Droit/Géopolitique/Philosophie
Ida Caracciolo, Full Professor of International Law, University of Naples 2.
Barbara Loyer, professor, director of Institut Français de Géopolitique, Paris 8 university
Rebecka Lettevall, Associate professor (docent) of History of Ideas, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Södertörn University, Stockholm
Multidisciplinary study on the geopolitical aspect of the concept of « crimen iuris gentium » through the example of judge Garzón affair in Spain
Introduction
Naples II, Paris 8 and Södertörn universities are associated in a experimental thought process to analyze conflictual issues in Europe. The three universities are committed in developing a common pluridisciplinary methodology on a doctoral level. Juridical, geopolitical, and philosophical points of view, are gathered here in a common article.
Law experts reform legal corpus according to an internal logic of law but also depending on power relationships, within the states or in the international forums. These power relationships are not only warlike. They depend on public opinions, which are more and more often represented by NGOs. The interests and modes of acting of states and public opinion can be analyzed in order to understand the reasons why law interpretation in a certain country might seem legitimate at some moment, and not legitimate at another. The pluridisciplinary aspect of the academic investigation will be illustrated with an exemple : the concept of crime against humanity in the case of the Garzón affair in Spain.
Friday 14 of May 2010, the General Council of the Judicial Power of Spain (CGPJ) suspended the judge Baltazar Garzón from his office for abuse of power by opening an investigation of war crimes or crimes against humanity alleged for having been committed during the Spanish civil war and during the Franco regime. This event made a great fuss in Spain, but also in the international judicial circles and among NGOs defending human rights.
The affair puts various questions : is the reasoning of the judge in concordance with contemporary jurisprudence ? Why does this issue arise now in Spain ? Ida Caracciolo writes on the first aspect of the problem, Barbara Loyer on the second one. Beyond their cyclical aspect, Geopolitcal debates on law have a broader ethical and philosophical scope. Rebecka Lettevall concludes the article with this approach.
Justice and geopolitics I.Caraciolo B.Loyer R.Lettevall