Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. Domestic and international tribunals have concluded that failure to protect the environment violates a variety of human rights (including the rights to life, health, food, water, property, and privacy; the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment). Some scholars have questioned the utility of the human rights …

Archaeological Sites And Mangrove Forest: A Legal Overview Of The Ecologically Critical Areas In The Bangladesh Context, Arpeeta Shams Mizan

Arpeeta Shams Mizan

Ecologically critical area as a concept is practised globally to preserve the natural biodiversity of environmentally endangered areas. These areas also fall under the criteria of natural and cultural heritage. Since the Stockholm Declaration, leading international legal instruments have reiterated their sanctity in consonance with the principles of Intergenerational equity and also of human rights. The environmental law in Bangladesh has incorporated these principles by making provisions for Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) in the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 (as amended in 2010) and the Environment Conservation Rules 1997. Bangladesh is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, the principal …

Adjudicating Trips For Development, Molly Land

Molly K. Land

No abstract provided.

International Adjudication Of Land Disputes: For Development And Transnationalism, Perry S. Bechky

Perry S. Bechky

This short article offers two observations about international adjudication of land disputes. First, the article shows that such adjudication is intended to further development, but that this goal is served better, if counter-intuitively, by rejecting the so-called Salini contribution-to-development test in favor of case-by-case adjudication on the merits. Second, the article locates such adjudication within the modern trend toward transnationalism, a trend that unites international investment law with human rights law. In light of these observations, the article concludes that international adjudication of land disputes may contribute to such human values as development, human rights, and the rule of law.

International Law, The Civilizing Mission And The Ambivalence Of Development In Africa: Conceptual Underpinnings, Amin George Forji

Amin George Forji

International law, past and present has had to constantly wrestle with striking a balancing act between legality and imperialism. Following the Agrarian and Industrial revolutions, European1 economies increasingly witnessed profound boosts in productivity and net output beginning from the 17th century. By the start of the 19th century when explorations and discoveries were the currency of the day, European powers increasingly saw the acquisition of Africa as crucial to satisfy its economic imperatives namely: reinforcing home industries and instituting a market for finished products. While professing liberal moralism, European encroachment into Africa became suddenly exemplified with a turn from informal …

International Law And Ungoverned Space, Matthew Hoisington

Matthew Hoisington

Ungoverned spaces, strictly defined as “spaces not effectively governed by the state” exist all over the world, presenting particular difficulties to public international law, which is historically premised on sovereignty and state control. Examples of such spaces include cyberspace, south-central Somalia and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border. These spaces destabilize the international system in novel ways—and they might also be dangerous. Many of the terrorism plots from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century emanated from “safe havens” afforded by ungoverned spaces. The lack of governance over certain spaces also raises concerns over development, including the …

Measuring The Success Of Counter Trafficking Interventions In The Criminal Justice Sector: Who Decides - And How?, Anne T. Gallagher Ao, Rebecca Surtees

Anne T Gallagher

Global concern about human trafficking has prompted substantial investment in counter-trafficking interventions. That investment, and the human rights imperatives that underpin counter-trafficking work, demand that interventions demonstrate accountability, results and beneficial impact. How this can happen in practice is complicated and contested. This article, which considers success measurements with respect to criminal justice interventions, seeks to cut through the complexities presented by multiple theories and elaborate methodologies by focusing on one key issue: who decides success, and how? A review of evaluation reports and interviews with practitioners confirm that determinations of success (or failure) will vary according to: (i) who …

Developing A World Vision: An Introduction To International Environmental Policy, Beverly Mcqueary Smith

Beverly McQueary Smith

No abstract provided.

Vultures, Hyenas, And African Debt: Private Equity And Zambia (Private Equity Symposium), Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

A 2007 U.K. court case involving Donegal, a private equity fund, and the Republic of Zambia, has contributed to an ongoing debate about the operation of so-called vulture funds in African and other developing countries. Donegal sued Zambia for more than fifty-five million U.S. dollars in connection with a debt owed by Zambia to Romania for Zambia’s acquisition of agricultural machinery from Romania pursuant to a credit agreement dated April 17, 1979. Donegal acquired the Zambian debt from Romania in 1999 at some eleven percent of face value. Although the Donegal court explicitly limited its scrutiny to the legal questions …

Addressing Corruption In Development, Matthew Wilburn King

Matthew Wilburn King PhD

Acknowledgement of the detrimental effects of corruption on the development of nations has led to an increasing demand amongst the international public for more transparent and democratic governance structures to combat and prevent corruption in both public and private sectors. Governments and stakeholders in the international community recognize that corruption is a fundamental governance issue that can impede economic growth and human development. Subsequently, corruption has come to the fore in international policy circles. A number of global institutions, such as the World Bank, regional institutions, corporations, and governments have embraced anti-corruption efforts in an attempt to mitigate and prevent …

No Longer Little Known But Now A Door Ajar: An Overview Of The Evolving And Dangerous Role Of The Alien Tort Statute In Human Rights And International Law Jurisprudence, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Human rights’ and other international law activists have long worked to add teeth to their tasks. One of the most interesting avenues for such enforcement has been the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”). The ATS has become the primary vehicle for injecting international norms and human rights into United States courts – against nation-states, state actors, and even private individuals or corporations alleged to actually or in complicity or conspiracy been responsible for supposed violations of international law. This Symposium Article provides an overview of the ATS evolution (or revolution), discusses the most recent significant development in the evolution arising from …

Circumnavigating International Space Law, Ty Twibell

Ty Twibell