Law Commons^™

When “One Country, Two Systems” Meets “One Person, One Vote”: The Law Of Treaties In The Crucible Of Hong Kong’S Election Crisis, Gregory S. Gordon

Gregory S. Gordon

In Hong Kong’s recent election crisis, an uprising against China’s pre-selecting candidates for Chief Executive and thus foreclosing civic-nomination, both sides (establishment and pro-democracy) have attempted to interpret the term “universal suffrage” based exclusively on its inclusion in Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law. In so doing, however, they have given short shrift to the agreement that gave rise to the Basic Law in the first place: the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. But while the Joint Declaration provides important textual insights, it simultaneously raises significant issues regarding application of the law of treaties. For example, did the Joint Declaration terminate …

The Power Of The Body: Analyzing The Corporeal Logic Of Law And Social Change In The Arab Spring, Zeina Jallad, Zeina Jallad

Zeina Jallad

The Power of the Body:

Analyzing the Logic of Law and Social Change in the Arab Spring

Abstract:

Under conditions of extreme social and political injustice - when human rights are under the most threat - rational arguments rooted in the language of human rights are often unlikely to spur reform or to ensure government adherence to citizens’ rights. When those entrusted with securing human dignity, rights, and freedoms fail to do so, and when other actors—such as human rights activists, international institutions, and social movements—fail to engage the levers of power to eliminate injustice, then oppressed and even quotidian …

Twenty-First Century Regression: The Disparate Impact Of Hiv Transmission Laws On Gays, Siobhan E. Murillo

Siobhan E Murillo

No abstract provided.

Punishment For Unjust War: First International Court Decision Awarding Damages For Aggression, Allen E. Shoenberger

Allen E Shoenberger

The Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights Cyprus v. Turkey, both the merits decision in 2001 and the just satisfaction decision in 2014 establish important precedents in international law and stand as a caution to potential aggressor states.

A European Solution To America’S Basketball Problem: Reforming Amateur Basketball In The United States, Jaimie K. Mcfarlin, Joshua Lee

Jaimie K. McFarlin

The system of amateur and collegiate basketball in America is flawed, as every year, thousands of young men and women pursue their basketball dreams under the shadow of a multi-million dollar, predatory business model. Integral to telling the history of the NCAA and AAU organizations are recruiting horror stories and other examples of young talents who were taken advantage of by unscrupulous actors, both of which continue today. The commercialization and professionalization of amateur basketball has fed an ecosystem of exploitation in which private actors and institutions capitalize on the American mantra of "amateurism." The European system of amateur athletics …

"That Gear Stick Is Not Your Husband's P----." Why The Dissent In Vance V. Ball State University Got It Right, And A Comparison Of The Law Of Employer Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment In The United States And South Africa, Justin A. Behravesh

Justin A. Behravesh

This article provides unique critical analysis of the United States Supreme Court's June 2013 decision of Vance v. Ball State University, by comparing that decision to recent South African common law and statutory developments. I argue that Vance's redefinition of what constitutes a "supervisor" for purposes of vicarious liability will have devastating effect on working women in the United States. Ultimately using South African law as a model framework, I conclude that the factors that should trigger vicarious liability should be based on policy concerns, not arbitrary definitions of what constitutes a "supervisor."

Cuba And China: A Comparative Study Of Digital Oppression, Katharine M. Villalobos

Katharine M. Villalobos

The Digital Age has introduced a new form of expression that totalitarian states are struggling to silence. With social sharing websites like Twitter and Youtube, political dissidents living under oppressive governments can expose governmental abuse to web-users worldwide in a matter of seconds. However, while digital media has proved more difficult to control than traditional, non-electronic media, dictatorships like Cuba and China are resolved to prevent its inhabitants from freely using and expressing themselves on the Internet—even if that means violating their obligations as signatories of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Both Cuba and China are …

The Right To An Exclusively Religious Education – The Ultra-Orthodox Community In Israel In Comparative Perspective, Gila Stopler

Gila Stopler

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel has its own separate education system which is funded by the state and in which boys are given an exclusively religious education with almost no exposure to secular subjects or to civic education. At the same time that the Israeli Supreme Court was scheduled to rule that the state may not continue to fund ultra-Orthodox private schools that do not teach the national core curriculum the Israeli parliament passed the Unique Cultural Educational Institutions Act which upholds the right of the ultra–Orthodox community to give their boys an exclusively religious education funded by the …

Reburying An Injustice: Indigenous Human Remains In Museums And The Evolving Obligations To Return Remains To Indigenous Groups, Alex Bernick

Alex Bernick

No abstract provided.

The Family Responsibilities Convention Reconsidered: The Work-Family Intersection In International Law Thirty Years On, Lee Adams

Lee Adams

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981, No. 156 coming into force. Family responsibilities in the context of paid work and its implications for gender equality have been the subject of international regulation most specifically in ILO 156, although it remains a marginalized convention. Since then, the interaction of work and family and the conflict between them have exploded as a subject of scholarly importance. This article examines ILO 156 in the context of chronological development of other major international legal instruments which address the intersection of work and …

U.S. Institutionalized Torture With Impunity: Examining Rape And Sexual Abuse In Custody Through The Icty Jurisprudence, Allison Rogne

Allison Rogne

It is a well-established principle, both domestically and internationally, that rape is torture when suffered as part of confinement. It is also well documented, both domestically and internationally, that rape is rampant in U.S. prisons. And it is well established, both domestically and internationally, that those who torture should not do so with impunity, that that impunity is an affront to civilization and the human rights principles to which we all strive. And yet, in U.S. prisons, shocking numbers of women are systematically raped and sexually abused by those that would rehabilitate them. Female prisoners are victims of vaginal and …

Critical Tax Policy: A Pathway To Reform?, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The Global Recession of 2008 and ensuing austerity measures have renewed the urgency surrounding the call for fundamental tax reform. Before embarking on fundamental tax reform, this Article proposes adding a critical lens to existing US tax policy to ensure that any proposals for change are informed, transparent, and responsive to the needs (and abilities) of individual taxpayers. This Article makes the case for a specific method of inquiry – Critical Tax Policy – that is built on the articulation of difference rather than false assumptions of sameness. Critical Tax Policy incorporates the insights of a growing international tax equity …

The Case For Mexican Asylum Seekers Fleeing Cartel Violence, Perry B. Nava

Perry B Nava

The number of Mexican immigrants filing for asylum in the United States is on the rise as cartel violence affects more people each year. The perceived increase in cartel-related, violent crime is displacing people similar to how a war forces displaced refugees out of a country; but the United States is not accepting a great majority of the applications for asylum. This paper explores the more broadly applicable law that protects persecuted people; some of the issues that have simultaneously contributed to increased migration to the United States and aggressive expansion by the drug cartels; the result of the application …

Speech Along The Atrocity Spectrum, Gregory S. Gordon

Gregory S. Gordon

In the abstract, speech may have much intrinsic value with its power to facilitate democracy, self-actualization, and good will. But, in certain contexts, it can also be quite deleterious, spawning division, ignorance, and hatred. Within the crucible of atrocity, speech may be similarly Janus-faced. Its power to prevent mass violence is indubitable. But its capacity for enabling mass violence is similarly unquestionable. So the issue arises: when and how may speech work for good or ill in relation to atrocity? This Article grapples with that question. And, in doing so, it finds that the relationship between speech and atrocity should …