Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Legal Black Hole: Hyper-Legality, Deferral, And Detention In Northeast Syria, Grace T. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the detention of suspected ISIS affiliates and their family members held in facilities administered by the Kurdish-led authorities in North-East Syria. Thousands of foreign nationals remain detained without trial, without repatriation, and in conditions widely criticized as inhumane. Existing scholarship and political discourse often describe these facilities as legal voids, limbo, or black holes where law has broken down or ceased to apply. This thesis challenges that characterization. Rather than existing outside the law, the facilities are governed through overlapping frameworks of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, counterterrorism security resolutions, and domestic laws. I argue …

The U.S. Tax Paradox, Doron Narotzki, Tamir Shanan, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Texas A&M Law Review

The U.S. federal tax system is a paradox. It rejects one of the most effective and widely used federal revenue tools while embracing one of the most inefficient and economically harmful taxes. U.S. policymakers dismiss proven solutions as politically unfeasible yet rely on a system that disproportionately burdens consumers and disrupts trade both domestically and internationally. This contradiction is not just irrational. It undermines the very principles of sound tax policy and economic stability.

This Article traces the historical roots of this paradox, from early American tax revolts to modern trade policies, exposing the irony of a nation that once …

Citizenship At Sea: A Comparative Perspective On Blue Justice In The Andaman Sea And The Mediterranean In The Context Of Climate Change, Emilio Cocco

Pace Environmental Law Review

Discourses of the ocean in the sociological and socio-legal world have, until recently, been approached from majoritarian, terrestrial, profane and nation-centric perspectives. These perspectives are embedded in legal and regulatory regimes to the detriment of Indigenous and marginalized maritime communities. Drawing on the blue turn in sociology and socio-legal scholarship, this Article, in comparing the experiences of the Moken people of the Andaman Sea with those of migrants, fishers, and island communities in the Mediterranean, exposes the violence of such narratives. Through a comparative analysis of maritime borders, marine protected areas, tourism, and fisheries regulation, the Article explores how governance …

Mass Resettlement Politics And The Future Of Hyper-Local Climate Migration Strategies, Sarah Rogerson

Pace Environmental Law Review

Climate change is requiring state and local governments to engage in short- and long-term strategic thinking and municipal planning. Critically, the movement of people from communities that have become uninhabitable due to climate change to other communities in more resilient areas (sometimes called “climate havens”) is a reality that most municipalities in the United States are not currently well-equipped to address. Experts predict as many as 1.2 billion climate-related migrants worldwide by 2050, with at least 93 million Americans expected to relocate to more habitable places by 2070. To put this into perspective, 93 million people is just under the …

Bibliographie, Poej, Pierre Vialle

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

Les Monarchies De La Péninsule Arabique : Conditions De La Survie, Ghassane Salamé

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

International Law Can't Get No Respect, Cindy G. Buys

ConLawNOW

This Essay addresses the recent trend in the U.S. Supreme Court of refusing to seriously engage with the United States’ commitments under international law. It argues this refusal to acknowledge the role of international law in U.S. law disregards the U.S. Constitution’s inclusion of treaties as part of the Supreme Law of the Land and the Court’s own long-standing position that “international law is part of our law.” This Essay uses two cases from the Court’s 2025 term, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado and Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe to illustrate the Court’s disregard of international law and highlights some …

Le Discours Politique De L'Élite Musulmane Traditionnelle Au Liban : 1943-1975, Hala Soubra

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

No abstract provided.

Between Shut It Off And Keep It On: The Legality Of Internet Shutdowns Under International Law, Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Internet shutdowns are on the surge across the globe, at least four dozen states-imposed internet shutdowns in 2024 alone, in armed conflicts and other situations. In some states where an authoritarian propensity or “digital sovereignty” reigns, internet shutdowns are being imposed to control political narratives during the conduct of hostilities. These states justify their actions using a “shut it off” argument, claiming that the internet is a luxury and further asserting that access to the internet may be overridden by national security or other justifications. On the other hand, there are states that advance open access to the

Internet shutdowns …

Lawfare’S New Frontier: International Commercial Arbitration In The Shadow Of Sanctions, Sophie Yue Zhao, Han-Wei Liu

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines how international commercial arbitration is being reshaped by economic statecraft through the lens of lawfare—the strategic use of law as a substitute for traditional coercive tools. Building on Orde Kittrie’s framework, it identifies two modalities of State-driven lawfare affecting arbitration. Instrumental lawfare operates where domestic legal measures displace arbitral authority, exemplified by Russia’s assertion of exclusive jurisdiction over sanctions-related disputes. Compliance-leverage lawfare, by contrast, does not bar arbitration outright but raises the costs and risks of participation, evident in restrictions on legal services and banking access that complicate representation and payment in arbitral proceedings. Beyond State action, …

Improving Case Management For Refugee Child Brides, Harper Kelly Esterle

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A significant number of forcibly displaced persons throughout the world are not only children, but children who are married. When these married minor refugees arrive in host countries, they are often met with concern, judgment, or a critical lack of understanding or regulated procedure for handling their immigration cases. Children are often forcibly separated from their partners and thus isolated from the only family they came with, or they are forced to undergo an extensive judicial review process that, by the time it is resolved, is no longer relevant as the married minors at issue have since reached the age …

Institutionalizing Protection Of Climate Migrants Through A Global Framework Convention On Climate-Induced Migration, Caroline Spencer

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Climate change poses an urgent global challenge, threatening to internally displace 216 million people across six regions by 2050. While it is difficult to predict the extent of crossborder migration, there is no question that climate change will drive cross-border migration. Human rights law and international climate change law require states to protect climate migrants’ human rights; however, the current international framework is inadequate and exhibits a significant protection gap. States possess an obligation under both international human rights law and climate change law to pursue adaptation measures that protect and restore affected human rights, including ensuring protection against refoulement. …

How Legal Systems Reflect Societal Views Of Nature, Devorah Corvo

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

Pre-Columbine Indigenous communities differed from European settlers in many ways. One of the most striking differences was the way each group viewed itself in relation to nature and wildlife. Indigenous communities generally did not see themselves as separate from the natural world, while European settlers often viewed themselves as distinct from it. In the United States today, many people care about the environment but are unsure how to protect it. By contrast, pre-Columbian Indigenous communities were so deeply connected to their surroundings that harm to wildlife would have been seen as harm to the community itself. By examining three pre-Columbian …

Invisible Empires: Transnational Illicit Trade & The Global Threat To Law And Justice, Víctor Hugo Guerra Hernández

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

Transnational illicit trade has evolved beyond the mere economic and individual concerns of public or private sectors isolated. It now poses a profound threat to the integrity of democratic institutions, the rule of law, and global justice systems. This article explores the intricate links between illicit international trade and transnational organized crime within the concepts of a postmodern State. The article demonstrates how these criminal and clandestine networks undermine state sovereignty, fuel corruption and international briberies, and erode public trust. By analyzing the legal, political, and socio-economic dimensions of illicit markets, from old fashioned contraband activities to modern trafficking of …

Algorithmic Law In Contemporary Brazil: From Cyber-Libertarianism To Constitutional Rights, Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

This article provides a reflection of Brazilian algorithmic law, exploring how law regulates algorithms by defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights in contemporary Brazil. Importantly, the concept of “algorithmic law” implies a normative idea, that is, that law should regulate algorithms, defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights. This study examines the ideological transformation of law and technology, as Brazilian society moved from a libertarian approach to a perspective of establishing protective legislation, regulation, and constitutional rights to technology users. It explains the ‘Civil Rights Framework for the Internet.’ the ‘General Data Protection Law,’ the legislative project of an Artificial Intelligence …

The Alien Enemies Act Of 1798, Andrew Kent

Fordham Law Review

For the first time since World War II—and for the first time ever outside a formally declared war—an American president has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport noncitizens. Enacted during the Quasi-War with France, the Act’s operative language remains largely unchanged today. In March 2025, President Donald J. Trump proclaimed that members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua present in the United States are “alien enemies,” asserting that their activities, allegedly coordinated with President Nicolás Maduro’s government, constitute an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” within the meaning of the statute. Litigation challenging the invocation of …

The Mirage Of Meta Pixel Code: Redefining Pii In The Era Of Generative Ai, Sophie Venter

Fordham Law Review

Data privacy laws are intended to put consumers in control of whether their identifying data can be sold and used for targeted advertising. However, these laws do not provide adequate protections in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI). This Note examines one way that existing privacy law permits companies to profit from selling data for targeted advertising without obtaining user consent: transferring video watching data in a pixel code. Some U.S. Courts of Appeals have determined that these data transfers do not sufficiently identify users and the videos they watched to constitute violations of user privacy. This has led …

Kosovo’S Strategic Missteps With International Law, Parker W. Remick, Robert Muharremi

Journal of Peace, Conflict, and Security Studies

This paper interrogates the principle of selective engagement with international law in the foreign policy of Kosovo, arguing that international law functions less as a neutral arbiter between states and more as a pliable instrument wielded in the pursuit of national objectives. Through a meticulous analysis of Kosovo’s post-2008 trajectory, the study unveils a pattern of selective engagement with international legal mechanisms highlighting both moments of strategic acumen and critical miscalculations. Despite possessing the legal attributes of statehood, Kosovo’s struggle for international legitimacy is hampered by a failure to fully exploit legal avenues, from multilateral treaty accession to litigation and …

Reconstructing The Enforcement Of The Code Of Ethics For General Elections In Indonesia: A Prophetic Law Perspective, Fradhana Putra Disantara, Ratih Listyana Chandra, Aan Efendi, Iwan Rachmad Soetijono, Souad Ahmed Ezzerouali

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

This research examines the reconstruction of ethical code enforcement for election organizers in Indonesia through the perspective of prophetic law, arguing that ethical adjudication should extend beyond procedural compliance by integrating humanization, liberation, and transcendence as normative foundations of substantive justice. Employing doctrinal legal research, the study uses statutory, conceptual, case, and comparative approaches. It compares Indonesia's regulatory framework with the ethical governance systems of India and the United States to identify institutional models that strengthen integrity while respecting distinct constitutional traditions. The findings demonstrate that ethical adjudication differs fundamentally from administrative law: it governs the forum internum of election …

National Security Law, Ogra Cadet, Geoffrey Goodale, Laurence R. Hull, Renee Latour, Barbara Linney, Jonathan Meyer, Guy C. Quinlan, Minji "Mj" Shin, Christopher Vallandingham, Bonnie C. Weinstein

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Trade, Jordan C. Kahn, Dharmendra N. Choudhary, Joe A. Spraragen, Geoffrey A. Goodale, Kavita Mohan, Theodore P. Brackemyre, Paul Devamithran, Laura El-Sabaawi, Jake Frischknecht, Nicole Hager, Elizabeth Lee, Claire Webster

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Animal Law, Tala Dibenedetto, Edie Bowles, Paula Cardoso, Daina Bray, Rajesh K. Reddy, Regina Paulose

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Export Controls And Economic Sanctions, John Boscariol, J. Patrick Briscoe, Sylvia Costelloe, John Kabealo, Oksana Migitko, Mary Mikhaeel, Timothy O'Toole, Mollie Sitkowski, Christopher Stagg, Lawrence Ward

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Customs Law, Adrienne Braumiller, David J. Glynn, Geoffrey Goodale, Jennifer Horvath, Harold Jackson, George Tuttle Iii, Dana Watts

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights, Daniel L. Appelman, John Regis Coogan, Cyreka Jacobs, Cailen Labarge, Corinne E. Lewis, Kerry Mclean, Hind Merabet, Linda S. Murnane, Thomas A. O'Keefe, Sara Sandford, Wendy Taube, James Taylor, Constance Z. Wagner

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

International Family Law, Robert G. Spector, Melissa A. Kucinski

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Russia/Eurasia, Kimberly D. Reed, Timur Bondaryev, Denis Karimov, Anton Rekun, Tetiana Storozhuk

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Europe, Duncan Gorst, Luigi Pavanello, Willem Den Hertog, Jonathan A. Mcgowan

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Africa, Anne Bodley, Zachary Combs, Vanessa Suarez Galvés, Lucie Guégan, Charlotte Favaro, Sara Frazão, Laverne Lewis Gaskins, Tyler Holmes, Lincon Majogo, Myriam Mossi, Julien Naginski, Galindo Aliyo Ruhiyyah, Ricardo Alves Silva, Tania Tossa, Carneil Wilson, Chitalu Yalobi, José Diogo Sampaio

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Women's Interest Network, Julie King, Christine Korper, Abiola Afolayan, Marie Elena Angulo, Michela Cocchi, Angela M. Gallerizzo, Dolly Hernandez, Margaret Kamm, Dana Katz, Kendra Muller, Sierra Paola, Vanessa Romero Rocha, Aina Serret, Sandhya Taneja, Catherine Van Kampen

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.