ANALYSE : Anghie’s thesis on Vitoria (and the colonial origins of international law) revisited

Paulo de BRITO

Richard Tuck rightly affirms that by the early sixteenth century scepticism regarding the European colonization of America was already integral to the Dominican tradition, of which Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de las Casas were notable examples. In this study I shall focus on the former and only incidentally point out any relevant differences between the two. I will base myself on the work of Antony Anghie on Vitoria, complemented in some aspects by some of Jose-Manuel Barreto’s thoughts on the subject.

OUVRAGE : M. Bergsmo (ed.), Thematic Prosecution of International Sex Crimes

Paulo de BRITO

By singling out the theme of recruitment and use of child soldiers in its first case (the Lubanga case), the International Criminal Court cannot but attract attention to the idea of thematic prosecution, both at the international and domestic levels. This is the first book to deal with the topic of thematic prosecution of core international crimes. It concentrates on the prosecutorial thematization of international sex crimes. Thematic prosecutions, which focus on a narrow range of criminality, need to be based on well-founded reasons to maintain public legitimacy.

POINT DE VUE : The importance of constructing a theory of international law in the face of nationalism

Paulo de BRITO

Are international law and nationalism two completely self-contained and separated realities? It is said that international law, as the name indicates, is basically concerned with relations between nations politically organised into States, and is situated in the ambit of their external affairs, whereas nationalism is internal in scope, the two being, therefore, clearly separate. I do not feel, however, that such an absolute distinction is acceptable. The separation between internal and external results from an incorrect and over-simplified perspective. The internal and the external are closely interrelated. What one nation-state does depends upon its position in relation to the others, and, at the same time, what the others do is a function of what the first does. The external attitude of a State is a projection of attitudes which are termed ‘internal’, and these may be dependent on the way in which the nations are organised externally.