YEARBOOKOF THE
ASIAN-AFRICAN LEGALCONSULTATIVE ORGANIZATION
VOLUME III2005
THE AALCO SECRETARIATNEW DELHI
(INDIA)
CONTENTS
Page
I. Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization(AALCO) 1A. Origin 1B. Statutes and Statutory Rules of the Organization 1C. Members 1D. Procedure for Membership 2E. Purposes and Objectives 2F. Annual Sessions 3G. Permanent Headquarters 4H. Secretariat 4I. Cooperation with the United Nations, its specialized
agencies and other International Organizations 4J. Finances 5K. Regional Arbitration Centres 5L. Training facility 6M. Legal Assistance 6N. Publications 6O. Activities undertaken since the Forty-third Session
(Bali, 2004 to Nairobi 2005) 7a) Participation at the So* Resumed Session of
the International Law Commission, Geneva, 2004 7
Statement of the Secretary-GeneralAmb. Dr. W. Z. Kamil of AALCO atthe Fifty-sixth Session of the ILC, 2004 7
b) Preparation of Notes and Comments onSelected items on the agenda of the 59th Sessionof the General Assembly of the UN 17
c) Consideration of the agenda item "Cooperationbetween UN and the AALCO by 59* Sessionofthe UN General Assembly (October 2004) 17Statement ofthe Secretary-General 18
d) AALCO's Legal Advisers' and Joint AALCO-ILCMeeting, 10 November 2004, New York 25(i) Legal Advisers' Meeting 25
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Statement ofthe Secretary-General at the LegalAdvisers' Meeting 10 November 2004 26(ii)AALCO-ILC Joint Meeting 31Statement of the Secretary-General 32
e) AALCO's Representation at International Meetings 36(i) First Conference of Parties to the UNConvention Against Transnational OrganizedCrimes (28 June-9 July 2004) Vienna, Austria 36
(ii)Secretary-GeneraPs official visit to the People'sRepublic of China (29 Aug.-3 Sept. 2004) 37
Address ofthe Secretary-General at the ChineseSociety of International Law,Beijing (30 Aug. 2004) 38
Address of the Secretary-General at thefaculty of Law Tshinghua University, Beijing(2 September 2004) 48
(iii)Expert Meeting on Protection of CulturalProperty in the event of Armed Conflict,Phnom Penh, Cambodia 6-8 December 2004 60
(iv)Tenth Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC(6-17 December 2004) Buenos Aires, Argentina 61Statement ofthe SG Amb. Dr. Kamil 61
(v) Secretary-General's official visit to Kenya(24-30 January 2005) 63a) Deliberations with high-ranking Kenyan
Government officials 63b) SG's visit to UNEP Headquarters 64c) Meetings with officials ofthe Chartered
Institute of Arbitrators and the academicsof Kenya, School of Law, Nairobi 64
(vi)Parliamentarians Conference for Global Action,Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt (9-10 Feb. 2005) 64
(vii)Eleventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention andCriminal Justice, Bangkok (18-25 April 2005) 65Statement ofthe Deputy Secretary-GeneralAmb. Dr. Ali Reza Deihim 65
(viii)Visit of Secretary-General to the Islamic Republicof Iran: International Conference on Environment,
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peace and the Dialogue among Civilizations andCultures, Tehran (9-10 May 2005) 73Statement of Secretary-General Amb. Dr. Kamil 74
f) AALCO's Participation in the Meetings held in India 78(i)Deputy Secretary-General Amb. Dr. Deihim'sParticipation at the Joint Workshop on GlobalGovernance and Human Security New Delhi,6 August 2004 78
Address by Deputy Secretary-General Amb. Dr.Ali Reza Deihim 78
(ii) National Seminar on "Women in Mirror ofRel igions, New Delhi, 7-8 August 2004 86
(iii)National Symposium on "The Impact of Dialogueamong Civilizations in the Preservation of AsianCultural Identity", New Delhi, 24 September 2004 87
(iv)Round-table consultation of ResourcePanellists on Climate Change New Delhi 9 October 872004 Statement of Deputy Secretary-GeneralMrs. Toshiko Shimizu 87
(v) Seminar on "Cooperating in CombatingTerrorism in the Bay of Bengal (BIMSTEC)Regions: Challenges and Prospects, 13 October 2004 89(vi)Inauguration of Fourth Henry Dunant MemorialMoot Court Competition by the Secretary-GeneralNew Delhi, 15-17 October 2004 89
Inaugural Address ofthe Secretary-GeneralAmb. Dr. Kamil 90
(vii) Second International Conference on InternationalLaw by Indian Society of International Law (ISIL)New Delhi, 14-17 November 2004 93
(viii) Award to the Secretary-General by the VIWorld Congress on Human Rights, New'Delhi,10 December 2004 93Statement of Secretary-General Amb. Dr. W. Z.Kamil at the Indian Institute of Human Rights,New Delhi, 10 December 2004 94
(ix)National Seminar on "India and the WTO Regime:The first Decade and Beyond", New Delhi, 27-28January 2005 96
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(x) Lecture Series Organized by the Indian Council ofWorld Affairs on the "Report ofthe UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challengesand Change", New Delhi, 7-10 February 2005 97
(xi) Secretary-General's Participation at the Speciallecture by Prof. Herbert Kronke, Secretary-GeneralUNIDROIT Organized by ISIL, New Delhi, 21March 2005 97
P. Short Summary ofthe Forty-fourth Session of AALCOHeld in Nairobi, Republic of Kenya, 27 June-lst Jury 2005 98
PART ONE : 'DELIBERATED AGENDA ITEMS'
II. Report on Matters Relating to the Workofthe International Law Commission at itsFifty-Sixth Session 126Introduction 126(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 128(ii) Secretariat Study: Report on Matters Relating
to the Work ofthe International Law Commissionat its Fifty-sixth Session 145I. Reservations to Treaties 145II. Diplomatie Protection 151III. Unilateral Acts of States 160IV. International Liability for Injurious
Consequences Arising Out of Acts notProhibited by International Law 165
V. Responsibilityof International Organizations 177VI. Fragmentation of International Law 185VII. Shared Natural Resources 193
ConcludingRemarks 197
III. Jurisdictional Immunities of States and TheirProperty 200Introduction 200(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 203(ii) Secretariat Study: Jurisdictional Immunities
of States and their Property 209I. Adoption ofthe Convention 209
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II. Salient Features ofthe Convention 209
III. Comments 215
Annex: United Nations Convention on JurisdictionalImmunities of States and Their Property 216
IV. International Criminal Court: RecentDevelopments 233Introduction 233(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 236(ii) Secretariat Study: International Criminal
Court: Recent Developments 249I. Informal Inter-Sessional Meeting of
the Special Working Group on the Crimeof Aggression, Princeton University, New JerseyUnited States of America, 21-23 June 2004 249
II. Assembly of States Parties (ASP) 258III. Facts Pertaining to the First Possible Cases
before the International Criminal Court 265IV. Consideration of Item during AALCO's Forty-
third Session(Bali,Republic ofIndonesiajune 2004) 268V. Consideration ofthe Item during the
Year 2004 at the United Nations 270VI. Bilateral Agreements ofthe United States
of America Granting Immunity to US Citizensfrom prosecution Before International Courts 276
VII. General Comments 277Annex
Table I: Status of Ratification of Rome Statute of ICCby AALCO Members States 279
Table II: Status of Ratification of Rome Statute of ICC 281Table III: Status of Signature/Ratification ofthe
Agreement on Privileges and Immunitiesof the International Criminal Court .̂85
V. Deportation of Palestinians and Other IsraeliPractices among them the Massive Immigrationand Settlement of Jews in all occupied Territoriesin Violation of International Law Particularly theFourth Geneva Convention of 1949 287Introduction 287(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 289
(ii) Secretariat Study: Deportation of Palestiniansand Other Israeli Practices among them theMassive Immigration and Settlement of Jewsin all occupied Territories in Violation ofInternational Law Particularly the FourthGeneva Convention of 1949 298I. IsraePs Violations of International Law
Including United Nations Security Counciland General Assembly Resolutions 298
II. International Court of Justice AdvisoryOpinion on Legal Consequences of a Wallin the Occupied Palestinian Territory 305
III. UN General Assembly Emergency SessionAdopts Resolution Calling Israel To Complywith ICJ Advisory Opinion 312
IV. Palestinians Elect their New Presidentfollowing the Death of President YasserArafat 313
V. Sharm-al Sheikh Summit: Israel and PalestineDeclare Ceasefire 314
VI. Other Maj or Developments 315VII. General Comments 326
VI. Environment and Sustainable Development 330Introduction 330(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 331(ii) Secretariat Study: Environment and
Sustainable Development 348Part One
I. Prelude 348II. Sustainable Development, the Role of
Law, Human Rights and Environmental Justice 349A.. The Conceptof Sustainable Development 349B. Role ofLaw in Environment Protection 351C. Right to Environment as a Human Right 351D. The Conceptof Environmental Justice 353
III. Compliance with and Enforcement ofEnvironmental Law 354
IV. Entry into force of Kyoto Protocol: Problemsand Prospects 356
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A. Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC 358B. Kyoto Mechanisms: Background 359C. Prospects forDeveloping Countries 360
D. Agenda beyond 2012 361
Part TwoV. Un ited Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, 1992 (UNFCCC) 361A. Background 361B. Tenth Conference of Parties to
the UNFCCC 365C. Consideration ofthe resolution on the
"Protection of global climate for presentand future generations of mankind" by thefifty-ninth Session ofthe United NationsGeneral Assembly 368
VI. Convention onBiologicalDiversity,l 992 (CBD) 369A. Background 369B. Seventh Conference of Parties to the CBD 370C. First Meeting ofthe Conference of Parties
to the CBD serving as the Meeting oftheParties to the Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety 372
D. Consideration ofthe resolution on theConvention onBiological Diversity by theFifty-ninth Session ofthe United NationsGeneral Assembly 374
E. Meeting of Like-minded MegadiverseCountries 374
F. Third Meeting ofthe Ad Hoc Open-endedWorking Group on Access and Benefit Sharing 376
VII. United Nations Convention to CombatDesertification in Those CountriesExperiencing Serious Drought and /orDesertification, 1994 (UNCCD) 377A. Background 377B. Sixth Conference of Parties to the UNCCD 379C. Commemoration of the tenth anniversary
ofthe UNCCD 379D. Consideration ofthe resolution on the
Implementation ofthe UNCCD by the
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Fifty-ninth Session ofthe United NationsGeneral Assembly 380
VIII. Follow-up on the progress in the implementationof the outcome ofthe World Summit onSustainable Development 380A. Background 380B. Eighth Special Session ofthe Governing
Council of the UNEP and the GlobalMinisterial Environment Forum 382
C. Twelfth Session of Commission on sustainableDevelopment 383
D. Consideration ofthe resolution on the"Implementation of Agenda 21, theProgramme for the Further Implementationof Agenda 21 and the outcomes oftheWorld Summit on Sustainable Development"by the Fifty-ninth Session ofthe UnitedNations General Assembly 385
IX. Secretariat Comments and Observations 386X. Annex: Table recapitulating Status of AALCO
Member States participation in the UNFCCC,CBD and UNCCD 390
VII. International TerrorismIntroduction 398(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 400(ii) Secretariat Study: International Terrorism 411
I. Salient Features ofthe Draft ConventionCirculated by India 411
II. Discussion on the Draft ComprehensiveConvention on Terrorism at the EighthSession ofthe Ad Hoc Committee 412
III. Deliberation on the ComprehensiveConvention against Terrorism at the SixthCommittee during the 59* Session of theGeneral Assembly (2004) 420
IV. UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1566 421V. Work ofthe Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) 422VI. General Comments 425
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Addendum to the StudyI. Eleventh United Nations Congress on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, Bangkok 426II. List of Anti-terrorism Instruments and their
Web Addresses 442III. Regional Ratification Levels ofthe Twelve
International Legal Instruments againstTerrorism 454
VIII. Human Rights in Islam 456Introduction 456
(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 457(ii) Secretariat Study: Human Rights in Islam 468
Background 468
PartII. International Criminal Law 472
A. Sourcesof international criminal law 473B. General principlesof international criminal law 474C. Specific offences or crimes under international
criminal law 478II. Criminal Law 480
A. The defmition of crime or offence 480B. Specific offences under national legal Systems 481C. General defences under criminal law 482D. Forms and theories of punishment 484
Part III. Sources of Islamic Criminal Law 487
A. TheHolyQuran 487B. Sunnah: Prophet's traditions 488C. Ijma: Consensus of Opinion 489D. Qiyas: Analogy 489E. Istihsan: Equity 490F. Maslahah al-Mmsateh: Public Interest 490
II. Islamic Law on Crimes and Punishment 491A. Major offences under Islamic law 491B. Classification of crimes and punishment
in Islam 491C. General principlesof criminal responsibility 493
/. Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility 493
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ii. Criminal responsibility is strictly personal 494iii. Equality and equal protection of laws 495
D. Elements ofa crime 495/. Actus Reus 495ii. Mens Rea 496
E. General exceptions and defenses 497/. Mistake offact 497ii. Mistake of law 498iii. Intoxication 498iv. Self-defense 498v. Inierest of the Islamic society 499
F. Legality in Islamic Law 499G. Islamic view on Punishment 499
III. Key Objectives of Islamic Criminal Law andPunishment: Prevention of Crime and Protectionof Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 501A. Islam emphasis on furthering goodness
and dissuading evil 502B. Punishment for murder (Capital punishment) 504C. Prohibiting infanticide and abortion:
to protect the rights of the child 507D. Punishment for theft and breach of trust:
to protect property and honor 507E. Punishment for Adultery and Sodomy: to
protect the right to family and ethical values 508F. Prohibiting alcohol: to protect and preserve
individual, family and societal values 509G. Discouraging apostasy: to preserve the
basis ofthe Islamic value System 510H. Punishment for slander or scandalous
allegation: to protect the right to personalreputation and honor 511
I. Punishment for violation of privacy:to protect the right to privacy 511
J. Punishment for defaming and spying: toensure the right against defamation andspying and thereby protect personalintegrity and honor 512
K. Right topeace 514IV. General Comments 515
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IX. Establishing Cooperation Against Traffickingin Women and Children 518Introduction 518(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 520(ii) Secretariat Study: Establishing Cooperation
Against Trafficking in Women and Children 532I. Background 532II. Causative Socio-economic factors of
trafficking in persons 532III. Prohibition of trafficking in persons in
International Law 533IV. International Obligation to Prevent trafficking,
Protect Victims of trafficking and Prosecutetraffickers 536
V. Special Meeting on Establishing CooperationAgainst Trafficking in persons, especiallyWomen and Children, held during the Forty-thirdSession of AALCO 538
VI. Recent Developments 538VII. General Comments 547
Annex 1Summary ofthe Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and PunishTrafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children 551
Annex 2AALCO Member States parties to the Convention AgainstTransnational Organised Crime and the Protocol to Prevent,Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especiallyWomen and Children 554
Annex 3Special Meeting Resolution on Establishing Cooperation •against Trafficking in Persons, especially Womenand Children 556An Outline ofthe Proposed Model legislation onthe topic (Addendum) 558
X. Expressions of Folklore and its InternationalProtection 569Introduction 569(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 572
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(ii) Secretariat Study: Expressions ofFolklore and its International Protection 579I. WIPO-IGC on Folklore Aspects:
First to Sixth Session 579II. Discussions at the Seventh Session ofthe
WIPO-IGC on Folklore Aspects 580III. Summary ofthe Deliberations at The
Forty-third Session of AALCO 587IV. Concluding Remarks 593
Annex I: Summary of Draft Policy Objectives and CorePrinciples for the Protection of Traditional CulturalExpressions/Folklore 596
Annex II: Comparative Summary of Sui Generis Legislation 605
XI An Effective International Legal Instrument AgainstCorruption 625Introduction 625(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 627(ii) Secretariat Study: An Effective International
Legal Instrument Against Corruption 648I. Developments in the Ratification and
Implementation ofthe UN ConventionAgainst Corruption 648
II. Anti-Corruption Provisions in UN ConventionAgainst Transnational Organized Crime 651
III. Highlights of The Bookon 'Combating Corruption:A Legal Analysis' Prepared by the Secretariat 654
IV. Consideration ofthe Item During AALCO's43rd Session 657
V. General Comments 658
ANNEXURERatification of International and Regional Conventions/Instruments by Asian and African Countries 662
XII WTO as a Framework Agreement and Code ofConduct for World Trade 665Introduction 665(i) Forty-fourth Session: Discussions 666
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(ii) Secretariat Study: WTO as a FrameworkAgreement and Code of Conduct for World Trade 677I. Developments under the Doha Development
Round of Negotiations 677II. Progress in the Review ofthe Dispute
SettlementUnderstanding(DSU) 687III. Deliberations at AALCO's 43rd Session 689IV. Observations 694
PART TWO : 'NON DELIBERATED AGENDA ITEMS'
XIII. Status and Treatment of Refugees 697Introduction 697Secretariat Study: Status and Treatment of Refugees 699
I. Purpose ofthe Study 699II. ExCom 55* Session 700III. Global Consultations 704IV. General Comments 708
ANNEXESAnnex 1
Outline ofthe Proposed Study on "Statelessness:An Overview from the African, Asian and MiddleEastern Perspectives 710
Annex 2State Parties to the 1951 Convention relating to theStatus of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol 712
Annex 3AALCO-Member States Parties to the 1951 Conventionrelating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol 719
XIV. Law of the Sea 720Introduction 720Secretariat Study: Law ofthe Sea 722I. Fifth meeting ofthe United Nations Open-ended
Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and theLaw ofthe Sea 722
II. Consideration of the Oceans and the Law of the Seaissues at the 59* Session ofthe General Assembly 728A. Documents considered by the General Assembly 728
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B. Deliberations in the General Assembly 731C. Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly 734
III. Activities under the United Nations Conventionon the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS' 82 or the Convention)
and its Implementing Agreements 736A. Status ofthe Convention and its Implementing
Agreements 736B. Thirteenth and Fourteenth Session ofthe
Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf 738C. Tenth Session ofthe International Seabed Authority 740D. Fourteenth Meeting ofthe States Parties to the
United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea 743E. Third Informal Consultations ofthe States Parties
to the Agreement for the Implementation oftheProvisions ofthe UNCLOS relating to theConservation and Management of Straddling FishStocks and Highly Migratory Fish 745
F. Dispute Settlement under the UNCLOS 746
IV. Consideration ofthe Law ofthe Sea issues at theForty-third Session of AALCO 747
V. AALCO Secretariat Comments and Observations 749VI. Annexure 751
A. Table recapitulating participation of AALCOMember States in UNCLOS and its ImplementingAgreements 751
B. Regional Agreement on Combating Piracyand Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia:An Introductory Note 753
XV. Legal Protection of Migrant Workers 761Introduction 761Secretariat Study: Legal Protection of Migrant Workers 765I. Committee on the Protection ofthe Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members oftheir Families 765
II. Report ofthe Special Rapporteur of theCommission on Human Rights on the HumanRights ofMigrants 766
III. Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) 767IV. Geneva Migration Group (GMG) 770
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V. Secretariat Comments 771Annex
Revised Draft Model Regional Co-operationAgreement Between States of Origin and States ofDestination/Employment Within AALCO Member States 775
XVI. Extraterritorial Application of National Legislation:Sanctions Imposed Against Third Parties 793Introduction 793Secretariat Study: Extraterritorial Application of NationalLegislation: Sanctions Imposed Against Third Parties 794I. AALCO's work programme on the Extraterritorial
Application of National Legislation: SanctionsImposed Against Third Parties 794
II. Some Current-Developments Pertaining to theImposition or removal Sanctions by the UnitedStates of America Against AALCO Member States 797A. Introduction of Bills in the United States
Senate regarding sanctions against theIslamic Republic of Iran 797
B. Imposition of sanctions against certain firms ofthe People's Republic of China 797
C. Lifting or easing out of sanctions imposedagainst Libya By the United States of America 798
D. Imposition of Sanctions against Syria by theUnited States of America 799
E. Extension of sanctions against Myanmar bythe United States of America 801
F. Removal of sanctions against Iraq by theUnited States of America 802
III. Views and Comments of AALCO Member Statesprovided by the Member States to the AALCOSecretariat 802A. State of Kuwait 803B. Republic of Korea 803C. Republic of Mauritius 803D. Japan 805
IV. Consideration ofthe agenda item at the Forty-ThirdSession of the Organization (21-25 June 2004, Bali,Republic oflndonesia) 807
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V. Consideration ofthe resolution on the "Necessityof ending the economic, commercial and financialembargo imposed by the United States of Americaagainst Cuba" at the Fifty-ninth Session of theUnited Nations General Assembly 810
VI. Secretariat Comments and Observations 815VII. Annex 817
XVII. Report on the Work of UNCITRAL andother International Organizations in the Fieldof International Trade Law 831Introduction 831Secretariat Study: Report on the Work oftheUNCITRAL and other International Organizationsin the Field of International Trade Law 831I. Report on the work ofthe United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law atits Thirty-Seventh Session 831
II. Report on the work ofthe United NationsConference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) in the year 2004 858
III. Report on the work ofthe International Institutefor the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)in the year 2004 865
IV. Report on the work ofthe Hague Conference onPrivate International Law in the year 2004 869
AnnexuresAnnex I List of key-note Speakers on Deliberated
Agenda Items, forty-fourth Session, Nairobi,Republic of Kenya, 2005 873
Annex II List of AALCO Member States with theYearof Joining 876
Annex III Resolutions Adopted at the Forty-fourthSession 877
Subject Index899
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