International Law Commons^™

Legal, Policy, And Environmental Scholars Discuss Global Food Systems At Indiana Law Symposium, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law and its Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies are hosting scholars from around the country Friday and Saturday (Jan. 19-20) for an interdisciplinary discussion on one of the world’s most prevalent problems—food insecurity.

Data from the World Bank estimate more than 780 million people around the world suffered from chronic hunger in 2022. As climate change affects agricultural production and water accessibility, the problem could worsen in coming years.

“A Fragile Framework: How Global Food Systems Intersect with the International Legal Order, the Environment, and the World’s Populations” will bring together legal, policy, …

Romano Named A Rumsfeld Graduate Fellow, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

James Romano’s interests are out of this world. The 2L at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is intrigued by the futuristic sounding concept of space law, but is quick to note that there’s nothing futuristic about it.

“More private companies are rapidly entering space,” Romano said, “and I’m deeply interested in the question of ‘What does the future of space look like?’”

While Romano’s focus may be directed upward, his trajectory on Earth is quickly ascending.

Romano is one of 14 scholars selected as a Rumsfeld Foundation Graduate Fellow for 2023-24. The fellowships, named in honor of the …

Collective Data Rights And Their Possible Abuse, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Law And Politics Of Ransomware, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

What do Lady Gaga, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the city of Valdez in Alaska, and the court system of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul all have in common? They have all been victims of ransomware attacks, which are growing both in number and severity. In 2016, hackers perpetrated roughly four thousand ransomware attacks a day worldwide, a figure which was already alarming. By 2020, however, ransomware attacks reached a staggering number, between 20,000 and 30,000 per day in the United States alone. That is a ransomware attack every eleven seconds, each of which cost victims …

Enforcing Interstate Compacts In Federal Systems, Michael Osborn

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

The central goal of a federal system is for local government units to retain degrees of independence, specifically over matters of importance to that local unit. A logical corollary to that independence is the ability for local units to negotiate and contract with other local units on matters of importance. Therefore, it is not surprising that almost every federal system allows, either implicitly or explicitly, member states to form binding compacts with other states, the union government, or municipalities.1 Some federal democracies even allow member states to compact with foreign governments. Furthermore, almost every federal constitution includes a provision outlining …

Ending Demand For Modern-Day Slavery: An Analysis Of Human Trafficking In The Global Marketplace, Rachel Leach

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The purpose of this paper is to inform readers of the prevalence of and increasing demand for human trafficking, both domestically and globally, and to propose necessary next steps governments must take in order to end the demand for such human exploitation. This paper will closely analyze the issue of trafficking humans for sex and labor within the Western Hemisphere and throughout Asia by using the United States and China as primary case studies. These case studies analyze the specific actions or inactions taken by the United States and Chinese governments to combat modern day slavery, as well as the …

The Right To Privacy And Data Protection In Times Of Armed Conflict, Asaf Lubin, Russell Buchan

Books & Book Chapters by Maurer Faculty

Contemporary warfare yields a profound impact on the rights to privacy and data protection. Technological advances in the fields of electronic surveillance, predictive algorithms, big data analytics, user-generated evidence, artificial intelligence, cloud storage, facial recognition, and cryptography are redefining the scope, nature, and contours of military operations. Yet, international humanitarian law offers very few, if any, lex specialis rules for the lawful processing, analysis, dissemination, and retention of personal information. This edited anthology offers a pioneering account of the current and potential future application of digital rights in armed conflict.

In Part I Mary Ellen O’Connell, Tal Mimran and Yuval …

Does U.S. Federal Employment Law Now Cover Caste Discrimination Based On Untouchability?: If All Else Fails There Is The Possible Application Of Bostock V. Clayton County, Kevin D. Brown, Lalit Khandare, Annapurna Waughray, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Theodore M. Shaw

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses the issue of whether a victim of caste discrimination based on untouchability can assert a claim of intentional employment discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981. This article contends that there are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is a form of religious discrimination under Title VII. The question of whether caste discrimination is a form of race or national origin discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981 depends upon how the courts apply these definitions to caste discrimination based on untouchability. There are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is recognized within the concept …

Indiana Law’S Lubin, Sun Help Advise Kosovo Government On Country’S Cybersecurity Act, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

No abstract provided.

Volume 2 (November 2021)

Graduate Legal Studies and International Programs Newsletter

A newsletter produced jointly by the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Office of Graduate Legal Studies and Office of International Programs.

Rethinking Copyright Harmonization, Clark Asay

Indiana Law Journal

For nearly half a century, the United States has been one of the main proponents of harmonizing the world’s copyright laws. To that end, the U.S. government has worked diligently to persuade (and, in some cases, bully) most of the world’s countries to adopt copyright standards that resemble those found in the United States. The primary reason for this push to harmonize the world’s copyright laws is simple: the United States has long been a net exporter of copyrighted works, and so the U.S. government has sought to ensure that other countries provide U.S. authors with the same economic rights …

Volume 1 (February 2021)

Graduate Legal Studies and International Programs Newsletter

A newsletter produced jointly by the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Office of Graduate Legal Studies and Office of International Programs.

Contracts On The Seabed, Christiana Ochoa

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Four million square kilometers of seabed within the sovereignty of Pacific Island nations are currently under contract for mineral exploration or exploitation. Over a million additional square kilometers of the non-sovereign seafloor are licensed for such use. Historically, these licenses have served to establish “squatters’ rights” in anticipation of a distant future when the industry would develop the machinery to exploit oceanic mineral wealth. That moment has arrived, with the first seafloor mining machines rolling off production lines in 2015-2016. Indeed, but for failed financing, the first seabed mine would now be operating in the territorial ocean waters of Papua …

Construction Of A Dispute-Resolution Framework Under The International Judicial System For The Settlement Of The Inter-Korean Conflict Over The Northern Limit Line: Operating The Advisory Proceedings Of The International Court Of Justice, Hyun Jin Kim

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

To construct a dispute-resolution framework for the inter-Korean conflict over the Northern Limit Line (“NLL Conflict”) under the international judicial system, this dissertation proposes an advisory proceeding of the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) as the most promising alternative. It has proven difficult to draw a negotiated solution to this decades-long conflict, despite each of the respective State parties involved in the NLL Conflict presenting various arguments and claims about the valid legal status of the NLL. In this context, this dissertation examines the ICJ’s contribution to the resolution of international disputes, particularly controversy over the question of laws, through …

Policing In A Democratic Constitution, Michael Wasco

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

Most constitutions contain provisions relating to or impacting policing. Separate from the armed forces and intelligence services, the police are the state’s internal security apparatus, and codifying issues related to policing within a constitution can ensure efficient service delivery and human rights protections.

Originating from the Libyan constitution making process, this paper provides a taxonomy of options for constitution drafters and scholars. More so than other issues, such as separation of powers or human rights protections generally, policing sections are very country specific. While not advocating for specific best practices, the work gives ample justifications for certain policing principles and …

Toward A Theory Of Intercountry Human Rights: Global Capitalism And The Rise And Fall Of Intercountry Adoption, Barbara Stark

Indiana Law Journal

This Article proposes another mechanism for enforcement, an alternative to self-serving domestic policing and weak international bureaucracy. “Intercountry,” as opposed to “international,” human rights would apply to specific rights in specific contexts and be enforceable through the legal mechanisms and other resources of the state parties that accepted them. Intercountry adoption is a useful context in which to consider this proposal for several reasons.

First, as a practical matter, there have probably never been more babies and children in orphanages, on the street, on the market, or on their own. Yet intercountry adoptions have declined to levels not seen for …

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.

The Changing Face Of Terrorism And The Designation Of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Patrick J. Keenan

Indiana Law Journal

In this Article, I take up one slice of what should be a broad re-examination of

U.S. law and policy. I argue that the new attacks have been undertaken by entities

that can and should be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Doing this would

permit prosecutors to target those who support these entities with tools that are not

currently available. This Article is both a doctrinal argument that directly addresses

the many legal hurdles that make designating groups, such as foreign hackers and

troll farms, terrorist organizations a complicated endeavor, and a policy argument

about how U.S. law and policy …

The International Law Of Rabble Rousing, Asaf Lubin, Hendrick Townley

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay offers an account of rabble-rousing, a novel information warfare operation worthy of its own classification, and explores the extent to which contemporary international law and available technologies are capable of addressing the threat that this tactic poses to public world order.

This Essay proceeds as follows. Part I provides a definition of rabblerousing strategies, highlighting the ways by which they are uniquely defined from other forms of information warfare. It then proceeds to highlight the dangers associated with the practice.

Part II moves to examine whether rabble-rousing can be recognized as an internationally wrongful act under the traditional …

The Need For Thailand To Accede To Conventions On Statelessness, Pattranan Ruamsuk

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

‘Statelessness’ is a global phenomenon that refers to the lack of nationality of an individual. Although the issue of statelessness can be understood as the lack of nationality or the protections based on nationality, the solutions can be complicated because they interfere with the sovereign power of the state. Thailand is home to one of the largest stateless populations in the world. It has been working on solving the problem of statelessness with the help of international organizations, such as the United Nations and the Adventists Development and Relief Agency. However, despite the positive developments in Thailand, there are still …

The Liberty To Spy, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Many, if not most, international legal scholars share the ominous contention that espionage, as a legal field, is devoid of meaning. For them, any attempt to extrapolate the lex lata corpus of the International Law of Intelligence (ILI), let alone its lex scripta, would inevitably prove to be a failed attempt, as there is simply nothing to extrapolate. The notion that international law is moot as to the question of if, when, and how intelligence is to be collected, analyzed, and promulgated, has been repeated so many times that it has become the prevailing orthodoxy.

This paper offers a new …

Jost Delbrück: A Reflection, Alfred C. Aman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A profile and tribute to the international legal scholar Jost Delbrück (1935-2020), written by his good friend and colleague Alfred Aman. Delbrück was not only a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, but was also a Maurer faculty member.

Jost Delbrück: My Friend, Roger B. Dworkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A profile and tribute to the international legal scholar Jost Delbrück (1935-2020), written by his good friend and colleague Roger Dworkin. Delbrück was not only a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, but was also a Maurer faculty member.

International Lawyers As Disrupters Of Corruption: Business And Human Rights In Africa’S Most Populous Country—Nigeria, Jayanth K. Krishnan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Be it bribery, embezzlement, or the abuse of public trust, corruption poses a major challenge to global security and democratic governance, along with undermining the rule of law, especially within the Global South. Key to this phenomenon is understanding how lawyers are enabling but also disrupting this epidemic. Unfortunately, the literature on this subject is lacking. This study, therefore, offers a nuanced story of globalization and the complicated role that lawyers play in corruption, by relying on the case study of Nigeria—a crucial Global South market that has the largest population on the African continent. While Nigeria has been able …

The U.N. Committee Of 24'S Dogmatic Philosophy Of Recognition: Toward A Sui Generis Approach To Decolonization, Hakeem O. Yusuf, Tanzil Chowdhury

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The time is ripe for the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of 24) to accept sui generis categories that enable it to achieve its aim of finishing the job of decolonization. This would mean a departure from the Committee of 24's rigid adherence to the three forms of decolonization currently recognized: independence, integration, and free association. This article adopts Gilles Deleuze's critiques of the "dogmatic philosophy of recognition" and how they can be overcome through his articulation of "the Encounter" to analyse the philosophical basis of the Committee of 24's inability to recognize sui generis forms of decolonization. …

The Effectiveness And Application Of The Eu Principle Of Consistent Interpretation In Hungarian Courts, Fabio Ratto Trabucco

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This study of how the Hungarian courts have applied the principle of consistent interpretation demonstrates the striking degree to which this statutory interpretation method has been derived from EU law and embedded in the national courts' practice. Originating in the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice and based on the principle of sincere cooperation set out in Article 4(3) EU Treaty, the principle of consistent interpretation consists of a duty incumbent on all public authorities, including national courts, to interpret national law in conformity with EU law. Consistent interpretation plays an important role in enabling individuals to secure rights …

Enforcement Mechanisms For International Standards Of Judicial Independence: The Role Of Government And Private Actors, Rachel Stopchinski

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In 2017, the prevailing political party in Poland, Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwos6), proposed a series of radical legislative changes designed to strip the Polish judiciary of its independence. Though the European Union (EU) has extensively investigated this egregious attack on the rule of law, no concrete steps have been taken to impose sanctums on, or otherwise discipline, the Polish government for defying EU ideals. Despite the fundamental importance of judicial independence in maintaining the rule of law, there are presently no widely adopted international standards of judicial independence. Therefore, no guidelines are promulgated for governments to follow, and …

Rising Authoritarianism(S) And The Globalization Of Law: An Initial Exploration, Z. Umut Türem

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article explores the question "what does the future hold for the globalization of law?" In analyzing the future of legal globalization, I suggest that analyzing the recent rise of authoritarianism, both at the national as well as transnational plane, offers significant insights. I make three related observations regarding the rise of authoritarian politics. First, the rise of authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes and the blend of populism with authoritarianism at the national contexts seems to obstruct globalization of law. This is likely due to the fact that the power of authoritarian politics mostly comes from their populist appeal to the …

To Secede Or Not Secede? Is It Even Possible?, T. Z. Cook

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Secession seems like a concept of the past. In our increasingly globalizing world, nationalism was growing archaic and halting progress. But secession has seen a surge in the last ten years. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The United Kingdom seceded from the European Union in the infamous "Brexit." And in 2017, Catalonia's grab for independence sparked the worst crisis in Spain since the days of Francisco Franco.1 Alongside these high-profile secessions, smaller movements, which until now were simply brewing and bubbling, are becoming inspired. One such movement is "The South is My Country," a coalition of three southern …

Protecting The Rights And Interests Of Sukuk Holders From The Risks Of Default/Counterparty, Bankruptcy And Shari'ah Reality, Development And Challenges (Special Attention To Saudi Arabia), Omar Aloudah

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

The Sukuk markets, including the Saudi Arabian market, involve a variety of risks, the most important of which are credit and bankruptcy risks. This relatively new industry should be responsible for protecting the interests of potential Sukuk holders, whether individuals, financial institutions or banks, from credit and bankruptcy risks in order to maintain the reputation of these Islamic investment financial instruments and to increase their pace of growth. This dissertation highlights the negative effects of default on investors in Sukuk and highlights Shari’ah restrictions on various treatment options. We aim to examine the current efforts, with special attention to the …