Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking International Armed Conflict: Legal Challenges In The Age Of Hybrid Warfare, Oleksandr Havryshuk, Roman Hryshchenko

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The binary classification of armed conflicts under international humanitarian law (IHL) — distinguishing international armed conflicts (IACs) from non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) — was forged in the aftermath of World War II and increasingly fails to capture the realities of twenty-first century warfare. Hybrid tactics, cyber operations, the proliferation of private military companies (PMCs), the expanding role of non-state actors, and the near-disappearance of formal declarations of war have eroded the analytical utility of the existing framework, generating legal uncertainty and weakening protections for affected populations. This Article critically examines the conceptual foundations of IAC as set out in Common …

International Commitments Of Japan’S Prefectures With Foreign States: Empirical Patterns, Authority, And Legal Nature, Yuhei Matsuyama

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Under international law, sovereign states are the primary subjects of rights and obligations and possess the authority to conclude treaties. Domestic constitutions typically allocate foreign affairs powers to national governments. Nonetheless, subnational governments—including prefectures—regularly engage in international activities. In some federal systems, constituent units are expressly authorized by their constitutions to conclude international agreements. By contrast, the Constitution of Japan vests foreign affairs authority exclusively in the national executive and is silent on the authority of prefectural governments. This Article uncovers and analyzes approximately 180 previously unexamined international commitments concluded by Japanese prefectural governments with foreign states, identified through information …

The Law And Policy Of Gender Provisions In Multilateral And Regional Trade Governance, Maria Panezi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Trade is neither gender-neutral in its design nor in its outcomes. This Article offers a bird's-eye view of the law and policy of gender provisions in multilateral and regional trade governance, examines the conceptual boundaries of incorporating gender into trade policy, and evaluates legal and policy approaches that can make trade more responsive to the asymmetries that disproportionately affect women. Using Canada as a case study, the Article examines one of the most comprehensive national frameworks for mainstreaming gender in trade, including the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) methodology and the inclusion of dedicated gender and trade chapters in several …

Navigating The Legal Waters Of Privatized Commodities And Human Rights: An Exploration Of The Tension Between Water As A Human Right And Water As Investment Property Under International Law, Ella Capen

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This Note examines the clash between domestic law and international law within the context of Chile’s 2022 modification to the 1981 Water Code as the country transitions from treating water as a privatized commodity to water as a public good. Chile’s 1981 Water Code emerged against the backdrop of a neoliberal economic regime and privatization scheme enabled by the United States and enforced by dictator Augusto Pinochet. This Note reveals the potential difficulties in unraveling established economic and legal foundations, and the conflicts between bilateral investment treaties and local legislation that mutually govern property rights. By examining Chile’s domestic Law …

Necessary Biosafety Precautions For Patented Gmos: Ramifications Of Inconsistent Parties Between The Cartagena Protocol And Trips Agreement, Lauren Clements

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMOs”) compose a class of potentially patentable biotechnology that are prominent in international markets. Developed countries like the United States, function as leading producers of these patented GMOs and therefore play a significant role in their development and transnational export. Minimum protections for these forms of biotechnology are outlined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”), which permits the patenting of GMOs that ultimately enter the stream of international commerce. Notwithstanding the potential risks GMOs present to the environment, public health, and the economy, the TRIPS Agreement fails to address any form …

Nanosecond Policies: Comparing Us And Chinese Approaches To High-Frequency Trading Regulation, Bilal Laghari

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

High frequency trading has transformed global financial markets, introducing both efficiency gains and significant regulatory concerns. This Note analyzes the divergent approaches of the United States and China in regulating high frequency trading, focusing on how each system addresses issues of market manipulation, information asymmetry, and systemic risk. It contends that the United States’ reliance on outdated and indirect regulatory mechanisms, such as Regulation NMS, has failed to keep pace with technological advancements. In contrast, China’s more recent and targeted regulatory framework provides clearer guidance and stronger oversight of high frequency trading practices. This Note concludes that a hybrid approach, …

Green Technology And International Patents: Incentivizing Innovation Or Blocking Access?, Matteo Rizzi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As the global climate crisis intensifies, the transition to clean energy technologies has become an urgent priority for the world's largest carbon dioxide emitters: China, the United States, and India. This Note examines how patent law can serve as a critical instrument in accelerating that transition. The patent system’s core quid pro quo grants inventors exclusive rights in exchange for public disclosure, creating powerful incentives for innovation. Yet the law’s failure to require active use of patented technologies has enabled a range of anticompetitive behaviors, including patent trolling, patent warehousing, and the accumulation of dormant patent portfolios, that allow proprietary …

Colliding Interests: Solving The Space Debris Crisis Through Us-China Cooperation, Grace E. Mannion

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As human activity in outer space accelerates, the accumulation of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) presents an increasingly urgent threat to global infrastructure, economic stability, and the future of space exploration. This Note examines the regulatory and geopolitical challenges underlying the space debris crisis, with particular attention to the fragmented nature of existing international legal frameworks. Current regimes, including the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention, establish broad principles of cooperation and liability but fail to meaningfully address the rapid growth of orbital debris driven by both state and commercial actors. Focusing on the United States and …

A Systematic Review Of Restorative Justice In Criminal Contexts, Sigifredo Castell Britton

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Restorative justice has gained growing attention within criminal justice reform as a practical alternative to approaches centered only on punishment. It emphasizes accountability, dialogue, and community reintegration, offering a different way to understand how change in behavior takes place. This systematic review examined quantitative evidence from 34 studies, selected from an initial pool of 112 records identified through databases such as Google Scholar, ProQuest, JSTOR, and institutional repositories. The studies assessed a range of interventions, including victim-offender mediation, diversion programs, community conferencing, and in-prison initiatives, which allowed comparison across different settings and populations. Across these studies, 79.4% reported statistically significant …

Home Is Not Always Where The Heart Is: Examining The Inadequacy Of Legal Measures In The Deportation Of American Intercountry Adoptees, Katie X. Kaessinger, Esq.

San Diego International Law Journal

Despite entering the United States legally as children through intercountry adoption, thousands of American adoptees face deportation as adults because their parents failed to finalize their citizenship. Many of these adoptees have no meaningful linguistic, cultural, or familiar ties to their birth countries, and most have lived in the United States practically their entire lives. This Article explores the legal implications regarding the deportation of intercountry adoptees. More specifically, this Article argues that the deportation of intercountry adoptees reflects a grave systemic failure that violates international human rights law, rather than a mere shortcoming of domestic immigration policy.

Consulting various …

Film, Television, And Artificial Intelligence: Ensuring The Role Of Screenwriters In Anticipation Of Generative Artificial Intelligence’S Increasing Capabilities, Rachel Johnson

San Diego International Law Journal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) currently is one of most critical topics discussed across industries. AI technology, such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), looms over people employed in creative fields who view it as a threat to their livelihoods. Legislative and judicial law must grapple with the complex legal issues GAI poses. In the entertainment realm, employees in professions such as Hollywood’s film industry have found ways to secure their present and near future against AI-encroachment.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a labor union covering the screenwriters of television and film, coordinated the second longest labor strike in Hollywood’s …

How States Can React To The “Summer Of Flooding,” Increase Flood Insurance Coverage, And Improve Flood Resiliency, Perry S. Warren, Esq., Joseph P. Keller, Esq.

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Summer 2025 was the United States’ “summer of flooding,” as shown by four one-in-1,000-year rainfall events that occurred during a single week in July. Because flood damage is not covered under a standard homeowners, renters, or commercial insurance policy, many individuals and businesses affected by these storms will face difficulties repairing their property unless they purchased flood insurance. As flood risks increase due to climate change, flood insurance will become increasingly unaffordable unless governments intervene.

In 2024, Pennsylvania became the first and only state that established a Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force. The Task Force issued nine recommendations calculated …

Back To Intent: Revamping California’S Flagship Environmental Legislation And Tackling The Rise Of The “Super-Commuter”, Jordan Q. Davis

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The passage of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in 1970 has long been considered a watershed moment in the evolution of government participation in environmental issues. In the years since, CEQA has played a pivotal role in protecting Californians’ access to the beautiful nature offered by the Golden State. However, the very regulation that has been repeatedly relied upon to breathe clean air and drink clean water may very well be an instrument upon which Californians could return to smog-ridden skies. In this regard, CEQA’s biggest vulnerability may come from a most unexpected place: its strength.

The tools by …

Unlocking Green Innovation: Navigating Trade Secret Law In The Quest For Sustainable Solutions, Jacob Wright

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment explores the tension between trade secret protections and the global demand for climate-related technologies, arguing that a more balanced approach is necessary to align intellectual property law with the public interest. By examining the limits of existing legal frameworks, such as the DTSA, this analysis will highlight how these laws prioritize proprietary interests over environmental needs. It will also propose regulatory strategies that could help bridge this gap, such as expanding compulsory licensing frameworks, implementing public-private partnerships, and introducing public interest exceptions specifically tailored to clean energy technologies. Ultimately, this comment aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation …

The Future Judicial Organization Of The Republic Of Djibouti, Ahmed Ouazzani

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article examines the future judicial organization of the Republic of Djibouti after independence. It identifies the provisional characteristics of the existing judicial infrastructure, including the plurality of jurisdictions, the role of non-professional judges, procedural transgressions, and linguistic issues. The article then discusses the reforms required to modernize the judicial system and presents the projected structure of Djibouti's justice system at the first instance, appellate, and supreme levels.

Colloquia And Seminars: Reports And Reflections, Saïd Ihrai, Brahim Rachidi, Mamoun Lahbabi

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This record brings together several reports and reflections published in the colloquia and seminars section of the issue. It includes a discussion of the Global System of Trade Preferences and commercial cooperation among Islamic and developing countries; a report on the inter-university and international colloquium “Toward What New World Order?”; reflections on international meetings devoted to Keynes, Schumpeter, economic theory, and policy; and a report on a World Health Organization workshop-seminar held in Lyon. Taken together, these contributions document contemporary debates on international economic relations, development, trade cooperation, economic thought, health systems, and public policy.

Moroccan Public Enterprises In Land Transport: Presentation Of Hassan El Alami's Doctoral Thesis, Mohamed Benhmidou

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This note presents Hassan El Alami's doctoral thesis on Moroccan public enterprises in land transport. It emphasizes the importance of the subject for understanding public enterprises in general and transport enterprises in particular. The contribution highlights the legal, socio-political, and institutional questions raised by public enterprise management and reform, and shows how the study contributes to debates on the role of the state in economic and social development.

Marginal-Cost Pricing In Public Road Transport Enterprises: A New Method, El Mostafa Bensalem

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article examines marginal-cost pricing as a method for setting tariffs in public road transport enterprises. It contrasts traditional pricing based on average accounting cost with a modern approach designed to improve efficiency and equity in public tariffs. The article discusses the economic foundations of marginal-cost pricing, its relevance for scarce resources and public services, and the difficulties involved in applying it to transport enterprises.

Information Technology In Morocco, Mohammed Bedhri

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article surveys the state of information technology in Morocco and situates it within broader debates on technological dependence and development. It asks whether developing countries can build their own capacities in computing or whether they remain dependent on imported technologies designed for different economic and social contexts. The article highlights the stakes of computerization for administration, economic management, security, and development strategy.

Presentation Of The 1983 Finance Law, Youssef Tahiri

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article presents the main features of Morocco's 1983 Finance Law. It places the law within the difficult economic context of the early 1980s, marked by budgetary constraints, external imbalances, public debt, and the need for adjustment. The article discusses how the Finance Law frames state intervention, expenditure, taxation, and financing choices, while reflecting the tensions between economic recovery, fiscal stabilization, and development priorities.

The Problem Of Decision-Making In Energy Choices: The Case Of Developing Countries, Brahim Rachidi

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article explores the problem of decision-making in energy choices in developing countries. It argues that conventional economic calculation and standard efficiency criteria are often inadequate in the energy sector, where choices have long-term, strategic, social, environmental, and technological consequences. The author analyzes the criteria that guide energy-sector decisions, the difficulty of combining them, and the dilemma created by the relationship between energy and environment. The paper also highlights the limits of irreversible energy choices and the risks of technological dependence, calling for a more comprehensive approach to energy planning in developing economies.

Review Of The Book Public International Law By Dr. Abdelkader El Kadiri, Mohamed Bennani

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This review presents Dr. Abdelkader El Kadiri's book on public international law. The reviewer situates the work within Moroccan legal education and highlights its usefulness for students and researchers in international relations and international law. The review notes that the book covers key aspects of public international law, including the principles, sources, and institutions of the international legal order, and reflects the needs of university curricula following the reform of legal studies. It emphasizes the contribution of the work as a reference tool for understanding contemporary international legal issues.

Report On The Specialized Study Days On Parliamentary Experience And Legislative Practice In Morocco: Faculty Of Law, Rabat, May 24–26, 1984, Mohamed Moatassim

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This report presents and discusses the specialized study days devoted to parliamentary experience and legislative practice in Morocco, held at the Faculty of Law in Rabat from May 24 to 26, 1984. The author summarizes the central questions raised during the meeting, including the assessment of the Moroccan parliament, the relationship between politics and law, the limits between public and private law, and the role of legal and social sciences in analyzing legislative institutions. The report reviews the diversity of contributions and debates, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary reflection on parliamentary practice in the Moroccan context.

Lies Begin At Conception: Crisis Pregnancy Centers And The Right To Deceive, Abigail Gainer

Brooklyn Law Review

Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are faith-based, free pregnancy care facilities designed to attract vulnerable pregnant individuals, especially those who may be considering abortion. Through the use of deceptive practices, CPCs, which far outnumber abortion clinics, are able to intercept pregnant people seeking care and discourage or prevent them from receiving abortion care. Pro-life legal groups aggressively wage legal battles on states who seek to curb CPC-propagated deception. In 2018, one of these groups achieved a victory for CPCs in NIFLA v. Becerra, where the Supreme Court held that California’s regulations requiring CPCs to inform clients about state-sponsored abortion services and …

Political, Legal & Ethical Implications Of The United Nations Resolution 1441 & Its Resulting Iraq War, Anika Elyse Segall

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes the political, legal, & ethical implications of the United Nations Resolution 1441 & its resulting Iraq War. The central question of this paper is answered in these sections: 1. Politics: Is it politically convincing (whom did it convince and not convince) to invade Iraq?  2. Law: Is it legally convincing (which body of law) to invade Iraq? 3. Political Ethics: How has this informed how the US has conducted foreign policy and war-making in the Middle East since 2003?

Litter Law, Sean Lyness

Brooklyn Law Review

The problem of litter—and the efforts Americans have taken to eradicate it—has largely been a footnote in the story of environmental law. But litter has never been a small issue, both in terms of the magnitude of the problem and the legal system’s attempts to address it. Every state in the country and thousands of municipalities have laws on litter. Few areas of law are so ubiquitous. I call this body of law “litter law.” This Article is the first piece of legal scholarship to comprehensively examine litter law. How did the thousands of laws regulating litter come to be? …

Technology And Development In Morocco, Mohamed Germouni

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article examines the relationship between technology and development in Morocco. It discusses the role of technological choices in shaping industrialization, productivity, and economic growth. The paper emphasizes that technology is not a neutral factor, but a strategic component of development policy that must be adapted to national priorities, institutional capacities, and social needs. It also highlights the importance of coherent technological policy for long-term development.

Some Aspects Of The Budgetary Problem In Relation To Development: The Case Of Morocco, Fathallah Oualalou

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article examines selected aspects of the budgetary problem in relation to development, with a focus on Morocco. It presents the budget as both an instrument of economic policy and a reflection of the dominant development strategy. The paper reviews successive phases of Moroccan budgetary policy from independence to the late 1970s, linking them to planning, stabilization, public investment, and the use of economic surplus. It highlights the budget's role in shaping growth priorities and development choices.

Investment Financing Policy Within The Framework Of Moroccan Planning, Abdellatif Ghissasi

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This paper presents the main features of investment financing policy within the framework of Moroccan planning. It emphasizes the structural gap faced by developing countries between large economic needs and limited available resources. The article discusses the need to mobilize internal and external resources, organize investment priorities, and align financing mechanisms with the objectives of economic and social development. It also highlights the importance of adapting financing policy to national and international constraints.

The Role Of The Public Sector In Development And Planning, Ismail-Sabri Abdalla

Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management)

This article examines the role of the public sector in development and planning. It argues that state ownership alone does not automatically solve development problems, but it can reveal the political nature of economic decision-making and the limits of market forces. The paper analyzes how public enterprises, planning choices, and state intervention may contribute to investment, social priorities, and structural change, while also depending on broader political objectives and social relations.