Creating Popular Governments in Post-Conflict Situations: The Role of International Law
Carsten Stahn, Jennifer S. Easterday, and Jens Iverson (eds.), Jus Post Bellum: Mapping the Normative Foundations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).
University of Oslo Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2014-08
21 Pages Posted: 7 May 2014 Last revised: 3 Jul 2014
Date Written: July 1, 2013
Abstract
This chapter explores how the requirement of an electoral process found in Article 25 ICCPR relates to practice in post-conflict situations in general, and in post-conflict Sierra Leone in particular. In so doing, it seeks to help develop a clearer understanding of the relevance of this law in post-conflict settings, whilst also providing a basis for reflecting on the role of international law in jus post bellum more generally. The analysis addresses compliance with the law, but a core concern is with how the nature of the legal framework relates to the broader reconstruction process and what this suggests about its appropriateness. The central argument of the chapter that informs the analysis is that the suitability of this extant legal component of jus post bellum is linked to the balance that it strikes between coercion and flexibility vis-a-vis the decision making of interim governments.
Keywords: Jus post bellum, Electoral process, Post-Conflict, Reconstruction, Sierra Leone, ICCPR, Political Participation, Article 25
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