For half a century, the normative anchor of the global nuclear order has been the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). On 27 October 2016, the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by a landslide 123-38 vote (with 16 abstentions), Resolution A/C.1/71/L.41 that called for negotiations on a ‘legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination’. This was followed by a vote in the full General Assembly on 23 December passed by an equally solid 113-35 majority. The resolution fulfilled the 127-nation humanitarian pledge ‘to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons’. The UN-mandated conference met in New York on 27–31 March and 15 June–7 July 2017. On 7 July, 122 states voted to adopt a new Nuclear-Weapon Prohibition Treaty (NWPT). It was opened for signature in the UN General Assembly on 20 September 2017. The treaty will come into effect 90 days after fifty states have ratified it. As of 30 September 2018, 19 countries had ratified the treaty and 60 had signed it.
Category: Analysis
The gig economy and future international labour law regulation: the new horizon – Stephen Ranieri
The traditional labels of employer and employee have, in recent years, broadened globally to accommodate novel labour delivery mechanisms. Leading the way are the ‘gig’ or ‘platform’ economy and ‘on-demand’ workforce. The gig economy is not a term of art, and according to De Stefano, broadly consists of two aspects: ‘crowdwork’ and ‘work on demand via apps’. Crowdwork usually involves micro-tasks of varying degrees of complexity, from the menial (such as tagging photos on social media platforms) to the specialised (such as graphic design or programming tasks). Work on demand via apps involves traditional working activities such as transportation, cleaning, or food delivery sourced through mobile application platforms, with the quintessential example being the ride-sharing app, Uber. Crowdwork can be sourced via multiple online platforms advertising to a large, undefined group of people, usually as an ‘open call’. Conversely, work on demand via apps involves an intermediary responsible for selecting its workforce and distributing work. Such firms usually also set minimum quality standards of service, and are responsible for the overall management and conditions of their workforce.
Sacred Sites, Corpus Separatum and the Spectre of Monetary Gold: Palestine’s Case against the United States in the International Court of Justice – Molly Thomas
On 28 September 2018, the State of Palestine (“Palestine”) instituted proceedings in the International Court of Justice (“the Court”) against the United States of America (“United States”) regarding the relocation of the embassy of the United States of America in Israel to the Holy City of Jerusalem.
This article will explain the implications of this Application, including its factual background, Palestine’s claims on jurisdiction and merits, and the likely consequences of the filing.
The Growing Private International Law Community: Report from the Conflict of Laws Section of the Society of Legal Scholars Conference, September 2018, Queen Mary University of London – Michael Douglas
Globalisation has altered the makeup of the work of domestic courts all around the world. Civil litigation is increasingly cross-border. Yet despite the frequent recognition that private international law (conflict of laws) is increasingly important, the subject is still a bit of a niche, at least in Australia. It is a compulsory subject at Sydney Law School but many other law schools do not offer it at all. A handful of Australian academics specialise in the subject, as a handful of barristers hold themselves out as specialists. Happily, that smallish circle is steadily growing.
There’s a workable alternative to Australia’s asylum policy – Professor James Hathaway and Dr Daniel Ghezelbash
The bad example set by Australia is damaging a global system already in crisis. But it’s not too late to change tack
The Prosecution of Bernard Collaery and Witness K: International and Regional Implications – Greg Barns
Bernard Collaery was once the Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory but he now finds himself seated in the dock in that jurisdiction along with his client, a former officer of the Australian Security Intelligence Service (ASIS), known as Witness K. Mr Collaery and Witness K have been charged with allegedly breaching section 39 of the Federal Intelligence Services Act 2001, which makes it an offence to communicate “any information or matter that was acquired or prepared by or on behalf of ASIS in connection with its functions or relates to the performance by ASIS of its functions.” The matter is being dealt with in the ACT Magistrates Court and carries a maximum penalty of 2 years.
Privacy as a Universal Human Right: Beyond the OECD Guidelines to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy – The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG
It is curious that people who were so insistent on privacy in their ordinary lives, the British, should have been so neglectful in developing effective judicial and other legal rules for its protection. Nowhere was this irony more noticeable than in the Australian outposts of the British Empire.
The High Court, Internal Relocation and Complementary Protection: Examining the Case of CRI 026 v Republic of Nauru – Esther Pearson
The ability of an applicant for refugee status to relocate within their country of origin to escape persecution forms the basis of an important concept in international refugee law, known variously as the “internal relocation alternative”, or the “internal flight alternative”. The concept provides that if internal relocation is relevant and reasonable, the applicant is not a refugee. The concept is not codified in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, however, it is relevant to the question of whether the applicant meets the definition of “refugee” as set out in Art 1A(2) of the Convention, as being any person who:
The Reluctant Reformer? Australia’s Role in the Fight Against International Bribery and Corruption – Anita Clifford
Close to twenty years after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials entered into force, significant reform of Australia’s anti-bribery architecture is underway. Parliamentary debate over the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017 (Cth) (the Bill) is anticipated during the next half of 2018. With an anti-bribery focus, the Bill presents an opportunity for Australia to play a greater role in the global fight against corruption and its pernicious effect on fair business and basic human rights. Sentiments expressed by Kofi Annan on the adoption of the 2003 UN Convention against Corruption are no less pertinent today. Imploring all nations, prosperous and less prosperous, to cooperate against corruption, the then Secretary-General noted that it ‘hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice, and discouraging foreign investment and aid’. Relatedly, bribery and corruption stagnates the rule of law and breeds distrust in government institutions.
After the Greater Sunrise: The Foundations and Future of Alternative Dispute Resolution in International Law – Molly Thomas
The recent success of the conciliation between Timor-Leste and Australia has put a spotlight on alternative dispute resolution in international law, a far cry from the disappointments of the South China Sea arbitration in which China refused to participate. In the context of these recent developments, this article will explore the philosophy, popularity and possibilities of alternative dispute resolution in international law.