When in 1985 the International Tin Council was unable to meet its financial obligations, various legal questions arose. It appears that the question of liability of international organizations has, up till now, not been adequately addressed. The article written by Professor Henry G. Schemers is a first attempt in legal literature to examine the liability of international organizations from a theoretical point of view. The author concludes that the principle that everybody is liable for his debts does not apply to international governmental organizations. The liability of governments is, in the eyes of the author, not limited when they perform some of their tasks through an international organization, unless there is an express provision to this effect. However, in general international law is insufficiently developed with respect to the payment of debts of international organizations.

After Chernobyl, the perception of a common interest in internationally organised nuclear safety measures has been evident among all governments of countries with nuclear power plants, as well as those likely to be involved in or affected by a nuclear accident. Dr. Peter D. Cameron examines the two principal developments in international lawwhich reflect this consensus: the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Event of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. While representing a considerable achievement, the Conventions underline the determination of states parties not to lose control over nuclear matters at the national level.

In this article the author elaborates upon the close relationship between the concepts of human rights and development, examined in relation to African legal practice. Development is considered as a comprehensive legal, economic, social, and cultural concept. According to the author the right to development may be claimed by individuals and peoples of developing nations. In this respect the African situation is carefully analyzed by the author. The African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights, which came into force in October, 1986, may be considered a first regional effort to promote human rights and development. So far, the Charter has already been ratified by 30 African States.

In his article on mergers and antitrust regulation in the United States, Professor Cohn describes the intricate relationship between the two concepts. Antitrust law is analyzed along the lines of the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Furthermore, Professor Cohn frequently refers to relevant jurisprudence in his efforts to clarify the present-day legal situation in the United States with respect to horizontal and vertical mergers. He concludes that merger law in the United States is an amalgam of state and federal law which does not account for a ‘unified set of rules governing mergers’.

Nico Schrijver discusses the claim by the UN Council for Namibia against Ultra Centrifuge Nederland, Urenco, and The Netherlands in the case concerning the alleged illegal processing ofNamibian uranium. He analyzes the evolution of international law with respect to Namibia, the status of the UN Council for Namibia, the juridical value of Decree No.I, the contents of the writ of summons as well as the counter-arguments by The Netherlands government.

Consideration is given of the ‘classical’ view on state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts and the reasons why, at least according to the International Law Commission of the United Nations, this view no longer corresponds to the realities of international legal life. The author then focuses on the novel concept of international crimes of states. Both the constituent elements and the legal consequences of international crimes, as conceived of by the International Law Commission, are discussed. According to the author, without the simultaneous acceptance of compulsory means of pacific settlement, the potentially fruitful concept of international crimes of states might prove disastrous for the international community.

On June 2, 1988, the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Activities was concluded after several years of negotiations. Starting with a review of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, the author discusses the new Convention and the organs it has created. Special attention is paid to the possible impact of mineral activities to the unique environment of Antarctica, and the safeguards which are offered by the Convention in this respect. According to the author, it can be doubted whether the regime's institutions will adequately account for the environmental consequences of mineral activities.

In this first issue of the LJIL, both Student Contributions focus on the theme of extradition. The editorial staff intends to present the readers of this category a special theme at least once a year. Future themes may include the interplay between development and environment, the concept of a common cultural heritage in international law, and recent developments concerning international crimes of states. Suggestions for themes are, of course, warmly welcomed.

After an extensive discussion of the treatment of cultural property through the ages, the author focuses on the position of art treasures under current international law. Are states under an obligation to return cultural property to its country of origin? In order to answer this question, the author introduces a ‘gliding scale’, based on the circumstances of the removal of the works of art.

In the international combat against terrorism, several legal instruments are considered. The author starts with a review of the various conventions and resolutions concerning terrorism. Despite all efforts, however, the international community has not been able to adopt a satisfactory definition of terrorism. Consequently, the extradition of terrorists still appears to be the most effective instrument available. The author discusses the conditions that must be fulfilled before extradition is granted, the grounds on which a state can assume jurisdiction over individuals, as well as specific reasons to refuse a request for extradition. Among these exceptions to extradition, the principle that political offenders will not be extradited plays an important role.

On the basis of four ‘irregular’ extradition cases, the author demonstrates that states sometimes violate generally accepted rules of extradition law. Legitimate grounds for the refusal of, as well as procedural impediments to extradition are evaded -for instance by simply kidnapping the individual involved. Also, the so-called ‘disguised extradition’ is used by states, when expelling a person in stead of extraditing him, but in fact accomplishing the same result. Despite such apparent failures in the procedure of obtaining an individual (‘male captus’), states maintain that the individuals can nevertheless be legitimately tried (‘bene judicatus’). According to the author, these practices are incompatible with certain general principles of international law.

On 7 September 1988 the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, received the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Leiden. This degree was granted as a tribute to his contribution to international peace, justice and international law. Following an introduction by Professor H.G. Schermers (Leiden University), Professor P.H. Kooijmans (Leiden University) delivered the laudatio in honour of Mr. Perez de Cuellar. Mr. Kooijmans praised the efforts of the Secretary General in seeking settlement of international disputes, and he stated that Mr. Perez de Cuellar had at crucial moments used his personal prestige in order to achieve a breakthrough in the peaceful settlement of international disputes. In particular Mr. Kooijmans referred to the Iran\Iraq, Namibia, Afghanistan, and Western Sahara disputes. In particular Mr. Kooijmans referred to the Iran/Iraq, Namibia, Afghanistan, and Western Sahara disputes. The United Nations is now regaining its relevance as an international peacekeeping force after the various crises of the 1970s and 1980s. Professor Kooijmans contended that the leadership of the Secretary General has to a great extent been the source of this rejuvenation.

In order to protect European industries against dumped imports from countries which are not members of the EEC, the Community authorities may impose anti-dumping duties. The relevant rules are laid down in Council Regulation 2176/84 and are based on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the GATT Anti-Dumping Code. The European Commission is responsible for investigating cases; it is empowered to impose provisional anti-dumping duties or to accept so-called “price undertakings” offered by the exporters to raise their prices. These price undertakings purport to eliminate the dumping, i.e., generally speaking, the difference between domestic and export price, or its injurious effects. They are advantageous for the exporters since the price increase goes to them rather than to the custom authorities in the form of a duty.

The Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (hereinafter: the Treaty), does not provide for a system of Community-wide merger control and authorization.The anti-trust provisions of the Treaty are only concerned with distortion of competition resulting from certain restrictive agreements (Article 85) and with abusive behavior of undertakings in a dominant position within the common market (Article 86);concentrations like mergers, which may as well affect the internal European market, are not explicitly mentioned. To a certain extent however, the European Commission has in fact won the power to control large-scale mergers as a result of the European Court's decision in Continental Can (1973).

In a matter of weeks or months, the United Nations will publish the Legal Guide on Drawing Up International Contracts for Construction of Industrial Works (‘Legal Guide’ or ‘Guide’). The preparation of the Guide had been formally decided upon by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (‘UNCITRAL’ or ‘Commission’) in 1981, and the completed Guide approved for publication by the Commission in August 1987 in Vienna.

Chernobyl and Sandoz-Bâle are certainly among the most remarkable current events in the field of transboundary pollution. The Chernobyl incident has sensitised at least a part of European public opinion to such an extent that the IAEA had to consider it a great success that the Final Document of the Special Session of the General Conference after Chernobyl could still proclaim that the General Conference “recognizes that nuclear power will continue to be an important source of energy for social and economic development”.

Unfortunately, today's exploration of outer space is exposed to a rapidly expanding collection of what has come to be called space debris. Innumerous objects of variable size ranging from tiny paint chips to entire - defunct - satellites and produced by various causes, such as collisions, explosions, or simply exhaustion of fuel, are rotating around the Earth and create dangers to our space missions.

On February 1988, the M.S. Cape, a 2,000 ton coaster sailing under the Honduran flag, passed the K14 FA 1 production platform belonging to the Nederlandsche Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) at a distance of 25 meters. The ship had been drifting because of an engine failure but did not communicate this fact until it had reached an adjacent production platform, by which time it had successfully solved its engine problem. As a result of this incident, the production of gas was halted for some time and the operator of the platform suffered considerable losses. On 28 February 1988, the Swedish ferry M.S. “Vinca Gorthon” entered a field with severe weather conditions, ran into trouble, sent a MAY-DAY call, listed and sunk right on top of a Unocal pipeline, which was damaged. Oil transport through this pipeline had to be stopped immediately. The daily loss suffered by the operator was approximately Dfl.1,5 million.