Mixed Commission for Upper Silesia

in Ruiz Fabri, Helene (Ed.) Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (2019)

This entry provides a detailed account and assessment of the Upper Silesian Mixed Commission, a quasi-judicial body instituted from 1922 to 1937 between Germany and Poland in a region partitioned between ... [more ▼]

This entry provides a detailed account and assessment of the Upper Silesian Mixed Commission, a quasi-judicial body instituted from 1922 to 1937 between Germany and Poland in a region partitioned between the two states. The Mixed Commission for Upper Silesia offered the most sophisticated mechanism for the protection of minority rights during the Interwar Period. As a predecessor of the European Court of Human Rights, its legacy, especially its case-law on questions such as indirect discrimination, remains relevant today. [less ▲]

Evidence Requirements before 19th Century Anti-Slave Trade Jurisdictions and Slavery as a Standard of Treatment

in Ruiz Fabri, Helene (Ed.) International Law and Litigation: A Look Into Procedure (2019)

This paper (originally written in 2016) presents the evidence requirements applicable before 19th century anti-slave trade courts. It examines several emblematic cases showing that de jure considerations ... [more ▼]

This paper (originally written in 2016) presents the evidence requirements applicable before 19th century anti-slave trade courts. It examines several emblematic cases showing that de jure considerations (such as the emancipated status of passengers, or even the fact that slavery did no longer exist in the country of destination) did not prevent judges from holding, based on a de facto standard of treatment, that acts of slave trading had been committed. [less ▲]

Introduction: Versailles and the Broadening of ‘Peace Through Law’

in Erpelding, Michel; Hess, Burkhard; Ruiz Fabri, Helene (Eds.) Peace through Law: The Versailles Peace Treaty and Dispute Settlement after WWI (2019)

This introduction to the volume edited by the author with Burkhard Hess and Hélène Ruiz Fabri does not only present an outline of the different chapters in the volume, but also presents the Versailles ... [more ▼]

This introduction to the volume edited by the author with Burkhard Hess and Hélène Ruiz Fabri does not only present an outline of the different chapters in the volume, but also presents the Versailles Treaty and the other post-WWI Paris Peace Treaties in their historical context and assesses their overall impact on international law. [less ▲]

L'annexion de la Crimée devant les juges

in Annuaire Français de Droit International (2018), 63

In accordance with the practice of a majority of States, the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation can be qualified as a case of annexation. As a serious breach of international law, it ... [more ▼]

In accordance with the practice of a majority of States, the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation can be qualified as a case of annexation. As a serious breach of international law, it raises a certain number of questions with regard to the respective rights and obligations of all relevant actors. With no conventional resolution of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine in sight, judicial remedies—both before national and international courts and tribunals—are destined to play a key role in this context. As a matter of fact, annexation of Crimea has already resulted in judicial decisions regarding the restitution of cultural property, investment protection, and the restrictive measures adopted by the EU following Crimea’s annexation. Other questions raised by this situation are currently being discussed before the ICJ, the ECtHR, the ICC, the WTO, and a UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal. [less ▲]

Le droit international antiesclavagiste des "nations civilisées" (1815-1945)

Book published by Institut Universitaire Varenne/LGDJ (2017)

The prohibition of slavery is a fundamental norm in contemporary international law. It is an integral part of all major human rights instruments, and it is generally presented as an obligation towards the ... [more ▼]

The prohibition of slavery is a fundamental norm in contemporary international law. It is an integral part of all major human rights instruments, and it is generally presented as an obligation towards the international community as a whole. Prior to the Second World War and the emergence of international human rights, the international antislavery law was tightly linked to the ambiguous idea of “civilisation” and, more precisely, to the ability of the Western States to define themselves as “civilised nations” as compared to the rest of the world. As a matter of fact, the very notion of “civilised nations” appeared for the first time in the history of international law in the Declaration of the Eight Courts Relative to the Universal Abolition of the Slave Trade of 8 February 1815. Signed at the Congress of Vienna, the Declaration was also the first multilateral instrument that condemned the slave trade. As shown through the book’s systematic survey of relevant State practice (including more than 450 slavery-related treaties and numerous pieces of colonial legislation relating to slavery and forced labour), the antislavery principle proclaimed in 1815 soon gave rise to more stringent and detailed norms. However, its precise scope remained under constant debate. One major question that arose during these debates was whether a “civilised nation” which had formally abolished the institution of slavery but tolerated or used certain forms of forced labour could be accused of having infringed its obligations under international antislavery law. Only in 1945 would the adoption of the Nuremberg Charter bring a positive answer to that question. In short: - First systematic comparative study of slavery and forced labour in international and colonial law before the advent of international human rights - First systematic survey of hundreds of antislavery treaties (including several hundred treaties with non-Western polities). [less ▲]

Ce qui reste de Versailles : Retour sur quelques apports du droit international de l’entre-deux-guerres

Article for general public (2017)

This academic outreach article presents several innovations introduced by the 1919 Versailles Treaty and which are still of relevance for international law and international relations today.

L'esclavage en droit international : aux origines de la relecture actuelle de la définition conventionnelle de 1926

in Journal of the History of International Law (2015), 17(2), 170-220