Death penalty became recently an important issue for international relations, and no more a purely domestic matter, as it used to be. On the one hand, legal obligations were determined in the fields of human rights - the right to live, prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment - as in procedural matters, with a case-law of international jurisdictions, from the International Court of Justice to the European Court of Human Rights. On the other hand, international standards were set within (...)  lire suite

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ in the United Nations, is meant to exercise the function of a “world tribunal”, but actually, it sees its role depend largely on the States’ good will to acknowledge its ability. Since the last few years, a recrudescence of recourse to this jurisdiction to settle conflicts in inter-State relations has been observed, the recourse intervening frequently for matters directly linked to the question of the use of armed force. (...)  lire suite

The precaution principle that is often referred to in the field of environment and public health, imposes to take the measures required to avoid the risk of serious and irreversible damage, even when this risk is not certain - which distinguishes it from the prevention principle. Today this principle is consecrated in numerous international conventions ; doubtlessly hastily, some even confer it a customary value. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to agree on its precise (juridical) (...)  lire suite