THE CHAKA
Vol. 80 No. 35
Saturday 23 March 2013
Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Calcutta
(Dist 3291) India
India's Oldest Rotary Bulletin
Cyclostyled from 1920. First printed in 1925
Incorporated with The Eastern Rotary Wheel 1933-51
www.rotacal.org/chaka
TODAY
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A BENGALI PLAY - SOLUTION X
Staged by the Club members under the direction of Rtn Dr Samir
Banerjee.
"The whole drama is of two days affair involving a scientist who
was working hard to find a medicine which will stop aging and
will help to reverse it also but ultimately it culminates with a
lot of hilarious and non-sensual events"
ONE WORLD
_____________________________
We remember with good wishes
ROTARY CLUB OF SURFERS PARADISE
Queensland,
RI Dist 9640, Australia
NEXT MEETING
_____________________________
Apr 02 Tue 1 for 1:30 PM Rotary Sadan
4436 RWM PDG UTPAL MAJUMDAR
LEAD STORY - 16TH ROTARY ORATION - 2013
_______________________________________
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & ITS
SIGNIFICANCE
TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING,
FRIENDSHIP & PEACE
Delivered on 23rd February 2013
by Mr. Justice Biswanath Somadder
Hon'ble Judge Calcutta High Court
1. When the invitation reached my hands, for delivering the
Annual Rotary Oration, I was pleasantly surprised to take note
that I could address you on any topic, connected with "World
understanding and Peace." Inextricably linked with the concept
of world understanding and peace is the evolution of
international law as a concept. Generally speaking,
international law is the body of rules which are legally binding
on states in their intercourse with each other. These rules are
primarily those which govern the relations of states, but states
are not the only subjects of international law. International
organizations and, to some extent, also individuals may be
subjects of rights conferred and duties imposed by meaning of
the term as used in modern times began gradually to grow from
the second half of the Middle Ages.
Much of its evolution as a systematized body of rules can be
attributed to a Dutch Jurist by the name of Hugo Grotius, whose
work, "De Jure Belli ac Pacis, Libri iii" which was published in
the year 1625, became the foundation of later development.
2. That part of international law that is binding on all states,
as is far the greater part of customary law, may be called
universal international law, in contradistinction to particular
international law which is binding on two or a few states only.
General international law is that which is binding upon a great
many states. General international law, such as provisions of
certain treaties which are widely, but not universally, binding
and which establish international law. International law in the
rules appropriate for universal application, has a tendency to
become universal international law.
3. International law is sometimes referred to as "public
international law" to distinguish it from private international
law. Whereas the former governs the relations of states and
other subjects of international law amongst themselves, the
latter consists of the
rules developed by states as part of their domestic law to
resolve the problems which, in cases between private persons
which involve a foreign element, arise over whether the court
has jurisdiction and over the choice of the applicable law: in
other terms, public international law arises from the
juxtaposition of states, private international law
from the juxtaposition of legal systems.
4. Although, the rules of private international law are part of
the internal law of the state concerned, they may also have the
character of public international law where they are embodied in
treaties. Where this happens the failure of a state party to the
treaty to observe the rule of private international law
prescribed in it will lay it open to proceedings for breach of
an international obligation, owed to another party. Even where
the rules of private international law cannot themselves be
considered as rules of public international law, their
application by a state as part of its internal law may directly
involve the rights and obligations of the state as a matter of
public international law. For example where the matter concerns
the property of aliens or the extent of the state's
jurisdiction,
5. The problem centered around international law is its binding
legal force. Almost from the beginning of evolution of the
concept of international law, the question has been discussed
whether it is law properly so called. Hobbes and Pufendorf had
already answered the question in the negative. During the 19th
century Austin and his followers took up the same attitude. In
large measure the problem is one of definition, and different
definitions of what constitutes 'law' can produce different
answers to the question whether any particular body of rules may
properly be regarded as 'law'. Definitions drawn up primarily in
terms of the internal (or municipal) law of states maybe
unnecessarily restrictive when applied to rules obtaining in
other kinds of community.
Although the characteristics of municipal law provide a valid
Standard against which to measure the quality as law of the
rules in some other, and particularly the international,
community, a body of rules maybe law in the strict sense of the
terra even though it may not at some stages of its development
possess all the characteristics of municipal law. Divergence
from the usual characteristics of municipal law has nevertheless
often been regarded as expressive of the weakness of a body of
rules qua law.
6. In this modern day, the states of the world do together
constitute a body bound together through common interests which
create extensive intercourse between them, and differences in
culture, economic structure, or political system, do not affect
as such the existence of an international community as one of
the basic factors of international law. Rules for the conduct of
the members of that community exist, and have existed for
hundreds of years. Equally, there exists a common consent of the
community of states that the rules of international conduct
shall be enforced by external power, although in the absence of
a central authority for this purpose states have sometimes to
take the law into their own hands by such means as self-help and
intervention - although the outlawing of resort to force, and
the hesitant steps being taken towards international enforcement
action, may indicate less reliance on self-help as the normal
means for the enforcement of international law.
The Security Council's primary responsibility for and powers in
relation to the maintenance of international peace and security,
which extend to enforcement action including mandatory measures
of various kinds, or the establishment of peacekeeping forces
operating with the consent of the state in which the force
exercises its functions, offer possibilities of future
development towards an effective system of sanctions. They also
serve to demonstrate that enforcement of the law through an
agency which is both external to the state in default and
representative of the international community has the authority
of a recognized principle of international law. All the same, it
must be recognized that deficiencies in the means at present
available for the enforcement of international law - including
in particular the absence of truly compulsory arrangements for
the judicial settlement of disputes - make it, by comparison
with municipal law and the means available for its enforcement,
certainly the weaker of the two in that respect.
7. Law can only exist in a society, and there can be no society
without a system of law to regulate the relations of its members
with one another. If then we speak of the "law of nations", we
are assuming that a "society" of nations exists, and the
assumption that the whole of the civilized world constitutes in
any real sense, a single society or community is one which we
are not justified in making without examination. In any case,
the character of the law of nations is necessarily determined by
that of the society within which it operates, and neither can be
understood without the other. The law of nations had its origin
among a few kindred nations of Western Europe which, despite
their frequent quarrels and even despite the religious schism of
the 16th century, all had and were all conscious of having a
common background in the Christian religion and the civilization
of Greece and Rome. They were in a real sense a society of
nations. But, the rise of the modern state system undermined the
tradition of the unity of Christendom, and eventually gave rise
to those sentiments of exclusive nationalism, which are rife in
the world today. It is true that side by side with this
development, there has been immense growth of the factors that
make states mutually dependent on one another. Modern science
has given us vastly increasing facilities and speed of
communications, and modem commerce has created demands for the
commodities of other nations which have been the extravagance of
modern economic nationalism are not able to stifle. If human
affairs were more wisely ordered and if men were clearer-sigh
ted than they are in seeing their own interest, it might be that
this interdependence of the nations would lead to a
strengthening of their feelings of community. But, their
interdependence is mainly in material things, and though
material bonds are necessary, they are not enough without a
common social consciousness; without that they are as likely to
lead to friction as to friendship. Some sentiment of shared
responsibility for the conduct of a common life is a necessary
element in any society, and the necessary force behind any
system of law; and the strength of any legal system is
proportionate to the strength of such a sentiment.
8. It has often been said that in any law ought to be classified
as a branch of ethics, rather than of law. The question is
partly one of words, because its solution will dearly depend on
the definition of law, which we choose to adopt; in any case, it
does not affect the value of the subject one way or the other,
though those who deny the legal character of international law
often speak as though "ethical" were a depreciatory epithet.
But. in fact, it is both practically inconvenient and also
contrary to the best juristic thought to deny its legal
character. It is inconvenient because if international law is
nothing but international morality, it is certainly not the
whole of international morality, and it is difficult to see how
we are to distinguish it from those other admittedly moral
standards which we apply in forming our judgments on the conduct
of states. Ordinary usage certainly use two tests in judging the
"tightness" of a state's act, a moral test and one which is
somehow felt to be independent of morality. Every state
habitually commits acts of selfishness which are often gravely
injurious to other states, and yet are not contrary to
international law; but we do not, on that account necessarily
judge them to have been "right". It is confusing and pedantic to
say that both these tests are moral. Moreover, it is the
pedantry of the theorist and not of the practical man; for
questions of international law are invariably treated as legal
questions by the foreign offices, which conduct our
international business, and in the Courts, national or
international, before which they are brought; legal forms and
methods are used in diplomatic controversies and in judicial and
arbitral proceedings, and authorities and precedents are cited
in argument as a matter of course. It is significant too that
when a breach of international law is alleged by one party to a
controversy, the act impugned is practically never defended by
claiming the right of private judgment, which would be the
natural defence if the issue concerned the morality of the act,
but always by attempting to prove that no rule has been
violated.
9. The only essential conditions for the existence of law are
the existence of a political community, and the recognition by
its members of settled rules, binding upon them in that
capacity, international law seems on the whole to satisfy these
conditions. The best view is that international law is in fact
just a system of customary law, upon which has been erected,
almost entirely within the last two generations, a super
structure of "conventional" or treaty-made law, and some of its
chief defects are precisely those that the history of law
teaches us to expect in a customary system. It is a common
mistake to suppose that of these the most conspicuous is the
frequency of its violation. Violations of law are rare in all
customary systems, and they are so in international law - for
the law is normally observed because, as we shall see, the
demands that it makes on states are generally not exacting, and
on the whole, states find it convenient to observe it.... But,
the weakness of the international law lies deeper than any mere
question of sanctions. It is not the existence of a police force
that makes a system of law strong and respected, but the
strength of the law that makes it possible for a police force to
be effectively organized. The imperative character of law is
felt so strongly and obedience to it has become so much a matter
of habit within a highly civilized state that national law has
developed machinery of enforcement which generally works
smoothly, though never so smoothly as to make breaches
impossible. If the imperative character of international law
were equally strongly felt, the institution of definite
international sanctions would easily follow.
10. A customary system of law can never be adequate to the needs
of any but a primitive society, and the paradox of the
international society is that, whilst on the material side it is
far more primitive, and therefore needs a strong and fairly
elaborate system of law for the regulation of the clashes to
which the material interdependence of different stales is
constantly giving rise, its spiritual peace cohesion is, as we
have already seen, weak, and as long as that is so the weakness
will inevitably be reflected in a weak and primitive system of
law. Among the most serious shortcomings of the present system
are the rudimentary character of the institutions which exist
for the making and the application of the law, and the narrow
restrictions on its range. There is no legislature to keep the
law abreast of new needs in the international society; no
executive power to enforce the law; and although, certain
administrative bodies have been created, these, though important
in themselves, are far from being adequate for the mass of
business which ought to be treated today as of international
concern. There exist also convenient machinery for the
arbitration of disputes and a standing court of justice, but the
range of action of these is limited because resort to them is
not compulsory.
11. The restricted range of international law is merely the
counterpart of the wide freedom of independent action which
states claim in virtue of their sovereignty. Law will never play
a really effective part in international relations, until it can
annex to its own sphere some of the matters which at present lie
within the "domestic jurisdictions" of the several states.
12. It is a natural consequence of the absence of authoritative
law-declaring machinery that many of the principles of
international law. and even more, the detailed application of
accepted principles are uncertain. But, on the whole, the layman
tends to exaggerate this defect. It is not in the nature of any
law to provide mathematically certain solutions of problems
which may be presented to it; for uncertainty cannot be
eliminated from law so long as the possible conjunctions of
facts remain infinitely various. Although therefore the
difference between international law and the law of a state in
this respect is important it is one of degree and not of kind,
and it tends to be reduced as the practice of resorting to
international courts, which are able to work out the detailed
practical implication of general principles, becomes more
common. The difficulty of formulating the rules of international
law with precision is a necessary consequence of the kinds of
evidence upon which we have to rely in order to establish them.
13. Whether from a review of all these shortcoming, we ought to
conclude that international law is a failure, depends on what we
assume to be its aim. It has not failed to serve the purposes
for which states have chosen to use it; in fact, it serves these
purposes reasonably well. The Practice of international law
proceeds on much the same lines as that of any other kind of
law, with the foreign offices taking the place of the private
legal adviser and exchanging arguments about the facts and the
law, and later, more often than is sometimes supposed, with a
hearing before some form of international tribunal. Volume of
this work is considerable, but most of it is not sensational.
That does not mean that the matters to which it does relate are
unimportant in themselves; often they are very important to
particular interests or individuals. But, it means that
international law is performing a useful and indeed a necessary
function in international life in enabling states to carry on
their day to day intercourse along orderly and predictable
lines. That is the role for which states have chosen to use it
and for that it has proved a serviceable instrument,
14. I have been given to understand that the first Rotary
Meeting was held on the night of 23rd February, 1905, at the
Unity Building in Chicago, USA. Present at this meeting were
Rotary's founder and Convener, Paul Harris and three of his
friends. Today, being the 23rd of February, it is observed as
the birthday of Rotary- later declared by Rotary International
as "World Understanding and Peace day". The Month of February is
designated as the "World Understanding Month". I understand that
each club, on this day, gives special recognition and emphasis
to Rotary's commitment to international understanding,
friendship and peace.
15. While I have been discussing about the evolution of
international law as a concept, one crucial aspect of its
evolution is a modern day development, which forms one of its
important facets post-1945, International law rules framed in
terms of the protection of human rights against state
interference is a modern day concept. Before then individuals
were seen mostly as aliens and nationals, not as individuals.
Some protection was afforded to them as aliens, but the
treatment of nationals was regarded as being within the domestic
jurisdiction of sovereign states. By the 19th century, some
writers recognized an exception in the case of humanitarian
intervention, although state practice shows that intervention by
a state on that ground was usually justified on other grounds at
the same rime. After the First World War. efforts were made to
protect minority groups by treaty, but no protection of
individuals generally was attempted. Events in the Europe in the
1930s and in the Second World War focussed attention upon this
wider question and the guarantee of human rights became one of
the purposes for which the Allied Powers fought. It was
therefore no surprise when the realisation of protection of
human rights became one of the purposes of the United Nations
and when the Charter imposed obligations upon members to this
end. The Charter was followed by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, 1948 and a series of multilateral treaties
concluded through the United Nations, At a regional level, the
European convention on Human Rights, 1950, the European Social
Charter, 1961 and the Revised European Social Charter, 1996, the
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 and the African
Charter on Human Rights and Peoples' Rights, 1981, have been
adopted; all are now in force. There are also International
Labour Conventions that contain human rights guarantees, and the
four Geneva "Red Cross" Conventions of 1949, The Human Dimension
of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe, 1975 (the Helsinki Declaration) and later OSCE texts
(Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and
developments are also relevant.
16. Action is taken at a universal level to protect human rights
within the United Nations; mainly by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights through the adoption and
implementation of treaties and by other means and, second, the
protection of human rights in customary international law.
However, today I shall not dilate on this aspect.
17. Most writers on this subject commonly refer lo human rights
as belonging to one of three generations. The "first generation"
consists of those civil and political rights that derive from
the natural rights philosophy of Locke, Rousseau and others and
that have traditionally been given priority by Western states.
The "second generations" are those economic, social and cultural
rights that attained recognition in the 20th century with the
advent of socialism. Although, there is jurisprudential debate
and scepticism on the part of concerned Western states as to the
human rights character of "second generation" human rights, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights catalogues rights within
both generations as human rights, and the International
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights impose legal obligations in respect of each
other. Moreover, the premise underlying all United Nations human
rights texts is that civil and political rights and economic,
social and cultural rights are of equal priority, with the
realisation of the two groups of rights being interdependent.
The idea of a "third generation" of human rights emerged as
recently as the 1970s and is supported predominantly by
developing states. It is the idea that in addition to the
individual rights of the first two "generations", there are
collective group rights, such as the right to self-determination
and the right to development, that may properly qualify has
human rights.
18. The evolution of the international law of human rights has
been one of the most remarkable features of the development of
international law since 1945. Whereas progress has so far been
made mainly through treaties, the customary international law of
human rights is in the process of evolution too. However, it
remains uncertain how far customary law extends beyond some
fundamental civil and political rights and who in law holds or
may enforce the resulting substantive legal rights. As to human
rights treaties, most states have accepted an increasing number
of universal or regional human rights treaties protecting either
human rights generally, or one "generation" of human rights or
just one particular right. Such treaties typically provide for
bodies to monitor compliance, although the powers of enforcement
granted to them vary greatly, ranging from the competence of a
court to take a legally binding decision following an individual
petition, to that of a committee to make only non-binding
general comments or recommendations after the examination of
national reports. Nonetheless all such supervisory bodies
contribute in their functioning to the meaning of the rights
their treaties guarantee and to the corpus of practice applying
international human rights standards. Establishment of the
international Criminal Court, with jurisdiction (o try
individuals for international crimes, is one of the recent
developments that have taken place. Although, the Court's
decisions will dearly have relevance for the international law
of human rights, the subject of international criminal justice
is a very specialized one and as such I do not propose to deal
with it today.
19. I have come almost to the end of my talk. But before
parting, may I reflect, once again, on the significance of the
23rd of February, which all of you assembled here as Rotarians
observe as the birthday of Rotary, since 1905. The commitment of
Rotary to international understanding, friendship and peace
requires no further elucidation. However, even in today's modem
day society, the philosophy of the movement propounded by your
founder and convener, Paul Harris and his three friends finds a
common thread in the utterances of a person from Bengal who had
taken the world by storm (or may I say cyclone!) only a few
years before 1905 (Sep11, 1893). I am, of course, referring to
Swami Vivekananda.
I am tempted to end my talk quoting Swamiji: "We should not
think we are men and women, but only that we are human beings,
born to cherish and to help one another."
MINUTES OF 4434rd REGULAR WEEKLY
MEETING
_______________________________________
HELD ON WED 20TH MARCH, 2013 AT 2:00 PM
Total Members 253
Members Present 94
Exempted 83
Visiting Rtns & Guests 21
1. President Abhijit Kolay, took the Chair and called the 4434rd
RWM to order on Wednesday, 20th March. 2013 at 2.00 pm at Rotary
Sadan. Minutes of the 4433rd meeting were confirmed.
2. The President greeted all present and welcomed Chief Guest of
the Meeting Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka, RI
Director Shekhar Mehta, DG Uttam Ganguli and other District
officials. At his request President Elect Haladhar Dey escorted
RIP Sakuji Tanaka to the dais; Vice President Ritwik Gupta
escorted RID Shekhar Mehta and Hony. Secretary Debashis Mitra
escorted DG Uttam Ganguli to dais. Ms Eika Terao, the Japanese
interpreter also took her place on the dais.
3. The National Anthems of India and Japan as well as the Anthem
of Rotary International were played on the occasion.
4. All the four dignitaries on the dais were then felicitated
with flowers on behalf of our club by Rtns. Sujata Pyne. Nilima
loshi, Sonal Worah and Chandreyee Das.
5. Visiting Rotarians:
The President welcomed Rtn Dr S Tarafdar from R.C, of Rochdale
East, U.K. & Rtn Amitava Dasgupta from R.C. of Calcutta
Renaissance.
6. The President Reported that
• Students of our Cultural Section gave a rousing welcome to the
RI President this morning on his arrival at Rotary Sadan. RI
President visited the Archives, signed the Visitor's Book and
went around the NCLCL and Cultural Sections and mingled with the
students.
• Books and Dictionaries were distributed by RI President to our
Rotary Community Corps (RCC) representatives on the occasion of
Literacy month.
• The RI President blessed one child who will undergo cardiac
surgery at RTIICS (Rabindranath Tagore International Institute
of Cardiac Sciences) under our MG Project for Paediatric Cardiac
surgeries.
• A Team of Rotarians visited Sunderbans on 16th & 17th March
2013 to oversee our M.G Project. Rtn Dr. Debnath Chattopadhyay
conducted an Eye Check Up camp there and distributed medicines
to the patients.
• Former Hony. Secretary Rtn Heena Gorsia during her visit to
Australia last month attended weekly meetings of two clubs
namely RC of Clayton Victoria and RC of Surfers Paradise
Queensland RID 9640 and exchanged banners with the said Club
Presidents. During her trip to Japan she had exchanged banners
with the President of Rotary Club of Tokyo when she attended
their weekly meeting.
7. The President announced that:
• Rtn Santanu Deb Mookerjea lost his mother on 17th March 2013.
A message of Condolence has already been sent.
• The Regular Weekly Meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday,
26th March 2013 at 1.00 pm is being brought forward and will be
held on Saturday, 23rd March 2013 at 6.30 pm at Rotary Sadan.
The meeting will be followed by a Bengali play staged by our
club members under the direction of Rtn Dr Samir Banerjee. The
said programme will be followed by Fellowship and Dinner being
hosted by Rtns Sunil Kumar Daga & Rajendra Kumar Bachhawat.
Hence there will be no Regular Weekly Meeting on Tuesday, 26th
March 2013,
• Fellowship Committee will organise a "Holi Milan" on Sunday,
24th March, 2013 from 6.30 pm onwards to be hosted by Rtn Raj
Kumar Agrawal at his residence. Invitation cards for the same
have already been sent. Members were requested to kindly attend
this Fellowship programme with their spouse.
8. Rtn Debashis Mitra, Hony. Secretary, congratulated the 4
Rotarians celebrating their Birthdays between 20th March & 22nd
March and made the following announcement:
The Ninth meeting of the current Board of Directors will be held
on Monday, 25th March, 2013 at 6.30 pm at Rotary Sadan. All
Board Members were requested to kindly attend.
9. The President then delivered a special address on the
occasion.
10. At the request of the President DG Rtn Uttam Ganguli
addressed the members. His address was well received.
11. Rotary International Director Shekhar Mehta then addressed
the meeting. He enthralled the audience with his eloquence.
12. Rtn Haladhar Dey introduced the Chief Guest RI President
Sakuji Tanaka. Rtn Tanaka then addressed the meeting. The
members listened to his address with rapt attention and gave him
a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Rtn Ritwik Gupta
proposed the vote of thanks. On behalf of the club the President
presented a memento to Rtn Tanaka as a token of the club's
appreciation. He also presented a cheque of Rs 54,000 as
contribution to Rotary Foundation.
13. The special Sunshine Box Collection was Rs 100 with generous
contribution from Rtn B D Kothari.
14. The Club remembered with Good Wishes Rotary International
coupled with R.C. of Tokyo, Japan, R.I. District 2580.
15. The President thanked Rtn Sujata Pyne for hosting the day's
lunch.
16. There being no other business the meeting was adjourned at
3.00pm.
Rtn Abhijit Kolay, President
Rtn Debashis Mitra, Hony. Secretary
CONTACT
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WE MEET EVERY TUESDAY AT 1 FOR 1:30 PM
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www.rotacal.org
Email:
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(chakaeditor@gmail.com
)
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