The definition of terrorism in international law The subject of this graduation thesis is to explore problem of defining terrorism in international law. Although it is very broad topic, the thesis has attempted to explore most of the questions this issue has offered. First of all, it examines reasones why define terrorism in international law. Further this study provides information about perception of the term terrorism in the past depending on the political and social conditions and about how the terrorist attacks influenced the effort to find the definition of terrorism. The thesis pays big attention to regional treaty in which terrorism is defined and uses it as a comparison basis for finding the elements of the definition, since regional international treaty law has achieved the biggest success in this area. However, in the last two decades successes have achieved on universal level, especially by the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, which is the first universal agreement binding defines terrorism. This study also introduces the latest development of efforts to create a Comprehensive Convention on the Suppression of International Terrorism, which is, unfortunately, no more than small. Given the decades-long efforts to define terrorism, the...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carolina Assed Ferreira.pdf: 4430682 bytes, checksum: ca7e24bec4fb85caee4c48c1aa2e45a9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-30 / This thesis analyses the subject of privatization of war through the action of private military companies (PMC) or private security companies (PSC), in view of their vertiginous growth in the present stage of economic globalization, as well as their relation with the energy issue. It analyses, also, the International Law on war, known as Hague Law, and the International Law on the protection of victims in a situation of armed conflict, known as Geneva Law which, in essence, is the International Humanitarian Law. The thesis contextualizes the subject historically and approaches the manner in which decisions on this subject are treated in the United Nations, verifying their impacts on the world peace process. The role of the private military companies and the responsibility over acts of their contracted people, known as new mercenaries , is analyzed. Finally, taking into account both sides of the same reality, combatants on one side, and the treatment given to victims on the other, final conclusions on the subject are made / O presente trabalho é uma análise do tema da privatização da guerra, por meio da atuação de empresas militares privadas (EMP) ou empresas de segurança privadas (ESP), tendo em vista seu crescimento vertiginoso no atual estágio da globalização econômica, bem como sua relação com a questão energética. Analisa-se o tratamento internacional do direito de guerra, denominado Direito de Haia, e o direito de proteção às vitimas em situação de conflito armado, denominado Direito de Genebra, que, em essência, é o Direito Internacional Humanitário propriamente dito. O trabalho contextualiza historicamente o assunto tratado e aborda a maneira pela qual as decisões sobre essa temática são tratadas no âmbito da Organização das Nações Unidas, verificando seus impactos sobre o processo de paz mundial. Analisa-se o papel das empresas militares privadas e a responsabilização sobre os atos de seus contratados, chamados de novos mercenários . Por fim, verificados os dois lados de uma mesma realidade, combatentes de um lado e o tratamento dispensado às vítimas de outro, são feitas as conclusões finais sobre o tema

The 1990’s did not only see the end of the Cold War, it experienced several man-made humanitarian crises, an emerging debate on the responsibility to protect, and an increased number of sanctions. All at the same time. How does these relate to each other? International economic sanctions can be seen as having the purposes of both punishing and making others comply with certain norms (Galtung, 1967:379). I believe that both of these purposes are visible when imposing sanctions as reactions to violations of international humanitarian law. Because of this, I argue that violations of IHL are likely to be met with sanctions. In this thesis, I study whether or not this hypothesis holds true. Specifically, I test the probability of receiving sanctions after the following IHL rules have been violated: the prohibition of child soldiers, torture, use of terror, one-sided violence and sexual violence. Most research on economic sanctions focuses either on their effect on armed conflict, or exclusively on one international institution. This thesis contributes to the research field by presenting a quantitative study on the effect violations of international humanitarian law can have on the imposition of economic sanctions, and whether there is a difference in how different violations are being reacted to.

In the current international climate, both nations and individuals increasingly question both the validity and necessity of international organizations. This paper seeks to answer some of those questions, and to determine why countries choose to surrender significant portions of the national power that they are afforded under traditional perceptions of “Westphalian sovereignty”. This question is answered through an analysis of historical political thought on the concept of Sovereignty, then is applied to two case studies: the United Nations and the European Union, in which the benefits and downsides of surrendering sovereignty are discussed. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the concept of Westphalian sovereignty is weakening in the modern world, as the international system gradually adopts new ideas about what national power allows, and reapplies old concepts that had long fallen out of use. Additionally, many of the problems faced by humanity in the present day are too large and complicated to be solved by singular nations, and require concerted international action. Together, these evolving conceptions of sovereignty and increasingly complex global problems have greatly contributed to the growth and empowerment of international organizations.

Der Beitrag erinnert an das wechselvolle Leben des Friedensnobelpreisträgers Henry Dunant, sucht nach biografischen Wurzeln seines von Menschlichkeit und Würde getragenen Verhaltens und macht auf seine Leistungen aufmerksam. Er will aber auch die Frage nach der Bedeutung des humanitären Völkerrechts im Verhältnis von Krieg und Frieden nicht außer Acht lassen. / The article recalls the eventful life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Dunant, looking for biographical roots of his humanity and dignity and points to his achievements. It will also indicate the question of the importance of international humanitarian law in the relationship between war and peace.

I cambiamenti verificatisi nel sistema internazionale nel corso degli ultimi anni hanno avuto una profonda incidenza sul dibattito teorico circa l'uso della forza e i conflitti armati. In particolare, il cambiamento che si è avuto nel warfare ha portato a concentrare l'attenzione su due aspetti particolari della guerra, ovvero la sua giustificazione morale e la relazione tra uso della forza e diritto internazionale. Inoltre, rispetto al passato, la fase successiva ai conflitti assume una rilevanza sempre maggiore. Scopo di questo lavoro è, quindi, da un lato analizzare la teoria della guerra giusta in relazione al diritto internazionale e alle sfide poste dall'attuale sistema internazionale, evidenziandone gli elementi teorici più problematici e, dall'altro, delineare gli elementi normativi necessari per una teoria della pace giusta. Se, infatti, la tradizione teorica relativa a ius ad bellum e ius in bello è ben consolidata, i problemi teorici ed empirici che si pongono circa lo ius post bellum sono nuovi e ancora senza risposta. Il lavoro cerca quindi di formulare gli elementi normativi che dovrebbero regolare lo ius post bellum affinché vengano soddisfatti i requisiti di giustizia post-conflittuale Infine, alla luce degli elementi teorici emersi sono stati analizzati tre conflitti che ben si prestano a valutare empiricamente la teoria della guerra giusta, ovvero il primo conflitto in Iraq del 1991, l'intervento in Kosovo del 1999 e il secondo conflitto in Iraq del 2003. / The changes occurred in the international system during the last decade had a deep influence on the theoretical debate about use of force and armed conflicts. In particular, changes in warfare focused attention on two different aspects of war its moral justifiability and the relation between the use of force and international law. Furthermore, the post-conflict phase is becoming more and more important. The aim of this work is twofold: on one hand, to analyse the relationship between Just War Theory and international law and the challenges raising from the new international system, underlining the most problematic aspects from a theoretical point of view. On the other hand, the aim is to sketch some normative elements of Just Peace Theory. If jus ad bellum and jus in bello theories are well-established, there are many theoretical and empirical problems related to jus post bellum Consequently, this work tries to advance some normative elements required to regulate jus post bellum in order to satisfy requirements of post-conflict justice. Finally, in the light of the elements arisen in the theoretical part of the work, three conflicts particularly relevant for Just War Theory are taken into account: the 1991 war in Iraq, the 1999 intervention in Kosovo e and the 2003 conflict in Iraq.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

Thesis (M.J.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-218). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.