Law Commons^™

Trafficking Technology: A Look At Different Approaches To Ending Technology-Facilitated Human Trafficking, David Barney

Pepperdine Law Review

In 2018, many believe that slavery is an antiquated concept. But as with anything else, if it has not become extinct, it has evolved with time. Human trafficking is no different. Each year, millions of men, women and children are trafficked in the United States, and internationally, and forced to work against their will. Through the rise of technology and an increasingly globalized world, traffickers have learned to use technology as a tool to help facilitate the trafficking of persons and to sell those victims to others they never could have reached before. But what are we doing about it ...

Testimony Of Rebecca Ingber Before The United States Senate Committee On The Judiciary On The Nomination Of Brett Kavanaugh For Associate Justice Of The U.S. Supreme Court, Rebecca Ingber

Faculty Scholarship

I am honored to speak to the committee about these matters as you consider Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh has had an exceptional career, and has many obvious strengths. Nevertheless, I believe there are concerns his jurisprudence raises that should be addressed before final consideration of his nomination. My testimony will focus on two: First, I will discuss Judge Kavanaugh’s reluctance to impose checks on the President in the national security realm, and the harms in undue deference for national security decision-making and government accountability. Second, I will address Judge Kavanaugh’s unusually dismissive ...

The Popular But Unlawful Armed Reprisal, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

The United States and Iran carried out armed reprisals in Syria during 2017 in the wake of chemical and terror attacks. Despite support for their actions even by countries such as Germany and France, retaliatory uses of force are clearly prohibited under international law. International law generally prohibits all use of armed force with narrow exceptions for self-defense, United Nations Security Council authorization, and consent of a government to participate in a civil war. Military force after an incident are reprisals, which have been expressly forbidden by the UN. Prior to the Trump administration, the U.S. consistently attempted to ...

The Human Right Of Property, José E. Alvarez

University of Miami Law Review

Despite the absence of a comprehensive global pact on the subject, the human right to property protection—a right of property but only rarely to specific property—exists and is recognized in 21 human rights instruments, including some of the most widely ratified multilateral treaties ever adopted. The Cold War’s omission of property rights in the two principal treaties on human rights, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has been overtaken by events. But that reality continues to be resisted by legal scholars, including human rights ...

An Environmental No Man's Land: The Often Overlooked Consequences Of Armed Conflict On The Natural Environment, Evan Frauhiger

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights Law: An Unexpected Threat To Peace, Ingrid Wuerth

Marquette Law Review

None

The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection School Of Law

When it acceded to the WTO in 2001, China accepted comprehensive transparency obligations as well as substantive commitments covering both market access and rules issues. Initially designed to deal with its opaque trade law regime, the transparency obligations were also expected to help democratize the legislative process and promote the development of the rule of law in China. Now that more than 15 years have passed, an important question is: have the transparency obligations delivered on their original promise? This article answers the question by reviewing how the transparency obligations have worked in practice. It notes that, while transparency has ...

The Wto Transparency Obligations And China, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection School Of Law

When it acceded to the WTO in 2001, China accepted comprehensive transparency obligations as well as substantive commitments covering both market access and rules issues. Initially designed to deal with its opaque trade law regime, the transparency obligations were also expected to help democratize the legislative process and promote the development of the rule of law in China. Now that more than 15 years have passed, an important question is: have the transparency obligations delivered on their original promise? This article answers the question by reviewing how the transparency obligations have worked in practice. It notes that, while transparency has ...

Race To Extinction: Shark Conservation Under International And European Law And Its Limits, Ilja Richard Pavone

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the existing (global and regional) legal standards on shark conservation from over-exploitation. First, an analysis of the current international legal framework (law of the sea, sustainable fisheries management, wildlife law) applicable to shark protection is provided (Part I). Next the paper explores the evolution of the European Union (EU) policy on shark finning, since the EU − in line with the United States (Shark Conservation Act) − opted for a strict fins-attached policy, or Fins-Naturally Attached (FNA), The new policy eliminated the major pitfall of its previous regulation, based on a fin-to-carcass weight regime ...

The Path Towards Defining “Investment” In Icsid Investor-State Arbitrations: The Open-Ended Approach, Melissa María Valdez García

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Article 25 of the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes left the notion of “investment” intentionally undefined, thus leaving its interpretation in the hands of arbitration tribunals, which has led to inconsistencies, confusion and debate regarding the true essence of what may appear as a routine concept. This article tries to explain that the proper meaning of “investment” under the Convention must be clarified not only by discussing the drafting history of the Convention, but by also examining doctrinal tendencies, key aspects of corresponding arbitration awards and customary international law and argues that arbitration tribunals should show strong ...

Presidential Control Over International Law, Curtis A. Bradley, Jack L. Goldsmith

Faculty Scholarship

Presidents have come to dominate the making, interpretation, and termination of international law for the United States. Often without specific congressional concurrence, and sometimes even when it is likely that Congress would disagree, the President has developed the authority to:

(a) make a vast array of international obligations for the United States, through both written agreements and the development of customary international law;

(b) make increasingly consequential political commitments for the United States on practically any topic;

(c) interpret these obligations and commitments; and

(d) terminate or withdraw from these obligations and commitments.

While others have examined pieces of this ...

Deconstructing The Epistemic Challenges To Mass Atrocity Prosecutions, Nancy Amoury Combs

Washington and Lee Law Review

Mass atrocity prosecutions are credited with advancing a host of praiseworthy objectives. They are believed to impose much-needed retribution, deter future atrocities, and affirm the rule of law in previously lawless societies. However, mass atrocity prosecutions will accomplish none of these laudable ends unless they are able to find accurate facts. Convicting the appropriate individuals of the appropriate crimes is a necessary and foundational condition for the success of mass atrocity prosecutions. But it is a condition that is frequently difficult to meet, as mass atrocity prosecutions are often bedeviled by pervasive and invidious obstacles to accurate fact-finding. This Article ...

“Long Past Time”: Cedaw Ratification In The United States, Rangita De Silva De Alwis, Amanda M. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

More than 70 years after Eleanor Roosevelt pioneered the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the US has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW or what is known as the global Bill of Rights for Women). The Trump administration is planning measures such as paid parental leave and child care legislation which are supported by the CEDAW. Despite the Trump administration's caution about human rights treaties, we argue that an enlightened self-interest on the part of the administration will draw it towards the CEDAW ratification despite the ratification ...

The Cost Of Territoriality: Jus Cogens Claims Against Corporations, Ursula Tracy Doyle

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The article considers the apparent disjunction between the Court's effective limitation of liability for the U.S. corporation and expansive liability for the natural person for similar crimes. Topics include Jus Cogens claims against corporations; court cases Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC and Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. on the same; and Alien Tort Statute on the same.

Tearing Down The Wall Between Refugee And Gang-Based-Asylum Seekers: Why The United States Should Reconsider Its Stance On Central-American Gang-Based Asylum Claims, Katelyn Masetta- Alvarez

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Gang violence is plaguing El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Murder, sexual violence, and other major human rights violations committed by gang members has forced countless people to seek protection in surrounding countries...

Puerto Rico And The Right Of Accession, Joseph Blocher, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

On June 11, 2017, Puerto Rico held a referendum on its legal status. Although turnout was low, 97% of ballots favored statehood, rather than independence or the status quo. The federal government, however, has financial and political reasons to resist this preference: Puerto Rico would bring with it a massive, unpayable debt, and the potential to swing the current balance of power in Congress.

The tension between Puerto Rico’s possible desire to pull closer to the mainland and Congress’s presumptive desire to hold it at arm’s length raises at least two important legal questions. Could Congress expel ...

The Fine Print Of The Mexican Energy Reform, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Faculty Scholarship

Five years ago, when Mexico transformed its energy sector, most commentators were worried about the government’s capacity to implement the reform. What would the upstream contracts look like? Would the auctions be transparent? How would international companies react? After two successful auction rounds, 107 signed contracts, and the creation of viable regulatory agencies to manage and monitor the reform agenda, the questions have changed. Today, Mexico’s capacity to implement energy reforms and attract foreign investment is no longer in doubt. Today, the most pressing questions about the reform concern its long-term sustainability. Can it survive the Mexican electoral ...

Polar Opposites: Assessing The State Of Environmental Law In The World’S Polar Regions, Mark Nevitt, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

Climate change is fundamentally transforming both the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. Yet they differ dramatically in their governing legal regimes. For the past sixty years the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), a traditional “hard law” international law treaty system, effectively de-militarized the Antarctic region and halted competing sovereignty claims. In contrast, the Arctic region lacks a unifying Arctic treaty and is governed by the newer “soft law” global environmental law model embodied in the Arctic Council’s collaborative work. Now climate change is challenging this model. It is transforming the geography of both polar regions, breaking away massive ice sheets ...

Dispute Settlement Under The Next Generation Of Free Trade Agreements, Kathleen Claussen

Articles

No abstract provided.

North Korea And The Madonna Of Czestochowa, Michael Donald Kirby The Honourable

The University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Concerning French International Law Manuels: A Critical Review Of The Principal French Textbooks In Public International Law, Alix Toublanc

Maine Law Review

The perspectives of French lawyers concerning international law and international institutions are formed largely by the basic course in public international law that they took as law students. Students in the course attend formal lectures by the professor (cours magistraux) and often supplementary section meetings, or tutorials, with instructors (travaux diriges), as well as read all or part of a basic textbook (manuel) in public international law and other assigned materials. One way to gain insight into the fundamental ways of thinking about international law of French lawyers and law-trained officials is to take a close look at the manuels ...

Contrasting Perspectives And Preemptive Strike: The United States, France, And The War On Terror, Sophie Clavier

Maine Law Review

A few years ago, Samuel P. Huntington's article in Foreign Affairs, "The Clash of Civilizations?" described a "West vs. the Rest" conflict leading to the assumption of an essentially unified Western civilization settling "[g]lobal political and security issues ... effectively ... by a directorate of the United States, Britain and France" and centered around common core values "using international institutions, military power and economic resources to run the world in ways that will . . . protect Western interests . . . .” Against the West, the specter of disorder and fundamentalism was looming and would precipitate conflicts. This widely accepted dichotomy fails to take into account ...

Collective Security And The International Enforcement Of International Law: French And American Perspectives, Ana Peyró Llopis

Maine Law Review

Is the American perspective on the enforcement of international law compatible with the French perspective? For American legal scholars, the term enforcement is sometimes used as the equivalent of the following French notions: mise en oeuvre, application, and also coercition. The American term enforcement appears to be used in situations where the French prefer legal terms that are closer to the connotation of implementation rather than that of enforcement. What are the consequences of the use of such different terms? Is there, behind the use of different language, with different meanings and approaches, a different perspective on the enforcement of ...

Unilateral And Multilateral Preventive Self-Defense, Stéphanie Bellier

Maine Law Review

The governing principle of the collective security system created by the United Nations Charter in 19451 is the rule prohibiting the use of force in Article 2(4), which provides that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purpose of the United Nations." This rule prohibiting the use of force was considered revolutionary at the time because it transformed into international law ideas which had for centuries, if not millennia, preoccupied the minds of ...

Application Of Treaties And Decisions Of International Tribunals In The United States And France: Reflections On Recent Practice, Martin A. Rogoff

Maine Law Review

In recent years, with the growth of international treaty law and the increasing role of international tribunals, questions involving the application of conventional international law and the decisions of international tribunals by national courts have assumed great practical importance. This is not only because such questions are arising with increasing frequency, but also because the way in which they are handled by domestic courts has a lot do with the efficacy of international law. As a practical matter, the rules of conventional international law and the decisions of international tribunals, if applied or effectuated by domestic courts, may very well ...

Commentary: Convergences And Divergences: The United States And France In Multilateral Diplomacy, André Lewin

Maine Law Review

Despite the divergences that have regularly separated the United States and France, or at the very least their officials-who unfortunately influence public opinion as well-there are, in my opinion, more similarities than differences than one would believe between these two countries' approaches to international relations. They both feel that they have a calling to defend the advancement of universal values in the world in order to further humanity along the road of peace, democracy, happiness, and justice. The United States, which can be considered a relatively new country, values respect for human rights, free enterprise, equal opportunity for everyone, individual ...

France, Europe, The United States, Abdelkhaleq Berramdane

Maine Law Review

Fascination and rejection have always characterized Franco-American relations, like an old couple who are not able to forgive: for France, the battle of Yorktown where Lafayette and Rochambeau contributed to the independence of the former British colonies; for the United States, American participation, twice, in the liberation of France. Neither one willing to credit its salvation to the other. A tumultuous relationship very much resembling the rocky history of the Statue of Liberty ("Liberty Enlightening the World"), offered by a still fragile Republic to a distant sister, who only begrudgingly offered it a pedestal. For centuries French literature has been ...

Thought Versus Action: The Influence Of Legal Tradition On French And American Approaches To International Law, Dana Zartner Falstrom

Maine Law Review

In the months leading up to the U.S. intervention in Iraq in March 2003, the dialogue between the United States and France on the appropriate course of action to take in response to Iraq's report on its weapons of mass destruction revealed differences between these traditional allies as to the options available under international law. These differences did not center on the goals of any proposed action-both sides in fact agreed upon the goals, which were to ensure there were no weapons of mass destruction; to prevent an increase in terrorist activity; and to address the continuing violations ...

French And American Perspectives On International Law: Legal Cultures And International Law, Emmanuelle Jouannet

Maine Law Review

I want to begin my consideration of French and American perspectives on international law by addressing more generally the question of the relationship between legal culture and international law in order to broadly contextualize the descriptions of French and American perspectives on international law that are the subject of this Article. I would like to stress at the outset that it seems to me that there does not exist any global or cosmopolitan vision of international law, but, on the contrary, an inevitable multiplicity of particular national, regional, individual, and institutional visions. This is so because the actors in the ...

Balancing Security And Liberty In Germany, Russell A. Miller

Russell A. Miller

Scholarly discourse over America’s national security policy frequently invites comparison with Germany’s policy. Interest in Germany’s national security jurisprudence arises because, like the United States, Germany is a constitutional democracy. Yet, in contrast to the United States, Germany’s historical encounters with violent authoritarian, anti-democratic, and terrorist movements have endowed it with a wealth of constitutional experience in balancing security and liberty. The first of these historical encounters – with National Socialism – provided the legacy against which Germany’s post-World War II constitutional order is fundamentally defined. The second encounter – with leftist domestic radicalism in the 1970s and ...