Erik Castrén Institute Monographs on International Law and Human Rights – serie

Since the end of the Cold War the relationship between the internal constitution of a state and its international behaviour has been a subject of much scholarly interest. Assuming that this connection matters the author analyses the transformation from the USSR to the Russian Federation. Does a liberal Russia behave better than the non-liberal USSR? Are Russia's attitudes towards international law different than those of the former USSR? How much continuity is there and how much change has occurred in the scholarship of international law in Russia? How are Russia's treaties made and implemented? What is the role of international law in the Russian legal system? The author shows that international human rights played an important role in the Soviet perestroika and in the subsequent reforms in the Russian Federation. She argues that at the surface level the transformation in Russia has been remarkable, notably so with regard to the role of international law in the domestic legal system. Drawing from a wide range of materials - Soviet/Russian history, legislation, court cases and doctrinal writings - the book takes a cultural and historical perspective to analysis of legal change.

The roots of organized crime penetrate deep into the normal operations of society, its economic and financial patterns, sometimes also its bureaucracy and ideological apparatuses. Drug trafficking, traffic in persons or terrorist networks could not exist if they did not engage large groups of people and routine patterns of social and economic behaviour. Often the “indirect” actors remain hidden, however, and beyond the reach of the arm of the law. In an analogical way, “terrorism” emerges from and is sustained by a wide network of ideological, economic, financial and other actors and activities. Marja Lehto maps in this work the way in which international legal regulation, particularly the new conventions adopted within the UN after 1996 ,have sought to extend international responsibility beyond the groups of immediate perpetrators, to the sources or incitation, recruitment, and financing of terrorist activities. She also deals with some of the thorniest questions in the field along the way – from the significance and difficulties in the of efforts to define “terrorism” to the need for a “general part” of international criminal law, and the role of a political organ – the United Nations Security Council – in preventing and punishing the crime of terrorism. This carefully crafted, insightful and hugely relevant study not only fulfils a gap in the existing literature but does so with analytical precision, bearing simultaneously in mind the important political and theoretical, even philosophical implications of this contentious topic."Few topics have generated more international law writing in recent years, both scholarly and polemical, than terrorism. […] So it is a genuinely welcome surprise when someone brings out a study that has a fresh angle on the topic, and all the more so if the writer not only fulfils what appears like an obvious gap in existing literature but does that with analytical precision, bearing simultaneously in mind the important political and theoretical, even philosophical implications of this contentious topic. This is what Marja Lehto does in this carefully crafted, insightful and hugely relevant study of what she suggests we call ‘indirect responsibility’ for terrorist acts." - Martti Koskenniemi, Academy Professor, University of Helsinki

Since World War II, human rights have engaged people around the world like perhaps no other discourse. In Finland their embrace represents a shift from ideological homogeneity to pluralism and openness. Human rights education is understood to hold a key role in empowering individuals to become free and equal members of their societies. Yet little empirical scholarship exists evaluating how this goal is met in reality. By combining anthropological approaches with critical legal theory, this study explores the conceptions of knowledge, expertise and learning embedded in the educational activities of a particular network of Scandinavian and Nordic human rights experts. It explores how the ideals of emancipation and equality of the abstract discourse are realized in action.

Around twenty years ago, a challenge was laid down to international law by those writing at the critical periphery of the discipline; a challenge that has yet to find satisfactory response. Although often (mistakenly) characterised as nihilist, this book seeks to recast it in positive terms; to pose the question of what – if anything – is left of international law and ethics if we accept both that apolitical rules are impossible and that the values that must – inevitably – be used to justify them are irreducibly, radically subjective. After detailed analyses of different political and international legal philosophers who have confronted this issue, the answer is located in a “turn to literature” and a rehabilitation of the ancient notion of rhetoric.

An intriguing paradox characterises international and European action against discrimination. On the one hand, equality and the right to non-discrimination are key human rights and protected by an impressive line of legal documents. On the other hand, empirical studies show that discrimination is still rampant today. This book maps the gap between the rights and the reality, and examines the causes, consequences and extent of discrimination in Europe today as well as the international and European legal response to it. On the basis of this analysis, the study explains why anti-discrimination law fails to deliver, and what can be done about it. The result is of interest to scholars, students, civil society, politicians and anyone interested in equality and making it a reality.

Peoples and International Law is a detailed survey of the law of self-determination with a focus on the concept of nations and peoples. It engages with different aspects of this law with particular emphasis on the drafting and implementation of international instruments. The second edition includes new coverage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the African and Arab charters. It considers recent practice by the Human Rights Committee, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights dealing with the emerging political, economic and environmental aspects of the right. The book looks at the interaction of international law, nationalism and liberalism in theories of nationhood and self-determination, as well as, the historical development of the right and the decisions of international bodies. Lastly, it examines practice in this area, including new developments in remedial independence and international territorial administration.Also available in hardback.

In Enemies of Mankind Walter Rech offers a contextual history of the collective security doctrine articulated by Swiss international lawyer Emer de Vattel (1714-67) in the authoritative treatise Droit des gens of 1758. With reference to Vattel’s writings and to early modern international history and legal thought more generally, Rech explores the meanings and functions of the enemy of mankind concept and its ramifications for collective security. This account complicates the canonical portrayal of Vattel as an advocate of state sovereignty and a critic of law enforcement in the international society, thus reappraising his place in the history of international law.

This volume, now in its second and revised edition, deals with the legal status of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - as a consequence of the illegality of the Soviet annexation in 1940-1991. It offers a detailed historical overview of the Soviet takeover of the Baltic States in 1939/1940 and analysis of international law as it was in force, also regionally and bilaterally, at the time. It examines the role of the continuity of the diplomatic representations of the Baltic States and other manifestations of the Western non-recognition of the Soviet annexation. Moreover, the book examines the nature of the restoration of the Baltic States in 1991 based on their State continuity claim. It also studies in detail questions such as borders, citizenship and reparation claims, and asks to what extent State continuity could or could not be restored in practice. Compared to the first edition, the text has been updated (for example, on developments regarding border treaties) but also more background references have been added on the history of the Baltic States, Soviet and post-Soviet Russian responses to the continuity claim of the Baltic States, etc. The book interprets the Soviet annexation and Baltic States' continuity case against the wider backdrop of developments in international law in the 20th century and argues that the outcome reflected important normative developments in international law, away from mere effectivity. The case of the Baltic States will be relevant for current and future cases of illegal annexation, following the threat and use of military force prohibited under international law.