Transnational Law Commons^™

Sexual Slavery As A War Crime: A Reform Proposal, Alessandro Storchi

Michigan Journal of International Law

For the first time in the history of international criminal law, the ICC Elements of Crimes included a statutory definition of sexual slavery as a war crime and as a crime against humanity. Such definition is derived from, and in fact almost identical to, the definition of enslavement in the same text. In July 2019, that language for the first time was adopted and applied in the conviction of general Bosco Ntaganda, the first ever conviction for sexual slavery as a war crime and as a crime against humanity at the ICC, as part of the situation in the Democratic …

The Case For A Climate-Smart Update Of The Africa Mining Vision, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Karan Bhulwaka, Kojo Busia

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The 2009 Africa Mining Vision (AMV) provides guidance for the industrialization of African countries by leveraging their mining sector. However, the global context has changed since its adoption. As a result, it does not include guidance on how governments should embrace the climate change agenda as an opportunity for better and further industrialization, deeper linkages, and sustainable development.

There are many ways to look at the implications of international climate change policy for Africa, including through the increased extraction of minerals needed in clean energy application and the greening of mines. The localization of global value chains – induced by …

Fighting Human Trafficking And Exploitation Through The Power Of Local Policy And Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Abby Torrice

Community Engagement Student Work

While the United States has made great strides since 2000 to combat human trafficking federally, there is still much to be done. This capstone project provides a comprehensive understanding of key terms related to human trafficking. These terms are then used to provide context to the reality of the issue of human trafficking and exploitation in our world today, and specifically the United States. Although human trafficking legislation has made swift advances at the federal level since 2000 and states have followed suit in creating their own policies, local municipalities and communities have an immense amount of power in creating …

Hak Ahli Waris Berkewarganegaraan Asing Terhadap Harta Warisan Berupa Tanah Hak Milik Dari Pewaris Berkewarganegaraan Indonesia, Clarinta Trovani

Indonesian Notary

Pengaturan mengenai hak milik atas tanah diatur dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 5 tahun 1960 tentang Peraturan Dasar Pokok-Pokok Agraria, dimana Pada Pasal 20 UUPA dikatakan bahwa Hak Milik atas Tanah dapat beralih dan dialihkan kepada pihak lain dengan beberapa cara, salah satunya karena warisan. Keadaan ini dapat menimbulkan permasalahan jika salah satu ahli waris berkewarganegaraan Asing dengan harta warisan yang berupa tanah hak milik, karena pada prinsipnya menurut UUPA dimana dinyatakan bahwa hanya Warga Negara Indonesia yang dapat mempunyai hak milik. Berkaitan dengan hal tersebut, adapun permasalahan yang diangkat dalam penelitian ini adalah aturan mengenai kepemilikan hak milik bagi warga negara …

Foreign Cyber Interference In Elections, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

In the 2020 U.S. elections, Russia authorized and conducted influence operations designed to support former President Trump, although it did not attempt to alter any technical aspect of the voting process. Russia was not alone. Iran mounted a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut Trump’s reelection prospects, while other foreign actors–like Lebanese Hizballah, Cuba, and Venezuela–also tried to influence the election. Interestingly, China did not conduct operations designed to alter the outcome, although it did consider doing so. The phenomenon of election meddling, however, extends well beyond the United States to such countries as Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, …

European Union Food Law Update, Nicole Coutrelis

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On March 31, 2006, the European Commission published Council Regulation (EC) No. 510/2006 On the Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs. This new regulation repealed Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2081/92 On the Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs mainly to bring Community law into conformity with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and the findings of a recent WTO panel. Under the new Regulation, persons in third countries (non-European Union members) are entitled to address applications for the protection of geographic names and statements of objection …

Beastly Bureaucracy' Animal Traceability, Identification And Labeling In Eu Law, Bernd M.J. Van Der Meulen, Annelies A. Freriks

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This contribution discusses animal traceability, identification and labeling requirements in European Union (EU) law. The requirements are lex specialis to more general requirements in EU food law. The aim is to set out this body of EU law and provide some understanding regarding its background. Along with the article by Margaret Rosso Grossman, it enables the reader to compare the EU system to the United States system.

Comments To The Draft Working Group Iii Workplan, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, International Institute For Environment And Development, International Institute For Sustainable Development

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Transparency For Whom? Grounding Land Investment Transparency In The Needs Of Local Actors, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Transparency is often seen as a means of improving governance and accountability of investment, but its potential to do so is hindered by vague definitions and failures to focus on the needs of key local actors.

In this new report focusing on agribusiness, forestry, and renewable energy projects (“land investments”), CCSI grounds transparency in the needs of project-affected communities and other local actors. Transparency efforts that seek to inform and empower communities can also help governments, companies, and other actors to more effectively manage operational risk linked to social conflict.

Troublingly, the report finds that:

• Disclosures around land investments continue …

Corporate Complicity In International Criminal Law: Potential Responsibility Of European Arms Dealers For Crimes Committed In Yemen, Marina Aksenova

Washington International Law Journal

This article examines the question of corporate complicity within the framework of international criminal law and, more specifically, at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It does so by referencing a communication to the ICC filed by several non-governmental organizations, inviting the prosecutor to examine potential criminal responsibility of several European corporate officials who are knowingly supplying weapons to the United Arab Emirates/Saudi-led coalition currently engaged in a military offensive in Yemen. This submission raises an important legal question of whether the ICC’s Rome Statute provides for the possibility to hold corporate officials accountable in cases of complicity in gross human …

Should The European Union Fix, Leave Or Kill The Energy Charter Treaty?, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In the early 1990s, the European Economic Community – the predecessor of the European Union (EU) – spearheaded an initiative to promote international cooperation in the energy sector, particularly with post-Soviet States in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Out of this process the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was born in 1994. Going much beyond international cooperation, the treaty allows foreign investors in the energy sector to sue their host States in international arbitral tribunals and claim monetary compensation when policy measures and other State action affect their interests.

Fast-forward to 2021. With 135 known cases initiated to date, the ECT’s …

World Peace And Gender Equality: Addressing Un Security Council Resolution 1325’S Weaknesses, Elizabeth Griffiths, Sara Jarman, Eric Talbot Jensen

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The year 2020 marks the twentieth anniversary of the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (“UNSCR”) 1325, the most important moment in the United Nations’ efforts to achieve world peace through gender equality. Over the past several decades, the international community has strengthened its focus on gender, including the relationship between gender and international peace and security. National governments and the United Nations have taken historic steps to elevate the role of women in governance and peacebuilding. The passage of UNSCR 1325 in 2000 foreshadowed what many hoped would be a transformational shift in international law and politics. However, …

Resolutions Without Resolve: Turning Away From Un Security Council Resolutions To Address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, Emma K. Macfarlane

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In 2008, the United Nations first recognized rape as a war crime with the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1820. Since then, the fight against conflict-related sexual violence has become a frequent subject of Security Council Resolutions. But what, if anything, has changed? Wartime sexual violence is still prevalent today and shows no signs of slowing down. This Note argues that Security Council Resolutions are not an effective method to prevent conflict-related sexual violence. The procedural weaknesses in passing Security Council Resolutions and the structure of the Security Council itself may do more harm than good to the efforts …

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2010. This update primarily analyzes the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm.

The History And Future Of Genetically Modified Crops: Frankenfoods, Superweeds, And The Developing World, Brooke Glass-O'Shea

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In a 1992 letter to the New York Times, a man named Paul Lewis referred to genetically modified (GM) crops as "Frankenfood," and wryly suggested it might be "time to gather the villagers, light some torches and head to the castle." Little did Lewis know that his neologism would become the rallying cry for activists around the world protesting the dangers of genetic engineering. The environmental activist group Greenpeace made great use of the "Frankenfood" epithet in their anti-GM campaigns of the 1990s, though they have since backed away from the word and the hardline stance it represents. But genetically …

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2008. This update primarily analyzes regulatory and policy developments by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm. As this is the first Canadian update to appear in the Journal of Food Law & Policy, it is appropriate to include a brief summary of the Canadian regulatory framework for food. The regulatory framework provides the necessary context to identify trends driving recent changes in Canadian food law and policy.

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The European Union (EU) is facing major institutional challenges because Ireland rejected the Treaty of Lisbon last summer. The Treaty of Lisbon aims at modifying the institutional framework of the EU; more precisely, it aims in part at modifying the interaction of the various EU regulatory bodies with one another, as well as the interaction between the EU regulatory bodies and the national ones. The next few months will be decisive in determining whether the Treaty of Lisbon will finally replace the Treaty of Nice.

A Meating Of The Minds: Possible Pitfalls And Benefits Of Certified Organic Livestock Production And The Prodigious Potential Of Brazil, Adam Schlosser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Certified organic food represents the fastest growing segment of food production in both the United States and throughout the entire world. This article examines the issues and opportunities facing both large and small-scale farmers who wish to engage in organic livestock production. Organic regulations cover everything involved in production, starting with the organic certification process and concluding with slaughter and the subsequent shipping and sale of the end organic product. The final section of this article addresses the unique ability of Brazil - described alternatively as "the world's warehouse" and the "world's [future] source of food" - to increase the …

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2009. This update primarily analyzes the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm. In 2009, regulatory and policy developments continue to be dominated by the 2008 Listeriosis outbreak in ready-to-eat, deli meats. Other noted activities include Canada's ongoing efforts to minimize the effects of infectious diseases related to meat production, Canada's request for a WTO panel to consider the effects of American Country of Origin Labelling, and an initiative …

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Lieibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In June 2009, citizens of the European Union elected a new European Parliament. Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were reelected while some were not. The majority party is the EPP, the Group of the European People's Party, and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats has the second majority of the seats. The elections were still governed by the Treaty of Nice, since up until very recently, the future of the Treaty of Lisbon was still uncertain. The Treaty of Lisbon was up until now rejected by a few Member States, who, by their reluctance …