Creating a working vocabulary of sovereignty

OSGOODE
HALL
LAW
SCHOOL
 Comparative
Research
in
Law
&
Political
Economy
 
 RESEARCH
PAPER
SERIES
 
 Research
Paper
No.
05/2010
 CREATING
A
WORKING
VOCABULARY
OF
SOVEREIGNTY:
 LANGUAGE
AT
THE
INTERNATIONAL
COURT
OF
JUSTICE
 
 D.
Alison
von
Rosenvinge
 
 
 
 
 
 Editors:
 Peer
Zumbansen
(Osgoode
Hall
Law
School,
Toronto,
Director,

 Comparative
Research
in
Law
and
Political
Economy)
 John
W. [...] D.
University
of
Pennsylvania;
alison.von.rosenvinge@gmail.com.
 Electronic copy available at: Creating
a
Working
Vocabulary
of
Sovereignty:
 Language
at
the
International
Court
of
Justice
 
 
D.
Alison
von
Rosenvinge*
 
 
 Sovereignty
is
not
obsolete,
but
it
needs
to
be
re‐examined
carefully.
1
 
 
 I.
INTRODUCTION
 
 The
problem
with
sovereignty
is
that
its
meani [...] The
 sovereign
 produces
 and
 guarantees
 the
 situation
 in
 its
 totality.
 
 He
 has
 the
 10
Jean
Bodin,
On
Sovereignty
3
(Julian
H.
Franklin
ed.
and
trans.)
(1992).
 11
Schmitt,
Carl,
Political
Theology:

Four
Chapters
on
the
Concept
of
Sovereignty
5
(George
Schwab
trans.)
(1988).
 4






































































CLPE
RESEARCH
PAPER
SERIES [...] J.
 in,
 among
 other
 areas,
 disputes
 concerning
 the
 conservation
 and
 management
of
fishing
vessels
in
the
NAFO
area.42
 
 The
Court
held
that
it
did
not
have
jurisdiction
to
decide
the
case
because
Canada’s
actions
fell
 within
 the
 limits
 of
 its
 declaration
 concerning
 compulsory
 jurisdiction
 of
 the
 I.C. [...] J.
in
 order
 to
 protect
 and
manage
 the
 environment
 for
 fishing,
 but
 on
 the
 other
 hand,
 the
 Court
 rejects
 a
 state’s
 right
 to
 build
 a
 wall
 to
 protect
 its
 citizens
 from
 an
 acknowledged
 terrorist
 threat
and
denies
another
 state’s
 right
 to
 reject
a
Soviet‐era
contract
 in
order
 to
protect
 the
 environment.
 
 There
 is
 no
 simple
 way
 to
 explain
 the
 discrepancy