Digital Commons Network^™

Rights On Paper, Violations In Practice: Israel, The U.S., And The Failure To Enforce Judicial Pro¬Tections And International Obligations In Cases Of Arbitrary Detentions, Anjali Narayanan

Human Rights Brief

Muhammad Srur, a 34-year-old father, en­dured small cells, restricted movement, minimal family visits, and limited access to legal counsel when detained by Israel. He was beaten during arrest and interrogation, and the food, medical care, and living conditions fell below international standards. Half a world away, Abu Zubaydah remains in extreme isolation at Guantánamo Bay, following secret CIA detention where he faced prolonged confinement, sleep deprivation, stress positions, and other forms of torture. These men will never meet. Yet, their situations reflect the same legal reality: both have been placed into categories designed to fall outside the full protections of …

Blurring The Lines: A Reflection On The ‘Relaxation’ Of The Organization Requirement Of Article 7(2)(A) Of The Rome Statute Since The Situation In Kenya Decisions, Leonardo Helman

Human Rights Brief

International criminal liability for Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) was born during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg to address the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime against civilians throughout the Third Reich. Since the post-World War II tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, the definition of CAH has undergone several evolutionary stages to better reflect the circumstances in which atrocities have been committed. The ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda substantially adjusted the definition of CAH to fit the context of these conflicts. However, this evolution of CAH in the ad hoc cases did not yield a definition applicable in …

The Venice Commission’S Impact Regarding The Fight With Democratic Backsliding And Rule Of Law Recovery: Reflections Of The Polish Example, Adam Bodnar

Human Rights Brief

The Article examines the role of the Venice Commission — the expert body affiliated with the Council of Europe — in addressing democratic backsliding and supporting the restoration of the rule of law, using Poland as a case study. It places the Venice Commission within the broader system of European constitutional governance and discusses its role when Poland moved, after 2015, towards the system of illiberal democracy. Opinions of the Venice Commission were significant in the evaluation of reforms affecting the Polish Constitutional Court, judicial independence, the prosecution service, and surveillance powers. They had impact on policies of the European …

Beyond Borders: Transnational Repression As A System Of Authoritarian Control In Russia, Kazakhstan, And Kyrgyzstan, Jasmine D. Cameron

Human Rights Brief

This Article examines transnational repression, state-sponsored persecution of citizens, human rights defenders, journalists, members of diaspora, and critical voices located outside physical borders, as a systemic tool of political control employed by Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Based on analysis of legislation, published reports, UN Special Rapporteur findings, and case files, this Article provides three case studies that demonstrate different stages of an escalating trend towards transnational repression systems. From Kyrgyzstan, where the government has started to develop and implement harmful practices to persecute its citizens abroad, to a more established system in Kazakhstan, where numerous incidents of transnational repression showed …

Visible At Last: Legal Recognition Of Children Born Of War (Cbow) And The Case Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Ajna Jusić, Gordana Subotić Ph.D.

Human Rights Brief

Children born of war (CBOW) — those conceived through conflict-related sexual violence— have long remained stigmatized, marginalized, and largely invisible in law and policy. Drawing on international scholarship and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s post-conflict experience, this Article examines the social, political, and legal mechanisms that sustain CBOW exclusion and traces the emergence of CBOW as a recognized category within contemporary international legal frameworks. Using Bosnia and Herzegovina as a case study, the Article argues that patriarchal norms, fragmented governance and legal structures, and decades of institutional silence have profoundly shaped CBOW lived experiences and access to rights. Furthermore, the Article assesses …

B.T. And B.K.Cs. V. Hungary: Separating Roma Children From Their Mothers Before Births, Sara Apostol

Human Rights Brief

In June of 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in favor of a Roma mother, B.T., and her son after bringing a lawsuit against the Hungarian government for wrongfully violating their right to family life. The Hungarian government ordered the placement of B.T.’s unborn child into State care based on insufficient and dubious evidence used to justify such state action. This case focused on the prejudiced system that places Roma children into the State’s guardianship immediately after birth without evidence of imminent harm or other valid justification. Rather, it is based on the child’s ethnic and socio-economic …

T.H. V. The Czech Republic: A Step Forward Or Back For Lgbtq+ Rights And Discourse In Europe With The First Openly Non-Binary Applicant?, Katherine Olsson

Human Rights Brief

On December 9, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a final judgment in the case of T.H. v. The Czech Republic.  The case concerned a non-binary individual, T.H., who was assigned male at birth and, since May 2012, had repeatedly petitioned to change their sex/gender marker and personal numerical code on their national identity card.  Because the Czech system does not provide for the option of a neutral gender marker, T.H. petitioned to have their registered gender changed to female.

Reparations Delayed, Not Denied: The Inter-American System Confronts Chile’S Dictatorship-Era Violations, Maggie Titus

Human Rights Brief

On September 24, 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) submitted Gustavo Guillermo Ramírez Calderón v. Chile to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), seeking reparations and justice for victims of forced disappearances during Chile’s military dictatorship. According to the application, Chile has failed to fully comply with the IACtHR’s recommendations from Merits Report No. 154/23.

How The Sui Generis Principle Has Been Historically Abused In International Law: From The British To The Israelis, Ahmad Hamdan

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

For over a century, powerful actors have used a single Latin phrase, sui generis, as a shield to evade accountability under international law. Meaning “of its own kind,” this theory dictates that a situation is so unique that ordinary rules should not apply. In international law, sui generis typically refers to situations or entities that cannot easily be categorized under existing legal frameworks or conventions. Its use indicates that there is no directly applicable precedent and that, as a result, no legal principles apply; instead, the situation itself will set the precedent. While some researchers argue that …

“Durable Solutions” Revisited: Italy’S Train-To-Hire Pathway Under The Cutro Decree As Alternative Refugee Protection, Tim Streit

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

If the average person were asked to imagine a refugee, they might conjure the image of a migrant fleeing war or persecution, showing up at the border of a new country with a few belongings in hand, and asking not to be sent back to the dangerous place from which they came. In fact, it is not only the hypothetical “average person” who pictures this scenario. The international refugee protection system, developed after World War II through the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention) and its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees …

Corporate Responsibility In Business Dealings With War Criminals, Michael "Mac" Richards

Human Rights Brief

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a decades-long conflict has displaced over fourteen million people, killed over six million, and led to the highest rates of sexual violence among any other nation in the world. The DRC is the source of some of the most valuable resources used in the production of consumer electronics: gold, copper, and cobalt. Militia groups, such as Movement Du 23 Mars (M23) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), are taking advantage of the nation’s vast mineral reserves by seizing control of local mining operations and exporting the minerals through neighboring Rwanda. These minerals …

Migration In Context And Law: Global Displacement And The U.S. Immigration System, Saya Khandar, Dominic Brunaccioni, Samantha Johnson, Nisa Manzar, Lindsey Nye, Alexis Stephens, Sherise Tracey

Human Rights Brief

On February 20, 2026, the Human Rights Brief at American University Washington College of Law (WCL) held its annual symposium, titled “Migration in Context and Law: Global Displacement and the U.S. Immigration System.” This symposium was curated in response to intensified immigration operations across the United States (U.S.), which have resulted in significant harm to individuals and families nationwide. The discussion centered on the humanity of immigration and explored how global displacement, armed conflict, economic instability, and climate change continue to shape migration. Organizers brought together legal scholars, practitioners, and advocates to examine current immigration policies in the context of …

Stability And Accountability In Nagorno-Karabakh And The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, Callum Heath

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

On August 8, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia were hosted at the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump to announce the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations (the Agreement) in a Joint Declaration. The Agreement sets out to end the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Armenian ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia. While the White House hails the Agreement as a “historic peace deal,” the reality is more …

Sharenting And Child Rights In The Age Of Platform Capitalism, Christiana Essie Sagay, Unyime Abasi Odong

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The boundaries between private life, work, and visibility have become increasingly blurred in the digital age. Nowhere is this more evident than in the phenomenon of sharenting, a portmanteau of “sharing” and “parenting,” where parents routinely post images, videos, and personal narratives of their children on social media platforms. While often framed as acts of familial affection or digital memory-keeping, sharenting implicates commercial content creation and positions children as de facto participants in global digital labor markets. In this context, childhood increasingly unfolds within algorithmic and economic contexts that transcend domestic boundaries and challenge conventional legal norms, protections, and understandings …

Foreword: Turning Points And Paradigm Shifts In International Law, Michael P. Scharf, Lucas R. Van Dyke

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Vol. 58 (2026)

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Seizing Responsibility: International Investment Law's Shifting Understanding Of Jurisdiction In Occupied And Annexed Territory, Lena Raxter

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Following Russia’s 2014 occupation and annexation of Crimea, Ukraine pursued the unusual strategy of encouraging its nationals to file investment claims against Russia under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine. The resulting “Crimea arbitrations” consistently upheld jurisdiction, reasoning that Russia’s effective control over Crimea resulted in the assumption of legal obligations in the region. Many scholars, however, contend that this conclusion was incorrect because the disputes were outside the respective tribunals’ jurisdiction. The resulting fragmentation begs the question: how can international investment law reconcile these competing positions?

In the interest of promoting stability and consistency in international …

Mapping The Invisible: A Topology Of De Facto Amnesties And The Shifting Landscape Of Accountability, Francois Naaman

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This article introduces the concept of de facto amnesty as a distinct category within transitional justice. While international law has increasingly restricted de jure amnesties, it has paid less attention to informal or structural practices that foreclose accountability in fact. Such practices, whether extensions of statutory amnesties, tacit political bargains, or systemic enforcement failures, have often been tolerated, and at times legitimized, by international actors. Without a clear framework, they risk being conflated either with impunity or with legitimate reconciliatory measures. The paper proposes a working definition of de facto amnesty and a five-step diagnostic method for its identification. It …

The Rise Of Accountability Mechanisms: The Next Wave Of International Law Justice?, Jacqueline R. Mcallister

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Since 2011, the United Nations (UN) has increasingly deployed investigative mechanisms—or commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, and other ad hoc investigations—to not just monitor and document egregious human rights abuses, but also to collect, preserve, and analyze evidence in order to lay the groundwork for future accountability. Importantly, these “accountability mechanisms” tend to deploy in places where the International Criminal Court (ICC) lacks jurisdiction or national courts are unwilling or unable to conduct prosecutions. They thus work to counter impunity gaps. However, since their debut, accountability mechanisms have faced immense political, financial, administrative, and institutional challenges, which have hindered their …

Keynote Speech For The American Society Of International Law 2025 Midyear Meeting, Dr. Mark Ellis

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

The Role Of International, Regional, And Domestic Courts In Transitions Toward Peace And Security, Milena Sterio

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Over the past several years, we have witnessed tremendous violations of international law in situations of conflict and mass violence by both state and non-state actors. In Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have experienced severe persecution and have been forced to flee to the neighboring state of Bangladesh. In Sudan, military groups such as the Rapid Support Forces have been committing serious international crimes in the Darfur region and elsewhere. In Ukraine, Russian forces have targeted civilian objectives and have forcibly abducted children. And in Gaza, Israeli forces have been engaged in various violations of international law over the …

The Unspeakable Unspoken: Terrorist Imagery, Symbolic Expression And The Shifting Boundaries Of Free Speech, Ayşe Yağmur Tunçak

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

A simple fruit like a watermelon can convey many meanings: solidarity for some, terrorism sympathies for others. Among other things, increasing restrictions on speech drive individuals to the use of symbols for political expression, which may lead to legal controversies at the international level due to the untended complexity of symbolic speech in legal discussions. Unlike verbal communication, the meaning and communicative content of symbols are often indirect and open to interpretation. Thus, international human rights standards should rely on context-sensitive evaluations to prevent arbitrary limitations. Although the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), due to its subsidiary role, assumes …

Closing Remarks To The American Society Of International Law 2025 Midyear Meeting, Rt. Hon. Alex Chalk Kc

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Creeping Alliances In Foreign Policy Choices: A World Of Clusters And The Outline Of A Fragmented World Order, Kerem Gülay

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

International cooperation and conflict has long been studied through formal institutions, namely, membership in international organizations and participation in bilateral or multilateral treaties. This hardly grasps the informal and contingent relationships and the tacit and pragmatic alliances reflected in countries’ joint positions on multilateral issues. While most theories of alliances were preoccupied with why such formal alliances were formed, this article offers a reconceptualization of international cooperation based on empirical data. It proposes “creeping alliances,” tentatively defined as gradual and often informal cooperation that develops over time characterized by increasing mutual foreign policy alignment, to explain an undertheorized domain of …

State Complicity And The Threshold Of Knowledge: From Fragmentary Evidence To Evidentiary Saturation, Christina Bradic

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2007 judgment in Bosnia v. Serbia turned on evidentiary gaps. Although the ICJ recognized that genocide had been committed at Srebrenica, it declined to hold Serbia complicit, reasoning that the record did not prove awareness of genocidal purpose. Intelligence was piecemeal, contemporaneous witnesses were scarce, and the ICJ refused to infer knowledge absent direct proof.

Two decades later, the evidentiary environment looks radically different. In October 2024, ninety-nine American healthcare professionals who had volunteered in Gaza sent an open letter to the White House reporting that children with gunshot wounds to the head or …

The Doctor Won't See You Now: Legal Proscriptions For Medical Tourism Control And Regulation, Shenley W. Wish

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The Medical Tourism industry has experienced remarkable growth in the past decade and is tracking to exceed that growth dramatically in the coming decade. With this rapid expansion, however, comes growing pains—predominantly lackluster patient safety. This Note examines the opportunities and challenges that would arise from regulating Medical Tourism through an international treaty, recognizing that an international treaty approach provides the most comprehensive and practically feasible solution for addressing complex cross-border constraints to create a safer global medical industry. (from the author)

Individual Olympic Athlete Participation Model: Moving Toward The Standardization Of International Olympic Committee Sanction Power, Claire Fedor

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

In 2024, at the Paris Olympic Games, the Russian Olympic Committee was notably absent; however, the International Olympic Committee admitted a select group of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under the title “Individual Neutral Athlete.” The athletes’ eligibility was determined by an Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel, and their participation required strict adherence to specifically tailored principles. This model is the most recent approach to permitting individual athletes’ participation despite their National Olympic Committee (NOC)’s suspension from the Olympic Games. This Note examines the absence of a uniform application for individual athlete participation in the Olympic Games amid …

Equal-Access Extraction: Necessary Revisions To The Extent Of The 1920 Svalbard Treaty Due To Norway's Deep-Sea Mining Decision, Louden J. Keihl

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Svalbard’s 100-year-old governing treaty, the Svalbard Treaty, has been the cause of several disputes regarding its applicability to maritime zones not developed at the time of its negotiation. This Note argues that, considering Svalbard’s importance, the different treaty parties should renegotiate and revise the Svalbard Treaty to clarify ambiguities regarding its geographic scope. The reasons why the dispute has not been solved to date and the differing views on the Treaty’s geographic scope are also discussed. Potential clarifying language is proposed and analyzed. (from the author)

Talking Foreign Policy: "Turning Points And Paradigm Shifts In U.S. Foreign Policy" June 23, 2025 Broadcast, Talking Foreign Policy

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Institutional Authority Without Ratification: Rethinking International Organizations’ Governance In The Post-Treaty Era, Izadora Coutinho

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This Article examines the growing normative authority exercised by international organizations through informal governance mechanisms that operate without treaty ratification or formal consent. It argues that international law is undergoing structural transformation: global standards increasingly emerge from flexible, network-based arrangements rather than negotiated treaties. Using the OECD/G20 Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Rules as a case study, this Article illustrates how nonbinding instruments can generate de facto binding effects. Their adoption by numerous jurisdictions reflects systemic incentives, reputational pressures, and tax base erosion threats. While such mechanisms enhance flexibility and responsiveness, they also raise significant concerns about legitimacy, sovereignty, and accountability. …