Law Commons^™

The Issue Of Enforcement In International Law: A Case Study Of The War In Ukraine, Luana M. Denegre

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to outline ways to enforce international law more effectively. Through the analysis of the current international legal framework and the different mechanisms created to enforce international law, it identifies why they are insufficient to enforce international law effectively, and it gives recommendations to ameliorate the way international law is currently enforced. This research focuses on the ongoing war in Ukraine as a case study, and provides specific examples of ways international law was grossly violated by Russia, a U.N. permanent Security Council member, in order to identify patterns in the non-enforcement of international law. To bridge the …

Un País Invertido: The Current Immigration Regime Of Colombia, Magdalena Hendrickson

Honors Theses

Throughout its turbulent history, Colombia has seen drastic changes in structure and administration. From military coups to shaky coalitions, the country’s infamous instability has long forced its citizens to find better prospects elsewhere. However, with the rise of the Maduro administration in Venezuela, Colombia faced a massive new flow of migrants and was forced to rectify current circumstances without properly addressing its internal issues beforehand. Despite its historical status as a nation of emigrants, Colombia marks a new norm for the rest of the globe. As new issues like climate change and increased armed conflict grow worldwide, countries on the …

Ukraine’S Quest For Justice: Accountability For Atrocities Committed In The Russia-Ukraine War, Tetiana Karpus

Dissertations and Theses

The Russian Federation's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has been marked by numerous documented atrocities, potentially falling under the categories of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This thesis aims to explore whether these apparent human rights and humanitarian law violations merit international prosecution. It also assesses the suitability and feasibility of various mechanisms, such as establishing national courts, "internationalized" or "hybrid" tribunals, or resorting to the International Criminal Court (ICC), drawing insights from past experiences in transitional and retributive justice.

The Violence In Our Humanity: Principles, Action, And The Erosion Of State Sovereignty, Rasheed Idou

Theses and Dissertations

The past two decades have witnessed an increasing number of armed conflicts, both inter- and intra-nationally, and an even more increasing number of multilateral military interventions without UN Security Council authorization. Central to the discussion of these interventions are the themes of humanitarianism and state sovereignty. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between humanitarian imperatives and principles of sovereignty within the context of armed conflict to better understand the tensions that have led to the current global outcomes. In so doing, it identifies how humanitarian principles, imperatives, and actions have affected the contemporary conception of state …

Internally Displaced Persons & Covid-19 Under International Law, Bezawit G. Abebe

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) has been overshadowed by global attention on those who flee across an international border, recognized as refugees. In most cases, the only difference between IDPs and refugees is crossing an international border. This research examines the plight of (IDPs) from the perspective of international law and the additional vulnerabilities the Covid 19 pandemic brought them. The rapid growth of IDPs due to wars and disasters is concerning. Furthermore, the challenges for these already vulnerable IDPs are exacerbated by the Covid-19 global pandemic. The authority to regulate IDPs and their rights is left to …

When Does A Cyber Crime Become An Act Of Cyber Warfare, Luke Dickeson

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Since the existence of the online world, cyber attacks have been a threat. As the online world has developed and evolved so have the attacks on them. The advancement of technology has meant the advancement and increased complexity of cyber attacks.

Cyber attacks can be broken into two categories. The first is cyber crimes, and the second is cyber warfare. The difference between these two is not black and white, but rather a very murky grey. There is no agreed upon definitive line that separates cyber attacks and cyber crimes. This is because the definitions are so eerily similar, and …

Social Contract Theory And Transitional Justice: A Philosophical Approach To A Problem Of Global Importance, Brendan Moriarty

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I seek to bring together two areas of scholarly work to see how each can inform the other: social contract theory and transitional justice. The social contract, as it exists and as it was theorized about by Rousseau, was born from the world-historic forces that spread capitalism across the globe, stirring up nationalism everywhere it went. In its wake, there was vast inequality and new legal regimes which protected the hoarded wealth of the capitalist class by enshrining the right of private property along with life and liberty. To examine the intricacies of transitional justice and its …

Environment, States, And International Organizations: The Role Of Global Environmental Conventions In Protecting The Environment, Natalia Escobar Pemberthy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Global environmental conventions are created to address and resolve global environmental problems. Assessments of the achievement of specific environmental goals, however, indicate that there is room for progress and that stronger collective action is required. Given that there are no empirical instruments to measure implementation and to determine the factors behind individual countries’ results, challenges emerge that require the expansion of existing analytical frameworks around environmental conventions and their role as global governance instruments. This study develops an empirical instrument – the Environmental Conventions Index – to assess the implementation of global environmental conventions, determining the main trends for both …

Unilateral Non-Colonial Secessions: An Affirmation Of The Right To Self-Determination And A Legal Exception To The Use Of Force In International Law, Ilya Berlin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Secession has contributed to nearly 50 intra-state armed conflicts around the world, and remains a complex issue in public international law. Over the past 72 years, several cases stand out as providing evidence of state practice with regards to invoking a successful right to unilateral secession: Bangladesh, Croatia, South Sudan, East Timor, Eritrea and Kosovo, to name a few. However, apart from invoking a right to secession, these cases also share a common factor that legitimized their independence: their Unilateral Non-Colonial (UNC) secessions became legal as a result of two factors: (i) an invocation of a right to self-determination which …

No Lost Generations: Refugee Children And Their Human Right To Education, From The Holocaust To The Syrian Civil War, Jessica Warner

MAIS Projects and Theses

International law protects the right to education for refugee children, as is stated in multiple treaties and documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990). The purpose of this research is to highlight the historical development of education for refugee children, through programs led by Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), as well as to emphasize the importance of education as part of current humanitarian interventions. This thesis examines a past example …

The International Criminal Court: A Figurehead Of Justice, Megan Stoddard

Senior Theses

International law has existed since nation states began to recognize one another. However, the defined study of international criminal law and the resulting International Criminal Court is a fairly recent institution in our history, so there are still many questions about its operation. The question explored here is the power of the court. When put in the international political stage, the International Criminal Court can seem very powerful, but this is a question of the international influence the court can have over the world, and potential international criminals. To explore these ideas, the history of the court and international criminal …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

The Globalization Of Crime Control: The Use Of Non-Criminal Justice Responses For Countering Organized Crime, Bjarni Halldor Sigursteinsson

LLM Theses

This thesis examines domestic authorities’ use of non-criminal justice responses to counter organized crime. Examples of responses used to counter outlaw motorcycle gangs in Canada, Germany, and Iceland are provided. These responses are significantly different from most international efforts focusing on criminal norms and cooperation in criminal matters.

As harmonization of legislation, policies and practices in this field become an international focus, I examine the role currently played by the European Union in promoting these non-criminal justice 'alternative' enforcement strategies for the purpose of furthering the development of international and domestic efforts to counter organized crime.

This study concludes that …

Information Operations Under International Law: A Delphi Study Into The Legal Standing Of Cyber Warfare, Kenneth Gualtier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ever-growing interconnectivity of industry and infrastructure through cyberspace has increased their vulnerability to cyber attack. The lack of any formal codification of cyber warfare has led to the development of contradictory state practices and disagreement as to the legal standing of cyber warfare, resulting in an increased risk of damage to property and loss of life. Using the just war theory as a foundation, the research questions asked at the point at which cyber attacks meet the definition of use of force or armed attack under international law and what impediments currently exist in the development of legal limitations …

Responsibility To Protect (R2p), The Responsibility Of The International Community To Protect Syrian Citizens, Ghuna Bdiwi

LLM Theses

The responsibility to protect (R2P) doctrine allows the international community to intervene for humanitarian purposes in events of massive violations of human rights. However, the legality of humanitarian intervention has received considerable critical attention because of its direct conflict with two fundamental norms in international law: the prohibition of the use of force, and the principle of state sovereignty. In Syria, mass atrocity crimes are escalating on a daily basis. Until now, international efforts have failed to find a peaceful formula to stop the crisis. International law allows the Security Council to authorize humanitarian intervention under the power of Chapter …

Aiding And Abetting: The Illegality Of Morocco's Nationalist Expansion Into Western Sahara And Their Support From The United States, Rachid H. Yousfi

Master's Theses

This paper will address the illegality of Morocco’s nationalist annexation of Western Sahara and how the United States plays the accommodating role through the selling of arms, economic aid, and diplomatic support. Considered as Africa’s last colony, the Saharawi people have not experienced the basic human right to self-determination and the right for independence. These rights are continued to be withheld for the sake of Moroccan nationalism and their “rightful and ethnic” claims to the territory, disregarding the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion ruling in favor of Saharawi self-determination. It explores the chronology of the Saharawi population from …

Key Ingredients In The Rule Of Law Recipe: The Role Of Judicial Independence In The Effective Establishment Of The Rule Of Law, Lauren A. Shumate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, countries around the globe have engaged in rule of law and judicial reform initiatives, with such efforts being most prominent in transitional democracies, post-conflict and post-communist countries. Despite the fact that the concepts of judicial independence and the rule of law continue to be contested among political and legal scholars, popular wisdom and belief in the international community suggests that an independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a democratic, market-based society based on the rule of law. However, the disagreement over the extent to which an independent judiciary effects the establishment of the rule of law has …

Punishing Our Own Rascals: Great Britain, The United States, And The Right To Search During The Era Of Slave Trade Suppression, Mark T. Haggard

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between the United States and Great Britain during the era of slave trade suppression in the nineteenth century. Two ideals of international relations came into conflict when Great Britain’s humanitarian drive to rid the world of the international slave trade ran headlong into the United States’ claims to sovereignty under the Law of Nations. Under international maritime law a ship is the sovereign territory of the nation under whose flag it sails; the forcible boarding of a ship is tantamount to an invasion of the country itself. Britain sought to circumvent this rule in the …