Law Commons^™

A Vicious Cycle: United States’ Failure To Protect Immigrant Women’S Reproductive Rights At The Irwin County Detention Center, Lizet Palomera Torres

Golden Gate University Law Review

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) detained Jane Doe #15, an immigrant woman, at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia. During Jane’s time at ICDC, Doctor Mahendra Amin hastily examined her because she was experiencing severe pain in her pelvic area. Abandoning established professional and legal protocols for diagnosis and treatment, the medical staff scheduled Jane for surgery. Jane did not know what to expect from the surgery or what the medical personnel would do. After the surgery, the staff at ICDC neglected Jane’s care. She could not get out of bed on her own; …

Comment: Toxic: The Case Of Britney Spears Sheds Light On Issues With California Conservatorship Laws, Berenice Quirino

Golden Gate University Law Review

A conservatorship is a legal arrangement in which one person is responsible for the affairs of another, presumably because that person cannot manage alone. Britney was one of the estimated three million adults in the United States who cannot make decisions about their own lives. Instead, the court transfers the decision-making role to another person, known as a conservator. This drastically reduces the legal status of the person under conservatorship, known as a conservatee.

Britney’s case is a prime example of the difficulties associated with conservatorships. Since Britney’s conservatorship ended, California amended the law to address some of the concerning …

J.E.F.M. V. Lynch: The Jurisdictional Exclusion Of Legal Representation For Immigrant Children, Kourtney Speer

Golden Gate University Law Review

The border crisis created a perfect storm in immigration courts, as children wind their way from border crossings to immigration proceedings. The storm has battered immigration courtrooms crowded with young defendants but lacking lawyers and judges to handle the sheer volume of cases.

Integrating Evidence-Based Practices Into Judicial Sentencing In The Wake Of Realignment’S Split Sentencing, Camille Frausto

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I of this comment discusses the Supreme Court cases that led to the passage of the Realignment Act, along with a review of some of the major reform changes. Part I also highlights the gaps in creating a fair and consistent process across counties for managing the effects of Realignment. Part II discusses split sentencing and some of the issues it was designed to address as well as investigating how judges have reacted to and used split sentencing. Part III introduces the RNR (Risk Needs Responsivity) model of risk assessments and argues why it should be a mandatory aspect …

The Flores Settlement: Ripping Families Apart Under The Law, Natalie Lakosil

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note focuses on families’ experiences in immigration detention centers, specifically how they are affected by the government practice of releasing children without simultaneously releasing their parents.

Section I provides the procedural and factual background of Flores v. Lynch, the recent history of family detention centers, and discusses the Ninth Circuit’s ruling of the case. Section II provides the argument that, although the Ninth Circuit’s holding is correct, the government refusing to release parents with their children is unconstitutional because it violates the parents’ fundamental right to custody over their biological child and family unity. Furthermore, this Note urges …

Human Rights Abuse And Violations In Nigeria: A Case Study Of The Oil-Producing Communities In The Niger Delta Region, Dr. Ifeanyi I. Onwuazombe

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Human rights abuses and violations in Nigeria in general and in the oilproducing communities in particular cut across the entire spectrum of rights. The abuses come in different forms and could be direct or indirect. The inhabitants of the Niger Delta region are subjected to regular rights abuses and violations by the state security agents and the oil corporations. The perpetrators of rights violations are hardly or never held accountable or brought to justice due to the myriad of problems besetting the judicial institutions. Besides, there is an apparent lack of trust and confidence in the courts and general apathy …

The Effectiveness Of International Law: Torture And Counterterrorism, Ogechi Joy Anwukah

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper sets out to address the following question: to what extent has international law effectively curtailed the practice of torture in a democratic society within the context of the ‘war against terror’? This paper will first provide an overview of the current regime of international law prohibiting torture. Next, this paper will discuss the absolute ban on torture and violations that have occurred in the name of the ‘war against terror.’ This paper will then address the consequences of the use of torture as a counterterrorism measure. Finally, this paper will critically analyze the effectiveness of international law on …

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Brief History Of Legal Discriminations Against Women In Iran And The Violations Of International Human Rights, Delaram Farzaneh

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

In recent years Iran has primarily been under international scrutiny because of concerns over its development of a nuclear program. However, there have been other developments in Iran that also raise grave concerns among the international community. Since the 1990s, the Rights of Women have been one of the major categories of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran. The current direction of the Iranian government, with regard to improving women’s fundamental rights, seems to be back to the “good old days” rather than towards modernizing and humanizing strict patriarchal law. To best understand these current backward steps, it is …

Reconciling Three Countries’ Current Laws With Human Rights In The Face Of International Law, Stacey Alicia Maalej Rusnak

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] has published a landmark treatise to serve as a guide for adjudication of refugee claims made by LGBTI individuals. This treatise, known as Guidelines on International Protection No. 9, states that sexual orientation or identity is a protected category and that persecution based on those factors is grounds for refugee status and protection. This article discusses current violations of this protection in three countries: Uganda, Russia, and Nigeria. I shall first examine the relevant international law, and then review the history and current laws of each country. Finally, there is a comparative …

Impediments To Human Rights Protection In Nigeria, Jacob Abiodun Dada

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The promotion and protection of human rights have engaged the attention of the world community, and though the African country of Nigeria has subscribed to major international human rights instruments, violations continue to occur with disturbing frequency and regularity in that nation. Why is this so? This article examines the multifarious and multidimensional impediments which have hamstrung meaningful enjoyment of human rights in Nigeria. It points out the shortcomings of the dualist model under the Nigerian Constitution and stresses the objectionable wide amplitude of the derogation clauses. It also makes suggestions for reform.

Cite as: 18 Annl. Survey Int'l. Comp. …

United States V. Lopez-Velasquez: What Is A "Reasonable Possibility" Of Apparent Eligibility For Relief From Deportation?, Kristina M. Seil

Golden Gate University Law Review

Modern deportation procedure is circumscribed by regulations intended to guarantee fairness and uniformity. Federal regulations thus mandate that immigration judges inform noncitizens of their eligibility for relief from deportation in an effort to ensure that unrepresented respondents in immigration proceedings make informed decisions.

Unhappily, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has recently limited this regulation-mandated duty to inform. In United States v. Lopez-Velasquez, the Ninth Circuit held that the duty to inform is not triggered when sources outside the Ninth Circuit indicate that relief may be possible because the relevant Ninth Circuit precedent is no longer …

Humanitarian Intervention In A Post-Iraq, Post-Darfur World: Is There Now A Duty To Prevent Genocide Even Without Security Council Approval?, Sarah Mazzochi

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Is there now a right to unilateral humanitarian intervention in a post-Iraq, post-Darfur world? This Article seeks to answer that question.

Part I will address the background and historical evolution of unilateral humanitarian intervention as well as give examples of state action or inaction in cases of genocide. Part I will also give the legal framework for the U.N. Genocide Convention. Part II will discuss the law of humanitarian intervention as it is commonly accepted today. Part III will point to the future and argue that the law of humanitarian intervention should be, going forward, a jus cogens norm. Part …

Justice For Rwanda: Toward A Universal Law Of Armed Conflict, Heather Alexander

Golden Gate University Law Review

Section I of this Comment provides a history of the Rwandan armed conflict and a description of the laws of armed conflict. It focuses on the basic laws of armed conflict, the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, and describes how these laws have been interpreted by the ICTY and ICTR. Section II addresses the classification of the Rwandan armed conflict as a non-international conflict. This section discusses Ugandan support for the invading Rwandan Patriotic Front ("hereinafter RPF") and the murder of ten Belgian U.N. peacekeepers by Rwandan troops. The Section proposes changing the definition of an international conflict, thereby strengthening …

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: A Step Towards Eradicating The Trafficking Of Women Into Greece For Forced Prostitution, Vicki Trapalis

Golden Gate University Law Review

The purpose of this article is to provide a survey of the international law instruments presently in existence to combat trafficking of women for forced prostitution. This article will develop suggestions for more effective implementation of existing international obligations. Specifically, this article proposes extraterritorial jurisdiction as an opportunity for international cooperation.

Rape As A Weapon Of War: Women's Human Rights During The Dissolution Of Yugoslavia, Elizabeth A. Kohn

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article will discuss rape as a violation of women's human rights in wartime, specifically addressing the mass rapes in Bosnia, and will analyze the human rights documents currently in place to prevent and punish this violation. The author will discuss the current initiatives before the United Nations (U.N.), such as the Draft Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This article will also discuss whether international law can effectively protect women from human rights violations.

Fundamental Issues And Practical Challenges Of Human Rights In The Context Of The African Union, Moussa Samb

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper starts with an overview of the legal issues of the African human rights system. Then, it discusses the main human rights issues and challenges which confront the African system, as democracy, human rights during conflict and development issues. It ends with a brief discussion on a minimal core approach to social and economic rights.

The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights: Suggestions For More Effectiveness, U. O. Umozurike

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper examines some of the problems of the African Commission, and its shortcomings, all of which gave room for the criticism and, more importantly, suggestions for the greater effectiveness of the Commission. The moderate achievements of the Commission are complicated by what appears to be some doubt about its desirability. The European Commission has been abolished and its functions merged with those of the European Court after it had functioned only long enough to develop human rights standards in Europe. The African Commission has existed for twenty years with inadequate resources and personnel. It is not even mentioned in …

Universal Human Rights: A Generational History, Eric Engle

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Human rights are universal. Not in the sense of being the same positive laws, at all times and places, but rather as being aspirational goals, at all times and places, and also as containing core values which are indeed universal, such as the right to life (no irrational deprivation of life). Histories of human rights usually propose that the concept has evolved through at least three separate historical waves. This historical account, while roughly accurate, must be clarified as a theoretical construction which corresponds only partially to the historical reality: the rights of women and of non-white persons, in fact, …

The Case For Intervention In The Humanitarian Crisis In The Sudan, Leilani F. Battiste

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur presents one of the greatest challenges to the international community since the coordinated massacre of over 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994. The mass murder of national, ethnic and tribal groups at the hands of both the Sudanese Government and the pro-Arab, government-backed militias, known as the janjaweed, is deemed responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of black Sudanese in the region. Despite the unmistakable tragedy that has occurred and continues to occur, the international community has utterly failed to respond. Debate over whether the term "genocide" should be used to describe the …

Human Rights And Sharia'h Justice In Nigeria, M. Ozonnia Ojielo

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article examines the introduction of Sharia'h law in northern Nigeria, both in regard to the fundamental legal provisions of the Nigeria constitution and also as to the international rights conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. The relationship between the new Sharia'h laws enacted in all 19 northern Nigerian states and the human rights provisions in the 1999 Constitution will be examined under five parameters: the general constitutional provision, protection of freedom of religion the federal status of Nigeria the Islamic state issue, and the politics of the Sharia'h law debate. The Zarnfara state law will be used as …

Towards An African Court Of Human Rights: Structuring And The Court, Vincent O. Orlu Nmehielle

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The purpose of this paper is to argue the need for an African Court of Human Rights if African states truly wish to maintain an African human rights mechanism. In other words, for an effective African regional human rights protection and enforcement mechanism to exist, the African system must be made more effective and supplemented with a court of human rights. The proposal for an African Court of Human Rights will require an amendment of the Charter by a treaty or convention. Recent human rights violations include those that took place in Nigeria, in former Zaire under Mobutu Seseko, and …

Implementation Of International Human Rights Norms In Ukrainian Legislation, Myroslava Antonovych

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights And The Kurds, Dr. Amir A. Majid

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article analyses the Kurdish rebellion for autonomy, the actions of the Iraqi forces against them and the measures taken by the United Nations, the United States and other Coalition States to protect the Kurds in the aftermath of the January/February 1991 Gulf War. The International actions will be assessed in light of the present rules of International Law and, in particular, whether they contravene any provision of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.