Digital Commons Network^™

Maritime Incidents In The South China Sea: Measures Of Law Enforcement Or Use Of Force?, Aurel Sari

International Law Studies

China has sought to extend its control over the South China Sea at the expense of neighboring countries. In pursuing its goals, Beijing adopts a “power and law” approach, claiming extensive territorial and maritime rights in contravention of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and asserting these rights through coercive action in disputed waters. A key element of China’s strategy involves the use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in an effort to portray its operations as measures of law enforcement, rather than displays of coercive power.

This article argues that the Chinese narrative of law …

Collective Attribution In Cyberspace: A Rebranded Version Of Attribution Does Not Make It More Effective, Dan Efrony

International Law Studies

The international community has been unsuccessful in establishing an effective legal framework for holding States accountable for cyber wrongdoing. Instead, official political attribution—collectively denouncing States for irresponsible conduct in cyberspace—has become a common substitute to encourage compliance with voluntary non-binding international norms. Since December 2017, the United States and United Kingdom, along with their closest allies, have embraced and implemented collective attributions and responses. They thereby seek to shape “rules of the road” for responsible State behavior in cyberspace and to enhance accountability and deterrence. However, these attributions rely primarily on the outcomes of American and British attribution processes that …

Atrocity Prevention In The Digital Era: Adapting Norms, Laws, And Code To Changes In The Ways Atrocities Are Committed, David J. Simon, Samhitha Josyula, Joshua Lam, Julian D. Melendi

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Emerging digital technologies have changed some of the ways that genocides are planned and executed. This paper examines those differences, calling attention to how changes in the execution of genocide should prompt a shift in the approaches to atrocity prevention. It develops a conceptual framework addressing how atrocity prevention efforts might adapt to new technology within three realms of potential prevention efforts: the ethical (norms), the legal (laws), and the digital (code).

Environmental Protection, Sustainability And The Prevention Of Satellite Collisions In Outer Space, Yun Zhao

Fordham Environmental Law Review

With space commercialization and privatization continuing apace, more space objects are expected to be launched and put into operation in the future, adding to the already large number of defunct satellites and space debris present in outer space. Hence, serious study should be devoted to possible mechanisms for dealing with potential collisions in outer space for the purpose of realizing environmental protection and space sustainability. In view of the inadequacy of the existing legal regime, this article explores possible such mechanisms (including a preventive mechanism, avoidance mechanism and compensation mechanism) from the perspective of interdependence theory and puts forward a …

Money Is Morphing - Cryptocurrency Can Morph To Be An Environmentally And Financially Sustainable Alternative To Traditional Banking, Clovia Hamilton

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

International Criminal Law And The Role Of Narrative In The War In Ukraine, Jonathan Hafetz

Pace International Law Review

This article examines the multiple ways that international criminal law (ICL)—the body of international law that seeks to impose criminal responsibility on individuals for international crimes—has impacted the conflict in Ukraine. Most violations remain unpunished, and ICL’s legal accountability mechanisms continue to face significant obstacles. But even absent prosecutions and trials, which remain contingent on an array of shifting factors, ICL has affected the Ukraine conflict in multiple ways.

The article focuses on how ICL has helped shape narratives about the war in Ukraine. In doing so, the article cautions against a strict law/politics dichotomy and instead focuses on the …

A Global Puzzle: Integrating Iot Jurisprudential Approaches, Colin Savino

Pace International Law Review

While devices in the Internet of Things (hereinafter “IoT”) such as smart appliances, smart watches, and pacemakers are intended to make life easier and safer, they sometimes complicate users’ lives with system failures and expose them to new risks instead. Users suffer the risks stemming from hastily developed cybersecurity in IoT devices, sometimes with serious consequences and without recourse against manufacturers or cybercriminals. Cybercriminals’ ability to exploit gaps in cybersecurity from anywhere makes the IoT especially risk-prone to transnational crime and may make tort claims against multinational manufacturers tenuous on issues of causation and actual harm suffered. Most problematically, the …

Free Speech Censorship In The Philippines: The Push To Decriminalize Libel, Carter Cordura

San Diego International Law Journal

Philippine criminal libel law is unjustly being used to suppress and censor the media and press; libel should be decriminalized and redefined to uphold the ideals of due process and freedom of expression enumerated in the Philippine Constitution.

This Comment takes a deep dive into Philippine libel law and argues for its decriminalization and redefining from an international perspective.

Authoritarian Privacy, Mark Jia

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Privacy laws are traditionally associated with democracy. Yet autocracies increasingly have them. Why do governments that repress their citizens also protect their privacy? This Article answers this question through a study of China. China is a leading autocracy and the architect of a massive surveillance state. But China is also a major player in data protection, having enacted and enforced a number of laws on information privacy. To explain how this came to be, the Article first turns to several top-down objectives often said to motivate China’s privacy laws: advancing its digital economy, expanding its global influence, and protecting its …

To Coordinate Or Not To Coordinate: The Governance Of Digital Assets In A Global Marketplace, Matthew Hashemi

Ohio Northern University International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Insidious War Powers Status Quo, Rebecca Ingber

Faculty Articles

This Essay highlights two features of modern war powers that hide from public view decisions that take the country to war: the executive branch’s exploitation of interpretive ambiguity to defend unilateral presidential authority, and its dispersal of the power to use force to the outer limbs of the bureaucracy.

National Security Law, Geoffrey M. Goodale, Jonathan Meyer, Mario Mancuso, Lucille Hague, Matthew O'Hare, Faith Dibble, Bonnie H. Weinstein, Sergio L. Suarez, Christopher A. Vallandingham, Guy C. Quinlin

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Procurement, Eric P. Roberson

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Trade, Shelby M. Anderson, Theodore P. Brackemyre, Tessa V. Capeloto, Cynthia C. Galvez, Valerie Hughes, Gregory C. Maddaleni, Elizabeth S. Lee, Lydia C. Pardini, John Allen Riggins, Claire M. Webster

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

The Unregulated World Of Your Most Personal Of Personal Information: A Proposal For A Federal Biometric Information Privacy Law, Isabel M. Vuyk

The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Privacy Matters: Data Breach Litigation In Japan, Andrew M. Pardieck

Washington International Law Journal

In 1890, when Brandeis and Warren wrote The Right to Privacy, Japan did not have a word for privacy. Today, it is closely guarded in Japan: the European Data Protection Board has found privacy protections in Japan “equivalent” to those in the EU. This research explores the evolution of privacy law in Japan, focusing on data breach and the legal rights and obligations associated with it. The writing is broken up into two parts: This article discusses private enforcement of privacy norms, as it is the courts that first established and continue to define privacy rights in Japan. A separate …

The Implementation Of Law Enforcement In Combating Terrorist Financing In Indonesia, Nova Vincentia Pati, Emma Valentina Senewe, Merry Elisabeth Kalalo, Caecilia Johanna Waha, Theodorus Hw Lumunon

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Law enforcement in Indonesia terrorism has encountered enormous difficulties when it comes to combating terrorist financing. In contrast, the terrorists who have been imprisoned found that the punishment given by the judge in the court and the deradicalization programs offered by BNPT, the National Counter Terrorism Agency, does not deter them from recidivism. Our research question is whether or not the implementation of law enforcement in combating terrorist financing in Indonesia has deterred terrorists from re-offending. The methodology used in this research is a qualitative method that employs two case studies through in-depth interviews to determine whether or not the …

Artificial Intelligence, Cyberspace And International Law, Tripti Bhushan

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a significant technology that has transformed different sectors, including cyberspace. As AI continues to advance, it poses complex challenges to the existing international legal frameworks that govern cyberspace. This research paper examines the relationship between AI, cyberspace, and international law. It explores the impact of AI on the development of cyberspace and its potential consequences for international law. It also examines the existing international legal frameworks that regulate cyberspace and the challenges posed by the development of AI. This paper investigates the legal implications of AI and cyberspace on international law, specifically in the context …

Digital Terror Crimes, Cody Corliss

Law Faculty Scholarship

Terror actors operating within armed conflict have weaponized social media by using these platforms to threaten and spread images of brutality in order to taunt, terrify, and intimidate civilians. These acts or threats of violence are terror, a prohibited war crime in which acts or threats of violence are made with the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population. The weaponization of terror content through social media is a digital terror crime.

This article is the first to argue that the war crime of terror applies to digital terror crimes perpetrated through social media platforms. It situates digital …

Protecting Free Speech In Social Media: A Pathway To Self-Determination In International Law, Sydney Marie Harley

Emory International Law Review Recent Developments

With the growth of Internet and social media usage, state regulatory action to surveil and censor citizens is running rampant. As the principle of self-determination stands, minority populations are typically bearing the brunt of these attacks, receiving little protection under domestic and international law. Self-determination within international law must be restructured into a definitive pathway that includes protecting the freedom of speech to encourage discourse and tolerance between the State and its minority populations. This article proposes a solution that could fill the gap in international law formed by insufficient domestic rule in States that neglect to protect these populations …

Keynote Address For The Cox International Law Center Conference, James Chen

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Re-Imagining The Post-9/11 Authorizations For Use Of Military Force In The Era Of Emerging Consensus On Reform, Peter J. Amato

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Symposium On Digital Evidence, Melinda (M.J.) Durkee, Megiddo Tamar

Scholarship@WashULaw

The past few decades have seen radical advances in the availability and use of digital evidence in multiple areas of international law. Witnesses snap cellphone photos of unfolding atrocities and post them online, while others share updates in real time through messaging apps. Immigration officers search cell phones. Private citizens launch open-source online investigations. Investigators scrape social media posts. Digital experts verify authenticity with satellite geolocation. These new types of evidence and digitally facilitated methods and patterns of evidence gathering and analysis are revolutionizing the everyday practice of international law, drawing in an ever-wider circle of actors who can contribute …

Introduction To The Symposium On Digital Evidence, Melinda (M.J.) Durkee, Tamar Megiddo

Scholarship@WashULaw

The past few decades have seen radical advances in the availability and use of digital evidence in multiple areas of international law. Witnesses snap cellphone photos of unfolding atrocities and post them online, while others share updates in real time through messaging apps. Immigration officers search cell phones. Private citizens launch open-source online investigations. Investigators scrape social media posts. Digital experts verify authenticity with satellite geolocation. These new types of evidence and digitally facilitated methods and patterns of evidence gathering and analysis are revolutionizing the everyday practice of international law, drawing in an ever-wider circle of actors who can contribute …

Private Sector Participants In International Rulemaking: Governance Models, Melinda (M.J.) Durkee

Scholarship@WashULaw

International organizations seeking to develop a principled approach to stakeholder participation in rulemaking processes should consider for-profit stakeholders, which can be influential participants. This chapter evaluates potential governance models for their effectiveness in facilitating the benefits and restraining the harms of for-profit influence in rulemaking processes, recommending a balanced approach. A successful governance model should also acknowledge that for-profit stakeholders can use a variety of channels to communicate their input, including individual business entities, trade and industry associations, other non-governmental groups, academics and think tanks, and domestic officials. Because of these sometimes invisible links between for-profit actors and other kinds …

Corporate Retreat In Asia: A New Era Of U.S. Law Firm Globalizations, Jocelyn Zhao

Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review Perspectives

No abstract provided.

A (Sovereign) License To Kill? The Boundaries Of Jurisdictional Immunities For State-Sponsored Crimes, Thibault Moulin

Emory International Law Review

Thanks to their immunities, states are normally not subject to civil proceedings before foreign courts. While some may argue there are exceptions to this principle, in particular regarding acta de jure gestionis, the International Court of Justice refused to recognize the existence of further limitations to this principle in the Jurisdictional Immunities of the State case. However, even after the judgment, several questions remain unresolved. This article clarifies the boundaries of civil immunities in the field, and especially vis-à-vis state-sponsored crimes. This article finds that state-sponsored crimes may qualify as sovereign acts and that contradiction with jus cogens is …

From Instagram To Infowar: The Weaponization Of Social Media And Its Consequences, Grayson Shade Walker

Emory International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Real-World Consequences For Online Actions: The Case For Expanding Employee Harassment Protection Via Employers’ Rights Of Action, Alexander Barnes

Seattle University Law Review

This Note argues for expanding employers’ access to legal remedies that allow them to recoup the costs of protecting their employees from swatting, doxing, and other online harassment arising from their employees’ professional activity. Part I provides a brief description and history of the online harassment problem and its potentially deadly dangers. Part II describes employers’ legal responsibility to take action to protect their employees from harassment aimed at their employees within the scope of their employment. Part III explores common legal remedies that are currently available to employers, using the state of Washington as an example. Part III also …

The Ideal Approach To Artificial Intelligence Legislation: A Combination Of The United States And European Union, Dane Chapman

University of Miami Law Review

The evolution of Artificial Intelligence (“A.I.”) from a speculative concept depicted in science fiction to its integration into various aspects of everyday life has brought about complex challenges for contemporary legislators. The proliferation of A.I. technology has led to a growing recognition of the need for regulation, as it poses both promises and threats to society. On the one hand, A.I. has the potential to enhance efficiency in various fields, such as medicine and automation of routine tasks. On the other hand, if left unregulated, A.I. has the potential to undermine democratic principles and infringe upon fundamental rights. Thus, legislators …