Analyses of the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence often focus on the principles’ meanings and/or the challenges of applying them in practice. This article, by contrast, steps back to address foundational but somewhat neglected questions about whether these principles can accurately be designated “the” humanitarian principles; about how they came to govern the whole humanitarian sector; about their legal character and normative content; and, more fundamentally, about whether the principles can even have objective character and content. It begins by defining “humanitarian principles” and determining whether and on what basis certain principles constitute “the” humanitarian principles. The article then traces the history of how the principles came to govern the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and diffused from there to non-governmental organizations and the United Nations system. It then analyzes the principles’ legal character and normative content for each of the above-mentioned categories of actor plus States, demonstrating that the principles do not – and, legally, cannot – have fixed legal character and normative content. While humanitarian actors share common understandings of the principles, legally the character and content of each principle flows from its source for the actor in question.

What does Hinduism have to say about the rules of armed conflict? How might Hinduism enrich the modern global discourse on international humanitarian law (IHL)? What convergences might be found, and what areas of divergence? This paper examines and contextualizes the rules of armed conflict advocated in classical Hindu texts, especially in the epic Mahābhārata, where important norms of Hinduism are established. It also examines the other major epic, the Rāmāyaṇa, and the Dharmaśāstras (Law Codes), as well as the Arthaśāstra, which takes an alternative (realpolitik) approach. This paper focuses on conduct during armed conflict (jus in bello), now synonymous for many with IHL, rather than considerations leading up to war (jus ad bellum). The paper seeks to illuminate both convergences and divergences with IHL and highlight particular Hindu approaches on the righteous (dharmic) application of violence. Like IHL, classical Hinduism values (1) proportionality of force during armed engagement; (2) the minimization of human suffering during combat; (3) care for survivors of war; (4) immunity towards non-combatants, especially civilians; and (5) balancing military necessity with humanity. With respect to divergences, classical Hinduism extols non-violence in ways that critique even the warrior's duty to engage in righteous war (dharma yuddha). In contrast to IHL, the Hindu epics have some different limitations; for instance, they limit the right to combat to a particular caste, the kṣatriyas, though this concept could be modernized to mean uniformed personnel of the State. The epics also disavow certain practices that are legal under IHL, such as ambushes and surprise attacks against legitimate targets. The Hindu proportionality provision goes beyond IHL by prescribing that only warriors of the same type should fight. With its many deeply ethical considerations, Hinduism enriches modern IHL through its heightened emphasis on fair and humane conduct in battle and its call towards compassion on behalf of both combatants and non-combatants.

In an article titled “Reforming the Security Council through a Code of Conduct: A Sisyphean Task?” (Ethics & International Affairs 32, no. 4, pp. 463–82), Bolarinwa Adediran argues that efforts to establish a code of conduct at the UN Security Council amount to energy misspent—for reasons both of practicability and effectiveness. While it is true that the proposed codes of conduct do not offer any shortcuts or magic answers to the dilemmas surrounding efforts to prevent atrocity crimes and protect populations, I disagree with the assessment that these initiatives will ultimately prove to be “unhelpful.” I examine the initiatives on three levels of analysis: (1) their effect on political and normative movement toward giving increased attention to human security considerations, (2) their effect on Security Council decision-making, and (3) their effect on atrocity prevention and protection on the ground. The proposed codes have both downside risks and upside potential on all three levels, but it is on the first level that my assessment most sharply diverges from that of Adediran.

The failure of the UN Security Council to adequately and effectively address the Syrian crisis has brought renewed scrutiny to the veto and its capricious use during mass atrocity situations. In response to these concerns, the idea of a code of conduct to regulate the exercise of the veto during humanitarian situations is now being increasingly advanced by several states, including France and the United Kingdom. This paper disputes the utility of such a code and argues that it would not make any significant difference to the way mass atrocity crimes are addressed. I examine three core arguments often extended to justify the merit and the utility of the norm: the circumvention argument, the naming and shaming argument, and the Charter reform argument. I show how each of these arguments is undermined by mistaken notions about the norm's procedural effectiveness, and the role the veto plays in cases of what Simon Chesterman calls “inhumanitarian noninterventions.” Additionally, drawing on interviews conducted with diplomats at the United Nations in New York, I present evidence that resistance to a code of conduct comes not only from the permanent five members of the Council but also from the nonpermanent members, further imperiling the idea's capacity to effect change. Ultimately, I contend that the current global effort to curtail the influence of the veto is nothing more than a journey down the rabbit hole: exciting, but ultimately distracting.

Post-trading activities such as clearing and settlement (C&S) constitute a central element in the integration of European financial markets. However, unlike other areas of financial services, C&S has received little legislative and regulatory attention and, as a result, important barriers to the cross-border provision of C&S services persist in the European Union. In order to remove some of these barriers, the financial industry created, under the auspices of the European Commission, the European Code of Conduct for Clearing and Settlement, a self-regulatory instrument aimed at achieving a smoother provision of cross-border C&S services. This paper uses the concepts of input/output legitimacy to analyse the Code's representative nature and effectiveness. It shows that, first, the Code has not received input from all the relevant constituencies potentially affected by C&S, and second, that there are serious threats to future compliance with the Code related to the competitive pressures of European financial markets. The paper also identifies the proposals to regulate C&S facilities at EU level as well as the new European supervision authorities in the financial field as elements which may highly contribute to the input/output legitimacy of cross-border C&S rules in the EU.

In late 2005 the Assembly of States Parties adopted the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel of the International Criminal Court. Article 22 of the Code contains a provision on fee splitting which does not go as far as to place a positive duty on counsel to report such practices to the Registrar. This essay revisits this approach in the light of the practice of the ad hoc tribunals, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and existing norms in domestic legislation. It argues that the lawyer–client privilege is not absolute. Accordingly, the ICC should make it obligatory – through specific empowering clauses – for lawyers to advise their clients about the prohibition of the practice of fee splitting and to report the incident to the Registrar forthwith, notwithstanding any claim of privilege.

While the Statute of the International Criminal Court guarantees to suspects and accused the right to be defended in person or through legal assistance, it contains little guidance as to the extent to which this most fundamental right will be provided. In order to ascertain how broadly it should be applied, the authors examine the application of the right by the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The authors note that the defence-orientated approach taken by the ad hoc Tribunals to the right to be defended in person or through legal assistance not only conforms with international obligations, but also in many respects goes beyond that required by international human rights law. It is, therefore, crucial that the ICC listens to the experience of the ad hoc Tribunals and adopts similar, if not identical, rules and regulations relating to the qualifications, conduct and assignment of counsel.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is nowadays considered the most appropriate approach to pest control. The introduction of IPM in developing countries is however not easy. Experience shows that it is a long-term process. Some experience of IPM programmes are briefly discussed (cotton in Latin America; rice in South East Asia and basic food crops in the Sahel). The attention of tropical entomology should not be focused on IPM only, but also be directed at problems not directly related to IPM. These include the need for better pesticide management, the avoidance of further spread of pests to previously infested area and the control of grasshopper outbreaks in Africa.

The recently developed “International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides” which was unanimously adopted by FAO Member Countries in 1985, can be an important instrument for better pesticide management. To make this code work is a challenge. The control of introduced pests absorbs resources which otherwise could have been used for the control of indigenous pests. Therefore quarantine measures should be strengthened to prevent such spread. Strengthening of Plant Protection Services represents another challenge as these services play a key role in pest control in general and also in implementing IPM. Training in biological control has to be strengthened with emphasis on practical methods which effectively lead to better field pest control. Biological control units have to be set up in countries where they do not exist. There is no fixed level of IPM which should be reached. IPM strategies should fit local conditions and be promoted in conjunction with improved agricultural practices. Priorities for intervention have to be set when developing IPM programmes.