Superman and International Law

Introduction 

On 27 February 1940, the Look magazine published the comic strip, “How Superman Would End the War” (Comic Strip). The creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman, published a short story. In this story, Superman zooms off to Germany and Stalin, where he picks up Hitler and Stalin, by the scruff of his neck.; he takes the two dictators to Geneva, Switzerland, where he delivers them to the League of Nations’ World Court for trial. The League of Nations was first proposed by President Woodrow Wilson as part of his Fourteen Points plan for equitable peace in Europe. It was dissolved after the second World War, in 1946, to make room for the United Nations. Consequently, the League of Nations’ World Court in Geneva was succeeded by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice/ World Court in The Hague. 

The American Folly

by Ankit Malhotra*

The United States of America (hereinafter, United States or America(n)) has left Afghanistan and given the Taliban a gift – its war-chest. This includes state-of-the-art helicopters, attack planes, rifles, and machine guns – the most advanced American weapons. This is not the first time that the United States has done this as its track record shows that it is a repeat offender when it comes to arming terror groups and rogue regimes. Sometimes by design and sometimes by default, America continues to feed the global war machine. American weapons are being used to undermine what American governments say they are fighting for – international peace and security. While weapons sale has always been integral to America’s foreign policy for decades, sometimes Washington has sold arms and ammunition without even notifying US Congress or the American public.

Image credit: New Internationalist

The Do’s and Don’ts of Seeking Asylum in the U.K., U.S.A, South Africa and Canada – A complete Procedural Overview

By Shriya Maini*

(This is a complete guide to the procedure of filing a refugee claim in UK, USA, South Africa and Canada. Read on to learn how to seek asylum or file a refugee claim in these countries.)

1. This memorandum describes the procedure of filing a refugee claim in the United Kingdom (“UK”) and then compares it to the modus operandi of three other countries namely United States of America (“USA”), The Republic of South Africa (“South Africa”) and Canada. It discusses at length, the entire procedure of making a claim for asylum, right from when the first application is made by the asylum seeker until the grant or refusal of refugee status by the concerned authorities, in order to facilitate effective comparison between the abovementioned jurisdictions.

Does International Law Permit Deportation With Assurances?

By Shriya Maini*

(This post is second in the series by Shriya where she writes on contemporary issues of international criminal law and human rights.)

I discuss the current law on deportation subject to diplomatic assurances, in the backdrop of the judgement of Othman (Abu Qatada) v. the United Kingdom[1] and conclude that though deportation with assurances (“DWA”) are extremely controversial, particularly since they are not legally binding, they are not always insufficient to meet the receiving state’s obligations: if the assurances cover the prohibited activities, relate to a situation over which the assuring state has control, and come from a reliable source then arguably, the receiving States can rely on it. [2]