Digital Commons Network^™

The Emerging Jurisprudence Of The African Human Rights Court And The Protection Of Human Rights In Africa, John M. Mbaku

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

During most of the post-independence period, many African countries have either been unwilling or unable to protect human rights or relegated this important function to a small group of poorly funded but brave and courageous non-state actors. Most importantly, some African governments have either actively engaged in human rights violations or failed to bring to justice those who have committed atrocities against their fellow citizens. In the 1970s and 1980s, many African heads of state were more concerned with national sovereignty in an effort to hide the violation of human rights committed within their jurisdictions than participating in the building, …

Two Countries In Crisis: Man Camps And The Nightmare Of Non-Indigenous Criminal Jurisdiction In The United States And Canada, Justin E. Brooks

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or have been found murdered across the United States and Canada; these disappearances and killings are so frequent and widespread that they have become known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis (MMIW Crisis). Indigenous communities in both countries often lack the jurisdiction to prosecute violent crimes committed by non-Indigenous offenders against Indigenous victims on Indigenous land. Extractive industries—businesses that establish natural resource extraction projects—aggravate the problem by establishing temporary housing for large numbers of non-Indigenous, primarily male workers on or around Indigenous land (“man camps”). Violent crimes against Indigenous …

Bearing Witness: Testimony And Transitional Justice In The Aftermath Of Mass Violence, Stephen Cody, Eric Stover

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

The act of telling one’s story in a post-conflict setting—whether as a witness testifying in a criminal trial, recounting events before a truth commission, or speaking up at a community meeting—demands resolution and courage. This chapter explores the role testimony plays in transitional justice processes after mass violence. Psychological, social, and political factors, as well as the nature of the violence itself, influence witness testimony and memorialisation. Collective memories of violence evolve as societies pass through processes of social reconstruction and community reckoning. The chapter provides guidance to court investigators and researchers about the complexities of survivors’ testimonies and the …

Police-Generated Evidence In Bail Hearings: Generating Criminality And Mass Pretrial Incarceration In Canada, Jillian Rogin

Dalhousie Law Journal

Systemic racism in policing impacts many aspects of the criminal legal system including the system of judicial interim release. This paper traces the ways in which reliance on police-created evidence at bail hearings might contribute to mass pretrial incarceration in Canada which is disproportionately felt by Indigenous, Black, and marginalized people. The police synopsis and police-created criminal records are state knowledge created for state purposes. This state-created evidence in fact generates race and racialization; all of the structural inequalities built into the system of policing become relied on at bail hearings through police-created evidence which contributes to mass pretrial incarceration …

Philanthropic Justice: The Role Of Private Foundations In Transitional Justice Processes, Julia Emtseva

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent years, political transitions have become a major area of interest to private actors, including philanthropies. More and more philanthropic foundations have chosen to donate money to support transitional justice processes across the globe. However, philanthropies often take on not only the role of a funder but also the role of an active participant in transitional justice (TJ) mechanisms. They push for the building of long-lasting partnerships with state authorities and international organizations, and, sometimes, take over and administer certain transitional justice processes. As a result, philanthropic foundations wield considerable power in transitional justice, especially when the state cannot …

Relentless Atrocities: The Persecution Of Hazaras, Mehdi J. Hakimi

Michigan Journal of International Law

As one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, Hazaras are Farsi-speaking and mostly Shi’a Muslims in a predominantly Sunni Muslim country. They are also distinguishable by their Asiatic appearance. Throughout Afghanistan’s history, Hazaras have suffered considerably under different regimes, enduring recurring massacres, enslavement, and forced displacement. Despite Afghanistan’s accession to the Rome Statute in 2003, the plight of Hazaras has not improved. Indeed, the assaults on Hazaras have only intensified in recent years, impacting virtually every aspect of their lives.

This article argues that the recent and ongoing attacks against Hazaras constitute a crime against humanity. In particular, I …

Mental Illness And Criminal Justice, Belli, Kelsey

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

This paper assesses some of the critical issues relevant to the connection between the mental health and criminal justice systems. Throughout the entirety of this paper there will be a comparison between the Unites States, France, and the Netherlands. This article will examine the current statutes, case law, and public policies in place in the criminal justice and mental health systems. It will offer a comparison between the balance of needs of individuals suffering from mental health issues and the maintenance of public safety. The first section will look at the historical background of how individuals were found to be …

Human Rights, Trans Rights, Prisoners’ Rights: An International Comparison, Tom Butcher

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In this Note, I conduct an international comparison of the state of trans prisoners’ rights to explore how different national legal contexts impact the likelihood of achieving further liberation through appeals to human rights ideals. I examine the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Argentina, and Costa Rica and show the degree to which a human rights framework has been successful thus far in advancing trans prisoners’ rights. My analysis also indicates that the degree to which a human rights framework is likely to be successful in the future varies greatly between countries. In countries that are hesitant …

Aesthetics Of Slavery & Slave Trade Crimes, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Articles

In his insightful new book, Invisible Atrocities, Randle DeFalco examines the aesthetic biases of international criminal law (ICL). DeFalco astutely argues that ICL prioritizes punishing "horrific spectacles" of violence while ignoring less visible, attritive forms of violence that cause similar levels of harm and suffering, generally over longer periods of time. While ICL is selective in its preference for "horrific spectacles," even the spectacular violence has been rendered invisible in ICL when inconvenient factual evidence counters dominant narratives in international law.

One such dominant narrative is the successful abolition of slavery and the slave trade of the nineteenth and twentieth …

An Examination Of U.S. And U.K. Procedures Governing Sexual Misconduct Investigations In Universities, Marc Siegel

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note critiques the lack of a unified regulatory framework for addressing sexual misconduct in U.K. universities, contrasting it with the structured, albeit controversial, Title IX system in the U.S. It argues that the U.K.'s voluntary approach has led to inconsistent, unjust outcomes and advocates for the adoption of a comprehensive regulatory regime similar to Title IX to ensure fairness, accountability, and consistency in handling such cases.

Deterrence, Punishment, Or Retribution: American Criminal Prosecution Of Sayfullo Saipov And Intern, Madeline Epstein

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review (CICLR) Blog

On Halloween in 2017, Sayfullo Saipov drove a large truck into dozens of people on the cycling and pedestrian pathway near the West Side Highway in Manhattan, causing eight deaths and numerous injuries. Saipov was allegedly acting on behalf of the Islamic State (“ISIS”), and the Southern District of New York charged him with twenty-eight counts, including murder and attempted murder in aid of racketeering and provision of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, among other included charges. Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, was found guilty by the American jury on all counts during the guilt phase of …

Toxic Criminals: Prosecuting Individuals For Hazardous Waste Crimes Under The United States Resource Conservation And Recovery Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melissa Jarrell Ozymy

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) contains criminal provisions which allow prosecutors to seek substantial penalties when individuals commit hazardous waste crimes involving significant harm or culpable conduct. However, our empirical understanding of enforcement outcomes is limited. We used content analysis of 2,728 criminal prosecutions derived from U.S. EPA criminal investigations from 1983 to 2021 and examined all prosecutions of individual defendants for RCRA violations. Our results show that 222 prosecutions were adjudicated, with over $72.9 million in monetary penalties, 755 years of probation, and 451 years of incarceration levied at sentencing. Seventeen percent of prosecutions centered on …

One Treaty To Apply Them All? Defining Maritime Terrorism By Cross-References And Reservations: The Asean Region Example, Arron N. Honniball

International Law Studies

Defining terms will shape a State’s treaty obligations, the domestic legislation necessary, the availability of cooperative mechanisms, and norm diffusion. Maritime terrorism is an umbrella term referring to the piecemeal approach of treaties creating offenses for identified acts at sea. Further treaties cross-reference the offenses in a selection of global instruments to create related offenses. This includes financing of terrorism (Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICSFT)) and regional maritime terrorism (ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT)). All cross-referenced instruments shall apply to define ICFST or ACCT offenses unless a State excludes, by reservation, a cross-referenced instrument …

“Fundamental Fairness”: Finding A Civil Right To Counsel In International Human Rights Law, Meredith Elliott Hollman

University of Richmond Law Review

Every other Western democracy now recognizes a right to counsel in at least some kinds of civil cases, typically those involving basic human rights. The World Justice Project’s 2021 Rule of Law Index ranked the United States 126th of 139 countries for “People Can Access and Afford Civil Justice.” Within its regional and income categories, the United States was dead last. The United Nations and other international treaty bodies have urged the United States to improve access to justice by providing civil legal aid. How did we fall behind, and what can we learn from the rest of the world? …

Gender Violence As A Penalty Of Poverty, Deborah M. Weissman

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The matter of gender violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), has long been categorized as a particularly egregious crime. The consequences of IPV are profound and affect all members of the household, family members near and far, and the communities where they live. Gender violence impacts the national economy. Costs accrue to workplaces, health care institutions, and encumber local and state coffers. Survivors are deprived of income, property, and economic stability: conditions that often endure beyond periods of physical injuries. Offenders also experience economic hardship as a result of involvement with the legal system. They often face significant obstacles when …

Amicus Brief, David Patrick Paul Alton, Sam Brownback, Kelley E. Currie, Nury Turkel, Frank Wolf, Francesca Matozzo, Stephanie Barclay

Court Briefs

Exp. 2774/2022
Kanat, Omer and Others s/ Investigation of Crime

From the Introduction

China has committed numerous atrocities against the Uyghur people, whom the Chinese Communist Party views as a threat for their religiosity and distinct way of life. Uyghurs have been forcibly removed from their homes and put into “reeducation camps,” where they are tortured, forced into labor, and cut off from their families. Many Uyghurs do not survive their torture in the camps. Those who remain at home are forced to accept a government agent to live in their home to ensure they do not pray, read the …

Addressing The Principle And Challenges Of Enforcement And Prosecution Under Universal Jurisdiction: Charting New Pathways For International Justice, Uche Nnawulezi, Hilary Nwaechefu, Salim Bashir Magashi

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Remarkably, the principle of universal jurisdiction is increasingly gaining traction in the international justice system as a key aspect of the prosecution of crime globally. Driven primarily by efforts to combat crime, this paper examined the relevance of universal jurisdiction in order to determine its adequacy as a system of international justice. Contextually, the principle of universal jurisdiction emerged as a supplemental component of the international justice system. This paper adopts the doctrinal approach by identifying and analyzing the relevant provisions and challenges of universal jurisdiction. It argues that if regular enforcement is a goal of the emerging international justice …

An Anticolonial Dream Against The Disaffection And Dissonance: Teaching The (Other) International Law In India, Swati S. Parmar

Indonesian Journal of International Law

The States, self-defined as the civilised, clothed in the ‘refined’ urbane bourgeois created a modern cosmopolitan order at a civilizational scale. The remaining world was driven into a cultural subjection and classified by the ‘civilised’ into these fixated identities while their indigeneity and socio-cultural identity were marginalised. Projected itself as the cradle of intellect, Europe consciously crafted imperialism as a cultural reference for the rest of the world. The colonial encounters left imperial imprints on the peoples of these colonies, the consequences of which remain evident in the styles and pedagogies of teaching international law in the geographical South. Historical …

Cedaw Convention And Engendering Faculty Of Law's Curriculum Reinforcement: A Lesson Learnt From Indonesia, Iva Kasuma, Sulistyowati Irianto

Indonesian Journal of International Law

This research aims to describe the strategies used to eliminate discrimination against women through academic-based programs conducted in universities. This includes the International Law, a powerful reference for teaching material in legal education used to promote humanity. Presently, globalization of law is marked in the International Law-making process by delegates from various countries, which spreads to State parties through ratification with a significant impact on legal reform. A number of senior female professors have initiated the socialization and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Convention). This was conducted through the ratification …

The Impact Of The Rule Of Law On National Security In African Countries, Catherine Lena Kelly

Judicature International

No abstract provided.

Measuring Corruption As A Threat To International Security: An Emerging Indicator For Enhancement Of Global Corruption Governance, Sungyong Kang

Michigan Journal of International Law

The conceptual changes to international security after the end of the Cold War, and particularly those following the al-Qaeda attacks of 2001, clarified the symbiotic relationship between corruption and international security: Corruption destroys the social political environment required to create human security and to ensure safety from terrorist attacks, and national borders increasingly fail to restrain its negative consequences.

To achieve human security though policy intervention in domestic affairs, global corruption governance relies on numerical indicators that measure corruption. By evaluating states through public comparison, indicators pressure states to improve their domestic institutions and structures to align them with the …

Bearer Negotiable Instruments: Addressing A Financial Intelligence Gap And Identifying Criminogenic Weaknesses, Hollis B. Kegg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bearer Negotiable Instruments (BNI) are a long-standing category of financial instruments used to transfer large amounts of money in ways that may not be subject to regulation, reporting, tracking, review, or oversight. There is limited information available on BNIs, and no evidence that any studies have been undertaken on BNIs alone, much less reported. Increasingly, BNIs are being used for illegal purposes including money laundering. This study gathers information about their characteristics, nature, purpose, legal status, and numbers. It also focuses on the crime risks associated with BNIs, the crime opportunities they facilitate, and the criminal weaknesses in the financial …

Comparative Rights To Counsel And Access To Justice: The American And Brazilian Approaches And Realities, Fernanda Antunes Marques Junqueira, Flavio Da Costa Higa, Benjamin H. Barton

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Analisis Terhadap Penerapan Asas Formil Dan Materiil Pembentukan Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentang Penghapusan Kekerasan Seksual, Siti Sharhana Drajat

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Sexual violence in Indonesia has caused a public’s worry. The bill on the elimination of sexual violence (RUU PKS) is considered very important to be passed. Purpose of this article is to analyze the suitability of the principles in the RUU PKS with Indonesian act of Formulation of Laws and Regulation Number 12 of 2011 (UU P3). The method used in writing this article uses the normative legal research. Results of this study are formal principles in the anti sexual violence bill is appropriate with the UU P3 except the principle of openness. Likewise with the material principles in the …

Introduction: Looking And Listening, Seeing And Hearing, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

This issue of the Temple Journal of International and Comparative Law hosts a symposium about Randle DeFalco's cutting-edge book, Invisible Atrocities: The Aesthetic Biases of International Criminal Justice. In it, DeFalco glances at glimpses of the metastasis of mass atrocity. He sees these metastatic processes-these movements-as simultaneously fast and slow. By fast, he refers to obvious and instantly horrific acts of physical violence. These are massacres, attacks, pogroms, and wanton destruction. But DeFalco also discerns that mass violence implicates slower movements and less directly causal harms: these are famine, starvation, corruption, impoverishment, mental anguish, and aid interference.' The movements …

Of Looting, Land And Loss: The New International Law Of Takings, Gregory H. Fox, Noah B. Novogrodsky

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Power Shift: The Return Of The Uniting For Peace Resolution, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

In 2022, the United States dusted off the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution in order to obtain General Assembly condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was the first time in three decades that the Security Council and General Assembly had utilized the Uniting for Peace mechanism – a process designed to end-run a Security Council veto. Together with the General Assembly’s creation of the international investigative mechanism for Syria in 2016 over Russia’s objection, the use of the Uniting for Peace process to condemn Russia’s aggression represented a shift in power away from the Security Council and to …

The Role Of The Aba’S “Summits” In Facilitating Global Networks And International Cross-Border Legal Practice, Laurel Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This Article was written for a Symposium honoring recently-retired Professor Bob Lutz. It describes fourteen gatherings that were organized by either the ABA Section of International Law’s Transnational Legal Practice Committee or by the predecessor entities to the ABA Standing Committee on International Trade in Legal Services. Professor Lutz was a driving force behind these gatherings, which were held between 2004 and 2014, and were referred to by the organizers as “Summits.” This Article examines the impact of these Summits and explains why they played a critical role in helping establish global legal profession networks among U.S. legal profession stakeholders …

Aesthetics Of Perpetration And Perpetrators In International Criminal Trials, Shannon Fyfe

Scholarly Articles

In Invisible Atrocities: The Aesthetic Biases of International Criminal Justice, Randle DeFalco argues that aesthetic, rather than legal, considerations play a role in shaping our understanding of international crimes. He claims that international criminal justice is focused on atrocities that constitute the most horrific spectacles of violence—and largely ignores “aesthetically unfamiliar forms of mass harm causation – those that are slow, attritive, banal, and hence generally unspectacular in nature.” DeFalco makes a compelling case in two senses: descriptively, that we do in fact consider spectacular atrocities to be more worthy of international criminal prosecution, and also normatively, in that …

The Slippery Concept Of "Object And Purpose" In International Criminal Law, Patrick J. Keenan

American University International Law Review

In little more than twenty-five years, the field of international criminal law has grown from a small slice of public international law into a functioning system of international justice, complete with multiple juridical bodies and substantial scholarly attention. Building on the legacy of the Nuremberg Tribunals and drawing from international humanitarian law, human rights law, and domestic criminal law principles, international criminal law has become its own discipline. Creating any new field of law is a complicated endeavor; this is especially true when the field affects and is affected by so many politically sensitive issues. Throughout this doctrinal experiment, one …