Digital Commons Network^™

It's Complicated: The Challenge Of Prosecuting Tncs For Criminal Activity Under International Law, Jena Martin

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This essay aims to tackle an increasingly thorny and relevant issue: what do you do if a Transnational Corporation (TNC) commits a crime? The question raises a number of challenges, both philosophically and practically. First, what does it mean to prosecute an organization? Although there are some limited examples (the United States’ prosecution of accounting firm Arthur Andersen being among the most note-worthy), we have relatively little precedence regarding what this would entail; how exactly do you put a corporation on trial? Second, practically speaking, where do you hold the trial? This challenge is magnified by the fact that, by …

Forging Taiwan’S Legal Identity, Margaret K. Lewis

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The legal system in Taiwan is undergoing a transformation. Over a hundred years since the founding of the Republic of China and over thirty years since the end of martial law on Taiwan, a new legal identity is being forged. Public criticism of “dinosaur” judges and esoteric debates among law-trained elites have galvanized efforts to create a more inclusive discussion surrounding legal reforms. Taiwan is facing the challenge of moving from dinosaurs to dynamism. This Article argues that transparency, clarity, and participation both are animating principles of the current reform debate and are beginning to emerge as characteristics of Taiwan’s …

Legal Education In The United States: Moving Toward More Practical Experience, Hon. Sandra R. Klein

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

In The Right Direction, Family Diversity In The Inter-American System Of Human Rights, Macarena Sáez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article argues that the Inter-American System of Human Rights has contributed to a family system that embraces gender equality and non-heterosexual and gender non-conforming families. It argues that the system had, from its inception, an expansive idea of the family that included associations outside marriage. This was the basis for a robust development of the concepts of equality and non-discrimination by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Although the IACtHR has only decided a handful of cases related to the non-heterosexual family, its rich case law on equality and the right to …

The Necessity Of Human Rights Legal Protections In Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty Reform, Christine Galvagna

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) reform is a transnational legal movement aimed at facilitating more rapid law enforcement access to cross-border data, while also preventing violations of state sovereignty through the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction over data. Efforts primarily focus on the United States (U.S.) mutual legal assistance (MLA) process, as it is exceedingly slow and convoluted, but also unavoidable, given that most major tech companies have their bases in the U.S. Recently proposed or enacted legal instruments include the U.S. CLOUD Act, the European Union’s (EU) e-Evidence proposal, Council of Europe’s forthcoming Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, …

Opportunities And Challenges Seeking Accountability For War Crimes In Palestine Under The International Criminal Court's Complementarity Regime, Thomas Obel Hansen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently conducting a preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine, involving allegations against Israeli authorities and military personnel as well as what the Prosecutor refers to as “Palestinian armed groups.” The preliminary examination creates a framework for advancing accountability norms in the Palestinian context and globally for international crimes committed by States with significant resources. However, the road to accountability is anything but straightforward. Indeed, several challenges relating both to the applicable legal framework and broader policy issues, could delay—or potentially even undermine—the accountability process, if not properly understood and managed. One particularly important …

Funding Mental Healthcare In The Wake Of Deinstitutionalization: How The United States And The United Kingdom Diverged In Mental Health Policy After Deinstitutionalization, And What We Can Learn From Their Differing Approaches To Funding Mental Healthcare, Catherine Ryan Gawron

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Deinstitutionalization was a mass movement away from institutional-focused mental healthcare in the mid-to-late twentieth century, which changed the dynamic of mental healthcare service provision in both the United States and United Kingdom. This Note analyzes the history and effects of deinstitutionalization on subsequent mental healthcare policy in those two nations, highlighting the key role of funding in shaping the success of mental health policy and programming.

The focus on mental healthcare funding structures provides a lens to analyze the differences in financial funding, resource allocation, infrastructure development of community-based or alternative care services, and government and social support of mental …

Improving The Odds: Strengthening The Prospects For Accountability In The Syrian Conflict By Regulating The Marketplace For Information On Atrocity Crimes, Kaitlin Owens

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Moral Minefields Of Human Rights Advocacy In The Global South, Sandra L. Babcock

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

“There’S Voices In The Night Trying To Be Heard”: The Potential Impact Of The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities On Domestic Mental Disability Law, Michael L. Perlin, Naomi M. Weinstein

Brooklyn Law Review

This article carefully examines, through a therapeutic jurisprudence framework, the likely impact of the United States’ ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on U.S. society’s sanist attitudes towards persons with mental disabilities. Although the United Nations ratified the CRPD—the most significant historical development in the recognition of the human rights of persons with mental disabilities— in 2008, the United States has yet to ratify it. In this article, we consider whether the CRPD, if ratified, is likely to finally extinguish the toxic stench of sanism that permeates all levels of society. We …

The Criminalization Of Cyberbullying Among Children And Youth, Liat Franco, Khalid Ghanayim

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

The Criminalization of Cyberbullying Among Children and Youth

Between Politics And Morality: Hans Kelsen's Contributions To The Changing Notion Of International Criminal Responsibility, Jason Kropsky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The pure theory of law analyzes the legal normative basis of jurisprudence. According to its author, Hans Kelsen (1881-1973), the study of law as a science can only arise once “alien elements” associated with sociology, politics, ethics and psychology are extracted from strict legal cognition. But what happens when the international sphere of law that possesses the special quality of holding state officials accountable for core international crimes requires intrusion by extra-legal sources? Does Kelsen’s structural edifice collapse? Or is it reconstituted? In examining how international criminal responsibility, a test case for Kelsen’s positive law claims derives its legitimacy, this …

Leveling The Playing Field: Advancing Free Legal Aid For The Family Law Claims Of Ethiopian Women, Maereg Tewoldebirhan Alemayehu

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Feminist Expansion Of The Prohibition Of Torture: Towards A Post-Liberal International Human Rights Law?, Natalie R. Davidson

Cornell International Law Journal

International human rights law (IHRL), discourse, and activism have been the subject of well-known critiques. Two categories of critique are closely linked to the liberal ideology underlying the human rights project, and limit the project’s ability to further profound change. The “critique of justification” exposes the field’s formalist argumentative practices, which struggle to justify proposed normative solutions. The “critique of representation” highlights the narrow ways in which injustice and violence are portrayed, denounced and addressed in international human rights discourse. These weaknesses are all the more troubling in the contemporary populist authoritarian era. Yet contrary to many critical scholars who …

Criminalizing The Other: Exploring The Impact Of The Netherlands' Adaptation Of Prosecutorial Guidelines On Sentencing Disparities, Alia Nahra

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research explores the impact of the 2015 institution of prosecution guidelines in the Netherlands. Prior to this switch, the Openbaar Ministerie operated using a punishment point system, which provided a mathematical formula with which to decide sanctions. Though the motivation of this change was to make the overall system more efficient and enable individual prosecutors to consider each case in a customizable and more equitable form, this research demonstrates that the change has served instead as a perpetuator (and in some cases, facilitator) of the persistent ethnic and gender biases already at work in the Netherlands. The social and …

Living Illegal: Being Lgbt In Russia, Jeremy M. Tsuchitani-Watson

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) rights around the world continue a wave of progress, it is hard to imagine that the advances are being erased at the same pace. It is even harder to imagine this happening in a democratic society in a developed country. Finally, it is even more astounding that this is happening in a country that is considered a super power. However, it is happening, and has been happening since 2006.

For many reasons, the LGBTQ community has become a target of the Russian government; both the federal government and localized governments. …

Supplying Slaves: The Disguise Of Greener Pastures: An Exploratory Study Of Human Trafficking In Uganda, Kyla Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to evaluate labor migration in Uganda with a specific focus on the role labor recruitment agencies play in transporting people and how certain circumstances such as lack of knowledge of safe migration can leave people vulnerable to human trafficking. Labor externalization is beneficial specifically for developing countries because it provides jobs for the robust and available labor in these countries. Nonetheless, when reports appear that young girls are stranded abroad in the middle east after being taken there for work, labor recruitment agencies are first to receive the blame. Although Uganda issued a ban …

Cashless Societies And The Rise Of The Independent Cryptocurrencies: How Governments Can Use Privacy Laws To Compete With Independent Cryptocurrencies, Matla Garcia Chavolla

Pace International Law Review

Many individuals (including governments) envision living in a future world where physical currency is a thing of the past. Many countries have made great strides in their efforts to go cashless. At the same time, there is increasing awareness among citizens of the decreasing amount of privacy in their lives. The potential hazards cashless societies pose to financial privacy may incentivize citizens to hold some of their money in independent cryptocurrencies. This article argues that in order for governments in cashless societies to keep firm control over their money supply, they should enact stronger privacy law protections for its citizens …

International Criminal Responsibility In Kosovo: Establishment Of The International Criminal Court – De Lege Lata, De Lege Ferenda, Mujë Ukaj, Qendresa Jasharaj

International Journal on Responsibility

The Special Court of Kosovo (Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office) with headquarters in The Hague, is one of the biggest problems Kosovo faced since the declaration of independence. This topic has been treated very little in scientific terms, while in the media it is written very much, calling it harmful to Kosovo, and even had opinions that it is a racist court since the same will initially only judge the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) members for alleged war crimes in Kosovo. The Special Court of Kosovo is presented as a sui generis case in the practice of international …

Human Rights In International Criminal Proceedings—The Impact Of The Judgment Of The Kosovo Specialist Chambers Of 26 April 2017, Göran Sluiter

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

By their very nature, international criminal tribunals will in their operation impact individual rights, such as the right to liberty and the right to a fair trial. Without a constitution and without a history in developing due process norms, international criminal tribunals have to provide for instant incorporation of human rights in their respective criminal proceedings.

However, the circumstances under which international criminal tribunals are established are often complex, while at the same time their creation is considered to be a matter of urgency. As a result, there may not always be sufficient attention to human rights law’s position and …

Common Law Evidence And The Common Law Of Human Rights: Towards A Harmonic Convergence?, John D. Jackson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article considers the impact which European Human Rights Law has made upon the common law rules of evidence with reference to the approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has adopted towards exclusionary rules of evidence. Particular attention will be given to rules that have been developed by the ECtHR in relation to the right to counsel during police questioning (the so-called “Salduz” doctrine) and the right to examine witnesses (the so-called “sole or decisive” evidence rule). The Article argues that the effect of these rules has encouraged common law judges to engage more holistically with the effect …

Cost-Benefit Analysis And Human Rights, William J. Aceves

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Article considers whether cost-benefit analysis can provide the human rights movement with the answers it seeks. It offers an instrumentalist and empirical approach to complement the normative arguments that are most often used by the human rights movement. If human rights could be fully monetized, states could consider the full range of benefits that arise from protecting rights and the costs that occur when rights are violated. This approach could provide states with a more accurate methodology for making decisions that affect human rights. In fact, protecting human rights may prove to be costeffective, particularly when second order …

Protecting Due Process During Terrorism Adjudications: Redefining "Crimes Against Humanity" And Eliminating The Doctrine Of Complimentary Jurisdiction In Favor Of The International Criminal Court, Daniel N. Clay

Arkansas Law Review

“When we sit in judgment we are holding ourselves out as people—as the kind of a community—that are worthy of this task. It is the seriousness, the gravity, of the act of judgment which gives rise to our legitimate and laudable emphasis on procedural fairness and substantive accuracy in criminal procedure. But these things focus on the defendant—the one judged. I am concerned about us who would presume to sit in judgment. Who are we that we should do this? Whether we intend to do so or not, we answer this question in part through the way we conduct our …

Bridging The Gap Between Daca And The Dream: The Bridge Act, What It Means, And Why It Matters, Ellen E. Findley

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

No abstract provided.

Precarious Childhood: Law And Its (Ir)Relevance In The Digital Lives Of Children, Liat Franco, Shulamit Almog

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

This research provides insight to the way children perceive law and its relevance in the digital realm drawing on in- depth semi-structured interviews with sixty-six eighth- and ninth-grade students from three different Israeli middle schools. According to the findings, children experience the digital world as a precarious environment. Most children interviewed where unaware of or misunderstood relevant legal norms designed to protect web users in general and children in particular. Moreover, children experienced a lack of legal or other appropriate responses to severe incidents of cyberbullying that they experienced firsthand or witnessed as bystanders. Even though children are considered by …

Applicability Of International Humanitarian Law To Non-State Actors, Dr. Waseem Ahmad Qureshi

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

Applicability of International Humanitarian Law to Non-State Actors

The Parochial Uses Of Universal Jurisdiction, Eugene Kontorovich

Notre Dame Law Review

This Article presents a new account of the function served by universal jurisdiction (UJ). This doctrine—one of the most diplomatically controversial in modern international law— allows states to prosecute certain grave international crimes, even committed abroad, and with no connection to the prosecuting state.

This Article shows that, far from being used as a tool of global policing, the UJ doctrine is, in practice, used to protect the parochial domestic interests of the prosecuting state. In showing this, this Article reconciles several paradoxes related to UJ—its broad and longstanding normative acceptance by states contrasted with its extremely rare application; and …

Conflict Minerals And Crimes Against Humanity In The Drc: How To Hold Individual Corporate Officers Criminally Liable, Emily Mankowski

Notre Dame Law Review

International criminal law is concerned with holding perpetrators responsible for the gravest crimes committed by humanity. The larger and more heinous the crime, however, the more complicated the prosecution. Identifying the relevant actors, producing sufficient evidence to impose liability, and bringing criminals to justice is a challenging endeavor. This complex process becomes even more daunting when factoring in complicit actors. This Note discusses the different legal mechanisms to hold individual corporate officers criminally liable for complicity in committing crimes against humanity and other human rights atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) as a result of their participation …

International Criminal Court Comes Of Age, Nancy Amoury Combs

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

18 U.S.C. § 3553(A)’S Undervalued Sentencing Command: Providing A Federal Criminal Defendant With Rehabilitation, Training, And Treatment In “The Most Effective Manner”, Erica Zunkel

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The vast majority of federal criminal defendants are sentenced to prison, and non-incarceration sentences have become vanishingly small. During the sentencing process, federal district court judges are required to consider what sentence will provide the defendant with necessary rehabilitation and treatment in the most effective manner pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)(d). Courts regularly undervalue, ignore, or even violate this statutory command. Some courts seem to believe that the Bureau of Prisons can provide adequate rehabilitation and treatment and do not explain how this squares with what the statute requires. Other courts barely engage with the issue. Only a minority …