Law Commons^™

Junior Bar Law Review 1 (2010), 21-40 Judicial Activism Revisited: Reflecting On The Role Of Judges In Enforcing Economic, Social And Cultural Rights, Gehan D. Gunatilleke Mr.

Gehan D Gunatilleke Mr.

Following the conclusion of military operations in Sri Lanka in 2009, the issue of economic development and distributive justice appears to have remerged on the country’s agenda. Within this post-conflict context, the judiciary in Sri Lanka is confronted with a major challenge in terms of defining its proper role in the promotion of Economic Social and Cultural (“ESC”) rights. The precise extent to which judges should be ‘activist’ in promoting these rights should be contrasted with the level of activism required of judges in the sphere of civil and political rights. Advocating ESC rights in Sri Lanka simply cannot be …

Human Trafficking: Iraq - A Case Study, Ali Allawi

Ali Allawi

The accompanying Article explores the issue of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in postwar Iraq. It attempts, in three steps to firstly identify the issue of human trafficking and how it pertains to Iraq, secondly to examine Iraq’s international legal obligations to address the human rights violations and human trafficking issues, and lastly, recommend implementable solutions that the Iraqi government can take to meet its international obligations and remedy the problem at hand. The Article sheds new light on the growing humanitarian crisis in post war Iraq and brings awareness of the monumental challenges that face both the government and …

Legal Mechanization Of Corporate Social Responsibility Through Alien Tort Statute Litigation: A Response To Professor Branson With Some Supplemental Thoughts, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This Response argues that as Alein Tort Statute jurisprudence “matures” or becomes more sophisticated, the legitimate limits of the law regress. The further expansion within the corporate defendant pool – attempting to pin liability on parent, great grandparent corporations and up to the top – raises the stakes and complexity of ATS litigation. The corporate social responsibility discussion raises three principal issues about how a moral corporation lives its life: how a corporation chooses its self-interest versus the interests of others, when and how it should help others if control decisions may harm the shareholder owners, and how far the …

Freedom Of Movement Under The Framework Of Regional Integration Processes In South America, Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

This Study addresses the question on whether the migratory phenomenon –considering with special attention the admission of non-nationals– might be regulated under the framework of regional integration processes, using the case of South America as an instance proclive to show how international law can be complemented and adapted to a specific context. It firstly elaborates a theoretical argument on the need to re-lecture the sovereign paradigm –according to which States have exclusive and excluding capacity to regulate the issue– so as to utilize cooperative schemes to develop a comprehensive legal framework provided the identification of migration as a common interest. …

Never Say Never: Searching For Common Ground Between Muslim And Western Nations On The Issues Of Human Dignity And Human Rights, Travis Weber

Travis Weber

Travis Weber 3736 Silina Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23452 703-470-5411 tsweber@gmail.com May 4, 2010 To Whom It May Concern: Enclosed is an abstract for my article, entitled Never Say Never: Searching for Common Ground Between Muslim and Western Nations on the Issues of Human Dignity and Human Rights. My article examines the gap between Islamic and Western views of human rights, explores how this gap developed, and briefly reviews how different theories of jurisprudence would approach this gap. Due to the current world-wide increase in religious activity, including the prominence of Islam, and the version of morality that Islam brings …

Citizenship And Its Erosion: Transfer Of Populated Territory And Oath Of Allegiance In The Prism Of Israeli Constitutional Law, Ilan Saban

ilan saban

No abstract provided.

International Law & Politics: The Same Under Another Name?, Ana M. Nacvalovaite

Ana M Nacvalovaite

ABSTRACT: The Article examines the perceived dichotomy between international law and international politics from a legal perspective. It presents a brief over-view of the sources of international law and shows how and why the perceived legal/political dichotomy has been prevalent in the academic discourse surrounding the sources and nature of international law. Consequences of legal truth as to whether treaty bodies are analogous with political bodies will serve as a practical lens through which to ground the relevance and importance of this topic today. From this, one will be able to establish that such a distinction between a legal system …

Trips And Human Rights - The Case Of India, Subramanya Sirish Tamvada

Subramanya Sirish Tamvada

Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights often come in conflict. There is a need to give heed to the voices of the developing countries. Human Rights have gained primacy in the world today. Developing countries through international treaties and conventions are obliged to protect human rights in their countries. At the same time trade and innovation is also of priority for a countries development. Hence, there is a need to understand and bring clarity to the debate between the two namely; trade especially, the intellectual property rights and human rights. Intellectual Property Interests mentioned in UDHR and ICESCR cannot be …

42 U.S.C. § 1983: A Legal Vehicle With No International Human Rights Treaty Passengers, Matthew J. Jowanna

Matthew J. Jowanna

How do international human rights treaties interact with the domestic civil rights law of the United States, and particularly 42 U.S.C. § 1983? How should international human rights treaties interact with the domestic civil rights law of the United States? “International law is part of our law, and must be ascertained and administered by the courts of justice of appropriate jurisdiction as often as questions of right depending upon it are duly presented for their determination.” Whether fully implemented in domestic law or not, the United States is obligated to respect the international treaties it ratifies. However, exactly how has …

A Name Of One's Own: Gender And Symbolic Legal Personhood In The European Court Of Human Rights, Yofi Tirosh

Yofi Tirosh

Legal regulation of surnames provides a fascinating venue for examining how women negotiate their interests of autonomy and of stable personhood vis a vis a patriarchal naming structure. This is a study of 25 years of adjudication of surnames and personal status at the European Court of Human Rights. It explores the intricate ways in which legal norms governing surnames (and their judicial interpretation) sustain, shape, and reify social institutions such as gender, family, and citizenship.

As a pan European court, the adjudication of the ECHR operates within the framework of human rights. The universal characteristics of human rights principles …

Bringing The Spies In From The Cold: Legal Cosmopolitanism, And Intelligence Under The Laws Of War, Peyton A. Cooke

Peyton A. Cooke

Recently, as never before, intelligence operations have come under international humanitarian law. The Supreme Court has handed down the Hamdan and Boumediene decisions; President Obama has required the CIA and other interrogators to abide by Geneva Conventions Common Article 3 standards for all interrogations; district courts have declared stringent law of war criteria for overseas detentions; the Executive has applied the laws of war to terrorist targeting; and the private groups which have initiated this litigation, and pressed for these changes, continue to work for even more reform. This paper addresses the roots and effects of such changes. It begins …

Plural Vision: International Law Seen Through The Varied Lenses Of Domestic Implementation, D. A. Jeremy Telman

D. A. Jeremy Telman

This essay introduces a collection of essays that have evolved from papers presented at a conference on “International Law in the Domestic Context.” The conference was a response to the questions raised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Medellín v. Texas and also a product of our collective curiosity about how other states address tensions between international obligations and overlapping regimes of national law.

Our constitutional tradition speaks with many voices on the subject of the relationship between domestic and international law. In order to gain a broader perspective on that relationship, we invited experts on foreign law to …

The Alien Tort Statute: An Overview Of The Current Issues, David D. Caron, Richard M. Buxbaum

David D. Caron

This introductory essay seeks to capture the range of questions that exist concerning the ATS and place the contributions of this symposium in the context of that overview.The contributions consist of eight student articles written in an advanced international law writing seminar focused on the ATS in the fall of 2009 . These comments are intended to provide clear statements of the current situation in the various judicial circuits of the United States inasmuch as there is often a majority and minority view on the various ATS issues addressed. Where the author passes into his or her own analysis as …

From Proclaiming To Realizing Human Rights -- An Indian Perspective, Rishabh Jogani

Rishabh Jogani

This article deals with human rights organisations and their organisational set up along with the indian perspective of the same.

The Global Food Crisis: Law, Policy, And The Elusive Quest For Justice, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The food crisis of 2008, the subsequent financial crisis, and the ongoing climate crisis have created new challenges to the attainment of global food security. This essay examines the historic and current practices that have contributed to food insecurity in developing countries, and recommends several steps that the international community might take to promote the fundamental human right to food. The essay begins by outlining the trade and aid policies that laid the foundation for food insecurity in the global South from colonialism until the early twenty-first century. It then examines the impact of the financial crisis and the climate …

El Liberalismo Neoclásico , El Libre Mercado Y Sus Críticos, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Colin Crawford, Daniel Bonilla Maldonado

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The articles collected in this volume critically examine the hegemony of market fundamentalism in law, politics, and social theory. They question the underlying premises of market fundamentalism as well as the social, economic, cultural and environmental consequences of policies inspired by this ideology. The authors represent several disciplines (law, economics, anthropology) and various countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela). The topics covered include free trade agreements, Argentina's financial crisis, deregulation in Brazil, the judicial enforcement of economic and social rights, climate change, and the impact of trade liberalization on violence against women. The articles were originally …

Ockham's Theory Of Natural Rights, Siegfried Van Duffel, Jonathan Robinson

Siegfried Van Duffel

Ockham's theory may well be the most influential medieval predecessor of contemporary theories of human rights. We suggest that it was also in a better condition than its descendants.

Addressing Domestic Violence Through The Law: A Guide To - The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005, Saumya Uma

Dr. Saumya Uma

Kandhamal: The Law Must Change Its Course, Saumya Uma

Dr. Saumya Uma

Global Warming: A Second Coming For International Law?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

Currently, there are no adequate mechanisms under international law to balance the competing tensions climate change presents to state sovereignty. On one hand, climate change threatens state sovereignty because the catastrophic loss of life and property of millions of people would deprive states of control over their domestic territories. Yet, other states rely on claims of their sovereignty to reject international legal obligations to mitigate climate change. This Article attributes the inadequacy of international law in the climate context to the evolution of the international community into an economic union that has historically privileged material interests over legal rights. It …