Law Commons^™

Putin Skirts The Icc: The Invasion Of Ukraine And The Symbolic Power Of International Law, Corbin Gregg

CICLR Online

Much can be said about the role of international law in shaping the behavior of states and leaders. Often maligned, international organizations face criticism from those who wish to see them do more: punish human rights violations, sanction aggressive state actors, and prevent wars of aggression. While these are overall purported goals of international organizations, the way they attempt to effectuate change is sometimes unclear. Nowhere is this more true than the way the international organizations have reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on December 26, …

Testing The Boundaries Of Torture: Forced Circumcision As A Crime Against Humanity, Marina Coriale

CICLR Online

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has history that extends across countless cultures and regions, impacting women and girls around the world still searching for redress and reparations. Knowing this, the international community should understand the necessity of providing a space for FGM survivors in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on December 4, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Animal Protection Laws In The United States And Switzerland, Kelly Ziyu Xia

CICLR Online

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” This statement underlines the significance of how a society cares for those under its dominion, particularly those who are defenseless. Animal welfare laws vary widely across the globe, reflecting the diverse approaches taken by different countries to protect the interests of animals. While the United States has made commendable strides, the current legal framework for animal protection remains inadequate. Both Switzerland and the United States have federal laws that aim to protect animal welfare, but …

Applicants Beware: Chinese Trademark Fraud Is Rampant, And It Is Affecting U.S. Trademarks, Lily Barash

CICLR Online

If you are looking to file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you should raise your vigilance. When the COVID-19 pandemic sent people in the United States into emergency lockdown, brick and mortar businesses closed their doors and people started opening their minds. People found new, and more, ways to be creative and e-commerce began to boom. With budding ideas, creators and companies recognized the imperativeness of protecting their intellectual property. The USPTO announced that as of June 17, 2021, it had experienced an increase of roughly 63% in trademark applications filed over the …

Time To Enumerate The Slave Trade As A Distinct Provision In The Crimes Against Humanity Treaty, Patricia Viseur Sellers, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Alexandra Lily Kather

Online Publications

The proposed Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity under consideration at the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee (Legal) are bereft of a distinct provision to address the international crime of the slave trade.

Out Of The Shadows: The Need For Increased Scrutiny Of Shadow Banking In China, Benson M. Clements

CICLR Online

Zhongrong International Trust Co., a Chinese investment trust with significant real estate exposure, has missed payments on dozens of corporate trust products since late July. Retail investors are left with frustration and panic as they fear they may have lost their life savings. Regulators are concerned they may have to further tame an already faltering economy. It may be time to question the free reign with which shadow banks have enjoyed for decades.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on November 14, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link …

Writer V. Big Pharma: How John Green, Author And Youtuber, Fought The Evergreening Of A Drug Patent, Rachel Bier

CICLR Online

Tuberculosis (TB), an illness caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is the deadliest disease in human history. In the 1950s and 1960s, scientists developed several drugs that could treat TB. These developments meant that TB became a curable disease. However, TB remains a terrible epidemic in poor communities around the world. About 4,000 people die from TB every day, with over eighty percent of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on November 9, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button …

Review Of The Book Denial Of Genocides In The Twenty-First Century, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Review of the book Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Bedross Der Matossian.

Higher Wages In A High Inflation World: What The United States Can Learn From Icelandic Unionization, Jack Berroug

CICLR Online

Since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire world, inflation has slowly been on the rise. OECD countries across the globe immediately felt the effects of inflation and despite the increase in wages amongst workers globally, inflation outpaced nominal wage growth for many countries. Over the past couple years, many of the capitalist OECD countries have dealt with inflation in various ways with varying degrees of success. One capitalist country in particular has kept up with real wage growth despite inflation: Iceland. Iceland is the most unionized country in the world with 90 percent of its workplace …

The Lessons Of 9/11 For October 7, Mary Ellen O'Connell

NDLS in the News

October 7 is being called Israel’s 9/11. The comparison is apt for the lessons that can be learned as to the legality of launching a ground offensive to respond to terrorism.

From Maritime Pushbacks To Naval Blockade: How Europe Is Drowning In Legal Pitfalls, Martine Bjørnstad

CICLR Online

As if haunted by the past, the headlines are once again filled with cautionary tales of Europe’s unsecure borders and looming migration crisis. The arrival of 11,000 migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in early September, amidst deadlocked negotiations over the European Union’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, has again sparked debate in Europe about how to tackle illegal immigration from North Africa. The proposed solution that has perhaps drawn the most attention is that of a naval blockade.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on October 25, 2023. The original …

An Imperial History Of Race-Religion In International Law, Rabiat Akande

Articles & Book Chapters

More than half a century after the UN’s adoption of the International Convention on the Prohibition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a debate has emerged over whether to extend the Convention’s protections to religious discrimination. This Article uses history to intervene in the debate. It argues that racial and religious othering were mutually co-constitutive in the colonial encounter and foundational to the making of modern international law. Moreover, the contemporary proposal to address the interplay of racial and religious othering is hardly new; iterations of that demand surfaced in the earlier twentieth century, as well. By illuminating the centrality …

Island States Turn To The Law To Fight Climate Change, Adam Auerbach

CICLR Online

The sea is rising. 2023 has seen the highest annual average sea level in recorded history, with sea level measuring four inches above 1993 levels. To many, this may seem inconsequential. However, for those in developing countries, particularly small island nations, rising sea levels present a very real, very pressing threat. For these island countries, the danger of losing their statehood and sovereignty is all too real “as their land surface may be totally covered by the sea or become fully inhabitable” in the near future.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on …

The War In Ukraine And Legal Limitations On Russian Vetoes, Anne Peters

Articles

A veto exercised by a permanent member of the UN Security Council to shield that state’s own manifest and prima facie aggression from condemnation and collective action by the Council is legally flawed. The UN Charter can be reasonably interpreted as prohibiting such a veto and depriving it of legal force. This flows from Article 27(3) of the Charter, in conjunction with the prohibition of the abuse of rights, as a manifestation of the principle of good faith, and the obligation to respect the right to life, against the background that the prohibition has the status of jus cogens. These …

Collaboration, Exclusion, And Refuge: Ftx’S Cross-Border Insolvency Strategies, Ethan Ashley

CICLR Online

The recent collapse of FTX and ensuing insolvency proceedings in the United States has stoked conversation regarding the administration of cross-border cryptocurrency insolvencies. In the case of FTX, insolvency proceedings in the United States, Australia, Turkey, and the Bahamas have demonstrated an unprecedented global footprint for a cryptocurrency exchange. As a result, these proceedings will have long-lasting impacts and may serve as a road map for how regulators and administrators can cooperate and navigate competing regulatory pressures and proceedings in the future.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on October 2, 2023. The …

The Human Rights Remedy Gap In Isds – The Potential Of The Hague Rules On Business And Human Rights Arbitration, Diane A. Desierto, Anne Van Aaken, Steven Ratner, Giorgia Sangiuolo, Martijn Scheltema, Katerina Yiannibas

Faculty Lectures and Presentations

The tensions between the protection of human rights and States’ obligations towards foreign investors has been the subject of extensive debates among States, civil society actors, business, and international organizations. The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration represent a recent effort to provide an avenue for resolving claims concerning human rights violations connected to business activities, including investment. These Rules may be linked to or incorporated in national investment laws, state contracts, or International Investment Agreements (IIAs). The Hague Rules aim to fill a currently existing gap in (access to) remedies for rightsholders and help both investors and …

Attaining The Right To Environment Through Environmental Impact Assessment, Umair Saleem

Dissertations & Theses

The thesis discusses the interconnection between the right to environment and environmental impact assessment (EIA), elaborating their depth and collective potential to effectively address most – if not all – of the complex and interconnected environmental challenges.

Firstly, the thesis explores the evolution of the environmental laws from the year 1900 and provides a unifying synthesis of the diverse environmental components, obligations, rights, and principles within international, regional, and national environmental laws. Secondly, it identifies the right to environment as a unifying and holistic right that integrates these environmental concepts and encapsulates comprehensive environmental protection. Thirdly, it provides a comparison …

Twenty Years After Krieger V Law Society Of Alberta: Law Society Discipline Of Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Krieger v. Law Society of Alberta held that provincial and territorial law societies have disciplinary jurisdiction over Crown prosecutors for conduct outside of prosecutorial discretion. The reasoning in Krieger would also apply to government lawyers. The apparent consensus is that law societies rarely exercise that jurisdiction. But in those rare instances, what conduct do Canadian law societies discipline Crown prosecutors and government lawyers for? In this article, I canvass reported disciplinary decisions to demonstrate that, while law societies sometimes discipline Crown prosecutors for violations unique to those lawyers, they often do so for violations applicable to all lawyers — particularly …

Itlos Advisory Opinion On Climate Change: Summary Of Briefs And Statements Submitted To The Tribunal, Maria Antonia Tigre, Korey Silverman-Roati

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This report provides a summary of the briefs and statements submitted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in response to the Co-Chairs of Commission of Small Island States (COSIS)’ request for an advisory opinion on climate change-related legal questions. The central issue before the ITLOS is whether State Parties to UNCLOS have specific obligations regarding the prevention, reduction, and control of marine environmental pollution stemming from climate change, as well as the protection and preservation of the marine environment concerning climate change impacts. While States and civil society organizations have put forward a variety of …

Vaccine Development, The China Dilemma, And International Regulatory Challenges, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the role played by China in the development of international regulatory standards at the intersection of intellectual prop- erty, international trade, and public health. It begins by briefly discussing the role China has played in the global health arena during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article then highlights the difficulty in determining how best to engage with the country in the development of new international regula- tory standards. It shows that the preferred method of engagement will likely depend on one’s perspective on China’s potential contributions and hin- drances: a perspective that focuses on global competition—in the economic, …

Climate Change And The Courts: Balancing Stewardship And Restraint, Susan Glazebrook

Judicature International

No abstract provided.

A Trusted Framework For Cross-Border Data Flows, Alex Joel

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with the Tech, Law and Security Program (TLS) of the American University Washington College of Law, and with support from Microsoft, convened a Global Taskforce to Promote Trusted Sharing of Data comprising experts from civil society, academia, and industry to submit proposals for harmonizing approaches to global data use and sharing. Former US Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and GMF Distinguished Fellow Karen Kornbluh and Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President Julie Brill co-chaired the taskforce; TLS Senior Project Director Alex Joel …

Two Visions Of Digital Sovereignty, Sujit Raman

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Amended Claim On A Warrant Of Arrest In An Admiralty Action In Rem, Ming En Tor

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Suppose I have filed my statement of claim endorsing the writ in rem, and the Registrar has issued a warrant of arrest reflecting this claim. I then proceed to execute a warrant of arrest to arrest a vessel. Now, suppose, however, I later discover that the original claim stated in the warrant of arrest does not exist. I then substitute the original claim with a completely different claim altogether. Can the warrant of arrest be upheld based on the amended claim and/or cause of action, even if it was not so pleaded initially when the action in rem commenced? This …

Two Decades Of Trips In China, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter reviews China’s engagement with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the past twenty years. It begins by highlighting TRIPS-related developments in the first decade of China’s WTO membership. The chapter then discusses the country’s ‘innovative turn’ in the mid-2000s and the ramifications of its changing policy positions. This chapter continues to examine the US-China trade war, in particular the second TRIPS complaint that the United States filed against China in March 2018. It concludes with observations about the impact of the TRIPS Agreement on China, China’s impact on that agreement and how the …

Beyond The North–South Divide: Litigation's Role In Resolving Climate Change Loss And Damage Claims, Maria Antonia Tigre, Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Within the international climate regime, legal aspects surrounding loss and damage (L&D) are contentious topics, implicating liability, compensation and notions of vulnerability. The attribution of responsibility and the pursuit of redress for L&D present intricate legal and governance challenges. The ongoing debates under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are characterized by a pronounced North–South divide and have done little to provide tangible support to those most affected by L&D. This apparent neglect has prompted exploration of alternative avenues for climate harm redress. The burgeoning field of litigation for liability and compensation of climate harm holds potential significance …

Future-Proofing U.S. Laws For War Crimes Investigations In The Digital Era, Rebecca Hamilton

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Advances in information technology have irrevocably changed the nature of war crimes investigations. The pursuit of accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community now invariably requires access to digital evidence. The global reach of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter means that much of that digital evidence is held by U.S. social media companies, and access to it is subject to the U.S. Stored Communications Act.

This is the first Article to look at the legal landscape facing international investigators seeking access to digital evidence regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. It …

Neutralizing Secularism: Religious Antiliberalism And The Twentieth-Century Global Ecumenical Project, Rabiat Akande

Articles & Book Chapters

A marked feature of the contemporary U.S. constitutional landscape is the campaign by an Evangelical- Catholic coalition against the idea of secularism, understood by this alliance to mean the exclusion of religion from the state and its progressive marginalization from social life. Departing from the tendency to treat this project as a national phenomenon, this article places it within a longer global genealogy of an earlier international Christian ecumenical effort to combat secularism. The triumph of that campaign culminated in the making of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now considered the paradigmatic international legal provision on …

Carajás Corridor In Brazil: Could An Sea Have Reconciled Shared-Use Infrastructure And Environmental Protection?, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

The 998km Carajás railway corridor connects the world’s largest iron ore mine, operated by private mining company Vale S.A. (Vale) in Brazil’s northern state of Pará (PA), to the company’s maritime terminal in São Luís, the capital of the northeastern state of Maranhão (MA). Carajás is one of the few integrated railway corridors financed by a mining company that, apart from transporting the iron ore that made the infrastructure investments viable, also transports general cargo and operates passenger services along the corridor. This corridor was born from the Brazilian government’s plans in the mid1950s that foresaw the iron ore reserves …

Ukraine’S Supreme Court: Born Amid Crisis, Now Under Siege, Sergii Koziakov, David Collins

Judicature International

No abstract provided.