Law Commons^™

Foreword, Charles E. Rice, Robert E. Rodes

Robert Rodes

No abstract provided.

When Is A War Not A War? The Myth Of The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

It is essential to correctly classify situations in the world as ones of war or peace: human lives depend on the distinction, but so do liberty, property, and the integrity of the natural environment. President Bush's war on terror finds war where suspected members of al Qaeda are found. By contrast, war under international law exists where hostilities are on-going. To the extent there is ambiguity, the United States should err on the side of pursuing terrorists within the peacetime criminal law enforcement paradigm, not a wartime one. Not only does the criminal law better protect important human rights and …

The Tragedy Of Hong Kong, Richard Klein

Richard Daniel Klein

While the world watched the fireworks and celebrations occurring in Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, a far sadder event was, in fact, unfolding. The people of Hong Kong, most of whom had originally fled from China -- the country which was now taking over -- have simply never experienced the basic human right of self-determination. Rule was shifting from a colonial power which had denied the people of Hong Kong their basic human rights for virtually all of its 155-year administration, to a country which, immediately upon assuming sovereignty, made it clear that democracy would remain but a dream.

Public Policy In International Investment And Trade Law: Community Expectations And Functional Decision-Making, Diane A. Desierto

Diane A Desierto

This article uses a contextual policy-oriented approach to assess how the standing debate on a State's regulatory freedom has been treated within international investment law (e.g. case-by-case interpretation of variant treaty design in each case), in contrast with how the issue of domestic regulatory autonomy in international trade law has evolved towards coordination (e.g. attempted harmonization of the same set of instruments). The article submits a different view from many primarily trade law/investment law scholars (and other systemic integrationists who idealize a seamless shift from trade law to investment law), who have postulated that this fundamental issue of State regulatory …

Corporate Initiatives: A Second Human Rights Revolution?, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

This Essay examines the role of multinational corporations in protecting human rights around the globe. Part I analyzes the conduct of corporations, describes examples of corporations' involvement in human rights violations, and discusses the merits of greater responsibility of corporations. Part II suggests that the level of responsibility for a multinational corporation depends on the proximity of the corporation's operations to human rights violations, in combination with the seriousness of the violations, and proposes five gradations of responsibility. This Essay concludes that the evolving nature of the global economy is producing a shift in responsibilities from government to the private …

Is There A New World Court?, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

Corporate Aiding And Abetting Of Human Rights Violations: Confusion In The Courts, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

Defending Human Rights In The "War" Against Terror, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

Introduction And Postscript: Partial Progress On Un Reform, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

A Framework Of Norms: International Human-Rights Law And Sovereignty, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

The international legal boundary between states; rights and human rights is not fixed. Long ago, the Permanent Court of International Justice - the judicial arm of the League of Nations and the precursor to the present International Court of Justice - recognized that "the question whether a certain matter is or is not solely within the jurisdiction of a State is an essentially relative question; it depends on the development of international relations." In recent decades international relations concerning both sovereignty and rights have developed quickly. An examination of those rights and the evolving realities of sovereignty are examined.

Lessons From The Americas: Guidelines For International Response To Amnesties For Atrocities, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

Amnesty guidelines modeled on international law as defined by Latin American tribunals and treaties should be adopted and used by the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and national governments involved in remedying human rights violations. The 10 guidelines are stringent and would rarely result in the granting of amnesty. They may better serve their function than treaties or customary laws be cause they are guidelines and not mandatory.

Does International Human Rights Law Make A Difference?, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights Law And Security Detention, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

This article analyzes the grounds, procedures, and conditions required by International Human Rights Law for preventive detention of suspected terrorists as threats to security. Such detention is generally permitted, provided it is based on grounds and procedures previously established by law; is not arbitrary, discriminatory, or disproportionate; is publicly registered and subject to fair and effective judicial review; and the detainee is not mistreated and is compensated for any unlawful detention. In Europe, however, preventive detention for security purposes is generally not permitted. If allowed at all, it is permitted only when a State in time of national emergency formally …

The Globalization Of Human Rights: Consciousness, Law And Reality, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

Honduras’ Political Violence Threatens To Undermine Its November Elections, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Uses And Misuses Of Comparative Law In International Human Rights: Some Reflections On The Jurisprudence Of The European Court Of Human Rights, Paolo G. Carozza

Paolo G. Carozza

No abstract provided.

Liberty, Equality, Diversity: States, Cultures And International Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

This chapter explores how culture is addressed by contemporary international law, with particular reference to human rights law norms. The first part covering freedom focuses on the rise of the modern state and its conscious reimagining of ties with its citizens through the promotion of tolerance and a secular, national identity. The shift is explored through the prisms of the freedom of religion, the right to participate in (national) cultural life, and the limitations on freedom of expression including prohibition of hate speech and domestic blasphemy laws. The second part on equality centres on the relationship between the state, the …

Agenda: Free, Prior And Informed Consent: Pathways For A New Millennium, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law. American Indian Law Program

Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium (November 1)

Presented by the University of Colorado's American Indian Law Program and the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy & the Environment.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), along with treaties, instruments, and decisions of international law, recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to give "free, prior, and informed consent" to legislation and development affecting their lands, natural resources, and other interests, and to receive remedies for losses of property taken without such consent. With approximately 150 nations, including the United States, endorsing the UNDRIP, this requirement gives rise to emerging standards, obligations, and opportunities …

Indigenous Peoples’ Right Of Free Prior Informed Consent With Respect To Indigenous Lands, Territories And Resources (United Nations Workshop, 17-19 January 2005), Indian Law Resource Center

Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium (November 1)

3 pages.

U.N. Doc PFII/2004/WS.2/6

Free, Prior And Informed Consent: Ilo 169 And Undrip, Kelsey Peterson

Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium (November 1)

2 pages.

"Kelsey Peterson, American Indian Law Program Fellow, University of Colorado Law School Class of 2015"

Principles Of International Law For Multilateral Development Banks: The Obligation To Respect Human Rights, Robert T. Coulter, Leonardo A. Crippa, Emily Wann

Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium (November 1)

41 pages.

"January, 2009"

www.indianlaw.org

Leaving A Legacy, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The ongoing conflict in Somalia, and the complexities that come with finding lasting solutions to a conflict that has raged for decades now, continue to perplex the international community. While a range of previously tried and tested approaches to conflict management are being applied, it is becoming apparent that the international toolkit for responding to conflict situations of such complexity is extremely limited. Indeed, as one international conference after another on Somalia takes place, compacts are signed and funding windows established, old frameworks are abandoned and new ones are forged, and roadmap after roadmap pave the way for further engagement, …

Fall Roundtable: Africa And Human Rights, Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Kenya’s Somali Contradiction” Ben Rawlence. Project Syndicate. September 30, 2013.

Somali Battlegrounds: On Interest And Accountability, Ines Mzali

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the wake of the latest and deadliest of Al-Shabab's attacks in Kenya since Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October 2011, Ben Rawlence reiterates the question raised anew by each attack: "What is Kenya doing in Somalia and is it worth the price?" The question leads him to explore the contradiction between the official objectives of the mission and Kenya's particular motivations to launch an offensive of its own. This problematic discrepancy also draws attention to the question of accountability when violations of international humanitarian law have occurred in the context of a military operation by a neighboring country and …

Solidarity And Rights: Two To Tango: A Response To Joseph A. Mccartin, Lance Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] Thanks to Joseph McCartin for advancing this debate with an insightful critique of the workers’-rights-as-human-rights framework and for his generous treatment of the series of Human Rights Watch reports in which I had a hand. McCartin so fairly presents the human rights case, even while disagreeing with it, that it’s hard to respond without simply borrowing from his framing of my own views. But I’ll try.

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

David Ingram

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …

The Extraterritorial Application Of Human Rights Treaties: Al-Skeini Et Al. V. United Kingdom (2011), Joseph Sinchak

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

The decade proceeding the 9/11 tragedy has been very unkind to the human rights regime, as many western nations have committed human rights abuses in their mission to combat terrorism. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have been engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they perpetrated terrible crimes and violated important tenants of international law. These violations, ranging from allegations of torture to wrongful deaths, are prohibited by human rights law. In fact, human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were …

A New American Dilemma?: U.S. Constitutionalism Vs. International Human Rights, Stanley N. Katz

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Responses To Lgbti Violence, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

If You Had A Fundamental Human Right To A Particular Environment, What Would That Look Like?, Carter Dillard

Carter Dillard

Many environmentalists believe that because the earth has in the last several decades become largely a human environment in which pure nature or wild places uninfluenced by humans no longer exist, people ought to abandon the idea of wilderness entirely and do the best they can in a world dominated by humans. That would be a mistake. The idea of nature and wilderness in particular, or of places and things in the world relatively uninfluenced by humans, actually provides the foundation on which to build the international human right to a particular environment that some environmentalists have been looking for. …