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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Tragedy Of Hong Kong, Richard Klein
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.
A Framework Of Norms: International Human-Rights Law And Sovereignty, Douglass Cassel
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.
Subsidiarity As A Structural Principle Of International Human Rights Law, Paolo G. Carozza
Subsidiarity As A Structural Principle Of International Human Rights Law, Paolo G. Carozza
Paolo G. Carozza
This article argues that the principle of subsidiarity should be recognized as a structural principle of international human rights law primarily because of the way that it mediates between the universalizing aspirations of human rights and the fact of the diversity of human communities in the world. The idea of subsidiarity is deeply consonant with the substantive vision of human dignity and the universal common good that is expressed through human rights norms. Yet, at the same time it promotes respect for pluralism by emphasizing the freedom of more local communities to realize their own ends for themselves. Looking at …
Humanity And National Security: The Law Of Mass Atrocity Response Operations, Keith A. Petty
Humanity And National Security: The Law Of Mass Atrocity Response Operations, Keith A. Petty
Michigan Journal of International Law
Among the greatest threats to global security is the slaughter of civilians. This is due to the inconsistent reaction of the international community to genocide and other atrocity crimes. Whether it was the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 or Rwandan Tutsis in 1994, mass murderers act with impunity when there is not a forceful response. Contrast these situations to Vietnam’s intervention in Cambodia in 1978 that put an end to the Khmer Rouge’s nightmarish killing fields, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) intervention in Kosovo in 1999 that protected ethnic Albanians from Serb …
International Law, The Civilizing Mission And The Ambivalence Of Development In Africa: Conceptual Underpinnings, Amin George Forji
International Law, The Civilizing Mission And The Ambivalence Of Development In Africa: Conceptual Underpinnings, Amin George Forji
Amin George Forji
International law, past and present has had to constantly wrestle with striking a balancing act between legality and imperialism. Following the Agrarian and Industrial revolutions, European1 economies increasingly witnessed profound boosts in productivity and net output beginning from the 17th century. By the start of the 19th century when explorations and discoveries were the currency of the day, European powers increasingly saw the acquisition of Africa as crucial to satisfy its economic imperatives namely: reinforcing home industries and instituting a market for finished products. While professing liberal moralism, European encroachment into Africa became suddenly exemplified with a turn from informal …
Religions As Sovereigns: Why Religion Is "Special", Elizabeth Clark
Religions As Sovereigns: Why Religion Is "Special", Elizabeth Clark
Faculty Scholarship
Commentators increasingly challenge religion’s privileged legal status, arguing that it is not “special” or distinct from other associations or philosophical or conscientious claims. I propose that religion is “special” because it functions metaphorically as a legal sovereign, asserting supreme authority over a realm of human life. Under a religion-as-sovereign theory, religious freedom can be understood as at least partial deference to a religious sovereign in a system of shared or overlapping sovereignty. This Article suggests that federalism, which also involves shared sovereignty, can provide a useful heuristic device for examining religious freedom. Specifically, the Article examines a range of federalism …
Religions As Sovereigns: Why Religion Is "Special", Elizabeth A. Clark
Religions As Sovereigns: Why Religion Is "Special", Elizabeth A. Clark
Elizabeth A. Clark
The Invention Of A Human Right: Conscientious Objection At The United Nations, 1947-2011, Jeremy Kessler
The Invention Of A Human Right: Conscientious Objection At The United Nations, 1947-2011, Jeremy Kessler
Faculty Scholarship
The right of conscientious objection to military service is the most startling of human rights. While human rights generally seek to protect individuals from state power, the right of conscientious objection radically alters the citizen-state relationship, subordinating a state's decisions about national security to the beliefs of the individual citizen. In a world of nation-states jealous of their sovereignty, how did the human right of conscientious objection become an international legal doctrine? By answering that question, this Article both clarifies the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection and sheds new light on the relationship between international human …
Lessons For International Law From The Arab Spring, Rosa Brooks
Lessons For International Law From The Arab Spring, Rosa Brooks
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Not all that begins in hope ends in happiness. In Egypt, the exuberance of Tahrir Square has given way to frustration over the resilience of the security state; in Libya, the anti-Qaddafi movement has fractured along tribal and factional lines; in Syria, as of this writing, calls for reform continue to be met with gunfire from government forces. Throughout the Middle East—from Egypt, Libya and Syria to Yemen, Tunisia, Bahrain and elsewhere—the heady excitement of 2010 has given way to a more sober awareness that enduring political change may take years, if not generations. The Arab Spring brought both progress …