Christina Benson, assistant professor of business law, presented the paper “Jus Post Bellum in Iraq: Emerging International Legal Norms for Economic Reform in Post Conflict Countries” during the 57th Annual Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference November 17-19 in Atlanta.
The paper, which was published in the conference proceedings, evaluates whether legal and economic reforms implemented by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq during 2003-04 may have violated the principle of “conservation” under international humanitarian law, as originally embodied in Article 43 of the Hague Regulations of 1907 and Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. The paper then draws upon the Iraq experience to argue that a new, more modern doctrine of “jus post bellum” is emerging under international law, through which the United Nations and international economic organizations are encouraging legislative and economic reforms in post-conflict countries as part of a larger effort to establish a “rule of law” and rebuild economic institutions and infrastructure.
The Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (SEALSB) is one of eight regional subdivisions of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB). The ALSB was founded in 1924 and is an association of teachers and scholars in the fields of business law, legal environment, and law-related courses outside of professional law schools. SEALSB’s members teach primarily in schools of business in colleges and universities within the region, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.