Catherine Brölmann | University of Amsterdam (original) (raw)

Papers by Catherine Brölmann

International Organizations Law Review

Against the backdrop of a recent turn to theory in the field of international organizations law t... more Against the backdrop of a recent turn to theory in the field of international organizations law this short article, part of the Special Forum on Contested Fundamentals of the Law of International Organizations, brings to the fore a characteristic of the international organization that should not be missing in the canon of fundamentals in international organizations scholarship. This is the transparency of international organizations as a legal entity and as a legal actor. ‘Transparency’ here refers to the phenomenon that member states and other institutional components are to some extent legally visible. ‘Legally visible’ means that the component parts of an organization, notably the member states, are addressed from, and involved in, the general international plane – a condition which is dynamic and context-dependent. In the words of the ila, organizations are layered creatures, ‘conducting … multilevel operations’. The article sets out how the transparency of organizations is a fu...

American Journal of International Law, 2020

rights. Part Seven, which concludes the collective volume, includes a disparate group of three ch... more rights. Part Seven, which concludes the collective volume, includes a disparate group of three chapters relating to comparative international law in investment and law of the sea. This section also contains some of the most captivating chapters in the volume. Tomer Broude, Yoram Z. Haftel, and Alexander Thompson begin with a chapter entitled “Who Cares About Regulatory Space in BITs? A Comparative International Approach” (p. 527). Makane Moïse Mbengue and Stefanie Schacherer then elaborate on the Pan-African Investment Code (PIAC) as an example of comparative international law (p. 547). The authors take PIAC as an example to identify similarities and differences between the Pan-African approach and what is considered the norm in international investment law and also with the new reform process that investment law is undertaking. They identify some of the novelties of the treaty—for example the requirement that an investor has substantial business activity in the host state, its take on the mostfavored nation and national treatment standards, and the absence of a provision on fair and equitable treatment. This contextualization of PIAC within the larger framework of international investment law is an apt demonstration of the advantage of the comparative international law approach. In the book’s last chapter, Emilia Justyna Powell presents a fascinating study of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in Islamic Law states (p. 571). She observes that while Islamic Law states are generally skeptical of international law, they have mostly ratified UNCLOS. She then uses a comparative international law approach to explain why that occurs, and concludes that the substantive and procedural congruence of Islamic law with the UNCLOS regime, as well as the possibility of adding stipulations, including declarations and restrictions. The chapter is particularly novel and makes an interesting contribution to the volume. Overall, this is noteworthy and valuable volume. It makes a significant case as to the important learning available from the understanding of how and why nations’ approaches of international law are different.

Leiden Journal of International Law, 1995

The history of indigenous peoples is not a fortunate one: colonization,discrimination, exploitati... more The history of indigenous peoples is not a fortunate one: colonization,discrimination, exploitation, dispossession, relocation, and genocide have been their lot.1 Indigenous peoples seek recognition as distinct groups in order to preserve their culture and, plainly, to survive. Their wish for recognition is coupled with various demands, ranging from political participation to autonomy, self-government and independence, often subsumed under ‘the right of self-determination’. Although, throughout this century,attempts have been made to improve the plight of indigenous peoples,these have proven inadequate so far.2 In 1994, after nine years of preparation,the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (hereinafter:Working Group) finalised the draft of a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. With its adoption by the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (hereinafter:UN Sub-Commission)in August 1994, 3 the draft Declaration has commenced...

Common Market Law Review, 2008

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

Nordic Journal of International Law, 2005

... 17 Eg B. Simma and A. Paulus, 'The 'International Community': Facing the Chall... more ... 17 Eg B. Simma and A. Paulus, 'The 'International Community': Facing the Challenge of Globalization', 9 European Journal of International Law ... p. 27; see also J. Klabbers, 'On Human Rights Treaties, Contractual Conceptions and Reservations', in I. Ziemele (ed.), Reservations ...

Netherlands International Law Review, 2007

International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 2004

International Community Law Review, 2007

This vignette deals with the position of international intergovernmental organisations as non-sta... more This vignette deals with the position of international intergovernmental organisations as non-state actors. In the case law of the ICJ the independent identity of international organisations is addressed in the formal terms of international legal personality. Such personality is undisputed in international practice: for example, international organisations not only have the capacity to conclude treaties but also, although the legal framework is not entirely settled yet, to bear international responsibility for violations of international law. The ICJ arguably has had a central role in the conceptualisation of organisations as independent actors in international law: with the 1949 Reparation Opinion intergovernmental organisations essentially received at one stroke the paraphernalia required by an international legal actor. The framework proposed by the Court was widely adopted to match developing practice and, although organisations figure in the majority of cases subsequently broug...

International Community Law Review, 2011

Non-State Actors and International Law, 2005

International legal regulation of water resources traditionally operates from the perspective of ... more International legal regulation of water resources traditionally operates from the perspective of the state and, in line with general legal doctrine regarding natural resources, hinges on the parameters of territoriality and state sovereignty. However, in recent times the problem of freshwater management is approached increasingly through the prism of human rights law. The shift from the state to the individual as a starting point in international law-formation is undoubtedly a powerful trend in legal doctrine and in legal discourse. A separate question is whether a human right to water at this point in time can be said to exist as lex lata in the positivist sense. The purpose of this article is to examine whether indeed a universal human right to water can be construed, notably on the basis of international treaty law. The analysis focuses on Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and on articles 11(1) and 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The authors conclude that a substantive human right to water is implied under articles 11(1) and 12(1) ICESCR, and subsequently address the normative implications of such a right, the nature and scope of corresponding state obligations, and general aspects of its implementation at the international and the domestic level.

Challenging Acts of International Organizations Before National Courts, 2010

This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network electronic l... more This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network electronic library For information on the ACIL visit: www.jur.uva.nl/acil Amsterdam Center for International Law

Leiden Journal of International Law - LEIDEN J INT LAW, 2000

Citation for published version (APA): Commissie van Advies inzake Volkenrechtelijke Vraagstukken,... more Citation for published version (APA): Commissie van Advies inzake Volkenrechtelijke Vraagstukken, Wessel, R. A., van den Herik, L. J., Brölmann, C. M., den Dekker, G. R., de Hoogh, A. J. J., Jägers, N. M. C. P., Lammers, J. G., Oude Elferink, A. G., & Rosenboom, A. E. (2017). Advies inzake de identificatie van internationaal gewoonterecht. (CAVV Advies; No. 29). Commissie van Advies inzake Volkenrechtelijke Vraagstukken. http://cms.webbeat.net/ContentSuite/upload/cav/doc/De_identificatie_van_internationaal_gew oonterecht(1).pdf

IEEE Electron Device Letters - IEEE ELECTRON DEV LETT, 2010

Waterworks company is allowed to cut off the water supply of a defaulting client, as this would n... more Waterworks company is allowed to cut off the water supply of a defaulting client, as this would not entail a breach of the client's human right to water.

Etre en mesure d’adapter les dispositions de la COTIF et de ses appendices a un contexte ju-ridiq... more Etre en mesure d’adapter les dispositions de la COTIF et de ses appendices a un contexte ju-ridique en constante evolution devient une necessite imperieuse. A cet egard, il est important qu’une reflexion soit menee, en s’appuyant sur le droit international public et en particulier sur les pratiques des Etats au titre d’autres traites pertinents.