Law Commons^™

Standing And Collective Cultural Rights, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The procedural question of standing has deep implications for the definition and enforcement of cultural rights. Cultural rights have individual and collective elements that can lead to several entities seeking access to justice when these rights are violated. This chapter focuses on the question of standing to explore the contours of existing cultural human rights and possible reparations flowing from their violation. It considers claims by (1) an individual member of the group who has been wronged because of their membership of the group; (2) a collective action brought by the group; and (3) a representative action on behalf of …

Secession: The Contradicting Provisions Of The United Nations Charter – A Direct Threat To The Current World Order, N. Micheli Quadros

N. Micheli Quadros

The preamble of the United Nations' Charter (hereinafter UN Charter) presents its members declaration under which justice and respect for international law and the international community is supposed to be maintained. To date, the United Nations (UN) has failed to ensure international peace by allowing powerful states to infringe upon other nations’ territorial integrity and manipulate individuals to exercise their right of self-determination.

Outdated, redundant and vague provisions that proved their inefficiency have plagued the UN Charter. Chapter I, Art 1 § 2 of the UN Charter, states that one of the main purpose of the UN is “to develop …

Deployment Of Geoengineering By The Private And Public Sector: Can The Risks Of Geoengineering Ever Be Effectively Regulated?, Daniela E. Lai

Daniela E Lai

Geoengineering has been described as any large-scale environmental manipulation designed with the purpose of mitigating the effects of climate change without decreasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Currently there are no specific rules regulating geoengineering activities particularly if geoengineering is deployed in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This article argues that, in order to mitigate the risks of geoengineering, there needs to be effective regulation of its deployment both in international and domestic law. The risks of geoengineering can only be effectively regulated if there is international cooperation between all levels of governments and private individuals involved in the research and development …

Challenges For International Cultural Heritage Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The period from the shelling of Dubrovnik, Sarajevo and Mostar in the 1990s to the bombardment of Homs and Aleppo in the 2010s, witnessed the significant expansion of interventionist activities by the international community and then their gradual contraction in this new century. The factors that fostered the cosmopolitan drive during this brief period had a positive impact on the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict and peacetime. It also puts into stark relief the perpetual challenges facing the legal protection of cultural heritage at the international level, which forms the core of this chapter. In this first part, …

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 …

Public Policy In International Investment And Trade Law: Community Expectations And Functional Decision-Making, Diane A. Desierto

Diane A Desierto

This article uses a contextual policy-oriented approach to assess how the standing debate on a State's regulatory freedom has been treated within international investment law (e.g. case-by-case interpretation of variant treaty design in each case), in contrast with how the issue of domestic regulatory autonomy in international trade law has evolved towards coordination (e.g. attempted harmonization of the same set of instruments). The article submits a different view from many primarily trade law/investment law scholars (and other systemic integrationists who idealize a seamless shift from trade law to investment law), who have postulated that this fundamental issue of State regulatory …

Liberty, Equality, Diversity: States, Cultures And International Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

This chapter explores how culture is addressed by contemporary international law, with particular reference to human rights law norms. The first part covering freedom focuses on the rise of the modern state and its conscious reimagining of ties with its citizens through the promotion of tolerance and a secular, national identity. The shift is explored through the prisms of the freedom of religion, the right to participate in (national) cultural life, and the limitations on freedom of expression including prohibition of hate speech and domestic blasphemy laws. The second part on equality centres on the relationship between the state, the …

The Problem Of Thirst: The Right To Equality And The Unlawful Privatization Of Water, Kasari Jl Govender

Kasari JL Govender

The problem of thirst is a massive one, and a child dies every 15 seconds from disease related to lack of access to safe, clean water. Privatization is touted as the solution to water injustice, despite evidence that privatization of water services only increases water deprivation for the poorest citizens. This paper examines whether a privatized for-profit system of water access for personal use infringes the human right to water, and whether states have a legal responsibility to protect their citizens from any and all third party business interests in water. The problem of thirst is considered from the perspective …

Foreign Investment-Induced Migration In Colombia: Rethinking The Legal Schemes Of Protection And Accountability, Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

This paper intends to explore the relation between foreign investment and forced Migration in the context of Colombian armed conflict. Through the illustration of recent cases, it shows the various forms in which the operation of multinational corporations has generated adverse effects to the vulnerable communities located at their area of influence, thus generating processes of involuntary human mobility. In that way, it is established that there is a symbiotic relation between conflict and development, affecting the structure and scope of the norms for both the protection of forced migrants and accountability for human rights violations. This is so because …

Global Poverty And The Right To Development In International Law, Patrick Macklem

Patrick Macklem

This Article advances an account of the right to development as a legal instrument that holds the international legal order accountable for its role in the production and reproduction of global poverty. It first distinguishes moral conceptions of human rights, as instruments that protect universal features of humanity, from legal conceptions, which tie their existence to their specification in international instruments promulgated in compliance with international legal norms governing the creation of legal rights and obligations. Despite textual ambiguities in the various instruments in which it finds expression, the right to development vests in individuals and communities who have yet …

South Dakota: Making Dollars And Sense Of Indian Child Removal, Rachael Whitaker

Rachael Whitaker

South Dakota- Making Dollars and Sense of Indian Child Removal By: Rachael Whitaker In 2004, a South Dakota Governor’s Commission report adamantly denied claims that the state’s Department of Social Services (DSS) is “harvesting Indian children as a cash crop” and “runs nothing more than a state sponsored kidnapping program.” National Public Radio (NPR) broke a story in 2011, claiming South Dakota removed Indian children for profit. Since NPR’s report, the state has remained tight-lipped, advocates have threatened litigation, and Congress has asked for answers. South Dakota has a small population and economy, and it receives almost half of its …

Linking International Investment Agreements And Corporate Social Responsibility: Challenges And Opportunities In The Grounds Of Corporate Governance, Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

Considering the intention of introducing a dialogue on the possible interconnections between Foreign Investment Law and Corporate Governance, the purpose of this paper is to present some ideas on the International Investment Agreements likelihood to make Corporate Social Responsibility compromises more robust by including specific provisions on the matter. More specifically, it is intended to understand the ways on which Investment Law –and more specifically International Investment Agreements– influences the structure and dynamics of Corporate Governance, so as to assess whether the inclusion of Corporate Social Responsibility on the abovementioned legal instruments might influence the conduct of Multinational Corporations.

Freedom From Food: On The Need To Restore Fdr’S Vision Of Economic Rights In America, And How It Can Be Done, Evgeny Krasnov

Evgeny Krasnov

Within the U.S. policy discourse, it has long been taken for granted that the body of human rights law does not—and should not—include economic rights, which include the right to adequate food, shelter, and health care. This is an irony of history, since the origins of modern-day economic rights law lie in the policies advocated by the U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

This Article argues that (1) the common justifications for neglecting economic rights are not sound; (2) there is a pressing need to recognize economic rights in the United States; and (3) the best way to do so is …

Ending Judgment Arbitrage: Jurisdictional Competition And The Enforcement Of Foreign Money Judgments In The United States, Gregory Shill

Gregory Shill

Recent multi-billion-dollar damage awards issued by foreign courts against large American companies have focused attention on the once-obscure, patchwork system of enforcing foreign-country judgments in the United States. That system’s structural problems are even more serious than its critics have charged. However, the leading proposals for reform overlook the positive potential embedded in its design.

In the United States, no treaty or federal law controls the domestication of foreign judgments; the process is instead governed by state law. Although they are often conflated in practice, the procedure consists of two formally and conceptually distinct stages: foreign judgments must first be …

Fair Trial Guarantees Before The Court Of Arbitration For Sport, Jernej Letnar Cernic

Jernej Letnar Černič

The right to a fair trial is one of the backbones of the rule of law and a conditio sine qua non for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This article examines whether fair trial guarantees also exist before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It attempts to identify whether the Court of Arbitration for Sport follows the fair trial guarantees developed in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. This article thereafter tries to draw out an understanding of fair trial guarantees in sports arbitration.

Remarks At The Launching Of The Anti-Trafficking Review, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

Remarks delivered by Dr Anne Gallagher, Guest Editor, at the launch of the new journal: Anti-Trafficking Review.

There Is But One Sword That Defends The Rights Of Man- Bringing Lgbt Rights Out Of The Closet, Jonathan M. Bhagan

Jonathan m Bhagan

Introduction. International norms of human rights are a powerful force for interpreting, protecting and growing rights on the domestic plane. Courts throughout the Commonwealth already look to international norms to flesh out rights, whether they are found in the constitutional jurisprudence of other common law states in Treaties or Treaty based case law. While some schools of jurisprudence claim that International and Domestic law are two separate spheres , throughout the paper it will be shown that judges have consistently looked to foreign and International Law as inspiration and support for their decisions in key human rights cases. This trend …

Update: Organization Of American States, Jillian Blake

Jillian Blake

No abstract provided.

Legal Outlier, Again? U.S. Felon Suffrage: Comparative And International Human Rights Perspectives, Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

Dr. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

The judiciousness of American felon suffrage policies has long been the subject of scholarly debate, not least due to the large number of affected Americans: an estimated 5.3 million citizens are ineligible to vote as a result of a criminal conviction. This article offers comparative law and international human rights perspectives and aims to make two main contributions to the American and global discourse. After an introduction in Part I, Part II offers comparative law perspectives on challenges to disenfranchisement legislation, juxtaposing U.S. case law against recent judgments rendered by courts in Canada, South Africa, Australia, and by the European …

Understanding Exploitation, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

Anne Gallagher critiques Suddharth Kara's article "Supply and Demand: Human Trafficking in the Global Economy", published in Harvard International Review, June 2011.

Genocide And Restitution: Ensuring Each Group's Contribution To Humanity, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The protection of minorities in modern international law is intimately connected with and fueled the recognition of the crimes of persecution and genocide. Minority protection represented the proactive component of the international efforts to ensure the contribution of certain groups to the cultural heritage of humankind. Prohibition and prosecution of persecution and genocide represented the reactive element of these same efforts. The restitution of cultural property to persecuted groups by the international community was recognition that their ownership and control of these physical manifestations was necessary for the realization of this purpose.

In this paper, I consider the emergence, contraction …

Independencia E Imparcialidad En Sistemas De Justicia Militar: Estándares Internacionales Comparados, Pablo Contreras

Pablo Contreras

El texto analiza los estándares internacionales de derechos humanos aplicables a los sistemas de justicia militar, en materia de independencia e imparcialidad de los tribunales. La investigación describe, analiza y compara los comentarios y la jurisprudencia de organismos internacionales de derechos humanos. El estudio se enfoca en cuatro susbsistemas internacionales y regionales de protección de los derechos humanos: el Comité de Derechos Humanos del Pacto de Derechos Civiles y Políticos, la Comisión Africana de Derechos Humanos y de los Pueblos, la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. A partir del análisis comparativo, se definen …

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 …

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.

“Aspectos Jurídicos Del Delito De Trata De Personas En Colombia: Aportes Desde El Derecho Internacional, Derecho Penal Y Las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales”, Andres Barreto, Beatriz Londoño, Antonio Varon, Andrea Mateus

Andres Barreto

La preocupación por el fenómeno de la trata de personas en el escenario internacional ha sido una constante para los Estados desde mediados del siglo XIX. En Colombia la legislación que condena el delito empezó su recorrido desde el Código Penal de 1980, en donde se castigaba con penas de prisión de 2 a 6 años a todo aquel que promoviere la entrada o salida del país de mujer o menor de edad para ejercer la prostitución. Sin embargo, la complejidad de las redes criminales de este crimen transnacional empezó a evidenciar que la trata no solo se cometía sobre …

Prosecuting And Adjudicating Trafficking In Persons Cases In Australia: Obstacles And Opportunities, Anne T. Gallagher

Anne T Gallagher

No abstract provided.

Human Rights And Genocide: The Work Of Lauterpacht And Lemkin In Modern International Law, Part I, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

2008 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly. These two instruments adopted and proclaimed by then newly formed world body on successive days, 9 and 10 December 1948 respectively, represent two sides of one coin. Born of the horrors of the 1930s and 40s, the United Nations Charter speaks of human rights and to the importance of the rule of law. The Genocide Convention and UDHR are integral to the pursuit of these aims.

The work of two international lawyers, Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, …