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Human Rights Law

2007

Faculty Articles

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Reinforcing Refugee Protection In The Wake Of The War On Terror, Edwin Odhiambo Abuya Jan 2007

Reinforcing Refugee Protection In The Wake Of The War On Terror, Edwin Odhiambo Abuya

Faculty Articles

This article examines how the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) can be used as a practical tool to enhance the protection of persons who have fled their home States in search of asylum in the wake of the global "war on terror." It compares and contrasts provisions of CAT to similar provisions contained in international refugee law. This article contends that, in some respects, the protection provisions of CAT are wider than those found in international refugee law, and, in other respects, narrower than those found in international refugee law. It concludes …


Moiwana Village V. Suriname: A Portal Into Recent Jurisprudential Developments Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights, Thomas Antkowiak Jan 2007

Moiwana Village V. Suriname: A Portal Into Recent Jurisprudential Developments Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights, Thomas Antkowiak

Faculty Articles

On June 15, 2005, the Inter-American Court issued its judgment in Moiwana Village v. Suriname, which held Suriname responsible for numerous human rights violations and ordered several remedial measures. In a separate opinion, one of the Tribunal's veteran judges, Ant¿nio Can¿ado-Trindade, wrote that the case "raises issues of great transcendence." Certainly, the decision illustrates several of the Court's latest jurisprudential developments, and navigates a few rising socio-political tides in South and Central America. This brief essay seeks to demonstrate how the Moiwana case: a) presents factual situations that are increasingly common before the Court; b) continues to develop key legal …


Civil Liability For Violations Of International Humanitarian Law: The Jurisprudence Of The Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Tribunal In The Hague, Won Kidane Jan 2007

Civil Liability For Violations Of International Humanitarian Law: The Jurisprudence Of The Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Tribunal In The Hague, Won Kidane

Faculty Articles

Violations of international humanitarian law are compensable by a state causing the violations. The roots of this obligation can be traced to Article 3 of Hague Convention IV, which states that a party to the conflict which violates the provisions of [international humanitarian law] shall . . . be liable to pay compensation. It shall be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of its armed forces. A similar rule is also contained in Protocol I Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. In practice, the enforcement of this important provision of international humanitarian law has remained a matter …


Past Reflections, Future Insights: African Asylum Law And Policy In Historical Perspective, Edwin Odhiambo Abuya Jan 2007

Past Reflections, Future Insights: African Asylum Law And Policy In Historical Perspective, Edwin Odhiambo Abuya

Faculty Articles

This article argues that an understanding of the evolution of asylum is an essential ingredient in the search for ideas and perspectives to the plight facing forced migrants. Using Kenya as a case study, the paper evaluates the extent to which procedures used to determine claims for asylum, protection outcomes and entitlements met international human rights and refugee law standards. It is contended that limited resources, porous boundaries and the mass movement of asylum seekers have compromised the level of protection offered to those who seek surrogate protection in African states like Kenya. In conclusion, critics in the area of …


Geography And International Law: Towards A Postcolonial Mapping, Tayyab Mahmud Jan 2007

Geography And International Law: Towards A Postcolonial Mapping, Tayyab Mahmud

Faculty Articles

Postcolonial theory aims at a critical interrogation of legitimizing knowledge claims put forward by proponents of the resurgent Empire. This article undertakes such an interrogation at the intersection of geography and international law. It aims to demonstrate that both modern geography and modern international law were constituted in, by, and through imperatives of Empire and unavoidably bear traces of their formative origin. The aim is to theorize the spatiality of global relations of domination and resistance under the shadow of international law. The article first identifies the vantage point of this critical engagement, namely postcolonial approach to inquiry. It then …