Law Commons^™

The War In Ukraine And Legal Limitations On Russian Vetoes, Anne Peters

Articles

A veto exercised by a permanent member of the UN Security Council to shield that state’s own manifest and prima facie aggression from condemnation and collective action by the Council is legally flawed. The UN Charter can be reasonably interpreted as prohibiting such a veto and depriving it of legal force. This flows from Article 27(3) of the Charter, in conjunction with the prohibition of the abuse of rights, as a manifestation of the principle of good faith, and the obligation to respect the right to life, against the background that the prohibition has the status of jus cogens. These …

Rebraiding Frayed Sweetgrass For Niijaansinaanik: Understanding Canadian Indigenous Child Welfare Issues As International Atrocity Crimes, Alyssa Couchie

Michigan Journal of International Law

The unearthing of the remains of Indigenous children on the sites of former Indian Residential Schools (“IRS”) in Canada has focused greater attention on anti-Indigenous atrocity violence in the country. While such increased attention, combined with recent efforts at redressing associated harms, represents a step forward in terms of recognizing and addressing the harms caused to Indigenous peoples through the settler-colonial process in Canada, this note expresses concern that the dominant framings of anti-Indigenous atrocity violence remain myopically focused on an overly narrow subset of harms and forms of violence, especially those committed at IRSs. It does so by utilizing …

Fact-Finding Without Rules: Habermas's Communicative Rationality As A Framework For Judicial Assessments Of Digital Open-Source Information, Matthew Gillett

Michigan Journal of International Law

Jürgen Habermas’s theory of “communicative rationality” (also known as “communicative action”) provides a promising conceptual apparatus through which to justify and validate the International Criminal Court’s consideration of the emerging phenomenon of digital open-source information. Because of its process-based and inclusive qualities, Habermas’s communicative rationality is particularly apposite for the dynamic nature of digital open-source information and the heterogenous range of actors and institutions which have relevant experiences and skills to contribute to the generation of norms and determinations regarding its role before the Court. This is important, as the International Criminal Court’s procedural framework is largely silent on digital …

Reforming World Bank Dispute Resolution: Icsid In Context, Susan Franck

Michigan Journal of International Law

During a tumultuous moment in history with shifts in power and politics, international dispute settlement stands at a crossroads. In theory, international dispute settlement should not institutionalize abuses of power, rely upon a monolithic one-size-fits-all model, or be a waste of resources, which will inevitably generate stakeholder dissatisfaction. Rather, dispute resolution should reflect both a commitment to the rule of law and equal treatment that sustains nuanced, fair, and just procedures most likely to provide results of substantive quality. Against this backdrop and with the major reforms concluded in July 2022, this article explores the reality of dispute resolution at …

Trade-Based Solutions For Revitalizing Post-Conflict Economies, Ryan R. Migeed

Michigan Journal of International Law

International trade improves efficiency in home markets, creates new sources of demand for domestic industries, and boosts worker productivity. However, some types of trade are better than others for reviving the economies of countries emerging from internal or international armed conflicts. This note evaluates existing trade mechanisms that ostensibly help developing countries but fail to actually do so. It ultimately recommends the use of investor-state partnerships over trade-based mechanisms as the appropriate tool for improving the economies of post-conflict states. Part I evaluates a number of these existing trade mechanisms, including preferential trade agreements and the General System of Preferences. …

Relentless Atrocities: The Persecution Of Hazaras, Mehdi J. Hakimi

Michigan Journal of International Law

As one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, Hazaras are Farsi-speaking and mostly Shi’a Muslims in a predominantly Sunni Muslim country. They are also distinguishable by their Asiatic appearance. Throughout Afghanistan’s history, Hazaras have suffered considerably under different regimes, enduring recurring massacres, enslavement, and forced displacement. Despite Afghanistan’s accession to the Rome Statute in 2003, the plight of Hazaras has not improved. Indeed, the assaults on Hazaras have only intensified in recent years, impacting virtually every aspect of their lives.

This article argues that the recent and ongoing attacks against Hazaras constitute a crime against humanity. In particular, I …

Philanthropic Justice: The Role Of Private Foundations In Transitional Justice Processes, Julia Emtseva

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent years, political transitions have become a major area of interest to private actors, including philanthropies. More and more philanthropic foundations have chosen to donate money to support transitional justice processes across the globe. However, philanthropies often take on not only the role of a funder but also the role of an active participant in transitional justice (TJ) mechanisms. They push for the building of long-lasting partnerships with state authorities and international organizations, and, sometimes, take over and administer certain transitional justice processes. As a result, philanthropic foundations wield considerable power in transitional justice, especially when the state cannot …

Justice Without Power: Yemen And The Global Legal System, Amulya Vadapalli

Michigan Law Review

The war in Yemen has remained the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since 2015, and yet it is shockingly invisible. The global legal system fails to offer a clear avenue through which the Yemeni people can hold the state actors responsible for their harm accountable. This Note analyzes international legal mechanisms for vindicating war crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated in Yemen. Through the lens of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, it highlights gaps in the global legal structure, proposes alternative accountability processes, and uses a variety of sources—including interviews with practitioners and Arabic language legal scholarship—to explicate a victim-centered transitional justice process …

Shedding New Light On Multinational Corporations And Human Rights: Promises And Limits Of “Blockchainizing” The Global Supply Chain, Chang-Hsien Tsai, Ching-Fu Lin

Michigan Journal of International Law

Over the last few decades, advances in transportation and production technology, in conjunction with economic globalization and the emergence of multinational corporations, have consolidated fragmented production processes into long and complex supply chains across jurisdictions. While there are benefits to such global supply chains (“GSCs”), the prevalence of human rights violations attributable to information asymmetry, as well as rule of law gaps between different jurisdictions, has been a constant challenge. Modern slavery, child abuse, harsh working conditions, low wages, and other problems have reoccurred in the factories of upstream suppliers in the global South and have been systemically ignored by …

Measuring Corruption As A Threat To International Security: An Emerging Indicator For Enhancement Of Global Corruption Governance, Sungyong Kang

Michigan Journal of International Law

The conceptual changes to international security after the end of the Cold War, and particularly those following the al-Qaeda attacks of 2001, clarified the symbiotic relationship between corruption and international security: Corruption destroys the social political environment required to create human security and to ensure safety from terrorist attacks, and national borders increasingly fail to restrain its negative consequences.

To achieve human security though policy intervention in domestic affairs, global corruption governance relies on numerical indicators that measure corruption. By evaluating states through public comparison, indicators pressure states to improve their domestic institutions and structures to align them with the …

International Advisory Proceedings On Climate Change, Benoit Mayer

Michigan Journal of International Law

Several island states are expected to be severely harmed by climate change and rising sea levels. In late 2021, several island states launched two legal initiatives aimed at requesting advisory opinions of international courts on the law applicable to climate change. In the hope of fostering more action to combat climate change, these states are asking international courts to clarify the obligations of states to cut greenhouse gas emissions and pay reparations for harm already caused.

This article provides the first comprehensive assessment of the feasibility and desirability of international advisory proceedings on climate change. It analyzes recent developments and …

Back To Basics: The Benefits Of Paradigmatic International Organizations, Kristina Daugirdas, Katerina Linos

Articles

In the early 2000s, small “coalitions of the willing,” flexible networks, and nimble private-public partnerships were promoted as alternatives to bureaucratic, consensus-seeking, and slow-moving international organizations. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was established as an efficient alternative to the lumbering World Health Organization. The Basel Committee, the Financial Stability Forum, and the Financial Action Task Force were lauded as global market regulators. The Pompidou Group, the Dublin Group, and Interpol were touted as effective police networks in the battle against transnational crime.

We systematically reviewed the evolution of these celebrated networks in the ensuing decades by …

Unraveling The International Law Of Colonialism: Lessons From Australia And The United States, Robert J. Miller, Harry Hobbs

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

In the 1823 decision of Johnson v. M’Intosh, Chief Justice John Marshall formulated the international law of colonialism. Known as the Doctrine of Discovery, Marshall’s opinion drew on the practices of European nations during the Age of Exploration to legitimize European acquisition of territory owned and occupied by Indigenous peoples. Two centuries later, Johnson—and the international law of colonialism—remains good law throughout the world. In this Article we examine how the Doctrine of Discovery was adapted and applied in Australia and the United States. As Indigenous peoples continue to press for a re-examination of their relationships with governments, …

Trade Rules Of State Enterprises: A Lawmaking Perspective, Shixue Hu

Michigan Journal of International Law

State Enterprises are important actors in global trade, yet their regulation is a highly contentious issue that presently troubles the WTO and U.S.-China trade talks. This article proposes a typological framework of the multinational, regional, and bilateral trade rules concerning state enterprises. It compares their similarities and divergences from a lawmaking perspective, analyzing how lawmakers mix and match legal elements of ownership, control, purpose, authorization, function, activity, and industry of state enterprises with diverse policy ends. It reveals that some elements regulate behaviors while others pay more regulatory attention to the firm’s identity. These action-oriented and actor-focused approaches provide different …

Illegality Defense To Contractual And Restitutionary Claims: A Comparative And Philosophical Study, Dingyurui Bao

SJD Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to study the practice and theories regarding the law of illegality, in the context of contract and unjustified enrichment.

Illegality (and immorality) is universally seen as a ground for invalidating contracts. It is widely acknowledged that the courts have the "prerogative to limit enforcement of contracts that transgress the boundaries of public policy". In both Common Law and the Civil Law systems, it is usually in the law of contract that the problem of illegality is dealt with. An illegal contract is invalid, but it may be performed, either in full or in part. …

Pillar 2 And The Credits., Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

The international tax provisions of the Build Back Better Act (BBB) passed by the House of Representatives represent a reasonable compromise. They are consistent with the OECD’s Pillar Two statement, and they represent a significant move toward the implementation of the single tax principle (STP). In what follows, we will discuss the proposed changes and how they fit in with the new international tax regime (ITR). We will also address the possible interactions with the ITR if BBB is not enacted.