International Law Commons^™

Preventing And Countering The Financing Of Terrorism Within The Roman Catholic Church, Ryan J. Pulkrabek

Ryan J Pulkrabek

The Holy See/Vatican City State has taken vast measures toward international compliance with Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism laws since 2010. The HS/VCS submitted its original AML/CFT law to a MONEYVAL review. The key takeaway from the MONEVYAL assessment was that the Vatican has come a long way in a short period of time. Most of the deficiencies will be ironed out with continued communication with MONEYVAL, trial and error of enforcing Laws NN. CLXVI and XVIII, and continued efforts toward compliance with other international counter-terrorism conventions. Notably, Law No. CLXVI was passed after MONEYVAL’s November visit; thus, Law No. …

The Case-Law Of The European Court Of Human Rights On The Immunity Of States, Theodor Jr Schilling

Theodor JR Schilling

Invoking State immunity in court proceedings is a way for a State to prevent judicial scrutiny of its responsibility for its actions. Such scrutiny, however, is the main raison d'être at least of those human rights regimes that provide for a supervision of States' compliance with human rights. It would therefore come as no surprise if human rights jurisprudence, especially the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights would prove to be a challenge to State immunity. However, it is not, or, at most, in a roundabout way.

Artavia Murillo V. Costa Rica: The Inter-American Court On Human Rights’ Promotion Of Non-Existent Human Rights Obligations To Authorize Artificial Reproductive Technologies, Ligia M. De Jesus

Ligia M. De Jesus

In Artavia Murillo v. Costa Rica, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights examined the question of whether Costa Rica may, under the American Convention on Human Rights, protect human embryos from destruction by banning in vitro fertilization (IVF) in its jurisdiction. The case provoked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' first debate on the existence of international human rights obligations to authorize and fund artificial reproductive technologies as well as its first interpretation on the right to life from conception, established in Article 4(1) of the American Convention. In the judgment, issued over one year ago, the Inter-American court held …

A Pro-Choice Reading Of A Pro-Life Treaty: The Inter-American Court On Human Rights’ Distorted Interpretation Of The American Convention On Human Rights In Artavia V. Costa Rica, Ligia M. De Jesus

Ligia M. De Jesus

In Artavia, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights’ first decision on embryonic life and artificial procreation, where the Court held that – at least before implantation – the human embryo is not a person entitled to human rights protection under the American Convention, while defining the term “conception” to occur at implantation, not at fertilization. The Court also read Article 4(1)’s phrase “in general, from the moment of conception” to mean that only gradual or incremental protection should be given to prenatal life, depending on the unborn child’s physical stage of development. In addition, it held that “personal decisions” – …

Australian Plain Packaging Law, International Litigations And Regulatory Chilling Effect, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Introduction of plain packaging law by Australia in 2012 was met with strong opposition from transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). While advocates of the law see it as a logical step in governmental efforts to curb tobacco use and improve public health in Australia, TTCs claim that the new law is scientifically unsound, overly intrusive and that it infringes a number of international law provisions relating to trademark and property protection. Some TTCs, either directly or indirectly,have decided to test the Australian measure before international tribunals. Although, these challenges are connectedwith interests held by TTCs in Australia, they should be seen …

Trick Or Treaty? The Australian Debate Over The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta), Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

The secretive 2011Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – known in short by the catchy acronym ACTA – is a controversial trade pact designed to provide for stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights. The preamble to the treaty reads like pulp fiction – it raises moral panics about piracy, counterfeiting, organised crime, and border security. The agreement contains provisions on civil remedies and criminal offences; copyright law and trademark law; the regulation of the digital environment; and border measures. Memorably, Susan Sell called the international treaty a TRIPS Double-Plus Agreement, because its obligations far exceed those of the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement …

The Use Of Drones In Targeted Killings, Federico Sperotto

Federico Sperotto

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Drones In Targeted Killing Operations, Federico Sperotto

Federico Sperotto

No abstract provided.

Innovation, Intellectual Property And Development Narratives In Africa, Jeremy De Beer

Jeremy de Beer

No abstract provided.

Beyond The National Resource Privilege: Towards An International Court Of The Environment, Fabian Schuppert

Fabian Schuppert

No abstract provided.

The Environmentally Conscious Skies: Did The European Union’S Game Of Brinksmanship Lead To A Viable Global Plan For Emissions Trading In Aviation?, Darren Prum, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze

Darren A. Prum

Effective January 1, 2012, the European Union (EU) instituted the first emissions trading scheme (ETS) for aviation which affected the domestic and international commercial airline industry flying into and out of the EU. The EU established the ETS to counter the global aviation sector’s role in releasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; however, such movement was met with heavy opposition by foreign countries, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), various commercial airlines and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA). This paper analyzes the legality of the EU’s unilateral ETS approach with respect to the commercial airline industry, examines the subsequent …

Set Up For Abduction And Extortion By The Irs: Does The Reporting Of Interest Paid On U.S. Bank Deposits Undermine The Government's Obligation To Avoid Instigating Terrorism By Foreign Criminal Gangs And Drug Cartels?, Darren Prum, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The Internal Revenue Service recently overturned 90 years of United States foreign and tax policy by finalizing and codifying its efforts to report interest income earned at domestic banks for accounts held by nonresident aliens. While the IRS felt its need to collect the data and revenue outweighs concerns raised against the proposal, the rule change has broad ramifications in the areas of tax, commerce, international policy and law, and the war against transnational criminal organizations and terrorism. This article argues that the rule change has the potential to wreak havoc on a fragile economic recovery by leading to a …

Reform Of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Lessons From International Uniform Law, Joshua D H Karton

Joshua Karton

This article argues that significant improvements in the quality and consistency of decision-making in investor-state arbitration can be achieved without taking such drastic (and possibly unachievable) steps as creating a global appellate body or standing international investment court, or enacting a new treaty that codifies the substantive obligations of international investment law for all signatory states. The article draws on the experience of the international uniform law movement to suggest realistic and achievable steps that could nevertheless be effective.

Although investor-state arbitration and uniform law are not entirely analogous, they do share some important similarities. In particular, they share the …

International Arbitration Culture And Global Governance, Joshua Karton

Joshua Karton

Academics increasingly characterize international commercial arbitration (ICA) as a form of global governance. However, this literature rarely discusses why ICA should come to provide truly global governance, as opposed to being simply an atomized form of governance derivative of national court litigation — more neutral, more widely enforceable, perhaps faster and cheaper, but essentially the same adjudicative exercise in a different venue. For ICA to constitute global governance, as opposed to merely disconnected resolutions of individual cross-border disputes according to national laws, there are at least two prerequisites. First, legal rules must be formulated at the global level and apply …

Enforcement In A Regime Complex, Sergio Puig

Sergio Puig

Today’s international business environment is fundamentally different than that of fifty years ago. Traditional trade meant selling into one nation goods that were made in another; now trade is mostly about making things in multiple countries and selling them everywhere. Yet the two main branches of public international law that address international business—international trade law and international investment law—have their providence and continue to be viewed as two discrete, separate systems. Through case studies, this Article explores how trade and investment are converging, and the resulting difficulties governments and private interests face when international rules are enforced. The tasks of …

El Caso Pratt & Whitney Vs. Malev Hungarian Airlines: ¿Se Trató Realmente De Una Compraventa Internacional?, Jorge Adame Goddard

Jorge Adame Goddard

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of New Corporate Social Responsibility Regimes In China And India, Shruti Rana, Afra Afsharipour

Faculty Scholarship

In an era of financial crises, widening income disparities, and environmental and other calamities linked to corporations, calls for greater corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) are increasing rapidly around the world. Though CSR efforts have generally been viewed as voluntary actions undertaken by corporations, a new CSR model is emerging in China and India. In a marked departure from CSR as it is known in the United States and as it has been developing through global norms, China and India are moving towards mandatory, not voluntary, CSR regimes. They are doing so not only in a time of great global economic …

Immunity Or Regulation?: Antinomies Of Religious Freedom, Peter G. Danchin, Saba Mahmood

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Mutual Non-Denial Principle, China's Interests, And Taiwan's Expansion Of International Participation, Wei-Chin Lee

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

The United States, China, And Freedom Of Navigation In The South China Sea, James W. Houck, Nicole M. Anderson

Journal Articles

The need for a uniform understanding of international norms regarding freedom of navigation is increasingly important as more States develop capacity to act in the international maritime realm. Nowhere is the issue of freedom of navigation more contentious, with more potential to spark wider conflict, than in the South China Sea (SCS). Both the United States and China profess an interest in the free navigation of commercial vessels in the region. Beyond commercial shipping, however, the two nations disagree on the important issue of freedom of navigation for military vessels. The United States believes all nations have wide latitude under …