Introduction

  • James A. Green
  • Christopher P. M. Waters
Part of the Euro-Asian Studies book series (EAS)

Abstract

On 7 August 2008, long-standing tensions in the Caucasus region came to a head when President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia ordered troops into the de facto independent region of South Ossetia with a view to reestablishing Georgian sovereignty. This intervention, which included the shelling and occupation of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was the culmination of a number of more minor military exchanges over the proceeding months. South Ossetia’s sponsor, the Russian Federation, responded swiftly to the Georgian action, with a large-scale military intervention into the state of Georgia. This use of force ultimately went beyond the boundaries of the South Ossetia region, both into the comparable breakaway region of Abkhazia and further into ‘Georgia proper’.

Keywords

United Nations Supra Note International Order International Legal Order Ceasefire Agreement 
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Notes

  1. 5.
    5. See, for example, C. Henderson and J.A. Green (2010) ‘The Jus ad Bellum and Entities Short of Statehood in the Report on the Conflict in Georgia’, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 59, 129–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. 8.
    8. For example, the ICJ explicitly acknowledged the inherent difficulties involved in the gathering of evidence during an ongoing conflict in the jur-isdictional phase of the Nicaragua case, see Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v United States of America) jurisdiction of the court and admissibility of the application [1984] I.C.J. Rep. 392, para. 101. Yet, it is additionally worth noting that the ICJ unequivocally dismissed the objection, raised by the United States, that such evidential difficulties precluded the Court from examining the dispute in question at all, see Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v United States of America) counter-memorial of the United States [1984] I.C.J. Plead., Part IV, 166–169 for the specifics of the objection raised. On the more general point of ‘factual uncertainty in conflict situations’, see R.N. Gardner (1991) ‘Commentary on the Law of Self-Defence’ in L.F. Damrosch and D.J. Scheffer (eds) Law and Force in the New International Order (Oxford: Westview Press), pp. 52–53.Google Scholar
  3. 10.
    10. See, for example, R. Teitel (2002) ‘Humanity’s Law: Rule of Law for the New Global Politics’, Cornell International Law Journal, 35, 355.Google Scholar
  4. 12.
    12. A. Hurrell (2000) ‘International Law and the Changing Constitution of International Society’ in M. Byers (ed.) The Role of Law in International Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p.334.Google Scholar
  5. 13.
    13. S. Chesterman (2008) ‘An International Rule of Law’, American Journal of Comparative Law, 56, 342. It should be noted that Chesterman’s ‘functional’ approach to the rule of law and its connection to world order is not unique. See, for example, the manner in which Richard Falk has applied these concepts in R.A. Falk (2008) The Costs of War: International Law, The UN and World Order (Abingdon: Routledge).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© James A. Green and Christopher P.M. Waters 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • James A. Green
  • Christopher P. M. Waters

There are no affiliations available

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