Citation: 8 J. Islamic St. Prac. Int'l L. [v] Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline. Mon Nov 20 13:11:

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1 Citation: 8 J. Islamic St. Prac. Int'l L. [v] 2012 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline Mon Nov 20 13:11: Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: Copyright Information Use QR Code reader to send PDF to your smartphone or tablet device

2 Editorial Comments The present issue of the Journal of Islamic State Practices in International Law is a special edition, in memory of Professor Kaiyan Homi Kaikobad ( ). It contains four of the papers presented at the One- Day Memorial conference held in memory of Professor Kaikobad on the 1 July 2011, entitled 'The Intricacies of International Law'. Almost all of the speakers were personal friends of Professor Kaikobad, and all speakers paid tremendous tribute to the excellent contributions made by Professor Kaikobad for the development and promotion of International law. This Conference, which gathered a large number of experts in International law, both as speakers and attendees, was also the occasion to examine important issues for Islamic States with the participation of most renowned Professors and experts such as Professor Colin Warbrick (University of Birmingham); Lady Fox (CMD QC); Professor Michael Lobban (Queen Mary University); Sir Michael Wood(20 Essex Street Chambers); Professor Shaheen Ali (University of Warwick, Vice President UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions); Professor Dino Kritsiotis (Nottingham University); Professor Harry Post (LUISS Rome; Catholic University of Lille); Professor Asif Qureshi (University of Manchester); Professor Dr Amir Majid (Barrister); Professor Rosa Greaves (University of Glasgow); Professor Tom Allen(Durham University); Professor Robert Sullivan (UCL); Professor Michael Bohlander (Durham University); Professor Ilias Bantekas (Brunel University); Dr Zeray Yihdego (Oxford Brookes University); Dr Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos(Brunel University); Dr Muhammed Korotana (Brunel University); Dr Mohamed Elewa Badar. The first article of the present issue of the Journal is Professor Colin Warbrick's paper The Constitutional Foundation of International Law, which examines a topic most cherished by Professor Kaikobad: the 'constitutionalisation' of international law in the light of both international law principles and recent developments in the field. Professor Warbrick examines topical questions that have been occupying the International Law Commission over the last years, such as the fragmentation of international law and the issues related to the v

3 'conflict of norms' between international law and the States' (and EU's) constitutional law. The second paper published in the current issue is entitled 'There is no compulsion in religion'- Freedom of religion, Responsability to Protect (R2P) and crimes against humanity at the example of the Islamic blasphemy laws of Pakistan, by Professor Michael Bohlander. This paper adopts a critical view towards Pakistan's blasphemy laws. After analysing the Islamic offense of blasphemy, including a historical investigation on blasphemy and the doctrinal questions of the interpretation and 'ranking' of the Qur'an and the Sunna, the paper suggests that R2P should be triggered in the case of application of blasphemy laws, given the UNGA Resolution 63/308. The author equally explores the idea of subsuming the violence against religious minorities in Pakistan (especially Christians and Ahmadiyyas) under the concept of a crime against humanity, suggesting that the situation could be referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council. Professor Tom Allen's paper seeks to answer a specific question, which is crucial for the unification of international commercial law: is the interpretation of the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods ('CISG') governed by the principles of public international law on the interpretation of treaties? Professor Allen examines the CISG in the light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties (VCLT) and the principles of national law on statutory interpretation, and suggests that the latter should be interpreted in a rather flexible way, in order to fulfil the objectives of the New International Economic Order. The last paper, published in the present issue of the Journal, is written by Dr Muhammed Korotona, and is entitled 'Conflicts of interests in the conventional and Islamic securitisation'. The author discusses the concept of Islamic securitisation by comparing it with conventional securitisation, in the light of the global financial crisis of the market ( ). The reader's attention is drawn to the fact that, unlike conventional securitisation, Islamic securitisation does not involve leverage, or interest, and further, does not generate conflicts of interests between originators, arrangers, servicers, credit agencies and bank managers. After a thorough analysis of Islamic securitisation, and particularly its foundational principles, the Riba (interest), the Gharar (uncertainty) and the Qimar (gambling), the author suggests that the Islamic securitisation could become attractive to the vi

4 investors and command a big share of the securitisation market. The editors are most thankful to the eminent authors who chose to examine these issues, both topical and most honouring to Professor Kaikobad's memory. They equally wish to seize the occasion to welcome Dr. Ayesha Shahid, Lecturer at Brunel Law School, Brunel University, as one of the editors of the Journal. They editors would also wish to remind the readers that the JISPIL is available on the Hein-on-line legal database. The editors, Professor Javaid Rehman, Dr Amir Ali Majid Professor Shaheen Sardar Ali Dr. Ayesha Shahid vii

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