Human Rights Law Commons^™

International Human Rights, Shekinah Apedo, Daniel L. Appelman, Elena Ateva, Arzu Rana Deuba, Mark Du, Claudia Feldkamp, Federica Dell'orto Hadar, Corinne Lewis, Tschika Mcbean, Sophie Pouget, Caroline Renner, Judith Wood, Constance Z. Wagner

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights, Sara Blackwell, Heather Cohen, Mark Du, Uche U. Ewelukwa, Claudia Feldkamp, Samantha Rowe, Mali Torres

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights, Noor Ahmad, Honorable Del Atwood, Jeffrey L. Bleich, Cindy Galway Buys, Nicholas J. Leddy

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Rehabilitation In Article 14 Of The Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman, Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment, Nora Sveaass, Felice Gaer, Claudio Grossman

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Policy: United States Application Of The Law Of Armed Conflict, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

To what extent does the law of armed conflict (LOAC) apply to the United States military fighting in armed conflicts? Though the question seems straightforward enough, the answer is anything but. This article explains, in general, why the answer is imprecise and unsatisfying as applied to the most prevalent type of contemporary armed conflict, non-international. More specifically, this article argues that the U.S. government's primary response of claiming to apply LOAC as a matter of policy when and where that law wouldn't otherwise apply is superficially persuasive but not substantively responsive.

Mexico, T. Matthew Hansen, Eduardo Isaias Riviera Rodriguez, Alonso Gonzalez-Villalobos, Paulina Aguilar Cervantes, Michell Nader, Jose Sifuentes, Garardo Calderon-Villegas, Isaac Shefer, Stefano De Luca, Maria Cadelaria Pelayo Torres, Evangelina Flores Preciado, Alicia Vicente Rodriguez, Maria Erika Cardenas Briseno, Juan Pablo Venegas Contreras

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Moral Touchstone, Not General Deterrence: The Role Of International Criminal Justice In Fostering Compliance With International Humanitarian Law, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article contends that international criminal justice provides minimal general deterrence of future violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). Arguments that international courts and tribunals deter future violations – and that such deterrence is a primary objective – assume an internally inconsistent burden that the processes cannot bear, in essence setting international criminal justice up for failure. Moreover, the inherently limited number of proceedings, the length of time required, the dense opinions generated, the relatively light sentences and the robust confinement conditions all erode whatever limited general deterrence international criminal justice might otherwise provide. Bluntly stated, thousands of pages of …

Indefinite Detention Under The Laws Of War, Chris Jenks, Eric Talbot Jensen

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The recent acquittal of the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to stand trial in U.S. federal court on all but one of the 286 charges he faced stemming from the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa has reinvigorated the discussion on indefinite detention under the laws of war. While the issue has been raised in the past, the discussion hasn’t extended beyond stating that the law of war, or law of armed conflict (LOAC) as it is often called, provides a legal basis for detention, including detention for the duration of hostilities. In fact, the Obama Administration has made …

The Law And Policy Implications Of 'Baited Ambushes' Utilizing Enemy Dead And Wounded, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

When a state's armed forces is engaged in hostilities, how long after an engagement or firefight before the international humanitarian law requirement to search for and care for the wounded and find and bury the dead is triggered? This military practitioner's note discusses the legal and policy implications of 'baited ambushes,' the practice of utilizing wounded and dead enemies as the bait for follow on forces, which are then engaged.

Human Rights And Military Decisions: Counterinsurgency And Trends In The Law Of International Armed Conflict, Dan E. Stigall, Christopher L. Blakesley, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The past several decades have seen a Copernican shift in the paradigm of armed conflict, which the traditional Law of International Armed Conflict (LOIAC) canon has not fully matched. Standing out in stark relief against the backdrop of relative inactivity in LOIAC, is the surfeit of activity in the field of international human rights law, which has become a dramatic new force in the ancient realm of international law. Human rights law, heretofore not formally part of the traditional juridico-military calculus, has gained ever increasing salience in that calculus. Indeed, human rights law has ramified in such a manner that …

Double Jeopardy And Multiple Sovereigns: A Jurisdictional Theory, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article offers a coherent way of thinking about double jeopardy rules among sovereigns. Its theory has strong explanatory power for current double jeopardy law and practice in both U.S. federal and international legal systems, recommends adjustments to double jeopardy doctrine in both systems, and sharpens normative assessment of that doctrine.

The Article develops a jurisdictional theory of double jeopardy under which sovereignty signifies independent jurisdiction to make and apply law. Using this theory, the Article recasts the history of the U.S. Supreme Court's dual sovereignty doctrine entirely in terms of jurisdiction, penetrating the opacity of the term sovereign as …

Notice Otherwise Given: Will In Absentia Trials At The Special Tribunal For Lebanon Violate Human Rights?, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

On March 1, 2009, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) commenced operations in the Netherlands. The mandate of the STL is to try those allegedly responsible for the 2005 bombing in Beirut which killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. A collaborative effort between Lebanon and the United Nations, the STL is to be of “international character based on the highest standards of justice.” However, the STL’s in absentia trial provisions are based on a far different, and lower, standard. This article posits that the STL’s in absentia trial provisions violate human rights norms, indeed the U.N. expressly rejected such …

International Travel And The Constitution, Jeffrey D. Kahn

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article makes the case for the fundamental right of U.S. citizens to leave their country and return home again. Surprisingly, Americans do not enjoy such a right. Under current Supreme Court precedents, the right to travel abroad is merely an aspect of liberty that may be restricted within the bounds of due process. The controversial No Fly List is one result. Another is a new rule that went into effect in February 2008, under which all travelers now require the express prior permission of the U.S. Government to board any aircraft or maritime vessel that will enter or leave …