoing reform of existing human rights law is overdue. I argue that the international recognition of a human right to a healthy environment might contribute less to such reforms than what one would have intuitively expected. One reason for this is because the formulation of the right does not provide anything new in terms of more comprehensive recognition and protection of rights of nature and future generations. Although it is an important symbolic event that signifies broad consensus on the importance of rights-based environmental protection, many domestic and regional legal regimes already protect future generations, while some even offer innovative rights of nature provisions. At best, UN General Assembly Resolution 76/300 merely reinforces the status quo ante.

Rediscovering the importance of Antarctic Law for the early twenty-first century

ABSTRACT International law provides a system of legal order for the conduct of international relations. Within this system, states may constitute regional legal regimes in a continuous geographical area to address their own regional problems. In Antarctica, states active in the region have developed a sui generis regional legal regime (conceptualised here as ‘Antarctic Law’) to address problems of the Antarctic. During most of the twentieth century, Antarctic Law played a central role in understanding human interaction within, and international ordering of, the Antarctic region. However, over the last two decades, understanding the importance of the legal and regional nature of Antarctic law has become less prominent. Instead, Antarctic scholarship (including legal analysis) has moved towards a universalist perspective, interdisciplinary scholarship and critical approaches. We argue these approaches have under-appreciated the importance of the legal ordering of the region. New challenges within the region will require responses that draw on this regional legal ordering. This paper therefore aims to be a first step towards rediscovering the importance of the concept of ‘Antarctic Law’ as a regional and legal regime with a key role in providing successful international order within the Antarctic region to meet the challenges of the early twenty-first century.

Macedonia's Ohrid Framework Agreement Reexamined in Response to Internal and External Crises: Reason for Cautious Optimism on Europe's Southeastern Border

In recent years, a number of variables put Macedonia at an increased risk of instability. These factors include Macedonia’s tense relationship with Greece, the strain posed by the European migration crisis, the potential for escalation of simmering interethnic conflict within Macedonia’s borders, and Macedonia’s recent government scandals. Because of the security risks that an unstable Macedonia poses to the European Union (EU), it is crucial for the EU to seek new ways to bring Macedonia closer into the fray of European institutions. This Note assesses the continued durability of existing domestic and regional legal regimes to cope with the increased strain caused by the abovementioned destabilizing factors. The Note poses several ways in which the EU can use Membership to create a more durable legal regime in Macedonia; and it discusses some of the major impediments that the EU should consider when deciding the proper incentive structure to use in Membership discussions. Given Macedonia’s baseline for rule of law and proven desire to join the EU, there is reason for cautious optimism that Macedonia’s legal regime will remain durable if the EU uses the reward of EU accession tactfully in the coming years.

Editorial: Developing the Rule of Law in East Asia

This special issue results from a conference called ‘The State in Asia’, which was held in Leiden from 17-19 December 2012. The overall theme of the conference was the development of modern states in Asia, conceptualised as ‘ongoing projects informed by a quest for cultural, religious and political identities that are new and modern, yet simultaneously rooted in indigenous culture and tradition’. The formation and the functioning of Asia's systems of law and governance reflect strong developmental ambitions as well as deep heterogeneity and insecurity. In the East Asian context Japan, Singapore, and South Korea now serve as models of successful nation-states that other states in the region aspire to emulate, but in most countries in the region endemic corruption and factionalism make rule anything but stable and predictable.The panel on ‘Developing the Rule of Law’ looked at the attempts to realise different aspects or elements of the rule of law in East Asia. In this effort East Asian states have borrowed paradigms, ideas and laws from elsewhere which may take on quite different meanings in their new surroundings. Regional models, have become more important than they were in the past, but ideas are adopted from all over the world. The rise of ‘alternative’ global and regional legal regimes has reinforced this process and led to a situation where states may choose to model their laws and legal institutions from a much broader range of examples than in the past.

Do confessions and evidence obtained through torture have legal force in international law? A critical appraisal of remedies available to victims of torture in Uganda

This is a comment on the remedies available to victims of torture in Uganda. Against the backdrop of the evidence and procedures in the international and regional legal regimes, the paper analyzes the law relating to evidence obtained through torture in Uganda. It is shown that whereas torture is prohibited in Uganda, there is ample evidence to show that in practice, the vice is prevalent. The crux of the paper is a critical appraisal of the remedies available to victims of torture or their relatives in Uganda. East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights Vol. 14 (1) 2008: pp. 201-220