Language as a Medium of Legal Norms
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Edzard, L. (1998). Language as a Medium of Legal Norms. Implications of the Use of Arabic as a Language in the United Nations System. Duncker & Humblot. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-49307-4
Edzard, Lutz. Language as a Medium of Legal Norms: Implications of the Use of Arabic as a Language in the United Nations System. Duncker & Humblot, 1998. Book. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-49307-4
Edzard, L (1998): Language as a Medium of Legal Norms: Implications of the Use of Arabic as a Language in the United Nations System, Duncker & Humblot, [online] https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-49307-4
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Language as a Medium of Legal Norms
Implications of the Use of Arabic as a Language in the United Nations System
Schriften zum Völkerrecht, Vol. 131
(1998)
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Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table of Contentsr | 9 | ||
| Tablesr | 14 | ||
| Abbreviationsr | 15 | ||
| Notes on language use and transcriptionr | 16 | ||
| Chapter One: Introduction | 17 | ||
| Chapter Two: Basic legal and linguistic issues regarding Arabic and Islam | 22 | ||
| A. Historical background: Middle East and North Africa | 22 | ||
| B. Religious background: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | 26 | ||
| C. Legal background: Islamic law | 29 | ||
| D. Linguistic background: Arabic | 33 | ||
| I. General observations | 33 | ||
| II. Arabic as a modern language of diplomacy | 34 | ||
| III. Types of Arabic documents in the UN system | 37 | ||
| 1. Overview | 37 | ||
| 2. Bi- and multilateral treaties | 37 | ||
| 3. Diplomatic correspondence | 41 | ||
| 4. Periodic reports | 45 | ||
| 5. Oral contributions | 47 | ||
| IV. Linguistic features of diplomatic Arabic | 48 | ||
| 1. Syntactic features | 48 | ||
| 2. Lexical features | 49 | ||
| 3. Stylistic features | 51 | ||
| 4. Pragmatic features | 53 | ||
| 5. Islamic formulae | 54 | ||
| E. Summary of Chapter Two | 57 | ||
| Chapter Three: The theory of interpretation | 58 | ||
| A. Legal and linguistic interpretation | 58 | ||
| B. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties | 60 | ||
| C. Speech Act Theory | 62 | ||
| D. A typology of diplomatic misunderstanding | 66 | ||
| I. General considerations | 66 | ||
| II. The extension coincides, the intension differs | 68 | ||
| III. The extension differs, the intension coincides | 69 | ||
| IV. The extension differs, the intension differs | 70 | ||
| V. The extension coincides, the intension coincides partially | 72 | ||
| E. Summary of Chapter Three | 73 | ||
| Chapter Four: Application of the theory of interpretation to the realm of war and peace | 74 | ||
| A. Overview of problems | 74 | ||
| I. Basic considerations | 74 | ||
| II. The Islamic concept of jihād | 75 | ||
| III. Islam and terrorism | 76 | ||
| IV. Contemporary conflicts in the Arab world | 77 | ||
| V. The diplomatic use of the term “Zionism” | 79 | ||
| B. The Palestine conflict (“Middle East conflict”) | 82 | ||
| I. Overview of general discourse problems | 82 | ||
| II. The McMahon-Husayn correspondence (1915/1916) | 85 | ||
| III. The Armistice Agreements of 1949 between Israel and its neighbors | 87 | ||
| IV. The Camp David Peace Accord between Israel and Egypt | 87 | ||
| V. The Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO | 88 | ||
| VI. The Washington Declaration between Israel and Jordan | 89 | ||
| VII. The Treaty of Peace between Israel and Jordan | 90 | ||
| VIII. The Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron | 90 | ||
| C. The Iraq-Kuwait crisis | 91 | ||
| I. Overview of general discourse problems | 91 | ||
| II. Crucial documents | 93 | ||
| D. The Iraqi concepts of “law”, “truth”, “peace”, and “justice”: a comparative analysis of the traditional methods of treaty interpretation and Speech Act Theory | 105 | ||
| I. Basic considerations | 105 | ||
| II. The traditional methods of treaty interpretation | 105 | ||
| III. Speech Act Theory | 106 | ||
| E. Summary of Chapter Four | 107 | ||
| Chapter Five: Application of the theory of interpretation to the realm of human rights | 108 | ||
| A. Overview of problems | 108 | ||
| I. Basic considerations | 108 | ||
| II. “Western” vs. “Islamic” approaches to the issue | 112 | ||
| B. The periodic reports submitted to international treaty bodies | 116 | ||
| I. Synopsis: accession of Islamic states to international human rights conventions and their reservations | 116 | ||
| II. The situation in the Arab states and in Iran | 120 | ||
| III. The specific problems | 124 | ||
| 1. Types of reservations | 124 | ||
| 2. Hidden precepts | 126 | ||
| 3. List of conflicting norms between international law and the Islamic šarīca | 128 | ||
| IV. Overview of the specific problems, as appearing in UN documents | 130 | ||
| 1. Personal statute law | 130 | ||
| a) Muslims vs. non-Muslims | 130 | ||
| b) Men vs. women | 131 | ||
| c) Freedom of religion, thought, and conscience | 131 | ||
| 2. Family law | 132 | ||
| a) Prohibition of marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men | 133 | ||
| b) Lack of freedom in contracting marriage | 133 | ||
| c) Polygamy up to four wives | 133 | ||
| d) Complementary distribution of “rights” and “obligations” | 134 | ||
| e) Prohibition against women leaving the house, or traveling without husband’s permission | 139 | ||
| f) Institution of dowry | 141 | ||
| g) Asymmetry in divorce regulations | 141 | ||
| h) Prohibition of adoption | 142 | ||
| 3. Law of succession | 146 | ||
| 4. Penal law | 146 | ||
| a) Absolute prohibition against Muslims changing religion | 146 | ||
| b) Ḥudūd sentences | 147 | ||
| 5. Law of procedure | 148 | ||
| C. The Islamic concept of “equality”: a comparative analysis of the traditional methods of treaty interpretation and Speech Act Theory | 148 | ||
| I. Basic considerations | 148 | ||
| II. The traditional methods of treaty interpretation | 149 | ||
| III. Speech Act Theory | 150 | ||
| D. Evaluation of the arguments | 152 | ||
| I. The anachronistic nature of the arguments | 152 | ||
| II. Discrepancies within Islamic theory | 152 | ||
| III. Discrepancies between Islamic theory and practice | 152 | ||
| IV. Comparable issues in other religions | 153 | ||
| V. Problem of maintenance of status quo | 153 | ||
| VI. Insistence on international human rights principles | 154 | ||
| VII. The Islamic concept of ijtihād | 154 | ||
| E. Summary of Chapter Five | 156 | ||
| Chapter Six: Case study: application of the theory of interpretation to the definition of “ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities” in UN documents | 158 | ||
| A. Overview of problems | 158 | ||
| I. Basic considerations | 158 | ||
| II. Instruments of international law for the protection of minorities | 160 | ||
| III. The data and the issues | 161 | ||
| IV. Linguistic strata | 168 | ||
| B. Problems in the discussions of the treaty bodies | 170 | ||
| C. Case study: the Turkish-Kurdish conflict | 172 | ||
| D. Analysis: application of Speech Act Theory | 177 | ||
| E. Summary of Chapter Six | 180 | ||
| Chapter Seven: Conclusion | 181 | ||
| A. General observations | 181 | ||
| B. Legal aspects | 181 | ||
| C. Linguistic aspects | 184 | ||
| D. Summary of Chapter Seven | 185 | ||
| Appendix: Analytical catalogue of data and sources | 187 | ||
| A. Arabic terminology | 187 | ||
| I. Glossary of Arabic legal/religious and political terms | 187 | ||
| II. Arabic honorifics | 189 | ||
| B. Arabic terminology sources | 190 | ||
| I. Specialized dictionaries and manuals | 190 | ||
| II. List of UN terminology manuals | 190 | ||
| C. Sources for treaties and other diplomatic documents | 193 | ||
| D. List of quoted treaties and declarations | 193 | ||
| I. Bilateral treaties and declarations (in chronological order) | 193 | ||
| II. Pluri- and multilateral treaties and declarations (in chronological order) | 194 | ||
| E. List of quoted UN documents | 196 | ||
| I. List of letters, resolutions, verbatim records, special reports, legal references, and other documents | 196 | ||
| II. List of periodic reports by Arab states and Iran, summary records of discussions, and concluding observations | 199 | ||
| F. List of other quoted documents | 215 | ||
| G. List of quoted cases, pleadings, and judgments | 216 | ||
| H. Original Arabic quotations | 216 | ||
| References | 234 | ||
| A. Arabic references | 234 | ||
| B. Non-Arabic references | 235 | ||
| Index | 249 | ||
| A. Index of names | 249 | ||
| B. Index of subjects | 254 |