Volume 26 Number 2

Articles

21ST CENTURY AFRICA AS AN “ARC OF (IN)STABILITY”: U.S. AND AFRICAN ECONOMIC, SECURITY, AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES ADVANCED THROUGH U.S. AFRICA COMMAND INITIATIVES

Kevin H. Govern

THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF LAW IN ISLAM AND THE RULE OF LAW CHALLENGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE MUSLIM WORLD

Hossein Esmaeili

Abstract While Islamic law is a traditional and religious legal system, it is one of the three major legal systems of the world, after common law and civil law systems. The legal system of Islam differs from other modern legal systems, and has its own history of development and a unique nature. The concept and nature of law in Islam is related to another modern concept: the doctrine of the rule of law. While the rule of law doctrine has become an important agenda of international law and international relations, an effective system incorporating the rule of law is presently unavailable in most Middle Eastern and Muslim countries. This paper analyzes the nature and the meaning of law in the Islamic legal system within a historical and philosophical context from a modern perspective. This paper draws on various traditional principles and recent practical implications of Islamic law as it applies in Muslim societies, analyzes the nature of law in the legal system of Islam, and investigates the possibility of gradually developing a rule of law based system in Muslim countries, without the sudden imposition of foreign codes, legal principles and legal systems.

LEGAL OPERATIONAL ADVICE IN THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: THE INTERNATIONAL LAW DEPARTMENT AND THE CHANGING NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

Amichai Cohen

Abstract

The International Law Department (ILD) of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is a small unit of lawyers, entrusted with implementing the Laws of Armed Conflict within the IDF, through “legal operational advice.” This article analyzes the history and character of this unit, in view of recent operations of the IDF, and accusations of war crimes waged against IDF officers. The article suggests that the work of the ILD should be seen as part of the internalization of the Laws of Armed Conflict within Israeli society. The Laws of Armed Conflict have significantly developed in recent years. However, these developments are sometimes vague, and lack domestic legitimacy. ILD lawyers both interpret the relatively vague notions of the international law, and contribute to the creation of new legal norms. This process of internalization is essential in the attainment of legitimacy to the Laws of Armed Conflict, and to the transformation of domestic Israeli perceptions about this part of international law. The article also suggests how to improve the performance of the ILD, thereby enabling it to improve its performance and the process of internalization.

THE THREE-PRONGED STRATEGY OF INDIA’S PREFERENTIAL TRADE POLICY A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF MODERN ECONOMIC TREATIES

By Julien Chaisse, Debashis Chakraborty, and Biswajit Nag

ABSTRACT

Before the inception of the WTO, India generally did not pursue any regional economic agreement route to promote trade or to achieve any other goal. In the Post-Cancun Ministerial period, however, it has progressively entered into a number of preferential trade arrangements with several Asian, as well as non- Asian partners. Looking into India’s regional economic integration approach, the current analysis makes an attempt to identify the major determinants behind the shift in the country’s interests, and the policy implications of this change. We conclude that India’s approach towards preferential trade can be depicted as a three-pronged PTA strategy: it can compensate for loss in the goods sector through gain in services or within the goods sector; loss in some sectors (due to tariff reduction) is to be compensated through effective market access of other products in which India has a potential advantage; or identification of India’s specific interest in the partner country (which may be commercial, regional development or political).

Notes

LET DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY LAY THE MORAL RIGHT OF INTEGRITY TO REST

Albert Fang