International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

A Reply To Wittes On The United States And Extraterritoriality, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Extraterritoriality And Human Rights: Time For A Change In The U.S. View?, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The U.N. Committee Against Torture And Eradication Of Torture In Health Care Settings, Claudio Grossman

Reports

This article explains that the United Nations Committee against Torture (hereinafter “the Committee”) has played a significant role in addressing the serious problem of torture in health care settings. In particular, the Committee’s Concluding Observations and Recommendations under Article 19 of the Convention against Torture have been an important tool in this area. The Committee has used these means to remind States parties of their obligation to provide adequate health care for persons held in detention centers and prisons, to address abuses and poor conditions in mental health institutions and psychiatric facilities, and to denounce the practice of punishing or …

The U.N. Committee Against Torture And Eradication Of Torture In Health Care Settings, Claudio M. Grossman

Claudio M. Grossman

The Us Should Respect Venezuela’S Democracy, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

The United States’ Position On The Extraterritorial Application Of Human Rights Obligations: Now Is The Time For Change, Beth Van Schaack

International Law Studies

This article contends that in the upcoming Human Rights Committee proceedings, the U.S. should abandon the categorical argument that its human rights obligations do not apply extraterritorially in favor of a more nuanced approach that reflects the majority position reached by the range of human rights treaty bodies and courts as well as the legal framework applicable to our coalition partners and other allies. The U.S. failure to acknowledge limited, well-established, and principled exceptions to a strictly territorial application of its human rights obligations ultimately undermines the legitimacy of other, more efficacious, arguments at its disposal—such as its position on …

U.S. Immigration And Custom Enforcement’S New Directive On Segregation: Why We Need Further Protections (2014), John Marshall International Human Rights Clinic

UIC Law White Papers

This report addresses the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) September 2013 directive concerning the use of segregation and why it does not provide sufficient protection to detainees. It specifically addresses the changes the directive makes in the use of segregation, the identification of individuals with special vulnerabilities, the review process of detainees in segregation, and the reporting procedures required of detention facilities. This report examines previous attempts to implement immigrant detention standards and sheds light on current practices by detention facilities throughout the United States in relation to their use of solitary confinement. It recommends that ICE should strictly …

Cholera As A Grave Violation Of The Right To Water In Haiti (2014), Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak, Steven D. Schwinn, Beatrice Lindstrom

UIC Law White Papers

This report is submitted to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation concerning the United Nation’s responsibility in spreading cholera in Haiti as a violation of the right to water and sanitation. The submission discusses violations of the right to water, including the role of United Nations peacekeepers in introducing the virus to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. The report addresses the United Nations’ unwillingness to accept responsibility for its role in the outbreak and its failure to establish redress mechanisms for victims affected by the cholera epidemic. It further discusses the …

Academic Extremism Threatens Democratic Values (Commentary), Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Veritas vos liberabit, chanted the scholastics of yesteryear — "the truth will set you free." It's hard to see how that mantra could be echoed by latter-day counterparts in the academy. Consider the recent resolution by the American Studies Association that advocated an academic boycott of Israel. Its argument — that Israeli universities are complicit in state policies violating Palestinians' human rights — belies the truth: Israel has long been the most diverse, inclusive and tolerant of any Middle Eastern country.

Charting The Legal Geography Of Non-International Armed Conflict, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

This article examines the geographical reach of international humanitarian law (law of armed conflict), particularly during armed conflicts between States and non-State organized armed groups. The issue is operationally critical, since to the extent that IHL applies, practices which are lawful during armed conflicts, such as status-based targeting, may be employed. When IHL does not apply, human rights obligations shouldered by the State govern the conduct of its military operations. The article surveys the various approaches to the the legal geography of non-international armed conflict, arguing that an interpretation by which IHL is not geographically restricted is the most supportable.

Increased Franco-British Military Cooperation: The Impetus, Its Results, And The Impact On International Humanitarian Intervention, Eva Gramyk

San Diego International Law Journal

[T]his Article addresses the current legal framework of humanitarian intervention. Section III examines previous attempts at international military cooperation by the United Nations, NATO, EU, and bilateral arrangements, Section IV considers the scope and implementation of the Treaty between France and the UK. Finally, Section V analyzes the interplay of international law and the bilateral military treaty in recent international humanitarian interventions.

Trading Away Human Rights, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Olivier De Schutter

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Trade negotiators in Singapore recently failed to finalize a deal on the long-awaited Trans-Pacific Partnership; they will soon have another chance to complete what would be the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement. But, given serious concerns that the TPP will fail to consider important human-rights implications, that is no cause for celebration.

Remarks: The Tension Between Law And Politics: Can The Icc Navigate A Multi-Polar World?, Diane Orentlicher

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Autonomous Weapons And Human Responsibilities, Jack M. Beard

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Although remote-controlled robots flying over the Middle East and Central Asia now dominate reports on new military technologies, robots that are capable of detecting, identifying, and killing enemies on their own are quietly but steadily movingfrom the theoretical to the practical. The enormous difficulty in assigning responsibilities to humans and states for the actions ofthese machines grows with their increasing autonomy. These developments implicate serious legal, ethical, and societal concerns. This Article focuses on the accountability of states and underlying human responsibilities for autonomous weapons under International Humanitarian Law or the Law of Armed Conflict. After reviewing the evolution of …

Legal Phantoms In Cyberspace: The Problematic Status Of Information As A Weapon And A Target Under International Humanitarian Law, Jack M. Beard

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Reports of state-sponsored harmful cyber intrusions abound. The prevailing view among academics holds that if the effects or consequences of such intrusions are sufficiently damaging, international humanitarian law (IHL) should generally govern them-and recourse to armed force may also be justified against states responsible for these actions under the jus ad bellum. This Article argues, however, that there are serious problems and perils in relying on analogies with physical armed force to extend these legal regimes to most events in cyberspace. Armed conflict models applied to the use of information as a weapon and a target are instead likely to …

Interim Measures In Inter-State Proceedings Before The European Court Of Human Rights: Ukraine V. Russia, Stefan Kirchner

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Over the course of the year 2014, the situation in Ukraine has turned from a domestic political issue involving protests, killings, and the ouster of the former president, into a military confrontation with Russia. At the time of writing (August 2014), Russia has annexed Crimea and is supporting separatists, who are in a state of civil war against the Ukrainian state, in Eastern parts of the country. This conflict is ongoing and an unknown number of civilians have been killed, notably the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which is thought to have been shot down over the conflict …

Game Of Bombs: President Barack Obama’S Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, Jeffrey F. Addicott

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

One of President Barack Obama’s favorite solutions to reducing or halting armed conflict in the world centers around his often-stated desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons. While this simplistic formula for a more peaceful world has certainly been voiced by other occupants of the oval office, the world is, and always has been, an extremely dangerous place, and the machinations of competing spheres of power in a “Game of Thrones” will always exist in human history. Coupled with an aggressive Russia and China, the dangers associated with the new era of radical Islamic extremism rubricate the need to …

Detainee Rights And State Obligations: Charting The Shoals Facing The Royal Canadian Navy, Darin Reeves

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the question of Canadian domestic, and international, rights and obligations owed to individuals detained by Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy in a selection of contemporary naval operations. The thesis discusses the underlying lawful authority for these operations as well as the international law affecting the maritime environment. Next the thesis reviews extra-territorial extension of a State's jurisdiction and the rights and international and Canadian State obligations triggered when an individual is detained together with issues arising from breaches of these rights and obligations. Legal issues found in maritime operations are then analyzed in contrast to the …

Protecting Traditional Knowledge In International Intellectual Property Law: Imperatives For Protection And Choice Of Modalities, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 25 (2014), Tesh Dagne

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The need for protecting traditional knowledge (TK) has been acknowledged in discussion and negotiations under the umbrella of a number of inter-governmental organizations that deal with biodiversity, the environment, indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, food and agriculture, among others. It has, however, proved difficult to arrive at a consensus on the proper modality that can serve the needs and desires of Indigenous and Local Communities (ILCs) in their economic and cultural participation. The article examines the imperatives for the protection of TK and explores the modalities of TK protection at the international level for regulating the control of, access to …

A Scientific Approach To Intellectual Property And Health: Innovation, Access, And A Forgotten Corner Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 794 (2014), Adam Houston

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

For years, there has been vigorous debate over the relationship between intellectual property and health, especially in the context of pharmaceutical patents. Despite numerous attempts to strike a balance between innovation and access, however, few have looked to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for guidance. Article 27, and its further elaboration and codification under Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, explicitly address this balance by pairing the right of everyone “to share in scientific advancement and its benefits” with a similarly universal right of authors to “material interests resulting” from …