Tag: Manfred Mohr

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – A Commentary Article by Article

This compact commentary article-by-article is intended to explain in a nutshell all the provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Written in an accessible language by three recognised international law experts, it is meant to assist a large readership in analysing and implementing this new instrument.

Договор о запрещении ядерного оружия
Постатейный комментарий

Данный компактный постатейный комментарий призван в краткой форме растолковать все положения Договора о запрещении ядерного оружия (ДЗЯО). Написанный доступным языком тремя признанными экспертами в области международного права, он будет полезен широкому кругу читателей при анализе и практическом применении этого нового соглашения.

核兵器禁止条約
逐条解説

核兵器禁止条約（TPNW）の全条項を簡潔に説明するコンパクトな解説書。国際
法の専門家である著者３名によるわかりやすく平易な言葉で書かれた本書は、
多くの読者にとって、この新しい条約を分析し、実行に移す際の手助けとなるで
しょう。

Vertrag über das Verbot von Kernwaffen
Ein kurzer Kommentar – Artikel für Artikel

Dieser kompakte Kommentar soll Artikel für Artikel alle Bestimmungen des Vertrags über das Verbot von Kernwaffen (TPNW) in aller Kürze erläutern. Er wurde von drei anerkannten Völkerrechtsexperten in einer verständlichen Sprache verfasst und soll einer breiten Leserschaft bei der Analyse und Umsetzung dieses neuen Instruments helfen.

TPNW’s First meeting of States Parties and beyond: Implementing Articles 6 and 7 – some comments, expectations and proposals

By Prof. Manfred Mohr (Professor of Public International Law, Academy of Sciences, Berlin, Board member of IALANA) and Prof. Daniel Rietiker (Adjunct Professor at Lausanne University and Suffolk University Law School, Boston MA, Co-president of IALANA)

I. On the commitments, their relevance and nature (1MSP’s declaration)

  1. Articles 6 and 7 contain positive obligations which are of specific relevance, as distinct from negative, or banning, stipulations contained in the Treaty. Implementing these obligations is a priority, and has immediate practical effects for victims and the natural environment affected by the (past) use or testing of nuclear weapons. Those commitments are of relevance even without the joining of Nuclear Weapon States to the Treaty – thus underlining the great, overall importance of the instrument. According to Article 6, the point of departure for victim assistance and environmental remediation lies with the jurisdiction of affected States Parties, which may not be Nuclear Weapon States.
  2. The commitments and respective parts of the Treaty echo the present general tendency of dealing with the subject of war and the environment. This is indicated, among other things, by the draft of the International Law Commission (ILC) on principles on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict (PERAC) (A/74/10), or the 2020 Guidelines of the International Committee of the Red Cross on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict. The trend – which also establishes a connection to the global issue of climate change – is reflected through endeavors like the one of the Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) outlining 14 principles for assisting victims of toxic remnants of war (Confronting Conflict Pollution, 2020).
  3. The special relevance and strength of art. 6 and 7 commitments result from the fact that they are linked to, or rooted in, existing international law. As Para. 8 of the Treaty’s preamble reaffirms: “…the need for all States at all times to comply with applicable international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law”. The three main branches of law pertinent here are International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Human Rights, and Environmental Law – while Para. 10 of the preamble puts a focus on IHL as did the International Court of Justice in its 1996 Advisory Opinion on the (Il)Legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. There is a multitude of legal arguments – many of them of a customary character – available to further victim assistance and environmental
Continue reading “TPNW’s First meeting of States Parties and beyond: Implementing Articles 6 and 7 – some comments, expectations and proposals”

Article by Article – Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Brochure by Daniel Rietiker and Manfred Mohr

The events of July 7, 2017 at the United Nations in New York deserve our attention. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
constitutes a real paradigm shift, and the end of a period of stagnation in
nuclear disarmament of more than 20 years. After biological (1972) and
chemical weapons (1993), the remaining type of weapons of mass destruction will be banned once the treaty enters into force. Continue reading “Article by Article – Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”