Digital Commons Network^™

Commentary To The Recommended Principles And Guidelines On Human Rights And Human Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

Improving The Effectiveness Of The International Law Of Human Trafficking: A Vision For The Future Of The Us Trafficking In Persons Reports, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

In 2000, the United States Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act requiring its State Department to issue annual Trafficking in Persons Reports (TIP Reports) describing “the nature and extent of severe forms of trafficking in persons” and assessing governmental efforts across the world to combat such trafficking against criteria established by US law. This article examines the opportunities and risks presented by the TIP Reports, tracing their evolution over the past decade and considering their impact on the behavior of states. In looking to the future, the article focuses on how this influential unilateral compliance mechanism …

The Fiduciary Theory Of Governmental Legitimacy And The Natural Charter Of The Judiciary, Luke A. Wake

Luke A. Wake

In legal academia, there are various claims as to the proper role of the courts and the standard of review to be employed in evaluating claims of right. These competing judicial philosophies have been the subject of great debate in recent years. Yet underlying these debates is the question of rights and whether men are entitled, in justice, to assurances of personal autonomy, or whether the concept of rights is a mere legal fiction.

In a recent article in the Journal of Law and Philosophy, Evan Fox-Decent argues that individuals are entitled, at a minimum, to certain guarantees of bodily …

Towards A Holistic Approach To Technology And Climate Change: What Would Form Part Of An Answer?, Estelle Derclaye, Abbe Brown

Estelle Derclaye

No abstract provided.

The International Law Of Human Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

This book presents the first-ever comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the international law of human trafficking. Anne T. Gallagher calls on her direct experience working within the United Nations to chart the development of new international laws on this issue. She links these rules to the international law of State responsibility , as well as key norms of international human rights law, transnational criminal law, refugee law and international criminal law, in the process identifying and explaining the major legal obligations of States with respect to preventing trafficking, protecting and supporting victims, and prosecuting perpetrators.

International Civil Religion: Respecting Religious Diversity While Promoting International Cooperation, Amos Prosser Davis

Amos Prosser Davis

International civil religion grounds moral claims that permeate and transcend traditional religious paradigms. Given the inevitability of international interactions – interactions that cross geographic, religious, and cultural boundaries – our global society is in need of a universally endorsable framework that undergirds the United Nations international human rights regime. International civil religion provides that framework.

Numerous scholars and moral theorists have incrementally discerned the parameters of civil religion including, inter alia, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alexis de Tocqueville, Robert Bellah, Martin Marty, and Harold Berman. The tenets of international civil religion infuse the diplomatically drafted United Nations covenants and conventions on human …

Facilitating Friendly Settlements In The Inter-American Human Rights System: A Comparative Analysis With Recommendations, Sean B. Burke, Matthew P. Webster

Sean B Burke

No abstract provided.

Antisemitism In The Academic Voice: Confronting Bigotry Under The First Amendment, Kenneth Lasson

Kenneth Lasson

Among the abuses of the academic enterprise that have been taking place in American universities over the past several decades, and continue to this day, are failures of intellectual rigor: the abandonment of reliance on facts, common sense, and logic in the pursuit of narrow political agendas – which all too often presented in the academic voice. Students today increasingly find themselves confronted by curricula manipulated by scholarly extremists. While the number of overt antisemitic incidents has declined markedly in the United States over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in anti-Zionist rhetoric and activity on …

The Second Sentence: Australians Imprisoned Abroad, Wava Doyle, Krystle Richardson, Robyn Lincoln

Robyn Lincoln

Extract:

Individuals detained in foreign prisons raise human rights issues of considerable importance, especially given what seems to be an apparent increase in cases involving Australian citizens arrested or imprisoned overseas. The case that generated most interest in this topic was that of Schapelle Corby, a beauty student from the Gold Coast, caught with 4.1kg of marijuana in her possession in Indonesia in 2004. Soon after, international drug enforcement efforts linked nine Australians to the alleged smuggling of 10.9kg of heroin out of Indonesia. Drug-related arrests of Australians continued and Tuong Van Nguyen, a young Australian, was executed in Singapore …

Security Council Targeted Sanctions, Due Process And The 1267 Ombudsperson, Grant L. Willis

Grant L Willis

Since its inception the Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime has come under fire from UN member states, listed individuals and entities, domestic and international courts and tribunals, human rights NGO’s and even other organs of the UN, that all claim the 1267 sanctions regime does not secure targeted individuals’ procedural due process rights, particularly the right to an effective remedy. For instance, in June 2009 a Canadian Federal Court Judge noted that the 1267 sanctions regime creates a situation for the listed individual that is “not unlike that of Josef K. in Kafka’s The Trial, who awakens one morning, and …

The International Control Of Illegal Drugs And The U.N. Treaty Regime: Preventing Or Causing Human Rights Violations?, Daniel P.P. Heilmann Ph.D., Ll.M.

Daniel P.P. Heilmann Ph.D., LL.M.

The article attempts to answer the question whether the international drug control system (i.e. the three conventions on which the U.N. regime is based) is still serviceable in light of recent trends on the illegal drugs markets and whether the regime is up to the standards of modern human rights law. In a first step, the set-up of the international control system is outlined in order to give an overview of the situation (Part II). The second step is to summarize recent trends in global drug markets and to assess the impact of the control system on illicit manufacturing, trafficking …

The Invading Waters: Climate Change Dispossession, State Extinction, And International Law, Jared D. Hestetune

Jared D Hestetune

The level of the sea is inevitably rising. Even the conservative estimates of the IPCC portray a dire future for low-lying island nations such as the Republic of Maldives. The future of an inundated state bodes ill for Maldives's continued participation in international relations. This essay analyzes the possibility of the persistence of a state after its territory has been submerged and destroyed, and it comes to the unfortunate conclusion that a submerged state will de facto become extinct in international law. Thus, entire nationalities will disappear, which likely consequence is strong motivation to protect the human right of national …

India’S Integrated Energy Policy: A Source Of Economic Nirvana Or Environmental Disaster?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

India’s rapidly growing economy naturally demands increasing energy needs from the industrial scale down to the personal. Mindful of potential negative impacts of economic development, India is making efforts to encourage growth while preserving and protecting the environment and human rights. India’s Integrated Energy Policy sets out the roadmap for how the country plans to achieve the balance among development, environmental protection, citizens’ rights, energy security, and a host of other priorities and concerns. Though ambitious and broad in scope, the Policy may prove inadequate in mitigating environmental impacts of development, and thus inadequate in balancing India’s needs, particularly in …

Child Soldiers And The Duty Of Nations To Protect Children From Participation In Armed Conflict, Luz Estella Nagle

Luz Estella Nagle

Children are used as armed combatants throughout the world. Some volunteer in order to alleviate family problems or escape from them, to achieve status in their cultures, or to gain protection and a sense of belonging. Many more, however, are coerced or forced to fight. The indoctrination process is brutal and can involve the most unspeakable depredations and assaults, with the goal being to break child soldiers down into killers who will do anything they are commanded to do.

The body of international law and international humanitarian law intended to protect children is impotent. In most situations where child combatants …

Waiting To Die, Dying To Live, Caycie D. Bradford

Caycie D Bradford

This paper focuses on the effects of the new syndrome occurring in our prison systems known as the death row phenomenon. This paper takes a look at the effects of international policy regarding the death penalty on the United States in the wake of this phenomenon.

Human Trafficking: Children And Prostitution, Elizabeth Pugliese

Elizabeth Pugliese

No abstract provided.

Russian Orthodoxy And Human Rights, Paul Valliere

Paul Valliere

This essay describes the situation and orientation of the Russian Orthodox Church with respect co human tights. Along the broad spectrum of rights I focus mainly on the civil rights of individuals and nonstate associations rather than the subsistence rights and rights to social services that figure so prominently in socialist theories of rights.

Currency Of Love: Customary International Law And The Battle For Same –Sex Marriage In The United States, Sonia B. Green

Sonia Bychkov Green

The battle for same-sex marriage is likely to be the civil rights issue of this decade. Developments all over the world over the last several years have caused celebration, public outcry and passionate debate. In the last year alone, the first Latin American same-sex wedding was performed, Sweden joined the nations who allow same-sex marriage, and the United States saw the “Proposition 8” debacle in California, and the new federal lawsuits that will inevitably propel the issues toward the Supreme Court. The legal debate in the United States has asked the crucial question: is there a legal right to marriage …

Human Rights (And Wrongs) Of Dna Testing And Evidence, Robyn Lincoln

Robyn Lincoln

Extract: There has been considerable media coverage and public discussion about DNA testing in the past few years. This is because of a number of high profile cases where DNA evidence has been utilised. It is also because DNA evidence is said to have revolutionised police investigative methods and is set to eclipse traditional forms of forensic evidence presented at trial.

The High Cost Of Freedom: A Legal And Policy Analysis Of Shelter Detention For Victims Of Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher, Elaine Pearson

Anne T Gallagher

In countries around the world it is common practice for victims of human trafficking who have been “rescued” or who have escaped from situations of exploitation to be placed and detained in public or private shelters. In the most egregious situations, victims can be effectively imprisoned in such shelters for months, even years. This article uses field-based research to document this largely unreported phenomenon. It then considers the international legal aspects of victim detention in shelters and weighs the common justifications for such detention from legal, policy, and practical perspectives.

Human Rights Reference Sources: A Critical Annotated Bibliography, Chad M. Kahl, Stephanie Davis-Kahl

Stephanie Davis-Kahl

The area of human rights has had significant attention both nationally and internationally in the press and in the political arena. While there is a renewed commitment to human rights advocacy, there is also an upward trend in popular culture of depictions of torture. This article provides critical annotations of English-language reference sources, published since 1990, and available both in print and online, in an effort to aid librarians collecting and weeding materials for human rights research.

This article was included in the Journal of Academic Librarianship's Guide to the Professional Literature in 2010. The Guide "is a highly selective …

The Us-Korea Free Trade Agreement: The Evolution Of Responsible Trade And A Reflection On What Lies Ahead, Nicole D. Skibola

Nicole D Skibola

This paper addresses residual problems in the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, with regard to the Agreement’s labor provisions in Article 19. Alternatives are proposed in response to remaining issues including the status of Outward Processing Zones and a problematic lack of private firm accountability. First, it is suggested that Annex 22-A, pertaining to Outward Processing Zones, is renegotiated. To address the lack of private firm accountability, three alternate models are offered. The first approach is to follow the Cambodia Textile Agreement model, whereby positive economic incentives are attached to specific strides made in improving labor conditions. The second approach is …

Democratization Of The International Law, Timur R. Korotkiy

Timur R. Korotkiy

The article deals with the processes of democratization of international law, the establishment of democracy in the international legal system. Aside from that in the article explores the issues embodied in international law principles and norms containing liberal- democratic values, the development of international legal mechanisms for the establishment, maintenance and development of democratic institutions in the states and prevention of emergence and existence of undemocratic regimes, democratization of international rule-making procedures and enforcement of norms.

Deconstructing Transnationalism: Conceptualizing Metanationalism As A Putative Model Of Evolving Jurisprudence, Paul Enríquez

Paul Enriquez

This Article builds upon Philip C. Jessup’s revolutionary scholarship to pave new pathways for interdisciplinary research and expand the normative constitutional framework of universal human problems. To that end, this Article ties American constitutional theory to the new era of international globalization and provides context that facilitates the discussion of racial and ethnic diversity in education from a domestic and international perspective. By arguing for compelling treatment of diversity in elementary and secondary learning institutions, this Article introduces a new theory of constitutional interpretation vis-à-vis international law. This theory, called metanationalism, rejects Harold Koh’s theory of transnationalism and demonstrates that …

Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Lack of clarity about the application of international law norms and inadequacies of existing regulatory regimes covering private military and security companies have reinforced concerns about transparency and accountability in respect of gender-related violence, harassment and discrimination. This chapter focuses on the main issues and legal concerns raised by the impact of the privatisation of war on women, both as PMSC employees and civilians. Part I highlights how armed conflict, civil unrest, occupation and transition have a detrimental effect upon the lives of women with particular reference to safety, displacement, health and economic disadvantage. Part II provides a summary of …

Nottebohm's Nightmare: Have We Exorcised The Ghosts Of Wwii Detention Programs Or Do They Still Haunt Guantanamo?, Cindy G. Buys

Cindy G. Buys

Frederich Nottebohm was the subject of a famous 1956 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision that still has resonance today. The story of how Mr. Nottebohm, a wealthy German-born businessman living in Guatemala, came to be the subject of a case before the world court exposes a little known program run by the United States during World War II in which the United States pressured Latin American countries like Guatemala to identify persons of German nationality or ancestry and turn them over to the United States for internment for the duration of the war. Many of these persons were assumed …

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

As William Faulkner explained, we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. This article analyzes the continuing constitutional struggle for civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, concentrating on the constitution state's critique of its constitution. Connecticut is currently at the forefront of recognizing civil rights. Connecticut has ruled that discrimination against gay and lesbian persons is subject to intermediate scrutiny, which has historically been used to review laws that employ quasi-suspect classifications such as gender. Civil marriage for same sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. …

Emerging Law Addressing Climate Change And Water, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The World Economic Forum recognizes that while restrictions on energy affect water systems and vice versa, energy and water policy are rarely coordinated. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that wet places will become wetter and dry places will become dryer. Transboundary water, energy and climate coordination can occur through international consensus building.

El Regimen De Stroessner (1954-1989), Robert Andrew Nickson

Robert Andrew Nickson

Este capítulo describe las tres etapas principales del régimen de Stroessner: fase de consolidación (1954-1967); fase de expansión (1968-1981); y fase de descomposición (1982-1989), y las circunstancias de su caída. Posteriormente abarca los tres pilares del régimen: el Partido Colorado, las Fuerzas Armadas y el mismo Stroessner en su calidad de Jefe de Estado, Comandante en Jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas y Presidente Honorario del Partido Colorado. Se analiza cinco mecanismos cruciales que le permitieron mantenerse en el poder durante tanto tiempo: una fachada democrática, un sistema de represión eficaz, la corrupción institucionalizada, el uso de la ideología nacionalista, y …

Faith-Based Torture, Ali Khan

Ali Khan

This Essay focuses on faith-based torture perpetrated against Muslim detainees, torture that was crudely designed, only minimally seeking security-sensitive information. However, anti-Islamic torture - which has profoundly offended Muslim communities throughout the world - reaffirms the dark side of U.S. government policies that periodically single out populations, domestic and foreign, and subject them to cruelty. This dark side is evidenced by the degradation of Native Americans, enslavement of Western Africans, internment of Japanese-Americans, and slaughtering of the Vietnamese. More specifically, anti-Islamic torture has undermined what were sincere and substantial efforts of many American institutions to promote religious freedom at home …