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1 Y.B. Int'l Disaster L. Online 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/yidlw1 and id is 1 raw text is: 




Editorial


Charting an Emerging Subject: The Role of the

Yearbook of International Disaster Law


        Giulio Bartolini*



Disasters caused by natural and technological hazards are a commonplace
phenomenon causing   extensive negative impacts on affected communities.
According to the 2018 World Disasters Report elaborated by the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in the last decade (2008-
2017) around 770.ooo deaths can be attributed to disasters, while 2 billion peo-
ple have been affected and damages have amounted  to US$1.65 trillion. Re-
gardless of such shocking data, it would be hard to claim that the international
legal implications of disasters, as opposed to the humanitarian impact of such
events, have been at the forefront of concern or area of specific interest for in-
ternational organisations, States, humanitarian organisations, stakeholders
and academics. However, in the past years a progressive shift can be identified,
through some  converging elements still in need of consolidation.
   The first point to note is that a significant body of practice has emerged at
the international and national levels devoted to addressing the legal and insti-
tutional issues relevant in disaster settings. Binding and non-binding standard-
setting activities have been progressively developed by States and internation-
al organisations, as complemented by further informal law-making activities
involving other relevant actors (e.g. NGOs, Red Cross Red Crescent Movement,
expert groups). As a result, a significant number of hard and soft-law instru-
ments now  exist, a plethora of tools from which core elements, relevant prin-
ciples and institutional structures addressing the different phases of the disas-
ter-cycle (prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery) can
be pinpointed. Additionally, other branches of international law (e.g. human

*  Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of International Disaster Law. Associate Professor of Interna-
   tional Law, Department of Law, Roma Tre University.


© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2020 1 DOI:10.1163/26662531_00101_002

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