International law
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on international law. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 18.06.2013 | Syria: The legality of arming the rebels after the lifting of the EU arms embargo |
| Would arming the Syrian rebels be illegal, notwithstanding the lifting of the EU arms embargo? | |
| 16.04.2013 | The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: tension between Japan and China in the East China Sea |
| Tensions between Japan and China in connection with long-standing rival claims to sovereignty over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have deepened since September 2012, with nationalist sentiment being stirred up in both countries. Taiwan also claims the islands. Japan, which administers the islands, does not accept that there is a dispute to be resolved. China insists that there is. This note briefly summarizes the competing claims and reviews developments over the last six months or so. | |
| 21.02.2013 | Recognising the killings of Iraqi Kurds as genocide |
| The killings of thousands of Iraqi Kurds under Saddam Hussein's rule has been recognised by some as genocide, which has a specific definition under international law. | |
| 28.01.2013 | In brief: North Korea and the nuclear issue one year on from the succession |
| After a failed ballistic missile launch by North Korea in April 2012, an apparently more successful one took place in December, characterized at the time by the regime as a satellite launch. The UN Security Council passed a resolution further toughening sanctions. North Korea has responded to the new sanctions with its customary threatening rhetoric and has announced that it is preparing to conduct a third nuclear weapon test, following on from those undertaken in 2006 and 2009. This note surveys the state of play on the nuclear issue in the light of internal developments in North Korea, where Kim Jon-Un appears to have consolidated his power. | |
| 17.01.2013 | Antarctic Bill - Committee Stage |
| The Antarctic Bill is presented as a Private Member's Bill by Neil Carmichael MP. This note sets out the issues discussed in the Bill Committee on 21 November 2012. These included: the timing of the enactment of the provisions relating to the liability annex, compatibility with existing shipping liability provisions, and the wider issue of the future of the British Antarctic Survey. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 01.07.2013 | Leaving the EU |
| The Treaty on European Union provides for a Member State to leave the EU, either on the basis of a negotiated withdrawal agreement or without one. If the UK were to leave the EU following a referendum, it is likely that the Government would negotiate an agreement with the EU, which would probably contain transitional arrangements as well as provide for the UK's long-term future relations with the EU. There is no precedent for such an agreement, but it would in all likelihood come at the end of complex and lengthy negotiations. | |
| 20.03.2009 | Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel (Protocols) Bill [HL] (Bill 69 of 2008-09) |
| This short Bill is intended to amend two UK Acts to enable the Government to ratify two international agreements protecting military medical personnel and humanitarian workers. In line with the protocols, the Bill would firstly sanction and protect the 'red crystal' as a new symbol to protect humanitarian personnel in armed conflict instead of (or in addition to) the existing red cross or red crescent; and secondly extend the definition of protected UN workers to include those delivering humanitarian, political or development assistance in peacebuilding operations and those delivering emergency humanitarian protection. | |
| 17.06.2008 | Reinventing humanitarian intervention: Two cheers for the Responsibility to Protect? |
| Reinventing humanitarian intervention: Two cheers for the Responsibility to Protect? House of Commons Library Research Paper 08/55. | |
| 22.07.2004 | Iraq:legal issues at the handover |
| Iraq: legal issues at the handover. House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/59. | |
| 02.06.2003 | Iraq: Law of Occupation |
| Iraq: law of occupation. House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/51. |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 23.11.2011 | AMENDMENT OF THE ROME STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT |
| That this House notes the amendment to the 1998 Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted on 12 June 2010 in Kampala defining the Crime of Aggression; further ... | |
| 14.12.2010 | DETENTION OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN IN ISRAEL |
| That this House notes with grave concern that every year Israel prosecutes an average of 700 Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank in military courts; further notes that ... | |
| 02.06.2010 | ISRAEL AND GAZA FLOTILLA |
| That this House is appalled by the loss of life associated with Israel's attack on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza; notes that UK and other nationals have been ... | |
| 24.03.2010 | INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AND THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL |
| That this House notes the forthcoming meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in May 2010 in Kampala to reach an international agreement ... | |
| 18.01.2010 | CHANGES TO LEGISLATION ON UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION |
| That this House opposes any proposed changes to UK legislation on universal jurisdiction that would compromise the UK's obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention to seek out and ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 28.01.2013 | Antarctic Bill (HL Bill 76 of 2012-13) |
| The Antarctic Bill would implement Annex VI (the 'Liability Annex') to the Antarctic Treaty's Environmental Protocol and sets out measures to reduce risks of environmental emergencies in Antarctica. It would also make a number of changes to the Antarctic Act 1994 to give additional protection to the Antarctic environment. This Library Note provides background information in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Lords on 1 February 2013. | |
| 15.10.2012 | Debate on 18 October: Scott Expedition to Antarctica and Scientific Legacy |
| This Library Note provides background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday, 18 October: 'the centenary of the Scott Expedition to Antarctica and of the United Kingdom's enduring scientific legacy and ongoing presence there'. | |
| 19.03.2012 | Question for Short Debate on 26 March: Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army |
| This Library Note provides background information on steps to bring to trial Joseph Kony and other leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army. | |
| 23.01.2009 | Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel (Protocols) Bill [HL]. LLN 2009/001 |
| Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel (Protocols) Bill [HL]. House of Lords Library Note 2009/001 |
