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Human Rights Law

Selected Works

Connie de la Vega

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

International Human Rights Law: An Introduction, Connie De La Vega, David S. Weissbrodt Dec 2006

International Human Rights Law: An Introduction, Connie De La Vega, David S. Weissbrodt

Connie de la Vega

For more than half a century, the world community has sought to codify a series of fundamental precepts intended to prevent such abuses of human rights as torture, discrimination, starvation, and forced eviction. The United Nations, other international organizations, regional institutions, and governments have developed various procedures for protecting against and providing remedies for human rights violations. International Human Rights Law is a comprehensive introductory treatise, intended for all concerned about this critical area of international law, including students, lawyers, other advocates, teachers, and academics. The book comprises three sections: an overview of the development of human rights as a …

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Advocates Should Use Applicable International Standards To Address Violations Of Undocumented Migrant Workers In The United States, Connie De La Vega, Conchita Lozano-Batista Dec 2004

Advocates Should Use Applicable International Standards To Address Violations Of Undocumented Migrant Workers In The United States, Connie De La Vega, Conchita Lozano-Batista

Connie de la Vega

This article seeks to provide migrant rights advocates with international legal arguments that can be used to address domestic human rights abuses when domestic law is inadequate and in violation of U.S. treaty obligations. It discusses applicable international law and suggests how these standards may be used to protect migrant workers. The article: describes the working conditions of undocumented migrants in the United States, highlighting recent violations of their human rights. It discusses Hoffman Plastics Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 535 U.S. 137 (2002), which limited the rights of undocumented workers, and its aftermath and in which there …

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Amici Curiae Urge The U.S. Supreme Court To Consider International Human Rights Law In Juvenile Death Penalty Case, Connie De La Vega Dec 2001

Amici Curiae Urge The U.S. Supreme Court To Consider International Human Rights Law In Juvenile Death Penalty Case, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

This article is an adaptation of an amici curiae brief filed in support of the petition for writ of certiorari in Beazley v. Johnson, 242 F.3d 248 (5th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 945 (2001), application of stay of execution denied, 533 U.S. 969 (2001). It asserts that the prohibition against the execution of persons who were under eighteen years of age at the commission of the crime is not only customary international law, it has attained the status of a jus cogens peremptory norm of international law which must be taken into account by the court. It also …

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The Supreme Court Of The United States Has Been Called Upon To Determine The Legality Of The Juvenile Death Penalty In Michael Domingues V. State Of Nevada, Connie De La Vega, Jennifer Fiore Dec 1998

The Supreme Court Of The United States Has Been Called Upon To Determine The Legality Of The Juvenile Death Penalty In Michael Domingues V. State Of Nevada, Connie De La Vega, Jennifer Fiore

Connie de la Vega

This article summarizes the arguments made against the juvenile death penalty in a U.S. Supreme Court amici curiae brief in Domingues v. State, 961 P.2d 1279 (Nev. 1998), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 963 (1999), and rebuts some of the State's propositions made in its response. It argues that United States' obligation to faithfully comply with its treaty obligations (particularly under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), as well as the customary international law and jus cogens norm do not permit the execution of juveniles for crimes committed while below the age of eighteen.

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Book Review Of Cholewinksi, Ryszard, Migrant Workers In International Human Rights Law: Their Protection In Countries Of Employment, Connie De La Vega Dec 1998

Book Review Of Cholewinksi, Ryszard, Migrant Workers In International Human Rights Law: Their Protection In Countries Of Employment, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

This article reviews Migrant Workers in International Human Rights Law: Their Protection in Countries of Employment by Ryszard Cholewinski, a comprehensive look at the rights of migrant workers containing a thorough analysis of the various treaties applicable to migrant workers and a detailed description of the international laws and procedures covering migrants in Europe. The review observes that the lessons that can be gleaned from the book provide helpful tools for scrutinizing the progress of the Working Group on Migrants as well as providing suggestions for making the Working Group more effective. The review concludes that, despite the exclusion of …

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Civil Rights During The 1990'S: New Treaty Law Could Help Immensely, Connie De La Vega Dec 1996

Civil Rights During The 1990'S: New Treaty Law Could Help Immensely, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

This article argues that ratification by the United States of two major international human rights treaties (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)) should have an impact on civil rights issues in this country. It contends that although many of the rights enumerated in the treaties are similar to those provided for in state and federal constitutions and statutes, there are many areas where the treaty clauses are more protective of individuals' rights. It also asserts that even though the United States ratified both treaties …

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The Right To Equal Education: Merely A Guiding Principle Or Customary International Legal Right?, Connie De La Vega Dec 1993

The Right To Equal Education: Merely A Guiding Principle Or Customary International Legal Right?, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

In San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973), the United States Supreme Court held that wealth discrimination was not illegal discrimination and that the right to be educated was not a fundamental constitutional right. This article contends that international human rights law provides broad authority for a right to equal opportunity to education and is a useful tool for those seeking to develop theories that that right exists under either the state or federal constitutions. This article provides a brief introduction to those cases in which courts have been asked to look at international human rights …

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Protecting Economic, Social And Cultural Rights, Connie De La Vega Dec 1993

Protecting Economic, Social And Cultural Rights, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

This article reviews the international human rights standards relevant to protecting and promoting economic, social, and cultural rights in the United States, focusing particularly on those norms that would assist advocates of welfare and education rights. It discusses three ways in which these norms can be used in litigation before federal and state courts in the United States and argues that, in order to make more effective use of these standards, parties should raise the standards themselves, and not rely solely on amici curiae briefs or on courts' raising the standards sua sponte. This article also asserts that civil rights …

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The Symposium On International Human Rights Law In State And Federal Courts: Comments, Connie De La Vega Dec 1983

The Symposium On International Human Rights Law In State And Federal Courts: Comments, Connie De La Vega

Connie de la Vega

This article responds to and comments on an Application of International Human Rights Law in State Courts: A View from California, an article by Paul L. Hoffman appearing in the Symposium on International Human Rights Law in State Courts. It agrees that the most promising use of international human rights law is as an aid in interpreting federal and state civil liberties and civil rights laws. The article primarily outlines ways in which and that certain provisions treaties or of customary law may be invoked as arguably binding on state and federal courts.

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Application Of International Human Rights Law In State And Federal Courts, Connie De La Vega, Stephen Rosenbaum, Kathryn Burke, Sandra Coliver Dec 1982

Application Of International Human Rights Law In State And Federal Courts, Connie De La Vega, Stephen Rosenbaum, Kathryn Burke, Sandra Coliver

Connie de la Vega

This article provides a substantive discussion of international human rights law and how it can be used in federal and state courts to protect human rights within and outside the United States. It provides a comprehensive analysis of cases and examples of possible areas in which international human rights standards may be used to interpret United States laws. Specifically, the article seeks to promote more extensive use of international human rights laws by United States lawyers. State and federal courts have traditionally used international law for the application and enforcement of treaties to which the United States has been a …

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Thirty-Fifth Session Of The Sub-Commission Of Protection Of Minorities, Connie De La Vega, Ellen E. Lutz Dec 1981

Thirty-Fifth Session Of The Sub-Commission Of Protection Of Minorities, Connie De La Vega, Ellen E. Lutz

Connie de la Vega

This article provides a brief synopsis of the 35th Session of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, which took place in Geneva, August 16 - September 10, 1982. At the 35th Session there were advances in several areas, particularly regarding the setting of international standards and the improvement of information-gathering procedures. Also promising for the promotion and protection of human rights was that the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples were allowed to present information to the Sub-Commission. At the same time, several dangerous precedents were set which appeared to make it more difficult for non-governmental organizations …

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