books-intllaw

Future of International Law

FUTURE THOUGHTS

THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

July 2, 2001

I had not expected to be writing about the future of law at this stage of
the Center's development, although it is on our list of topics for
examination at some point; the future of international law was even further
in the distance as a topic. However, the transfer of Slobodan Milosevic to
The Hague for trial for crimes against humanity requires comment, because it
is a precedent-setting event. Precedent-setting because he was Head of State
of Yugoslavia, because he was turned over "voluntarily" by Yugoslavia, and
because of the intense pressure put on Yugoslavia by the international
community to have him tried internationally, rather than in Yugoslavia.
Milosevic is, of course, an extremely unattractive figure, and the horrible
crimes he is responsible for make him a comfortable target for those
wanting to set such precedents.

One of the premises of The Center for Creating the Future is that
globalization is here to stay and that it is, on balance, a good thing.
Given the extent of Milosevic`s crimes and the near certainty of his
responsibility for them, he may be the best place to undertake an expansion
of international legal authority, a goal that should and will be slowly and
certainly reached. However, a word of caution: as in many such expansions of
authority, it depends on whose ox is getting gored. There are some troubling
elements to this case. One is internal to Yugoslavia, the present president,
Vojislav Kostunica, was elected on a promise to try Milosevic in Yugoslavia
and not turn him over to international authorities. These actions may
undermine his credibility and authority and lead to a strengthening of
nationalist feelings in the country; where, to paraphrase Bismarck, I
believe, they already produce more nationalism than they can consume
locally.

On the international level, and of concern to those interested in creating a stronger and more far-reaching rule of law, is the way the international community persuaded Yugoslavia to give up Milosevic. It took a combination of carrots -- promises of financial aid -- and sticks -- threats of new sanctions -- to pry him loose. That�s fine and dandy when its someone as unattractive as Milosevic, and where the record is so damning, but what about a less clear-cut case or where the "criminal" is someone we support? How many U.N. members have already voted for war criminal status for Israel? How many more might if faced with an O.P.E.C. oil boycott?

I believe that an expansion of international legal authority is coming and
on balance will serve the world well; we certainly need to deal with the
likes of Slobodan Milosevic and his henchpersons in an unequivocal and
well-publicized fashion, but we also need to create the future of
international criminal law with great care and adhere to the same standards
that have served to restrain Anglo-American legal practices so well.

Jack Latona
The Center for Creating the Future
[email protected]
www.creatingthefuture.org
Fort Lauderdale, FL USA