Law Commons^™

Incentivizing Sustainability In American Enterprise: Lessons From Finnish Model, Vasa T. Dunham

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The disparate climate performances of Finland and the United States, two of the wealthiest countries in the world, bring to light the question of how corporate responsibility has been inspired in each jurisdiction. Having established the urgency of the climate crisis and the importance of corporate behavior in optimizing a given country’s approach to protection of the global environment, an examination of each nation’s legal frameworks may shed light on features of the corporate regime that are effective in advancing sustainability goals and those that are not.22 Part I of this paper establishes a comparative framework by providing background on …

Nestlé V. Doe: A Death Knell To Corporate Human Rights Accountability?, Phillip Ayers

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court in Nestlé v. Doe held that foreign plaintiffs who claimed to be victims of overseas tortious conduct by corporate defendants had no jurisdiction to sue in federal courts using the Alien Tort Statute. This Comment looks at the history of the Alien Tort Statute, from its inspiration, long dormancy, and recent reinvigoration beginning in the 1980s. The Comment then explores the background of Nestlé and its issues with child slavery in its cocoa supply chain. From there, the Comment analyzes the Nestlé v. Doe decision, and posits an alternative outcome. Finally, this Comment looks for a new …

Coming Full Circle On Human Rights In The Global Economy: International Economic Law Tools To Realize The Right To Development, Diane A. Desierto

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

This article argues that the discipline and profession of international economic law has undergone a significant architectural change to focus on human rights law as both the premise and promise of the international economic system. Contrary to prevailing currents that focus on the irrelevance of the global economic system to realize human rights, this article argues that international economic law tools have already been converging within the last decade to authentically realize the Right to Development of individuals, groups, and populations. The Draft Convention on the Right to Development defines the right as the enjoyment, participation, and contribution of individuals, …

Reparations, Or Hush Money?, Christina Glekas

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Global Impunity: How Police Laws & Policies In The World's Wealthiest Countries Fail International Human Rights Standards, Claudia Flores, Brian Citro, Nino Guruli, Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat, Chelsea Kehrer, Hannah Abrahams

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Beyond Good Intentions: New Legislation On Foreign Aid Effectiveness, Gergana Danailova-Trainor, James Filpi, Norman L. Greene, Salome Tsereteli-Stephens

The International Lawyer

The new law and the corresponding OMB and key foreign aid agencies' guidelines require providers to follow best practices in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of U.S government (USG) foreign aid.2 A recent study conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office across the key USG foreign aid agencies identified a number of areas that needed improvement in the design, implementation, conclusions, and dissemination of foreign assistance evaluations.3 FATAA and the relevant guidelines will require providers to address those areas and focus their reporting requirements on tangible outcomes and the impact of their programming. In recent years, federal agencies have placed …

Documentation For Accountability, Jessica C. Levy, Paul R. Williams

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

" In armed conflicts across the globe, it is imperative that war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and other violations of international humanitarian law are effectively documented. Providing such documentation to judicial mechanisms can be critical for efforts to hold those who commit atrocities accountable. 72 Given the delays that routinely plague efforts to secure justice, it is important that the crimes are documented and that the evidence is ready for use in prosecutions when they emerge. Fortunately, the number of civil society actors engaged in documentation projects is growing rapidly, and technological innovations are beginning to emerge to assist …

Lawyering Peace: Infusing Accountability Into The Peace Negotiations Process, Dr. Paul R. Williams

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Klatsky Endowed Lecture on Human Rights by Dr. Paul R. Williams

"Thank you to Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and in particular Dean Michael Scharf, for providing me with the privilege of delivering the Klatsky Endowed Lecture on Human Rights. Thank you, Milena Sterio, for your wonderful introduction. It is my honor to receive the Cox International Law Center’s Humanitarian Award for Advancing Global Justice and join the inspiring array of international law scholars and practitioners who have received it in years prior. I am also pleased to have the opportunity to speak today to such an engaged …

Extraterritoriality And The Regulatory Power Of The United States: Featured Issues Of Sovereignty, Legitimacy, Accountability, And Democracy, Alina Veneziano

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Extraterritoriality is a negative form of transnationalism. It creates a paradox among state regulatory power because extraterritoriality can both govern the conduct of the state and also constrain the state in reacting to future transnational changes. In governing the state, extraterritoriality provides the state with the power to impose standards to control the activities within its borders. On the other hand, extraterritorialty constrains the state by hindering multi-state progression towards more efficient transnational developments. States have traditionally captured their autonomy in sovereignty, but extraterritorialty challenges this notion. This was an inevitable result, as extraterritoriality became a natural consequence that resulted …

Clash Of The Titans: A Comparative Approach To Reform Of Judicial Accountability In Egypt, Shams Al Din Al Hajjaji

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues for the reform of judicial accountability rules in Egypt. The lack of a real separation of powers and “checks and balances” between the three powers often leads the judiciary to become a periphery in the executive body, rather than an independent authority that invigilates and monitors any violation of the law. Judges who refuse to comply with executive wishes are often subjected to persecution from the Ministry of Justice and its Judicial Inspection Department, which can reach up to the level of impeachment. The Ministry of Justice uses judicial accountability as a tool of retribution over disobedient …

Chemical Weapons And Other Atrocities: Contrasting Responses To The Syrian Crisis, Tim Mccormack

International Law Studies

Why has the use of chemical weapons in Syria engendered such a substantive multilateral response in stark contrast to almost every other egregious international law violation perpetrated against the civilian population? Various theories have been offered but the explanation has little to do with humanitarian concerns for Syrian victims and is more readily explicable by unusual (in the Syrian context) alignment of U.S. and Russian national interests. Bashar al-Assad was convinced to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention, to surrender his stockpiles of chemical weapons and to co-operate with international investigators deployed under UN Security Council auspices amid a cacophony …

Mapping War Crimes In Syria, Beth Van Schaak

International Law Studies

This article maps the range of war crimes being committed in Syria with reference to the applicable treaty and customary international law and prospects for prosecution. It begins by presenting the international legal framework employed to determine when an armed conflict began in Syria, how this conflict is classified under international law and which multilateral treaties and customary rules are operative. This framework underlies the determination of which war crimes can be prosecuted, which tribunals might have jurisdiction and which perpetrators may be made subject to indictment. The article next focuses on some open legal and factual issues around certain …

United States Foreign Assistance: Beyond Good Intentions And Toward Accountability, James Filpi, Luke Murry

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The United States is ushering in a new era of foreign assistance unparalleled in its history.

The Global Architecture Of Financial Regulatory Taxes, Carlo Garbarino, Giulio Allevato

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article endeavors to broaden the analysis of available policy tools to address the problems created by financial crises and discusses how, in addition to direct regulation, certain tax measures having a regulatory nature may operate to address the so-called “negative externalities” often associated with those crises. There is a negative externality when an economic agent making a decision does not pay the full cost of the decision’s consequences. In such cases, the cost to society as a whole is greater than the cost borne by the individuals creating the economic impact. In practice, negative externalities result in market inefficiencies …

Identifying The Start Of Conflict: Conflict Recognition, Operational Realities And Accountability In The Post-9/11 World, Laurie R. Blank, Benjamin R. Farley

Michigan Journal of International Law

On December 19, 2008, the Convening Authority for the United States Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay referred charges against Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu Al-Nashiri for his role in the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. The charge sheet alleged that al-Nashiri committed several acts—including murder in violation of the law of war, perfidy, destruction of property—”in the context of and associated with armed conflict” on or about October 12, 2000 in connection with the bombing. At the time of the attack, the statement that the United States was engaged in an armed conflict would have been a surprise …

After Atrocity: Optimizing Un Action Toward Accountability For Human Rights Abuses, Steven R. Ratner

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is a great honor for me to be here to deliver the John Humphrey Lecture. Humphrey led one of those lives within the UN that shaped what the organization has become today—as one of the first generation of UN civil servants, he was to human rights what Ralph Bunche was to peacekeeping, or Brian Urquhart to UN mediation. To read his diaries, so beautifully edited by John Hobbins, is to see a world that has in many ways vanished, a nearly entirely male club, mostly of Westerners, that hammered out new treaties and mechanisms over fine wine and cigars …

Regulating Hostilities In Non-International Armed Conflicts: Thoughts On Bridging The Divide Between The Tadić Aspiration And Conflict Realities, Geoffrey S. Corn

International Law Studies

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) evolved to strike a rational balance between the necessity of using combat power to defeat enemy opponents, and the humanitarian interest of mitigating the human suffering resulting from armed conflict. Ironically, however, the “type” of conflict most comprehensively regulated by this law—international or inter-State (IACs)—is not the “type” of armed conflict that has been most notable for producing humanitarian suffering since the end of World War II. Instead, non-international armed conflicts (NIACs)—conflicts between States and organized non-State belligerent groups, or even between multiple non-State belligerent groups—have been notorious for their brutality, indifference towards humanitarian restraint, and …

Autonomous Weapons And Accountability: Seeking Solutions In The Law Of War, Kelly Cass

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Autonomous weapons are increasingly used by militaries around the world. Unlike conventional unmanned weapons such as drones, autonomous weapons involve a machine deciding whether to deploy lethal force. Yet, because a machine cannot have the requisite mental state to commit a war crime, the legal scrutiny falls onto the decision to deploy an autonomous weapon. This Article focuses on the dual questions arising from that decision: how to regulate autonomous weapon use and who should be held criminally liable for an autonomous weapon’s actions. Regarding the first issue, this Article concludes that regulations expressly limiting autonomous weapon use to non-human …

Mind The Gap: Can Developers Of Autonomous Weapons Systems Be Liable For War Crimes?, Tim Mcfarland, Tim Mccormack

International Law Studies

A recurrent response to the development of increasingly autonomous weapons systems involves questions of accountability for serious violations of the law of armed conflict. Opinion is divided across a spectrum ranging from claims of an accountability vacuum and consequent calls for a complete ban to assertions that the weapons will present no new challenges and that the existing legal framework is capable of adaptation to emerging technologies. This article focuses on the expanded role played by developers of autonomous weapons systems. It describes the novel contributions made by developers of these advanced systems that raise the potential for them to …

International Norms In Constitutional Law, Michael Wells

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Corporate Governance In Japan: The Continuing Relevance Of Berle And Means, Takaya Seki, Thomas Clarke

Seattle University Law Review

The evolution of corporate governance in Japan towards international standards continues, though at a gradual pace that often concerns outsiders. The substance of Japanese corporate governance is often questioned due to a lack of understanding of the unique elements of the Japanese institutional system. Japanese companies are under a sustained assault from overseas investors to introduce a greater number of independent directors on boards, improve accountability, and enhance transparency. The majority of Japanese companies have taken what they regard as significant steps in this direction of accountability. In Japan, however, there is a different conception of the role of the …

Shared Responsibility In International Law: A Conceptual Framework, Andre Nollkaemper, Dov Jacobs

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this Article we explore the phenomenon of shared international responsibility among multiple actors that contribute to harmful outcomes that international law seeks to prevent. We examine the foundations and manifestations of shared responsibility, explain why international law has had difficulty in grasping its complexity, and set forth a conceptual framework that allows us to better understand and study the phenomenon. Such a framework provides a basis for further development of principles of international law that correspond to the needs of an era characterized by joint and coordinated, rather than independent, action.

A United Nations Instrument To Regulate And Monitor Private Military And Security Contractors, José L. Gómez Del Prado

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Member States of the United Nations (U.N.) are responsible for taking appropriate measures to prevent, investigate, punish, and provide effective remedies for relevant misconduct of private military and security companies (PMSCs) and their personnel; their responsibilities fully remain, even if States have chosen to contract out certain security functions. The widespread outsourcing of military and security functions to private companies in situations of low-intensity conflicts, international relief, and contingency operations has been a major phenomenon in the past twenty years. The grave human rights violations in which they have been involved in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the focus of …

Transparency And The Expansion Of The Wto Mandate, Padideh Ala'i

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Understanding Accountability Of International Ngos And Global Good Governance, Michael Szporluk

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) promote good governance through global advocacy and through relief and development work. This article focuses on the latter role. While there are legitimate criticisms of INGOs' lack of accountability, this article argues that a review of the different stakeholders in the relief and development sector and their relationships with one another reveals valuable information about what accountability means and to whom stakeholders should be accountable. The article posits that INGOs should be accountable, above all, to the communities where they are implementing projects. Finally, the article points to many efforts being undertaken by INGOs to improve …

From Pinochet To Rumsfeld: Universal Jurisdiction In Europe 1998-2008, Wolfgang Kaleck

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Essay provides a survey of more than fifty universal jurisdiction proceedings in European courts and illustrates that universal jurisdiction is no longer a seldom-used theoretical concept, but a widespread practice. However, it is a practice that faces a number legal and practical obstacles identified here. Similar difficulties are encountered in other mechanisms used to combat impunity, including territorial and personality jurisdiction, state accountability at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and civil litigation in the United States. The Essay then begins an evaluation of the last ten years of universal …

Institutional Alliances And Derivative Legitimacy, Claire R. Kelly

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Article describes global lawmaking and the legitimacy challenge. It provides a typology of IOs that develop norms. It explains that legitimacy is a subjective belief, but it provides objective paradigms for assessing legitimacy claims. It demonstrates how pursuing legitimacy according to one set of criteria can sacrifice legitimacy claims under another. It also examines the competition among IOs, the push for democratic norms, and the resulting need for stronger legitimacy claims. Part II explains linkage and accommodation and gives specific examples of where these phenomena work to garner more legitimacy for specific organizations and the soft …

Towards A Right To Privacy In Transnational Intelligence Networks, Francesca Bignami

Michigan Journal of International Law

Privacy is one of the most critical liberal rights to come under pressure from transnational intelligence gathering. This Article explores the many ways in which transnational intelligence networks intrude upon privacy and considers some of the possible forms of legal redress. Part II lays bare the different types of transnational intelligence networks that exist today. Part III begins the analysis of the privacy problem by examining the national level, where, over the past forty years, a legal framework has been developed to promote the right to privacy in domestic intelligence gathering. Part IV turns to the privacy problem transnationally, when …

Current Issues In Occupation Law: 2003 Civilian Deaths In Baghdad, Fred Abrahams

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Codes, Lawsuits Or International Law: How Should The Multinational Corporation Be Regulated With Respect To Human Rights?, Nancy L. Mensch

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.