Law Commons^™

Windfall Taxes: The New Trend The United States Refuses To Take Part In, Maxwell Sears

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 resulted in a significant burden on Europe in regard to their energy sector. As a result of this conflict and the European Union’s (“EU”) subsequent restriction of oil and coal from Russia to the EU, the prices of the energy supply as a whole increased. However, companies in the EU were responsible for replacing much of the materials and energy that were once imported from Russia.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on June 20, 2024. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button …

The Myth Of Slavery Abolition, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Faculty Articles

In many countries today, slavery and the slave trade continue with impunity. International human rights law prohibits both abuses, but states are rarely held accountable and people who are enslaved or slave traded rarely receive redress. This Article offers a novel account of why international human rights law advocacy neglects slavery and the slave trade. Specifically, this Article demonstrates that the abolition of the Transatlantic and East African slave trades was achieved through a legal framework that marginalized the human rights of enslaved persons while consolidating empire. In the wake of World War II, prohibitions on slavery and the slave …

“Red Soles” And Search Engines: Louboutin Trademark Lawsuit Proves Chatgpt Is Unreliable Evidence Of Secondary Meaning, Gianna Policastro

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Across the globe, high fashion fans recognize “red-soled” shoes as “more than a [mere] color. It’s an attitude.” Christian Louboutin “turned his trademark [red] shade into a[n] internationally recognized symbol of luxury[,] … passion, power, sensuality, love, vitality, and a certain stylish insouciance à la française.” Christian Louboutin created his eponymous brand in 1993, and the French designer has filed trademark applications for its “RED SOLE” mark in numerous countries, including “France, Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, the [United States], Moldova, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Indonesia, Morocco, Bahrain, Chile, Israel, Switzerland, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India.” Given Louboutin’s global presence, …

Foreign Subsidy Regulation – Will The United States Follow The European Union, Or Lead From Behind?, Hannah Perez

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Back in December of 2022, the European Union (EU) adopted the Foreign Subsidies Regulation which requires notification and approval for certain mergers and other deals that ‘distort’ the internal market through receipt of foreign subsidies. One of the central concerns for the European Commission (Commission) in adopting this rule was curbing the “unfair advantage” that subsidies create over domestic companies in attempting to win contract bids. This regulation went into effect in July 2023 and has recently been put to work with the first in-depth foreign subsidy probe of the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications’ contract to acquire twenty …

The Chagos Archipelago: A Failure Of International Law To Protect Powerless Peoples, Cali Smith

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The opening act of 2024 featured David Cameron, the United Kingdom’s (UK) latest Foreign Secretary, dashing the hopes of a displaced people; the island natives of the Chagos Archipelago. The Chagos islanders (Chagossians) have waged a decades long battle for the right to return to their homeland, from which they were forcibly removed in the 1960’s and 70’s. The former Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, indicated that the UK was in negotiation regarding the resettlement of the Chagossians to their native islands. However, on January 9, 2024 Cameron stated that the return of the Chagossians to their islands was “not possible.” …

Escalating Conflict-Related Sexual And Gender Violence In The Ongoing Sudan Conflict, Agnes Poplawski

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Since its independence from Great Britain and Egypt in the late 1950s, Sudan has been in a state of perpetual internal conflict. When Omar al-Bashir seized power and became Sudan’s president in 1989, the state had split into northern and southern Sudan, resulting in South Sudan’s secession. Sudan’s economy began to deteriorate, mass street protests erupted, and the military-civilian government was soon created and overthrown in 2021 when General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took over. Since this time, the country had been run by a council of generals led by two military figures from opposing groups, bringing us to Sudan’s current …

Gender Quotas For Boards Of Directors: Norway And The United States, Lucy Paiste

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Despite unprecedented progress for women in the workplace, at the highest rung of the corporate ladder, the status quo remains. Women now account for more than half of the college-educated workforce in the United States and more than half of all currently enrolled law students. Looking further up, however, progress is slower. In 2023, for the first time in history, female CEO’s outnumbered CEO’s named John. Globally, women only occupy twenty percent of seats on corporate boards. More educated women participate in the corporate world at higher rates than ever, but what explains deficient representation at the top?

This post …

Providing Community Protection From Sex Offenders – At What Cost?, Jessica Novick

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

With the release of The Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes mini-series documentary on HBO’s Max recently, a renewed focus can be put on the “dangerous offender” status that murderer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo has who is one of the two central figures of the docuseries. Sexual offenders are some of the most feared types of criminals in our current society. Law & Order: SVU just began airing its 25th season, and the enduring legacy of this show and others similar to it has enriched the cultural fear of sex offenders. Now is an important time culturally …

El Salvador’S Bitcoin Bond Is Finally Here!, Douglas Notaris

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

In 2021, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador had a bold vision for the nation. He aspired for El Salvador to transform into a “bitcoin haven.” Now, what does this mean, you may be wondering? Well, it all traces back to the enactment of the “Bitcoin Law” on September 7, 2021. With the passage of this law, El Salvador became the first, and still the only, country to designate Bitcoin as legal tender.This meant that every Salvadoran business was obligated to adopt Bitcoin for transactions, taxes could be settled using Bitcoin, and the government had the capacity to disburse subsidies …

The Future Of Transnational Surrogacy: Where Do Italy And The Uk Stand Now?, Elleme Ko

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The images of thousands of abandoned babies around the world gave the transnational commercial surrogacy market a global spotlight in 2020 when COVID-19 travel bans hit. As borders closed, intended parents or “fertility tourists” were unable to claim newborns born to surrogate mothers in Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and elsewhere. Babies were left for months in hospitals, orphanages, or in the hands of surrogacy agencies. “‘The image’—of the [commercial surrogacy] industry— ‘was really bad.’” Much attention has been paid to the effects of abortion regulation and access to contraception on women’s reproductive freedom. However, the politics of pregnancy through …

Unpacking Brazil’S Amendment To The Bankruptcy And Reorganization Act, Aaron Hemmings

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Brazil recently enacted significant amendments to its Bankruptcy and Reorganization Act through Federal Law No. 14,112/2020, which introduced substantial changes to the provisions laid out in Federal Law No. 11,101/2005. This legislation was initially crafted to facilitate the restructuring of insolvent businesses under court supervision, taking inspiration from the United States' Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Chapter 11 serves as a blueprint for Brazil's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Act, focusing on the reorganization of a debtor's business affairs, debts, and assets. The primary objective of companies filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy is to secure time for debt restructuring and initiate a fresh start. The …

The Insidious War Powers Status Quo, Rebecca Ingber

Faculty Articles

This Essay highlights two features of modern war powers that hide from public view decisions that take the country to war: the executive branch’s exploitation of interpretive ambiguity to defend unilateral presidential authority, and its dispersal of the power to use force to the outer limbs of the bureaucracy.

Stop The Boats: Prime Minister Sunak And The Uk’S Assertion Of National Sovereignty, Stefanie Allman

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The British Parliament is in the process of voting on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, that would send asylum seekers who arrive in Britain to Rwanda, a country in East Africa. This change would indicate a further distancing of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) and international law. That said, when viewed in the context of the UK’s support for Ukraine, one can instead see an evolving view of individual national sovereignty.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on March 4, 2024. The original post can be …

Nobody Understands My Language: An International Human Rights Crisis In U.S. Detention Centers, Kayla He

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Since 2016 when President Trump was elected, immigration has become a popular and polarizing topic in America. President Trump supported a hardline immigration policy of preventing migrants from entering the country by actively arresting and detaining migrants. Many human rights experts expressed concerns over the human rights violations at the United States-Mexico border as well as in detention centers. For instance, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published a report describing the lack of medical access and supplies for basic needs at detention centers. The report indicated that oftentimes, migrants were detained without knowing when they would be released, and …

Judicial Ethics: Everyone Can Learn, Tamerick Gilyard

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The success of international courts, and our domestic courts, depends to a large extent upon the integrity and impartiality of those who decide the cases that come before them. For the institutional integrity of all courts, judicial ethics is of the utmost importance and vital for both the international and domestic courts. Most recently, the United States Supreme Court has come under fire because of the lack of ethical rules to guide or govern the justices’ behavior. The Supreme Court members are granted lifetime appointments, but are not subject to mandatory ethical rules. Alternatively, lower federal court judges do have …

The Need To Speed: The U.S. Interstate And The German Autobahn, Jacob Weinstein

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Were it not for the Interstate Highway System (IHS), driving to, from, and within regions of the continental United States would be a challenging endeavor. The pavement of the IHS was first laid when President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act of 1954. According to the lore, Eisenhower first envisioned the IHS as a strategic military asset during his reign in Europe as the commander of the Allied Forces. However, in reality, it is slightly more complicated.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on February 9, 2024. The original post can be accessed …

The Status Of The Icj Case Of Ukraine V. Russia, Anne Harper

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of eastern Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia claimed that the use of force in Ukraine was justified since Ukraine was committing genocide. Within a few days, Ukraine filed a petition with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Ukraine evoked the ICJ’s jurisdiction under Article IX of the Genocide Convention, which provides the ICJ with jurisdiction to resolve “[d]isputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in …

The Failure Of Australia's Voice Referendum: A Lost Opportunity For Progress?, Jennifer Grubman

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

On October 14, 2023, Australia held its first constitutional referendum of the twenty-first century. Had the referendum succeeded, a section would have been added to the Australian Constitution not only recognizing First Nations as the “First Peoples of Australia,” but also establishing a body known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, or the Voice. This was not Australia’s first constitutional referendum concerning First Nations. In 1967, Australians voted in favor of an amendment to the Australian Constitution that granted “state and National parliaments … concurrent power” to legislate for the First Nations. However, unlike the 1967 referendum, the …

Global Brand Protection In Web 3.0: Blockchain Domain Names And New Legal Challenges, Vera Glonina

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The development of blockchain technologies is changing the world by introducing new systems and opportunities. In particular, blockchain technologies are a key component of so-called Web 3.0, a new generation of the Internet, which incorporates “the idea of a new, decentralized internet built on blockchains, which are distributed ledgers controlled communally by participants.”

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on January 11, 2024. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Constitutional Constraint: The United States Should Follow In New Zealand’S Gun Reform Footsteps, Jillian Fantuzzi

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” The United States is one of three countries worldwide that provide a constitutional right to bear arms, but the only country where this right is not accompanied by a restrictive condition. Despite the apparent gun crisis that increasingly characterizes the United States, legislators struggle to implement regulation due to the Supreme Court’s classification of the Second Amendment as a right to self-defense. However, where the initial purpose of the Second Amendment was to equip civilians as members of the militia to …

Indigenous Peoples, Land Grabs In Brazil, And The Fight For Official Recognition, Christian Zavardino

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

In recent years, the Indigenous peoples of Brazil have fought a host of legal obstacles to maintain sovereignty over their traditional ancestral lands, in large part owing to the policy imperatives of successive presidential administrations and Congresses that have favored agribusiness interests and commercial development of Brazil’s interior regions at the expense of the Indigenous peoples who live in these areas. The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 guarantees Brazil’s Indigenous peoples legal recognition of their ancestral lands via the “land demarcation” or “official land recognition” process, providing that the federal government shall recognize “their original rights to the lands they traditionally …

Putin Skirts The Icc: The Invasion Of Ukraine And The Symbolic Power Of International Law, Corbin Gregg

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Much can be said about the role of international law in shaping the behavior of states and leaders. Often maligned, international organizations face criticism from those who wish to see them do more: punish human rights violations, sanction aggressive state actors, and prevent wars of aggression. While these are overall purported goals of international organizations, the way they attempt to effectuate change is sometimes unclear. Nowhere is this more true than the way the international organizations have reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on December 26, …

Testing The Boundaries Of Torture: Forced Circumcision As A Crime Against Humanity, Marina Coriale

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has history that extends across countless cultures and regions, impacting women and girls around the world still searching for redress and reparations. Knowing this, the international community should understand the necessity of providing a space for FGM survivors in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on December 4, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Animal Protection Laws In The United States And Switzerland, Kelly Ziyu Xia

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” This statement underlines the significance of how a society cares for those under its dominion, particularly those who are defenseless. Animal welfare laws vary widely across the globe, reflecting the diverse approaches taken by different countries to protect the interests of animals. While the United States has made commendable strides, the current legal framework for animal protection remains inadequate. Both Switzerland and the United States have federal laws that aim to protect animal welfare, but …

Applicants Beware: Chinese Trademark Fraud Is Rampant, And It Is Affecting U.S. Trademarks, Lily Barash

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

If you are looking to file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you should raise your vigilance. When the COVID-19 pandemic sent people in the United States into emergency lockdown, brick and mortar businesses closed their doors and people started opening their minds. People found new, and more, ways to be creative and e-commerce began to boom. With budding ideas, creators and companies recognized the imperativeness of protecting their intellectual property. The USPTO announced that as of June 17, 2021, it had experienced an increase of roughly 63% in trademark applications filed over the …

Time To Enumerate The Slave Trade As A Distinct Provision In The Crimes Against Humanity Treaty, Patricia Viseur Sellers, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Alexandra Lily Kather

Faculty Online Publications

The proposed Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity under consideration at the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee (Legal) are bereft of a distinct provision to address the international crime of the slave trade.

Out Of The Shadows: The Need For Increased Scrutiny Of Shadow Banking In China, Benson M. Clements

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Zhongrong International Trust Co., a Chinese investment trust with significant real estate exposure, has missed payments on dozens of corporate trust products since late July. Retail investors are left with frustration and panic as they fear they may have lost their life savings. Regulators are concerned they may have to further tame an already faltering economy. It may be time to question the free reign with which shadow banks have enjoyed for decades.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on November 14, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link …

Writer V. Big Pharma: How John Green, Author And Youtuber, Fought The Evergreening Of A Drug Patent, Rachel Bier

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Tuberculosis (TB), an illness caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is the deadliest disease in human history. In the 1950s and 1960s, scientists developed several drugs that could treat TB. These developments meant that TB became a curable disease. However, TB remains a terrible epidemic in poor communities around the world. About 4,000 people die from TB every day, with over eighty percent of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on November 9, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button …

Higher Wages In A High Inflation World: What The United States Can Learn From Icelandic Unionization, Jack Berroug

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

Since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire world, inflation has slowly been on the rise. OECD countries across the globe immediately felt the effects of inflation and despite the increase in wages amongst workers globally, inflation outpaced nominal wage growth for many countries. Over the past couple years, many of the capitalist OECD countries have dealt with inflation in various ways with varying degrees of success. One capitalist country in particular has kept up with real wage growth despite inflation: Iceland. Iceland is the most unionized country in the world with 90 percent of its workplace …

From Maritime Pushbacks To Naval Blockade: How Europe Is Drowning In Legal Pitfalls, Martine Bjørnstad

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review Blog

As if haunted by the past, the headlines are once again filled with cautionary tales of Europe’s unsecure borders and looming migration crisis. The arrival of 11,000 migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in early September, amidst deadlocked negotiations over the European Union’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, has again sparked debate in Europe about how to tackle illegal immigration from North Africa. The proposed solution that has perhaps drawn the most attention is that of a naval blockade.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on October 25, 2023. The original …