Law Commons^™

The Logic Of Contract In The World Of Investment Treaties, Julian Arato

William & Mary Law Review

Investment treaties protect foreign investors who contract with sovereign states. It remains unclear, however, whether parties are free to contract around these treaty rules, or whether treaty provisions should be understood as mandatory terms that constrain party choice. While investment treaties clearly apply to contracts in some way, they are silent as to how these instruments ultimately interact. Moreover, arbitral jurisprudence has varied wildly on this point, creating significant problems of certainty, efficiency, and fairness—for states and foreign investors alike.

This Article reappraises the treaty/contract issue from the ex ante perspective of contracting states and foreign investors. I advance three …

The Common Law Of War, Jens David Ohlin

William & Mary Law Review

In recent litigation before U.S. federal courts, the government has argued that military commissions have jurisdiction to prosecute offenses against the “common law of war,” which the government defines as a body of domestic offenses, such as inchoate conspiracy, that violate the American law of war. This Article challenges that definition by arguing that stray references to the term “common law of war” in historical materials meant something completely different. By examining the Lieber Code, the writings of early natural law theorists, and early American judicial decisions, this Article concludes that the “common law of war” referred to a branch …

Putting The Spotlight On “The Terminator”: How The Icc Prosecution Of Bosco Ntaganda Could Reduce Sexual Violence During Conflict, Sarah T. Deuitch

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

No abstract provided.

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

Prosecuting Child Soldiers: The Call For An International Minimum Age Of Criminal Responsibility, Brittany Ursini

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note discusses the current state of international law on the MACR and proposes a solution that balances the protection of child soldiers with the rights of the victims harmed by their unlawful conduct. Part I of this Note provides a brief background of child soldiers and closely examines the relevant international law addressing the criminal responsibility of child soldiers. Part II illustrates the deficiencies of current international law and describes how the deficiencies affect and contribute to the competing arguments regarding a MACR. Part III discusses the need for an international MACR. Finally, Part IV proposes an international …

Putting The "Remedy" Back In The International Child Abduction Remedies Act - Enforcing Visitation Rights For The Left Behind Parent, Nicole Clark

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the Second Circuit’s approach is more consistent with the aims of the Hague Convention and the needs of children than the Fourth Circuit’s approach and that ICARA does confer jurisdiction upon federal courts to adjudicate claims for the enforcement of visitation rights under the Hague Convention. Part I discusses the background of the Hague Convention and ICARA and how visitation rights fit into each. Part II discusses the split between the Fourth Circuit and the Second Circuit regarding whether ICARA confers jurisdiction upon federal courts over claims for the enforcement of visitation rights. It further …

Table Of Contents, Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The United Nations On National Abortion Laws, Kelsey Zorzi

Catholic University Law Review

Reviewing UN initiatives in concert with changes in State abortion laws, this Essay argues that through consensus resolutions that emerge from UN conferences, the recommendations of the Treaty Monitoring Bodies, and the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, the UN has influenced State to adopt permissive domestic abortion laws. The essay discusses and provides examples of how the UN does this. The Essay also discusses the impact of pro-abortion interpretations of international treaties and the actions taken by signatory nations to require legalized abortions in their wake.

International White Collar Crime And The Globalization Of Internal Investigations, Lucian E. Dervan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Much has been written about the methods by which counsel may efficiently, thoroughly, and credibly conduct internal investigations. Given the globalization of such matters, however, this Article seeks to focus on the challenges present when conducting an internal investigation of potential international white-collar criminal activity. In Part I, this Article will examine the challenges of selecting counsel to perform internal investigations abroad. In particular, consideration will be given to global standards regarding the application of the attorney-client privilege and work product protections. In Part II, this Article will discuss the influence of data privacy and protection laws in various countries …

Bank Frauds And Tracking The Hidden Assets, Albert F. Tellechea, Michael J. Cortes

Florida A & M University Law Review

Each year banks are the targets of insider and outsider fraudulent activity. Borrowers overstate their assets and holdings in order to obtain loans for which they would never otherwise qualify. Employees embezzle, steal, or conspire with crooked clients for a kickback, and billions are lost. Law enforcement agencies around the world are reporting increased instances of corporate, mortgage, and bank fraud. For example, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations ("FBI") in its FY2007 Financial Crimes Report states that its corporate fraud cases doubled from five years earlier. Through FY2007, U.S. Grand Juries returned 183 indictments resulting in 173 convictions. …

"Cerd-Ain" Reform: Dismantling The School-To-Prison Pipeline Through More Thorough Coordination Of The Departments Of Justice And Education, Lisa A. Rich

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

In the last year of his presidency, President Barack Obama and his administration have undertaken many initiatives to ensure that formerly incarcerated individuals have more opportunities to successfully reenter society. At the same time, the administration has been working on education policy that closes the achievement gap and slows the endless flow of juveniles into the school-to-prison pipeline. While certainly laudable, there is much more that can be undertaken collaboratively among executive branch agencies to end the school-to-prison pipeline and the endless cycle of people re-entering the criminal justice system.

This paper examines the rise of the school-to-prison pipeline through …

Customary International Law: A Reconceptualization, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The current state of international law is one of deep confusion over the role of state practice and opinio juris within the customary element. The debate between adherents of “modern custom” versus those of “traditional custom” has resulted in deep uncertainty and confusion. New theories of customary international law have proved inadequate in clarifying the current state of the field. Confusions over the meanings and relationships between state practice and opinio juris aside, current approaches are all also flawed due to a heavily state-centric bias that fails to take into account the very real affects that norm-generating transnational actors have …

Corporations And The Limits Of State-Based Models For Protecting Fundamental Rights In International Law, David Bilchitz

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

At the heart of international law lies a central tension. On the one hand, the fundamental rights recognized in international treaties protect the fundamental interests of individuals, obligating all actors who can affect these rights. One the other hand, international law has often been conceived of as a system in which the only legitimate actors are states. In turn, only states can be bound by the fundamental rights obligations in international treaties. To address this tension, two models have been proposed. The first is an "Indirect duty" approach, whereby the state remains the primary duty-bearer and must itself "create" the …

Seventeenth Annual Grotius Lecture Series - Some Thoughts About Grotius 400 Years On, Sir Kenneth J. Keith

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.