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Human Rights Law Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law

Information Warfare And Civilian Populations: How The Law Of War Addresses A Fear Of The Unknown, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

Information Warfare And Civilian Populations: How The Law Of War Addresses A Fear Of The Unknown, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Imagine a civilian communications system is being temporarily relied upon by an opposing military force for vital operations. If one launches a computer network attack against the communications system, the operation may disable the opposing force’s ability to function adequately and, as a result, prompt their surrender. The alternative course of action is to launch a traditional kinetic weapons attack in the hopes of inflicting enough casualties on the troops to induce surrender. Given these options, the law of war would encourage the utilization of the computer network attack because it would result in less unnecessary suffering. But is the …


American Prison Culture In An International Context: An Examination Of Prisons In America, The Netherlands, And Israel, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

American Prison Culture In An International Context: An Examination Of Prisons In America, The Netherlands, And Israel, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

In 2004, British authorities arrested Abu Hamza al-Masri, an Egyptian born cleric sought by the United States for his involvement in instigating terrorist attacks. As authorities prepared to extradite him in July 2010, the European Court of Human Rights issued a stay. According to the court, al-Masri’s claims that maximum-security prisons in the United States violate European human rights laws prohibiting torture and degrading treatment warranted further examination. Regardless of the eventual resolution of the al-Masri case, the European Court of Human Rights’ inability to summarily dismiss these assertions demonstrates something quite troubling. At a minimum, the court’s actions indicate …


The Surprising Lessons From Plea Bargaining In The Shadow Of Terror, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

The Surprising Lessons From Plea Bargaining In The Shadow Of Terror, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Since September 11, 2001, several hundred individuals have been convicted of terrorism related charges. Of these convictions, over 80% resulted from a plea of guilty. It is surprising and counterintuitive that such a large percentage of these cases are resolved in this manner, yet, even when prosecuting suspected terrorists caught attempting suicide attacks, the power of the plea bargaining machine exerts a striking influence. As a result, a close examination of these extraordinary cases offers important insights into the forces that drive the plea bargaining system. Utilizing these insights, this article critiques two divergent and dominant theories of plea bargaining …


Re-Evaluating Corporate Criminal Liability: The Doj's Internal Moral Culpability Standard For Corporate Criminal Liability, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

Re-Evaluating Corporate Criminal Liability: The Doj's Internal Moral Culpability Standard For Corporate Criminal Liability, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

This article examines the common law respondeat superior test for corporate criminal liability and proposes that it be expanded beyond the current two prong test to encompass a third prong regarding moral culpability. Further, this article supports this proposal by noting that the Department of Justice has already incorporated a moral culpability element into its analysis of corporate criminal liability through application of the Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations. While some might argue that one should be satisfied that the Department of Justice has seen fit to implement a new corporate criminal liability standard on its own …