It was understood from the outset that the trials would be limited, in accordance with the Moscow Declaration, to a number of the highest-ranking Nazi leaders and their principal accomplices. It was proposed by the United States in the draft of April 30, 1945, presented to the Foreign Ministers of France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, that the trial comprise also “the principal Nazi organizations and their members, through whom the most bestial of the Nazi cruelties have been put into effect”. According to this draft, the defense of superior orders shall not absolve the accused from responsibility but may be considered, if justice so requires, in mitigation of punishment. Nor shall an accused be able to escape the trial on the ground that he was the head or principal officer of a state. Offenses against the armies of the United Nations would be punished by the appropriate national tribunals. Perpetrators of atrocities in territories occupied by Germany during the war as well as traitors such as Quisling, Laval, “Lord Haw-Haw”, would be dealt with in a similar manner.

It often happens in the history of law, that a certain event gives the impulse to a new direction of legal thinking. Though the technical developments of our age continually confront us with new problems, which demand special provisions also in the legal field, the urgency of such provisions is often felt only after some dramatic accident, which arouses public alarm in wide circles.

28. The government has made it clear that both in general and in particular situations the provisions of the Convention are binding on the administrative authorities when exercising their functions. The direct influence of the Convention on the administration therefore arises mainly through the continuous interpretation of the provisions of the Convention by the public authorities when carrying out their duties. The influence of the Convention becomes apparent whenever there is a difference of opinion as to such interpretation between the administrative authorities and political bodies, such as the States-General, or between the administrative authorities and the private citizen. This may occasion discussion in the States-General or a decision by the courts.

Modern communications and transportation have brought about not only interdependency between all regions of the world but also an increase in offences committed by or against foreigners or their States. Different States handle this problem in different ways. Among other means, one might mention in this context the enactment of rules of municipal and international law which regulate substantive as well as procedural relationships between authorities of a given State and the perpetrator of an offence with a foreign element'. Such an element exists, for example, if an offence has been committed by a foreigner; if an offence has been committed against a foreigner; if a particular State is to pass judgment on an offence committed abroad; if an offence has been committed in a place where no legal system claims jurisdiction; if a judgment is to be rendered on an offence which has already been the subject of a foreign judgment; if a person is sought for extradition; or if judicial authorities have to take measures in the course of criminal proceedings in the territory of a foreign State, and so on.

In the modern law of obligations the protection of consumers is a phenomenon that is gaining ever increasing importance. It has also penetrated the realm of private international law (p.i.l.). Rules on the subject primarily deal with obligations arising out of contract; in this field specific p.i.l. rules envisage contracts concluded by consumers. In the field of non-contractual obligations no such specific rules have been framed as yet. However p.i.1. rules relating to products liability, although as a rule not limited to consumers but also including non-consumers, largely affect the first-mentioned class of persons and cannot be neglected in a paper dealing with consumer protection. In the present paper, therefore, attention will be focussed on p.i.l. rules relating to consumer contracts, and this will be followed by a brief account of p.i.l. rules on products liability as far as these are of importance for the protection of consumers.

In Sweden, private international law started to develop as an area of law in the late nineteenth century. The Hague Conference on Private International Law played a decisive role in this development. As late as in the 1960s, most Swedish private international law legislation, with the exception of rules originating in the inter-Nordic co-operation in this field, was based on Hague Conventions ratified by Sweden.

With Milošević on trial, the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (hereinafter: ICTY) continues as does the need to solve insufficiently answered questions of international law. As most of the accused used to hold positions of high authority in the military or in the civil sphere, the doctrine of superior responsibility has been considered in several of the cases decided by the Tribunal. These cases, together with cases decided by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (hereinafter: ICTR), have led to a discussion of whether also civilian superiors can incur responsibility under the doctrine of superior responsibility. Namely, the doctrine used to be applied more in the military sphere to commanders that were part of the hierarchical command structure, and was as such of less importance to considerations of responsibility of non-military leaders.

Most textbooks on private international law, when dealing with public policy, refer to its relativity. “Public policy is not absolute but relative”. This relativity rule appears to have three different functions. The first is merely to stress that it is always the result in the concrete case that counts. Here “relativity” is a misleading description.

This article first examines the entire range of agency relationships between an international organisation, acting as a principal, and one or more states, acting as its agent(s). It is here argued that an agency relationship between an international organisation and one or more state(s) can be established by the constitutive treaty of the organisation, or ad hoc. In particular, an ad hoc agency relationship results from a state placing one of its organs at the disposal of an international organisation and under its effective control, with the purpose of carrying out functions of that organisation.

The article then examines the consequences for the responsibility of the organisation and the relevant state(s) of an agency relationship between an international organisation acting as a principal and one or more states acting as its agent(s). It is demonstrated that an international organisation may be responsible for damage caused by the conduct of the state. Furthermore, it is argued that the state itself may bear responsibility for having established or for not having terminated the agency relationship if it commits wrongful conduct on behalf of the international organisation.

The impact of armed conflict on women is the subject of three recent international studies, two under the auspices of the United Nations and one undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross. These studies make a significant contribution to increasing knowledge of the ways in which women experience armed conflict and, moreover, propose strategies to address the problems they identify. There is virtual consensus, however, that the existing legal regime protecting women in times of armed conflict is adequate and that there is no place for progressive development of the law. This article challenges this conclusion. After examining the approach of the studies to the regime protecting women in times of armed conflict, the author argues that there is a need for a comprehensive initiative to consider whether in fact the law is adequate to deal with their situation of women in armed conflict.

Combating piracy at sea and apprehending pirates have been a long-standing problem for the global community. Increasing acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia have prompted the UN Security Council to intervene in the matter. The Council, through several resolutions, has authorised states to take action against Somali pirates in the territorial waters and land territory of Somalia and recently adopted a resolution urging all states to fully implement relevant international conventions in their domestic legal systems. However, despite the Security Council's intervention in the matter most states are still reluctant to prosecute Somali pirates in their domestic courts. Considering the most recent Security Council resolution and existing international law, this article examines whether there is an international obligation to criminalise piracy under domestic legal frameworks and to prosecute pirates in domestic courts. It submits that existing international law arguably imposes an obligation to prosecute pirates, at least in certain circumstances, and the recently adopted Security Council resolution reinforces this obligation.

The Federal Republic of Germany, due to its geopolitical situation but also to its limited sovereignty, has never been seriously confronted with an official request to engage in military activities outside NATO, i.e., ‘out of area’. When during the Iraq-Kuwait conflict (1990/91) German armed forces were deployed in Turkey, serious concerns were raised as to their possible involvement in military activities — even though Germany would have been obliged to conform with its NATO obligations in case of an Iraqi attack on Turkish territory. Until recently, German Federal Governments always excluded a military engagement ‘out of area’ by pointing at the Federal Republic's Constitution — the Basic Law (‘Grundgesetz’). They took the view that the armed forces could only be used for defensive purposes. That is to say, either for the defence of the territory of the Federal Republic or of a NATO ally. Other uses, be they for the defence of a non-NATO member State, be they authorized by the UN Security Council, including peace-keeping operations, were considered prohibited by the Basic Law because it lacked an explicit permission to that effect. Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq conflict (1980–88) units of the Federal Navy were deployed in the Persian Gulf in order to sweep mines laid by the former belligerents off the coasts of the Gulf's riparian States. Of course, during the Iraq-Kuwait conflict, the Federal Republic of Germany took a very reserved stance and confined itself to a – considerable – financial contribution to the Allies' efforts to liberate Kuwait.

Regulation of maritime transport is, in many countries a common phenomenon. The following three categories of regulation can be distinguished:

– rules of competition in the field of maritime transport, often referred to as conference or anti-conference legislation,

– flag preference provisions, e.g., cargo reservation provisions,

– retortion provisions or retaliatory provisions.

Provisions in these three categories all have in common that they are aimed to influence the market conditions under which maritime transport takes place. I have outlined the various national provisions regulating maritime transport in a 1979 report for the Dutch section of the ILA. Part III of that report analyses the question to what extent national provisions are compatible with international public law. The present article is a summary of that analysis.

On 19 December 1978 the Dutch Government was informally requested by the UN Secretary-General to provide an infantry battalion for the UN peace-keeping force in Lebanon within the shortest possible time. France had decided to remove about half its UNIFIL contingent. On 12 January 1979 the Dutch Cabinet decided to inform the Secretary-General that, should he make an official request, the Government was willing to give a positive response.

It was these events that gave rise to a sequence of not less than five judicial decisions on the question whether conscripts could be posted to the Lebanon without their consent. Answering this question involved aspects of municipal as well as international law.

The survey is accompanied with the author's comments if necessary.