Topic 1

NATO is preparing to interdict deliveries by sea of refined oil bound for Yugoslavia, as a means of ensuring that NATO's bombing of Serbian oil refineries will not be neutralized by the supply of refined oil from other sources.  France and Italy have raised a question whether such interdiction at sea would violate international law. 

 

When the Yugoslav government refused to sign the American-drafted peace accord for Kosovo, and after repeated warnings to Yugoslavia, NATO forces have begun an aerial bombing campaign against Yugoslav military targets. The question arises whether international law permits the use of armed force against Yugoslavia under these circumstances. 

I. Introduction: 

 

On November 8, 2000, the heads of the delegations of Belize and Guatemala signed an agreement to adopt a comprehensive set of "confidence-building measures to avoid incidents between the two countries", according to the press release E-195/00 issued by the Permanent Council of the Organization of the American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. This agreement was described by the Secretary-General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria, as a milestone. 

 

I. Introduction: 

 

On November 8, 2000, the heads of the delegations of Belize and Guatemala signed an agreement to adopt a comprehensive set of "confidence-building measures to avoid incidents between the two countries", according to the press release E-195/00 issued by the Permanent Council of the Organization of the American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. This agreement was described by the Secretary-General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria, as a milestone. 

 

According to news reports, General Augusto Pinochet has been indicted in Chile on kidnapping charges arising out of the disappearance of 19 political opponents in the first months of his rule in Chile, which began in 1973.  In August 2000, the Chilean Supreme Court had removed his immunity from prosecution under Chilean law.

 

I. Introduction

 

According to news reports, a French appeals court has held that the Libyan head of state, Muammar Qadhafi, could be prosecuted in France for his alleged role in the bombing of a French airliner over Niger in 1989. French prosecutors have opposed the prosecution, arguing that Qadhafi is entitled to head-of-state immunity in the French courts, but an investigating magistrate rejected the argument and the appeals court upheld that decision. The prosecutor is likely to appeal to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in France.

 

I. Introduction