林宜亭：Does Israel Have Right to Use Force Against Iran?
(編註：原文題目為Does Israel Have Right to Use Force Against Iran According to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Speech at the United Nations General Assembly? )
林宜亭Christine Ie-Ting Lin*
In the speech delivered by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United Nations General Assembly on 27 Sep 2012, Netanyahu made it clear that Iran’s development on nuclear weapon impose a threat to the security of Israel, and Israel has the right to use force against Iran as soon as Iran’s uranium enrichment programme reaches an 80% level of completion[1]. The issues addressed here are what are the conditions for a state to legally exercise the military action against other states under the current international legal framework, and does the current situation entitle Israel to invoke such right under international law?
譚偉恩：BSE及其風險分類之探析 – 在公共衛生與貿易自由間進退維谷
美國農業部(Dept. of Agriculture)在今年4月24日確認其監測系統在該國加州中部發現一起非典型的(atypical)牛隻腦部海綿狀病變(Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE)之病例，即俗稱的狂牛症(mad cow disease)。由於患病的牛隻是一頭用來提供乳製品的乳牛，而非待宰殺供消費者食用之肉牛，因此農業部在通報世界動物衛生組織(World Organization for Animal Health, OIE)的報告中表示，這起病例絕不會在食品供應鏈上產生任何有害於人體健康的風險。農業部下設的動物與植物衛生檢驗署(Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS)隨後開始對這起病例進行調查與追蹤，並進一步確認此病例與使用動物飼料所導致的BSE無關。OIE目前官方網站上所公佈的資訊也接受美國的說法；因此，這起4月份的最新病例並不會影響先前OIE對美國狂牛症風險等級的分類：被控制的BSE 風險(controlled BSE risk)。換句話說，依照目前的國際衛生與貿易制度來看，美國肉牛的生產和其在國際市場的供應不會因此病例而受到任何影響。
蔡沛倫：Hamdan v United States
Pei-Lun Tsai
Ph.D. student, School of Law,
University of Nottingham
On 16 October 2012, the United States (US) Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit reversed the decision of the US Military Commission convicting Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Ladan’s former personal driver and bodyguard, for material support for terrorism and ordered the conviction be vacated. In addition, Hamdan was also the petitioner of a famous 2006 US Supreme Court case, Hamdan v Rumsfeld. Different aspects of the law of war were involved in these two judgments, and this contribution attempts to briefly introduce the background and the 2006 Supreme Court case, identify the main issues in the 2012 Court of Appeals case, and outline the responses to the judgement so far.