Law Commons^™

Politics By Other Means: The Battle Over The Classification Of Asymmetrical Conflicts, Yahli Shereshevsky

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Transnational armed conflicts between states and non-state armed groups have emerged as a defining characteristic of twenty-first century warfare. Humanitarian actors tend to classify such conflicts (e.g., between the United States and ISIL) as non-international armed conflicts rather than international armed conflict. This classification is subject to considerable debate; yet both sides present their views as the inevitable result of the interpretation of the relevant International Humanitarian Law (IHL) treaty articles.

This Article demonstrates that the classification of transnational armed conflicts as non-international armed conflicts does not merely concern the application of the relevant laws, but represents a fundamental shift …

"Measuring" The Erosion Of Academic Freedom As An International Human Right, Klaus D. Beiter, Terence Karran, Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article reports and comments on the results of an assessment of the legal protection of the right to academic freedom (an examination of its factual protection to be undertaken at a future point) in EU member states, having examined these countries' constitutions, laws on higher education, and other relevant legislation. The assessment relied on a standard scorecard, developed by utilizing indicators of protection of academic freedom, notably as reflected in UNESCO's Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, a document of 1997 that is not legally, but "politically" binding, and which concretizes international human rights requirements in respect …

A Post-Millennial Inquiry Into The United Nations Law Of Self-Determination: A Right To Unilateral Non-Colonial Secession?, Dr. Glen Anderson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The present Article inquires whether a right to unilateral non-colonial (UNC) secession is grounded in the United Nations (UN) law of self-determination. The Article argues that peoples subjected to deliberate, sustained, and systematic human rights abuses in extremis (e.g., ethnic cleansing, mass killings, or genocide) by the existing state have an international customary law right to UNC secessionist self-determination. This right is coextensive with the "remedial-rights-only" philosophical approach to UNC secession. The Article further argues that in the post-millennial era two developments are likely for the law of UNC secessionist self-determination: first, the right will become available in response to …

Justice By Proxy: Combatting Forced Labor In The Greater Mekong Subregion By Holding U.S. Corporations Liable, Sasha Beatty

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia is still a thriving and lucrative industry. Despite these blatant human rights violations, international and local laws have struggled to keep ahead of the rapidly growing human trafficking industry. The result is a legal system that cannot effectively combat human trafficking in this region. This Note highlights the United States' significant financial contribution to the growth of this slavery industry, particularly in the purchase of significant quantities of goods produced by forced labor in this region. This Note argues that a way to expedite change in this region should be from external, foreign law targeting …