President Ram Niwas Mirdha
Executive President V. S. Mani
Vice Presidents V. C. Govindaraj
R.K.P. Shankardass, Veena Bakshi
Treasurer J.S. Gill
Secretary-General & Editor C. Jayaraj
Editor-in-chief, IJIL Rahmatullah Khan
Assistant Editor Manoj Kumar Sinha


 
 

From the President's Desk  
 
Sudan is the largest country in the African continent. It is bounded to the north by Egypt, and to the east by the Red Sea, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Darfur is located in the western part of the Sudan. The estimated population of Darfur is around 5.7 million. The major ethnic group in Western Darfur is the Fur, hence the name Darfur (Dar means homeland, thus Darfur means homeland of the Fur). Two of the opposition groups involved in the conflict represent the Fur ethnic group. The other two groups were formed by the ethnic group ofZaghawa. The conflict brings three ethnic groups, the Fur, Zaghawa and Mussalit against nomadic Arab ethnic tribes. The core of the conflict is a struggle for control of resources. Conflicts between the strong Arab nomadic groups and the sedentary African cultivators over water and grazing resources were common in the past. However, these conflicts were resolved by holding tribal conferences by compensating the victim.

The genesis of current crisis in Western Darfur can be traced back from February 2003, when two rebel groups, namely, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLA) and the justice and Equality Movement (JEM) targeted the National Islamic Front (NIF) government in Darfur. The African Union (AU) intervened in the crisis and arranged a cease-fire and put in position a force to monitor the cease-fire. But there are serious limitations for the AU to establish permanent peace among the warring factions.

he United Nations discussed this emerging crisis on many occasions and in various ways. To cut a long story short, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, on 18 September 2004 the Security Council adopted resolution (1564) requesting, inter alia, that the Secretary- General 'rapidly establish an international commission of inquiry in order immediately to investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur by all parties, to determine also whether or not acts of genocide have occurred, and to identify the perpetrators of such violations with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable'.

As suggested by the Commission of Enquiry, the UN Security Council by a Resolution (1593) has referred the Darfur war crimes trials to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The resolution was passed by a vote of 11 states in favour and 4 abstentions, including the United States and China, who have not acceded to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC incidentally, for its own reasons, India is also not a signatory to the Statute. The fact that the Security Council referred a case to the ICC is likely to give impetus and legitimacy to it as an international institution, which would be able to prosecute perpetrators of heinous atrocities when states fail to do so.

Thirty-Fourth Annual Conference (12-13 March 2005)
 
The Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) organised its 34th Annual Conference on 12-13 March 2005 at V.K. Krishna Menon Bhavan (ISIL), New Delhi. More than 250 delegates including law faculties, researchers, students and lawyers from different states of the country and representatives from several embassies and ministries participated.

Shri. Ram Niwas Mirdha, President, ISIL, while welcoming the distinguished guests and the delegates, mentioned about the usefulness of the Annual Conference and the need for participating in such a conference. Shri. Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs in his presidential address, emphasised that international law was the basis and necessary to all efforts for peace and justice in international relations. Dr. P.S. Rao, Member, International Law Commission in his inaugural address pointed out the role and importance of international law to bringing about a world order based on justice and equity. He also described the role played by India as a frontrunner for espousing the cause of developing countries. Shri. C. Jayaraj, Secretary General, ISIL gave vote of thanks.

The Conference was organised in four sessions. The first session was on the International Commercial Arbitration and Law in India. Hon'ble Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, High Court of Delhi chaired the session. Shri A.K. Ganguli, Advocate and Member, Executive Council, ISIL, Shri Naresh Kumar, Shri Sarvesh Chandra, Prof. J.L. Kaul and Ms. Ishita Bhattacharya presented papers.

Private International Law: the Need for Codification was the topic for the second session. Hon'ble Justice Vikramajit Sen, High Court of Delhi chaired the session. Shri Ranjit Malhotra, Ms. Jyoti Reddy, Shri Shambhu Chopra and Prof. Lakshmi Jambholkar spoke about the different aspects of the topic.

The third session was on the Problems of Compliance under International Humanitarian Law. Prof. Rahmatullah Khan, Editor-in-Chief, IJIL chaired the session. 'Mr. Larry Maybee, Maj. Gen. Nilendra Kumar, Prof. B.C. Nirmal, Prof. R.C. Hingorani, Ms. Jasmeet Kaur Egan and Shri L. Swain spoke about the various facets of the topic.

The fourth and final session was on International and National Environmental Law. Prof. Gurdip Singh, Professor-in- Charge, Law Centre-ll, University of Delhi chaired the session. Dr. S.Bhatt, Shri Shikhar Ranjan, Shri G.V. Rao, Shri Anwar Sadat and Dr. Furqan Ahmed deliberated on the various issues concerning environmental law.

Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
 
The Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) and the International Attorneys, Chennai jointly organised the India North Rounds of the 2005 Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition at the Society's premises on 28-30 January 2005. Prof. R.P. Anand, Professor Emeritus, JNU inaugurated the function. Prof. V.S. Mani, Executive President, ISIL presided. Shri Vinod Surana, Surana and Surana, Chennai also spoke on the occasion. Prof. V.C. Govindaraj, Vice President, ISIL welcomed the guests and Shri C. Jayaraj, Secretary General, ISIL gave vote of thanks.

The Competition was organised in three rounds, namely, Preliminary, Semi-final and Final. The participants were judged on the basis of written memorials, appreciation of the facts and law, advocacy skills, general impression and court manners.

Prof. V.C. Govindaraj, Prof. Lakshmi Jambholkar, Dr. R. K. Dixit. Dr. V. D. Sharma, Dr.Manjula Batra, Shri Shikhar Ranjan, Shri. G.V. Rao, Shri Parameswaran, Shri Rajasekhara Rao, Shri Ravichandar and Ms. Rajni Bhardwaj acted as judges in the preliminary rounds and semi finals. Prof. Rahmatullah Khan, Editor-in-Chief, IJIL, Prof. Chandrasekharan Pillai, Director, Indian Law Institute and Dr. R.K. Dixit, former Legal Adviser, MEA, Government of India formed the bench in the Final. National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata was adjudged as the winner.

Prof. Rahmatullah Khan presented certificates to the winning team and the runner up, Amity Law School. Prof. Chandrasekharan Pillai presented certificates to 3rd and 4th best teams and also distributed certificates to all the participants. Shri C. Jayaraj, presented certificates for the best student advocate to Ms. Heena Singh, National Law University, Jodhpur and the best speaker of the final to Shri. Deep C. Kabir, NUJS, Kolkota. Certificates for the best first four memorials were presented by Dr. R.K. Dixit.

ISIL-AIL Two-Day Workshop on International Law
 
The ISIL and Army Institute of Law (AIL), Mohali jointly organised two day workshop on Emerging Role of International Law at AIL, Mohali, Punjab on 8-9 January 2005. Gen.(Rtd.) S.F. Rodrigues, Governor of Punjab inaugurated the workshop. Prof. B.C. Nirmal, Member, Executive Council, ISIL, in his keynote address, underlined the priorities of the legal system in view of globalisation and international requirements.

Prof. Veer Singh, Director General, AIL welcomed the delegates and later, Dr. G.i.S. Sandhu, Director, AIL gave vote of thanks.

The workshop was designed to upgrade the knowledge of teachers of international law of various Universities. The workshop was conducted in three sessions viz., Primacy of International Law and The Recent Developments, Emerging International Criminal Law and International Criminal Court and Issues of International Trade.

In the valedictory session, Dr. A.R. Kidwai, Governor of Haryana was the chief guest. Shri G.V. Rao, Member, Executive Council, ISIL presided. Ms. Jasmeet K. Egan, coordinator, read out a report about the workshop. Prof. Veer Singh welcomed the chief guest and the participants and later, Dr. G.I.S. Sandhu gave vote of thanks. More than 100 delegates including law faculties, researchers and students participated.

ISIL-GH Raisoni Law School Two-Day National Seminar on International Law
 
The ISIL-GH Raisoni Law School, Nagpur jointly conducted a national seminar on international law on 26-27 February 2005 at Nagpur. Hon'ble Justice B.N. Srikrishna, Judge, Supreme Court of India inaugurated the seminar. Hon'ble Justice J.N. Patel, Judge, Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench was the Guest of Honour. Shri C. Jayaraj, Secretary General, ISIL also spoke on the occasion. He highlighted the aims and objectives of ISIL. In the beginning Dr. Sandhya De, Director/ Principal of the G.H. Raisoni Law School welcomed the delegates and later Shri. Sunil Raisoni, Chairman, G.H. Raisoni Law School gave vote of thanks.

More than 200 delegates including judges, lawyers, law teachers, law students and researchers participated in the Seminar, which was organised in three sessions, viz., 1) Recent Developments in International Law; 2) International Criminal Law and 3) Intellectual Property Law.

The valedictory function was addressed by Hon'ble Justice R.M. Lodha, Judge, Bombay High Court. Dr. Ved Prakash Mishra, Dr. B.C. Nirmal spoke on the occasion. Dr. Sandhya De, in her concluding remarks, shared her happiness with the audience for the successful organisation of the seminar.

Join The Indian Academy of International Law and Diplomacy

The Indian Academy of International Law and Diplomacy, the teacing wing of the ISIL offers the following one-year Postgraduate Diploma courses in-

  1. International Law & Diplomacy
  2. Human Rights, International Humanitarian and Refugee Laws
  3. International Trade and Business Law

The first course is affiliated to the University ofDelhi. The post-graduate diploma courses are
not only rated highly in india but also throughout the world.

For details: Please Contact ISIL Office, Ph.: 23384458-59 or E-mail: isil@giasdl01 .vsnl.net.in

Special Lectures

The ISIL organised a special lecture on Evolution, Structure, Principle and Working of the WTO on 10th January 2005 by Shri S.P. Shukla, former Commerce Secretary, Government of India.

A special lecture on the Agreement on Anti Dumping under WTO: Challenges Before the Developing Countries by Dr. L.V. Saptharishi, Director General, CAPART, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India was organised on 14th January 2005.

A special lecture about the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by Mr. Phillip Gauthier, Registrar, ITLOS, Hamburg was organised on 25th January 2005.

A lecture on the Role of UNIDROITin the Unification of Private Commercial Law by Prof. Herbert Kronke, Secretary General, UNIDROIT, Rome was organised on 21st March 2005.

Law Students Visited ISIL

A delegation of more than 60 students from Midnapur Law College, West Bengal visited ISIL on 14th February 2005. Prof. Lakshmi Jambholkar spoken to them on the importance of the study of international law and explained the objective and activities of the Society.

A delegation of more than 50 students from Sidhartha Law College, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh visited ISIL on 7th March 2005. Dr. A. S. Reddy, Member, Executive Council. Shri Luther M. Rengreji, Dr. Ch. Banerji and Shri Leeladhara B.M. spoke on the occasion and interacted with the students.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Fourth Summer Course on International Law will be held from 20th June-2nd July 2005.

An International Conference on the Emerging Trends in International Criminal Law will be held from 10-11 December 2005 at New Delhi.
 

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