Law Commons^™

Opening Speech, Claudio Grossman

American University Law Review

Good morning and good afternoon, depending on your time zone. It is a great pleasure to introduce this conference on “Sea Level Rise and International Law: Assessing its Impacts on the Americas.” Sea level rise is a pressing global challenge that could generate catastrophic effects, including in the Americas, which are surrounded by four oceans: the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. Several of the countries in the Region could suffer disproportionately from the consequences of this serious phenomenon. The implications for States and people all over the world are devastating, making rising sea levels a matter of …

Stars, Stripes, And Surveillance: The United States' Failure To Regulate Data Privacy, Sam Begland

American University Law Review

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s devastating decision to strip Americans of their constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, data privacy is more salient than ever. Without adequate data regulations, state governments and anti-abortion activists alike can harass and prosecute pregnant people attempting to exercise their bodily autonomy. This comment argues that the United States has violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 17 by failing to protect against interference with the use and collection of reproductive health data. Further, this comment analyzes interpretations of …

The Art Of International Law, Hilary Charlesworth

American University International Law Review

International lawyers study international law primarily through its written texts—treaties, official documents, judgments, and scholarly works. Critical to being an international lawyer, it seems, is access to the written word, whether in hard copy or online. Indeed, as Jesse Hohmann observes, “the production of text can come to feel like the very purpose of international law.”

Discussant Commentary On The Twenty-Fourth Annual Grotius Lecture, Karima Bennoune

American University International Law Review

I express my sincere thanks to the American Society of International Law and the International Legal Studies Program at American University Washington College of Law for the invitation to be this year’s commentator. It is indeed an honor to respond to Judge Charlesworth’s erudite Grotius Lecture: “The Art of International Law.”

Opening Speech, Claudio Grossman

American University International Law Review

Good morning and good afternoon, depending on your time zone. It is a great pleasure to introduce this conference on “Sea Level Rise and International Law: Assessing its Impacts on the Americas.” Sea level rise is a pressing global challenge that could generate catastrophic effects, including in the Americas, which are surrounded by four oceans: the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. Several of the countries in the Region could suffer disproportionately from the consequences of this serious phenomenon. The implications for States and people all over the world are devastating, making rising sea levels a matter of …

Climate Change And Sea Level Rise: Assessing Their Impacts On Belize, Carlos Fuller

American University International Law Review

First of all, as we all know, there are three aspects of climate change that we know occur. The first is the increase of global temperatures because of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. As a result of the warming of the oceans, sea levels rise; but even more importantly, additional fresh water is entering the oceans, which is now the predominant factor leading to increased sea-level rates. Finally, a change of the hydrological cycle—because of warmer temperatures, we are seeing more extreme weather events and shifts in precipitation patterns.

The impacts, however, are more important—for example, the impacts of …

The "Human Face" Of Sea Level Rise: Protection Of Persons Affected, Patricia Galvao Teles

American University International Law Review

Thank you so much, Professor Grossman. I will not take time from my presentation to do a long thank you or introduction, but I really wanted to thank you warmly, Claudio, for putting together these two days of conversation so that we can connect with the Americas and also have your contributions and your experiences to our work, which you, Claudio, have committed to and are delivering on your promise to help us to navigate through what is going on in the Americas concerning sea-level rise. This is very important because, as it was mentioned, the Commission works based on …

Algunas Reflexiones Sobre La Condicion De Estado En Relacion Con La Elevacion Del Nivel Del Mar, Juan Jose Ruda Santolaria

American University International Law Review

Estimados amigos y amigas:

Deseo, en primer lugar, agradecer a los promotores de esta iniciativa por su amable invitación y compromiso con el tratamiento de la importante temática que nos convoca. Al mismo tiempo, quiero destacar mi satisfacción por participar en esta actividad y hacerlo además con personas muy valiosas, por quienes siento especial aprecio, así como recalcar que voy a compartir con ustedes algunas reflexiones sobre la condición de estado en relación con la elevación del nivel del mar de carácter personal, es decir, que no comprometen a la Comisión de Derecho Internacional de las Naciones Unidas y son …

Legal Cooperation Issues On Sea Level Rise, Maria Teresa Infante

American University International Law Review

This is a very timely event. Although there have been several cases in which experts—both academics and governments—discuss the connection between sea-level rise and the legal framework, this event is important because it will bring to the forefront the fact that the practice in the Americas and the Caribbean should be analyzed when discussing this pressing topic. This is a very important initiative; I encourage the Inter-American system and the juridical committee to tackle this issue. I hope it will be in connection with the work that is being conducted by the International Law Commission itself.

Ambulatory Versus Fixed Baselines Under The Law Of The Sea In The Context Of Rising Sea Levels, Sean Murphy

American University International Law Review

It is a great pleasure to be here, especially with such an esteemed group of participants. My thanks to all the co-sponsors for the invitation to participate in this event; I am very happy to contribute to the conversation.

When “diving” into consideration of sea-level rise issues, one finds various “pools” of international law that are perfectly suited for answering some of the issues we are addressing. For example, Professor Galvão Teles spoke about the protection of persons in the event of sea-level rise. There are, of course, various aspects of human rights law and international law relating to disasters …

Stars, Stripes, And Surveillance: The United States' Failure To Regulate Data Privacy, Sam Begland

American University International Law Review

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's devastating decision to strip Americans of their constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, data privacy is more salient than ever. Without adequate data regulations, state governments and anti-abortion activists alike can harass and prosecute pregnant people attempting to exercise their bodily autonomy. This comment argues that the United States has violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 17 by failing to protect against interference with the use and collection of reproductive health data. Further, this comment analyzes interpretations of …

Introduction To The International Law Commission's Work On Sea Level Rise In Relation To International Law, Bogdan Aurescu, Nilufer Oral

American University International Law Review

BOGDAN AURESCU:

Thank you so much for the presentation. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to everybody—in accordance with the respective time that you are speaking. I am very honored to be invited to this conference, and I am also very honored that I am sharing this presentation together with my good colleague and friend, Nilüfer Oral. We are both co-chairs of the Study Group on Sea-Level Rise in Relation to International Law of the International Law Commission, together with the other colleagues, some of them I think are attending this session online, Patrícia Galvão-Teles and Juan José Ruda …

Approaches To Sea Level Rise: A Comparative View Of Emerging Policy Responses By The African And The American Regions, Charles Chernor Jalloh

American University International Law Review

It is a great privilege to be here with all of you tonight. Thank you very much to you, Professor Grossman, the moderator of this panel, and to all the organizers for inviting me to be part of this really important event. I hope this is the first of many such events concerning this really pressing issue for the international community: the issue of sea level rise which is already affecting peoples and States in many different regions of our world.

Climate Migration Beyond The Refugee Framework: Creating Bridges Between Human Rights And International Climate Law, Mara Elisa Andrade

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

U.S. "Asylum Cooperative Agreements" With Central American Countries Are Unlawful, Maria Alejanda Torres

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Gender Violence And The Human Rights Of Women In Cuba, Leila Hamouie

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Documentation For Accountability, Paul Williams, Jessica Levy

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The cost of armed conflict is borne not only in the stark number of lives lost, but also in the grave atrocity crimes committed during these periods. Despite the legal protections set forth in the Geneva Conventions and other foundational documents of international humanitarian law, perpetrators continue to commit crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Documenting these atrocity crimes has become a crucial step in efforts to secure justice for victims and survivors of these atrocities. To support the expanding field of human rights documentation, the international community must redouble its efforts to ensure that civil society actors engaged …

The New Social Contracts In International Supply Chains, David Snyder

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article considers, from legal, practical, moral, and policy perspectives, Model Contract Clauses (MCCs) to protect the human rights of workers in international supply chains. The product of the ABA Business Law Section Working Group to Draft Human Rights Protections in International Supply Contracts, the MCCs are an effort to provide companies with carefully researched and well-drafted clauses to incorporate human rights policies into supply contracts (purchase orders, master vendor agreements, and the like). The Article discusses the impetus, goals, and strategies of the MCCs and explains the paradigm of the corporate, operational, and political landscape for which they are …

Human Rights Heroes: The Challengers Of Free Speech, Stephen Wermiel

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The U.S. Supreme Court's jurisprudence on freedom of speech and press spans little more than 100 years, during which justices from Oliver Wendell Holmes to John Roberts have weighed in on the development of the law. But perhaps more than in some other areas of constitu- tional law, the evolution and growth of free speech have required the courage, sacrifice, determination, and commitment of hundreds, maybe thousands, of litigants over the years who have waged heroic struggles for their rights.

A Human Rights Based Approach To International Financial Regulatory Standards, Daniel D. Bradlow

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Globalization and information and communication technologies pushed national financial regulators to establish international standard setting bodies (SSBs) which promote non-binding international financial regulatory standards. However, finance inevitably has social and human rights impacts and the SSBs and their members are not meeting their responsibility to account for these impacts in their international standards. This failure means that financial regulators and institutions may under-estimate the risks associated with their operations leading to misallocations of credit, less safe financial institutions and less efficient and transparent financial markets. To avoid this problem, SSBs should adopt a human rights approach to standard setting. The …

Jesner V. Arab Bank, Rebecca Hamilton

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The exclusion of transnational human rights litigation from U.S. federal courts is, for most practical purposes, now complete. On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 5–4 ruling in Jesner v. Arab Bank, deciding that foreign corporations cannot be sued under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS).

The Transformative Influence Of International Law And Practice On The Death Penalty In The United States, Richard Wilson

Contributions to Books

No region of the world has been more vocal and persistent in its opposition to U.S. death penalty practice than Europe, which has itself become a death penalty-free zone. The chapter will examine the actions taken by European legislative and judicial bodies against U.S. practice of the death penalty, as well as those of the other regional treaty bodies, with particular attention to the Inter-American human rights system, in which the U.S. reluctantly participates. It then will examine U.S. interactions with its treaty partners in the area of extradition, where death penalty policy is acted out in the exchanges of …

The Breakthrough: Human Rights In The 1970s (Book Review), Richard Wilson

Book Reviews

The Breakthrough, as the title suggests, is a kind of sequel to the provocative work of human rights history’s current enfant terrible, Samuel Moyn. He co-edits this volume of contributed works with a kindred colleague, Jan Eckel, who teaches modern and contemporary history at the University of Freiburg, Germany. In an early footnote, Moyn recognizes the similarity of the project he and Eckel share: “[Eckel and I] propose somewhat different interpretations of why the decade [of the 1970s] was so pivotal.” Moyn, until this year a professor of history at Columbia University, and who is also trained in law, joined …

Restoration Of Historical Memory And Dignity For Victims Of The Armenian Genocide: A Human Rights Law Approach To Effective Reparations, Richard Wilson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article argues that United Nations human rights principles and new developments in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights suggest a route to provide effective reparation through restoration of historical memory and dignity for victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Implementing Human Rights In Closed Environments Through The United Nations Convention Against Torture, Claudio Grossman

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Closed environments pose a major challenge to the full and effective implementation of human rights norms and conventions. However, many conventions contain mechanisms that can be used to further advance implementation of human rights in those closed environments. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention) has several mechanisms in place that play an important role in enforcing and implementing human rights obligations. Along with the creation of a supervisory organ, the Committee against Torture (the Committee), the Convention provides a framework for: State Party reporting and concluding observations (COBs) under …

The Most Important Cases Of The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Richard Wilson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), together with its companion body, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), are autonomous organs of the Organization of American States (OAS). The IACHR promotes and protects human rights in the Western Hemisphere. Created by the OAS in 1959, the Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Together with the Court, established in 1979 in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Commission has emerged as a model of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as of individual rights.Since its inception, the Commission has made extraordinary progress. Through its 55-year history, it has …

Extraterritorial Application Of The Human Rights To Life And Personal Liberty, Including Habeas Corpus, During Situations Of Armed Conflict, Robert K. Goldman

Contributions to Books

Chapter 6 of Research Handbook on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the US, with the assistance of its coalition partners – all parties to various human rights instruments – initiated the so-called ‘war on terror’ by invading Afghanistan, where their armed forces killed or captured hundreds of ‘terrorist suspects’. Some of those detained were taken to the US military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while others have languished in US custody in Afghanistan. These actions raise the question whether a State is bound by its human rights …

Owning Justice And Reckoning With Its Complexity, Diane Orentlicher

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

A series of developments, both doctrinal and political, seem to signify a retreat from earlier innovations in the law and practice of international justice. On closer examination, however, recent developments in international justice cannot be reduced to a single trend line. Even as various actors and processes continue to work out the ground rules for exercising jurisdiction in respect of human rights violations that international law condemns as criminal, and as international and national courts work through the inherently challenging project of redressing mass atrocities, states have increasingly internalized, owned and acted on the principle that they should ensure accountability …

Eccc In Pre-Trial Action: Was There Good Reason To Order Pre-Trial Detention Of The Eccc Defendants, Stan Starygin

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Special 301 Of The Trade Act Of 1974 And Global Access To Medicine, Sean Flynn

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Since its inception in 1988, the United States Trade Representative’s “Special 301” adjudication of foreign intellectual property law standards has been used to promote policies restricting access to affordable medications around the world. President-elect Obama released a platform promising to “break the stranglehold that a few big drug and insurance companies have on these life-saving drugs” and pledged support for “the rights of sovereign nations to access quality-assured, low-cost generic medication to meet their pressing public health needs.” The 2009 and 2010 Special 301 reports, however, indicate that the Obama Administration has not yet implemented this pledge into administration trade …