Armageddon
or Brave New World?
Reflections on the Hostilities
in Iraq, Second Edition
Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha 2005, $25 incl. S&H, 197 pp, soft
cover
With new section bringing the analysis up to date
ISBN 955-599-324-5 |
C.G. Weeramantry
President of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear
Arms
Former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice
Founder, Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education and
Research, Colombo, Sri Lanka
"Like so many thinking people
all over the world Christie Weeramantry has been very perturbed
by the tragedy in Iraq -- the invasion of the country by the US,
British, and Australian forces.... In protest against this planned
invasion, Mr Weeramantry wrote articles, gave interviews and addressed
meetings, which included a sessions of British parliamentarians
in London. The general thrust of his arguments was that an attack
on Iraq without the approval of the Security Council would be unconstitutional.
He specified ten principles in the UN Charter which would be violated.
An invasion would also be morally indefensible, as it would inevitably
result in the killing of numerous lives and serious damage to the
infrastructure, hospitals, schools and religious and cultural institutions.
"In his book, Mr. Weeramantry enlarges on the opinions he has
expressed earlier and stresses the fact that we have a task to counter
the dangers ahead of us. He refers to the UN Charter as 'the basic
document of today's international law'....
"Armageddon or a brave new world? A world of violence or a
world of peace? Mr Weeramantry's book is a source of valuable information
as well as a guide to the action which all of us should now be taking."
Vernon Abeysekera, The Guardian, September
3, 2003 (review of first edition)
"In possibly the first book to be published about the current
military invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US and some of its
allies, Judge Weeramantry explores the legal and political ramifications
of the US actions, the reasons force is too often used in international
relations and legal mechanisms which could be employed to prevent
war."
Alyn Ware, IALANA Newsletter, October 2003
(review of first edition)
Joan Ullman, New York Law Journal, May 28, 2004 (review of first
edition) (pdf)
Judge Christopher G. Weeramantry
Judge ad hoc, International Court of Justice
Judge Weeramantry, a member (1991 - 2000) of the
International Court of Justice. and a former Vice President of
that Court, was prior to his appointment to the Court a Professor
of Law and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He is
a Doctor of Laws of the University of London and the author of
numerous books and articles published throughout the world on
peace, intercultural understanding, human rights and many other
related legal topics. He is founder of the Weeramantry International
Centre for Peace, Education and Research, Colombo, Sri Lanka,
and is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash
University, Victoria, Australia.
*Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, 675 Third Avenue,
Suite 315, New York, NY 10017
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