Law Commons^™

The Rise Of Transnational Commercial Courts: The Astana International Financial Centre Court, Ilias Bantekas

Pace International Law Review

The proliferation of international commercial courts aims to boost income from legal services and serve as a catalyst for newly found rules of law and thus attract investor confidence. The latter is the underlying purpose for the creation of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and its Court. The Court’s legal framework is set out in the tradition of its competitors in the Gulf and similarly employs an impressive lineup of former senior judges from the United Kingdom. It is a unique experiment because it strives to create a balance between maintaining a judicial institution of the highest caliber while …

Autonomous Cyber Capabilities And The International Law Of Sovereignty And Intervention, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

This article explores the intersection of autonomous cyber capabilities and two primary rules of international law—the respect for the sovereignty of other States and the prohibition on coercive intervention into another State's internal or external affairs. Of all the rules of international law, these are the likeliest to be violated through employment of cyber capabilities, whether autonomous or not. This raises the question of whether a cyber operation that involves autonomous capabilities presents unique issues with respect to the application of the two rules. The article concludes that while there are numerous unsettled issues surrounding their application to cyber operations, …

Global Innovation Law, P. Sean Morris

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article is about opening up a debate on global innovation law. The Article argues that a new hybrid area of transglobal law has emerged in the past decade due to the rise of various disruptive and technological challenges to law beyond the state. As such, the Article argues that global innovation law is a new field that encapsulates the dynamics of law making and regulatory governance in how law operates in a transglobal environment. With the rapid changes in law and regulation to meet the demands of the global economy--the interaction of law and these changes at the domestic …

Amazon’S Antitrust Fair Play, A Transatlantic Evaluation, Angelos Vlazakis, Angeliki Varela

Northern Illinois University Law Review

For the first time after a century, antitrust law has been making headlines around the country. Amazon, among other technological giants, finds itself in the middle of a cyclone against economic power. This article joins the endeavor of several scholars to understand Amazon's conduct, but through a different lens. It tries to see the big picture of Amazon's relevant market of operation, it evaluates indirect and potential competition and reaches the conclusion that the legendary e-retailer has a weak monopoly, if not any monopoly power. Subsequently, the article assesses several doctrines that could sanction Amazon's market conduct through comparative legal …

Drug Policy Reform In The Americas: A Welcome Challenge To International Law, Alvaro Santos

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Drug policy in the American hemisphere is in flux. After decades whereby a prohibitionist regime reigned supreme and proposing alternatives was taboo, several countries have begun to reconsider policy, particularly in the case of marijuana. International law has been instrumental in building the legal and institutional regime of prohibition, and it has remained largely impervious to critiques of its disastrous consequences. Indeed, when it comes to drug law and policy, international law has been part of the problem. Nevertheless, countries in the Americas have begun to adopt innovative strategies that also embrace international obligations. In this essay, I examine the …

Covert Deception, Strategic Fraud, And The Rule Of Prohibited Intervention (Originally Published As Part Of The Hoover Institution’S Aegis Series), Gary Corn

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Cooperation In The International System: An Interdisciplinary Investigation At The Intersection Of International Relations And International Law, Kalyani Unkule

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

A conversation between the disciplines of International Relations and International Law illuminates the nature of interstate cooperation and enhances our understanding of the nature and potential of international law. There are methodological and practical asymmetries between International Relations and International Law which create ideal conditions for interdisciplinary work. Studying international cooperation on protecting cultural heritage enable us to address the above questions and reevaluate and extend underlying theoretical frameworks.

Urban Warfare: Emerging Geopolitical Conundrum, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Urban warfare is as old as human history. It is becoming increasingly important in international political and military planning due to increasing global urbanization and the presence of megacities (urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million) in many global regions and being in areas of recent and potential military conflict. 2018 World Bank data notes that approximately 56% of the world's population lives in urban areas which is up from 34% in 1960. Many of these megacities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Manila are adjacent to oceanic waters and vulnerable to trade and supply …

Oppression Or Occupation: Conflicting Views On The Nature Of Sex Work In France And Under International Law, Carver Wolfe

Politics and International Relations Presentations

Although there is some debate over the exact number of victims of sex trafficking, it is agreed upon that it is an issue that affect primarily women and girls around the world. This paper will examine modern day slavery and the unresolved, century-old debate surrounding sex trafficking and sex work. While abolitionists advocate for total eradication of all sex work, whether it is consensual or not, libertarians support the right to voluntary sex work while condemning the coercion and exploitation that surrounds all forms of trafficking. I will use an analysis of international conventions and will begin a comparative analysis …

An International Attribution Mechanism For Hostile Cyber Operations, Yuval Shany, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

This article is the result of an international research project organized by the Federmann Cyber Security Research Center at Hebrew University to consider the feasibility of establishing an international attribution mechanism for hostile cyber operations, as well as the usefulness of such a body. The authors observe that, at present, states wielding significant cyber capability have little interest in creating such a mechanism. These states appear to be of the view that they can generate sufficient accountability and deterrence based on their independent technological capacity, access to expertise and to offensive (active defense) cyber tools, political clout, security alliances, and …

Getting At The Root Instead Of The Branch: Extinguishing The Stereotype Of Black Intellectual Inferiority In American Education, A Long-Ignored Transitional Justice Project, Camille Lamar Campbell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Tax And Arbitration, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

When fiscal measures intertwine arbitration, undue mystification sometimes follows. To enhance analytic clarity, tax-related arbitration might be divided into three parts. The first derives from ordinary commercial disputes that become laced with incidental tax questions. A corporate acquisition, for example, might carry tax consequences which in turn implicate contract claims or defences presented to an arbitral tribunal for resolution. The second genre of tax-related arbitration arises in respect of cross-border investment disputes. Rightly or wrongly, foreign investors often perceive host-country fiscal enactments as discriminatory, unfair, or tantamount to expropriation, thus violating international commitments. Finally, arbitration comes into play under income …

40 Years Later: It’S Time For U.S. Ratification Of The American Convention On Human Rights, Justin M. Loveland

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Note: Building Blocks Of A Fundamental Right: A Thought Experiment On The Constitutional Right To A Livable Climate, Melanie Hess

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

When civil rights lawyers sought to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson in the years leading up to Brown v. Board of Education, they faced a history of institutionalized segregation and inequality, constitutional acceptance of the “separate but equal” doctrine, and sharp social divisions on the issue. Other landmark cases of rights recognition, such as Obergefell v. Hodges and Roe v. Wade, similarly built upon years of evolution in law, precedent, and social opinion that made them inconceivable before their time. Early versions of the litigation strategies envisioning these judgments might have been tentative and vague, lacking in factual, legal, …

When Does A Major Outbreak Become A Public Health Emergency Of International Concern?, David N. Durrheim, Lawrence O. Gostin, Keymanthri Moodley

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The process of determining whether a Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) exists and should be declared has drawn increasing criticism over the past few years with allegations that it is more political than technical. Delaying declaration, where appropriate, means that the opportunity of garnering international solidarity and necessary resources in the early phases of epidemics, when public health measures may be more effective, is lost. A reform agenda aimed at enhancing WHO/Emergency Committee transparency and objectivity for the PHEIC declaration process is required.

Business And Human Rights In The Context Of Sanctions: A Road To Filling The Governance Gap, Bahareh Jafarian

LLM Theses

As concerns about the negative impacts of sanctions on the human rights of civilians and the environment increases, it is necessary to reflect upon the lawfulness and legal status of such measures in international law, and their impact on business enterprises and the field of Business and Human Rights (BHR). While current academic literature tends to focus on implementation, enforcement and business compliance with unilateral and multilateral sanctions, the negative impacts of sanctions on non-state actors and resulting human rights violations are overlooked. Specifically, the relationship between sanctions law and the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights and the …

Similar Interpretations, Different Conclusions: The Criminalization Of Hate Speech In The West, Michael Goryelov, Wesley S. Mccann

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The United States is unique internationally in that hate speech is not considered a criminal offense. Drawing from a sample of Western countries and their respective statutes, the analysis will look at different nations' interpretations of hate speech criminality. This study identifies common patterns in international criminal legal codes and compares them to U.S. jurisprudence, focusing on content neutrality and the ideological content of these laws. It was found that hate speech statutes internationally tended towards content neutrality, were structured similarly to anti-defamatory codes, and generally did not result in amendments/extensions of new regulatory laws. These findings imply a closer …

Transnational Fiduciary Law, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

Fiduciary law is expanding throughout the world.¹ It seems to be a new phenomenon, but in reality, it is not. Fiduciary law is ancient. It existed centuries ago in Mesopotamia, ² Rome, ³ Egypt,⁴ Greece,⁵ as well as in Jewish ⁶ and Christian laws.⁷ Fiduciary duties arguably developed later in Great Britain when master landlords left for the holy land on religious crusades and had to rely on others to manage their estates.⁸ The ancient rules, such as those found in agency law in Mesopotamia, may not have been as sophisticated as the current ones-such …

Pirates On The High Seas: An Institutional Response To Expanding U.S. Jurisdiction In Troubled Waters, Marshall B. Lloyd, Robert Summers

Faculty Articles

Collective efforts among governments and regional organizations is a vital part of the fight against piracy that represents a security threat to all nation states with respect to freedom to navigate the high seas. This paper provides a concise overview of piracy, contemporary maritime drug laws, and cases among the circuit courts to illustrate the procedural concerns that affect fundamental constitutional principles of jurisdiction. A possible solution to existing substantive and procedural due process issues is establishment of a regional judicial institution with broad powers to preside over criminal prosecutions that include maritime crimes. The suggestion may be a viable …

Delaware's New Competition, William J. Moon

Northwestern University Law Review

According to the standard account in American corporate law, states compete to supply corporate law to American corporations, with Delaware dominating the market. This “competition” metaphor in turn informs some of the most important policy debates in American corporate law.

This Article complicates the standard account, introducing foreign nations as emerging lawmakers that compete with American states in the increasingly globalized market for corporate law. In recent decades, entrepreneurial foreign nations in offshore islands have used permissive corporate governance rules and specialized business courts to attract publicly traded American corporations. Aided in part by a select group of private sector …

Talking Foreign Policy, Radio Broadcasts

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

No abstract provided.

Talking Foreign Policy, Radio Broadcasts Sept. 25, 2014, Jan. 29 And Sept. 4, 2015, Feb. 5 And Oct. 7, 2016

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

No abstract provided.

Talking Foreign Policy, Talking Foreign Policy Radio Broadcasts: Sept. 6, 2013 And Jan. 31, 2014

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

No abstract provided.

Talking Foreign Policy, Talking Foreign Policy Radio Show

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

No abstract provided.

The Proof Is In The Process: Self-Reporting Under International Human Rights Treaties, Cosette D. Creamer, Beth A. Simmons

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent research has shown that state reporting to human rights monitoring bodies is associated with improvements in rights practices, calling into question earlier claims that self-reporting is inconsequential. Yet little work has been done to explore the theoretical mechanisms that plausibly account for this association. This Article systematically documents—across treaties, countries, and years—four mechanisms through which reporting can contribute to human rights improvements: elite socialization, learning and capacity building, domestic mobilization, and law development. These mechanisms have implications for the future of human rights treaty monitoring.

Member States' Due Diligence Obligations To Supervise International Organizations, Kristina Daugirdas

Law & Economics Working Papers

There are two reasons to consider obligations to supervise international organizations as a distinct category of due diligence obligations. First, due diligence obligations typically require states to regulate third parties in some way. But it is harder for states to regulate international organizations unilaterally than to regulate private actors within their own territories because international law protects the autonomy of those organizations. Second, such due diligence obligations merit attention because they may compensate for the dearth of mechanisms to hold international organizations accountable when they cause harm. These accountability concerns are especially acute when it comes to private individuals who …

Implementing The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples In The United States: A Call To Action For Inspired Advocacy In Indian Country., Kristen Carpenter, Edyael Casaperalta, Danielle Lazore-Thompson

University of Colorado Law Review Forum

No abstract provided.

Talking Foreign Policy: October 1, 2019 Broadcast: "The Rohingya Genocide", Tfp Panel

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"According to a recent UN report, Facebook bears responsibility for the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet – the mass attacks against the Rohingya people of Burma. Welcome to “Talking Foreign Policy.” I’m your host, Michael Scharf, [co-]Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In this broadcast, our expert panelists will help us understand the Rohingya crisis, the role of Facebook, and the prospects for achieving accountability for the international crimes that have been committed against the Rohingya people in Burma."

The Right To Health In Immigration Detention During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Examination Of Federal And International Law, Alaina Dye

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

This article examines the United States’ response to the severe impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in immigration detention centers and considers the United States’ obligations to the vulnerable population of immigrant detainees. This article argues that the COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrates the United States’ lack of guaranteed health care for immigrant detainees and deportees despite international recognition of the human rights to health and life. The United States violates international law when immigrant detainees’ human rights are disregarded by lack of appropriate access to health care during a global pandemic. This article recognizes that discrimination against immigrants under the Trump …

Something Is Not Always Better Than Nothing: Problematizing Emerging Forms Of Jus Ad Bellum Argument, David Hughes, Yahli Shereshevsky

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since the adoption of the UN Charter, an unending debate concerning the permissible exceptions to the use of force prohibition has filled the pages of countless law reviews. The resulting legal regime, the jus ad bellum, has become increasingly strained as the international community faces new threats and encounters unforeseen scenarios. The post-war legal architecture is, so the debate goes, either insufficiently enabled to address contemporary challenges or consistently undermined by actors who seek exceptions to the strict limits placed upon state conduct. Debates regarding different instances when force is used exhibit a predictable pattern. Those that wish to limit …