The penal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan includes a number of crimes against the peace and security of mankind. Among these are most of the traditional “core” crimes under international law—genocide, war crimes, and the crime of aggression—as well as some other crimes. Crimes against humanity are not included in the Criminal Code so far but some of their definitional features are shared by so-called “extremist crimes”. In addition to other customary crimes against the peace and security of mankind—such as deliberately attacking internationally protected persons and organizations and abusing internationally protected emblems—the Code also includes more novel crimes, such as participation in foreign armed conflicts. This paper analyses the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan in the light of corresponding treaty-based and customary rules of international law, and suggests further improvements to be made to the Code.

The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice [ICJ] on the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 has been hailed as a major victory by the government of Mauritius and by representatives of the Chagossians who were forcibly removed from the islands to make way for the establishment of an American military facility on the island of Diego Garcia at the height of the Cold War. The opinion was categorical: the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence in 1968. The UK lost on every single argument it made before the Court and is under an obligation to bring its administration of the Chagos Archipelago to an end “as rapidly as possible”. This comment focuses on what the ICJ said about self-determination, and whether the Advisory Opinion could have consequences for future cases at the Court.

This paper examines the changing trend in the final form of International Law Commission [ILC] outcomes, and implications vis-à-vis the role of the ILC in the development of international law. To this end, the paper considers changes in the form of ILC outcomes and recommendations, the reasons for such changes, and finally, implications for the development of international law. It argues that, in opting for various forms appropriate for dealing with a wider scope of topics, the ILC is providing for its continuing role in the development of international law by ensuring the flexibility and efficacy of its deliberations.

The decision of the Office of the Prosecutor to seek a ruling in the “Bangladesh/Myanmar Situation” on jurisdiction under Article 19(3) of the Rome Statute was lauded for its drafting. The ICC granted the request in a very controversial judgment. This paper focuses on self-invocation and misinterpretation of Article 119(1) of the Statute (paragraph one disputes). The Court thus created and lost a unique chance to explain one of the untouched provisions of the Statute. The two paragraphs of the Article envisage different types of disputes. The Chamber was divided on the meaning of the very term “dispute”. However, what is noteworthy is that nowhere in her request had the Prosecutor accepted that there exists a dispute in this situation. In fact, the term “dispute” was not mentioned even once in her request. Why then did the Court delve into it?

The rule of law bears a special meaning in the context of the international legal order, where there is no clear vertical hierarchy or sovereign. The international rule of law strives to curb the excess autonomy of individual states for the common good. Although there is considerable scepticism about whether the international rule of law actually exists, states largely do behave as if international law is truly “law”, and international obligations are also more enforceable now than ever before. But there have been and will be moments when the international rule of law is interrupted by major powers. In an interdependent world that is both capable of and prone to inflicting unimaginable destruction, the strategy for small states unable to defend themselves directly is to create the conditions that will best promote their survival, and that is accomplished by pursuing and promoting the rule of law both domestically and internationally.

This paper relies on archival research to rediscover Chen Tiqiang's study of public international law at Tsinghua University and Oxford University with James Brierly. Particular attention is directed to Brierly's profound influence on Chen's approach to researching the doctrine of recognition and his remarkable performance at his oral examination before Humphrey Waldock and Robert Y. Jennings. In addition to providing an abbreviated overview of the international legal community's overwhelmingly favourable reactions to the publication of Chen's dissertation in 1951, it argues that Chen's experience and accomplishments provide some evidence that China's teaching and scholarship of international law attained an unprecedented milestone in the late 1930s and 1940s.

The Ghana/Côte d'Ivoire case is the first time that an ITLOS ad hoc chamber has addressed the lawfulness of unilateral hydrocarbon activities in a disputed maritime area. This paper analyzes the Chamber's ruling on Côte d'Ivoire's submission no. 2, which covers several important issues: the jurisdiction of the Chamber to decide on submission no. 2, the alleged violation of sovereign rights, and the alleged violation of Article 83(3) of UNCLOS. The paper argues that the Chamber's jurisdictional basis of forum prorogatum is questionable, and that there are inconsistent approaches between the Judgment and the Order of the provisional measures. Additionally, there are not only inconsistent understandings of the “Ivorian maritime area” within the same submission no. 2 by the Chamber, but also a logical gap in the Chamber's reasoning with regard to submission no. 2(iii). Consequently, the Chamber's inconsistent approaches may jeopardize the persuasiveness of its judgment.

Indonesia has been burning or sinking foreign vessels in its efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in its exclusive economic zone. Opinions on how much longer this measure should continue are manifold. While political issues may easily mask the situation, the underlying legal question remains: whether burning or sinking foreign vessels is a legal and necessary enforcement measure for Indonesia. Even though Article 73(1) of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not make any reference to this type of measure, it allows coastal states to take measures that are “necessary to ensure compliance with their laws and regulations”. This paper examines the meaning of the term “necessary” within the ambit of Article 73(1) to evaluate whether Indonesia's measure to burn or sink foreign vessels is necessary.

Data localization is a phenomenon that is of increasing global significance, as a growing number of countries impose data localization requirements on data controllers. This paper discusses data localization in the ASEAN context. It proposes a schema of data localization laws which comprises two categories of data localization requirements. This schema is used to examine data localization laws within ASEAN, and it will be shown that there is presently a moderate level of data localization among ASEAN Member States. The paper then discusses how data localization is dealt with in the EU and in ASEAN, addressing some recent developments in the two regimes. It concludes with recommendations for ASEAN's approach to data localization, drawing from the EU regime.