Senlis Council: Feasibility Study on Opium Licensing

Drug policy is a key issue in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Recognizing the immediate need to dramatically reduce the nation's illegal opium trade, The British Institute of International and Comparative Law has contributed to a study conducted by the Senlis Council (www.senliscouncil.net) on the feasibility of licensing opium production for medical purposes.

The outputs from this project thus far consist of:

  • Policy Conclusions and Recommendations
  • Executive Summaries of the Study's Contributions
  • The Full Feasibility Study
  • Initial Findings on the Opium Production Value Chain
  • A Memorandum on Worldwide Opium-based Medicine Production by Pharmaceutical Companies
  • A Memorandum on the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

These may be accessed through the Feasibility Study section of The Senlis Council website.

The Institute's contribution to the Feasibility Study examines the possibility of an amnesty scheme in Afghanistan as a measure through which licensed opium production can be successfully realised. Any such proposal will have to be compatible with Afghanistan's pre-existing obligations, both in international and domestic law. As an implementing measure, the legality of the scheme is dependent upon the legitimacy of the opium licensing proposals overall; once these obtain the appropriate levels of international and national approval, the legitimacy of the amnesty will be more easily recognized. Large-scale pragmatic measures of this sort may be considered favourably in a fledgling state such as Afghanistan, which needs to bring about drastic shifts in patterns of activity whilst strengthening its law enforcement institutions.

For more information on the Institute's work with The Senlis Council, please contact Hugo Warner (h.warner@biicl.org).

Previous Reports by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the Senlis Council

The United Nations Drug Conventions Regime and Policy Reform

Dr Mads Andenas and David Spivack

August 2003

This paper describes and evaluates the options highlighted in the context of key scenarios for reform. Part I describes the options available under the existing Conventions. The main issue here is to determine the restrictions that follow from the Convention regime and the freedom of action that is left.

Part II evaluates the options highlighted in the context of key scenarios for reform. The legal consequences that flow from the different options are addressed. One conclusion is that a route to Convention reform may be founded on collective action based on alliances between like-minded states.

A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy: Promoting Public Health Policies

David Spivack

March 2004

This publication illustrates how public health promotion measures could be translated into a workable international legal framework. Taking into account the multi-level effects of drug abuse and in response to the failure of law enforcement to address these effects, the fourth framework convention adopts a multidimensional approach. By further defining the nature and scope of various health promotion measures, this new framework provides governments, for the first time, with an international legal basis to implement public health promotion policies.