Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Of Human Dignities, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

This paper, written for a symposium on the 50th anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae, the Catholic Church’s declaration on religious freedom, explores the conception of human dignity in international human rights law. I argue that, notwithstanding a surface consensus, no generally accepted conception of human dignity exists in contemporary human rights law. Radically different understandings compete against one another and prevent agreement on crucial issues. For example, the Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation favor objective understandings which, although they differ among themselves, all tie dignity to external factors beyond personal choice. By contrast, many …

Inter-Country Adoption And The Special Rights Fallacy, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Elusive Equality: The Armenian Genocide And The Failure Of Ottoman Legal Reform, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to deliver some remarks this morning. By way of background, I am not a historian or genocide scholar, but a law professor with an interest in comparative law and religion. Comparative law and religion is a relatively new field. It explores how different legal regimes reflect, and influence, the relationships that religious communities have with the state and with each other. My recent work compares Islamic and Christian conceptions of law, a subject that has engaged Muslims and Christians since their first encounters in the seventh century.

When I approach …

From Kosovo To Catalonia: Separatism And Integration In Europe, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

In July 2010 the International Court of Justice rendered its Advisory Opinion on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence and the Constitutional Court of Spain rendered an opinion concerning the autonomy of Catalonia. Two very different cases, from very different places, decided by very different courts. Nonetheless, they each provide insights on the issue of separatism in the midst of European integration. Does the Kosovo opinion open the door for other separatist groups? Does the process of European integration increase or undercut separatism? In addressing these questions, this article proceeds in three main parts. Part A briefly recaps the …

Kosovo's War Victims: Civil Compensation Or Criminal Justice For Indentity Elimination?, Irene Scharf

Faculty Publications

This Article is presented in three Parts. The first Part examines the likelihood that the displaced war victims could receive some type of civil compensation for their losses through the local courts in Yugoslavia. Part II scrutinizes the basic international human rights doctrines and systems of enforcement to determine whether they may offer remedies for the victims of identity elimination. Part III explores the likelihood that, through the Yugoslav Tribunal, those responsible for identity elimination may be held criminally responsible for their actions in Kosovo.