This article is premised on my belief that the use of force and violence should not be unlimited, even in times of war. Despite countless examples of apparently lawless wartime behavior, the fact that international wars are subject to limits is fairly well-accepted. The Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials evidence the consequences of having exceeded acceptable limits of violence and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 represent an extensive codification of those limits for international war. Most States are parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and many of the provisions of those treaties are recognized as customary international law.

The EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive provides tools to deal effectively with unsound or failing banks. Some provisions of this directive are designated as overriding mandatory provisions as referred to in Article 9 Rome I Regulation. The author analyses the effectiveness of the designation of a rule as an overriding mandatory provision, given the principle of private international law that parties can choose the applicable law and the competent forum. His conclusion is that in an international context overriding mandatory provisions are not always as overriding or as mandatory as they may seem at first sight. This may be acceptable with regard to 'normal' overriding mandatory provisions. However, the author argues that financial stability is so important that overriding mandatory provisions that protect financial stability need special treatment.

Seldom has the international community shown such a rapid and prompt reaction to an international wrongful act as in the case of hijacking of aircraft. States, international organizations—governmental or non-governmental—came together to advise and take strict and immediate measures to cope with this situation. The modern phenomenon of hijacking of aircraft, like abductions of statesmen, diplomats and other civil servants, and attacks on diplomatic and consular missions, which are intended to draw attention to a certain political cause, are only some of the forms of violence which international society witnesses today. Of all these instances of sheer violence, the abduction of aircraft and persons on board has made the greatest impact. At the same time it has brought about an immediate and strong reaction of world opinion against these unprecedented acts.

Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states that:

“No-one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

Radioactive waste is not at present, at least officially, dumped at sea or disposed of into the seabed. At the regional level, several treaties prohibit such disposal. At the global level, the dumping at sea of high-level radioactive waste and the disposal of all radioactive waste in Antarctica, including the ocean areas south of 60 degrees south latitude, are prohibited by international law. The dumping at sea of low-level radioactive waste and the sub-seabed disposal of all radioactive waste (hereinafter also referred to as the ocean disposal options), at the global level, are subject to legally non-binding and temporary suspensions or moratoria. It is thus that the ocean disposal options remain on the international agenda and that the permissibility of using these options remains an issue of debate.

In January 2000, a tailings pond operated at Baia Mare in Romania collapsed, spilling 120 tonnes of cyanide and heavy metals into the Lapus River. The pollution flowed into the Somes and Tisa, two Hungarian rivers, and into the Danube and then into the Black Sea. The pond was operated by AURUL, a joint-venture between Esmeralda Exploration of Australia and REMIN, a Romanian state-owned mining company. It had the dual responsibilities of extracting gold, silver and other minerals from an abandoned tailings pond, and also transferring the tailings from their existing site, which was close to a residential area, to a remote site. The tailings pond had collapsed only after seven months of operation. This accident, which has been described as ‘Europe’s worst environmental disaster since Chernobyl' caused extensive environmental damage in its wake. In particular, it was alleged that the pollution caused the death of over one million kilograms of fish in Hungary and seriously disrupted the livelihoods of people. It was feared that some endangered fish species might have been wiped out permanently. The accident also resulted in the destruction of a large number of plant and wildlife species in the river systems. In July of the same year, Hungary sought compensation of US$ 110 million from the Australian company which was responsible for operating the mine. Hungary also announced that it was considering taking legal action against Romania.

Current trends in social relationships, strongly influenced by their increasingly international character, are resulting in a steadily growing interdependence of sovereign States. Political, economic, military and social problems have been re-examined. Organisations, economic unions, military alliances and defence agreements have been established. Free movement of persons and goods is everywhere considered to be desirable, while in the meantime the formalities to be completed on crossing frontiers have been reduced to a bare minimum. The development of tourism, which now plays an important role for three or four months in the year and which attracts all sections of the population, is equally a demonstration of a real desire for foreign contacts.

L'affaire de la Société néerlandaise pour l'exploitation de réclame (Reklame Exploitatie Maatschappij R.E.M.) laquelle, en érigeant une installation fixe en haute mer devant la côte néerlandaise à la limite de la mer territoriale, envisageait de réaliser des émissions de télévision destinées à être reçues sur le territoire néerlandais, a suscité l'intérêt dans les milieux néerlandais les plus divers. C'est notamment à l'intention de nos lecteurs à l'étranger que nous nous proposons de relater dans le présent article les faits tels qu'ils se sont produits. Nous allons faire suivre cet exposé d'un commentaire qui exposera quelques aspects du droit international relatifs à cette affaire. Nous avons fondé nos observations en grande partie sur le rapport de la Commission consultative néerlandaise en matière de droit international, rapport qui a reçu l'approbation unanime de ses membres et dont quelques extraits seront reproduits textuellement dans l'exposé qui va suivre. Le texte intégral de ce rapport est publié ci-après dans la section « Documents ».