Law Commons^™

Italy And The Aquarius: A Migrant Crisis, Alexandra Larkin

Pace International Law Review

Italian journalist Indro Montanelli once wrote, “[w]e Italians are tolerant and civil with all those who are different. Black, red, yellow. Especially when they are far away, at a telescopic distance from us.” In recent years, Italy had a resurgence of nationalist and far-right political leaders, who have taken an anti-immigration stance. Public interest in migration of refugees and asylum seekers is due both to media coverage of their stories and to litigation before international courts. One high-profile story that made headlines in the summer of 2018 was Italy’s treatment of the Aquarius, a rescue vessel operated by the …

The Cold Vacuum Of Arms Control In Outer Space: Can Existing Law Make Some Anti-Satellite Weapons Illegal?, Jeffrey A. Murphy

Cleveland State Law Review

The current space law paradigm came into existence when two major national powers were vying for supremacy after a catastrophic world war. The nuclear age had dawned. The United Nations drafted and ratified the Outer Space Treaty under these conditions with limited foresight to the specific nature of future space activities. As more nations and private actors enter the space arena, the nature of the weapons used in space has changed, and the number of targets and opportunities for collateral damage has greatly increased.

This Note looks at the weapons aimed at space and the laws that try to govern …

Contesting Human Rights Defenders At The Un Human Rights Council, M. Joel Voss

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Human rights defenders are being increasingly targeted across the globe. The rise of nationalist, populist regimes is of great concern to both human rights defenders and those that advocate for the rights of defenders. The problem is not only of domestic concern. The UN Human Rights Council, the UN’s preeminent human rights institution, is also seeing an increasing number of attacks on defenders, both in formal settings like discussions on resolutions and the Universal Periodic Review process and informally, through threats to participants at the Council.

This paper attempts to better understand and predict which states will both try to …

Seeking Reconciliation Of Self-Determination, Territorial Integrity, And Humanitarian Intervention (Introduction To Special Project: Humanitarian Intervention And Kosovo), Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

Exercising Environmental Human Rights And Remedies In The United Nations System, Linda A. Malone, Scott Pasternack

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

Legitimizing International Criminal Justice: The Importance Of Process Control, Nancy Amoury Combs

Nancy Combs

No abstract provided.

A Memorial For Bosnia: Framework Of Legal Arguments Concerning The Lawfulness Of The Maintenance Of The United Nations Security Council's Arms Embargo On Bosnia And Herzegovina, Craig Scott, Abid Qureshi, Jasminka Kalajdzic, Francis Chang, Paul Michell, Peter Copeland

Craig M. Scott

This Memorial seeks to present a framework of legal arguments with respect to the validity and legal effects of an arms embargo imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 713 in September 1991 on the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia), before its dissolution, and since treated as being in force with respect to the new states that have succeeded Yugoslavia. More particularly, the Memorial addresses the legality of maintaining (or, at least, having maintained during the crucial time period) the arms embargo in force, either de jure or de facto, against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) …

The U.N. Committee Of 24'S Dogmatic Philosophy Of Recognition: Toward A Sui Generis Approach To Decolonization, Hakeem O. Yusuf, Tanzil Chowdhury

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The time is ripe for the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of 24) to accept sui generis categories that enable it to achieve its aim of finishing the job of decolonization. This would mean a departure from the Committee of 24's rigid adherence to the three forms of decolonization currently recognized: independence, integration, and free association. This article adopts Gilles Deleuze's critiques of the "dogmatic philosophy of recognition" and how they can be overcome through his articulation of "the Encounter" to analyse the philosophical basis of the Committee of 24's inability to recognize sui generis forms of decolonization. …

Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes: The Kimberly Process And The Morality Exception To Wto Restrictions, Karen E. Woody

Karen Woody

This Article analyzes the events predicating the Kimberley Process and examines the validity of the Kimberley Process in relation to international trade obligations. Part I describes the background of conflict diamonds and their role in African wars. The section outlines the need for regulation in the diamond industry and examines how other attempted measures at curbing the illicit diamond trade have fallen short. Part II details the Kimberley Process and its guidelines. This section analyzes the relevant U.S. legislation passed in 2003, the Clean Diamond Trade Act. Part II also suggests that because the Kimberley Process ("KP") is predicated upon …

Exoatmospheric Plowshares: Using A Nuclear Explosive Device For Planetary Defense Against An Incoming Asteroid, David A. Koplow

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

What should be done if we suddenly discover a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth? The consequences of an impact could be enormous—scientists believe that such a strike 60 million years ago led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, and something of similar magnitude could happen again. Although no such extraterrestrial threat now looms on the horizon, astronomers concede that they cannot detect all the potentially hazardous “near-Earth objects,” and even more striking, they acknowledge that if such a danger were discerned, there is currently no proven capability for diverting or destroying it.

One possible response to this …

How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Private Funding Of The United Nations, Consequence And Future Of The World Intergovernmental Organization, Kossi H. Hator

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The continuous financial crisis of the United Nations has been one of the of the major issues in the world’s international organization history. For more than forty years, the UN has been continually crippled by unceasing financial difficulties. Repetitive cash-flow emergency, difficulties in collecting member states’ contributions and to pay its debts have become major concerns. Moreover, the necessity to carry on its mission, and to promote peacekeeping and other social programs have been compromised. No matter what the case may be, the future and fate of the organization lays in the hands of the richest and powerful state members, …

Un Antagonism Towards The State Of Israel Resolution 2334 Of The Un Security Council: A Misinterpretation Of International Law, Jacob Dolinger

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New Singapore Mediation Convention: The Process And Key Choices, Harold Abramson

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

70 Years Of The International Law Commission, Its Future Role In The Changing Landscape Of International Law And The Small-Developing States Nexus, Michael Imran Kanu

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The International Law Commission’S Soft Law Influence, Elena Baylis

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Higher Authority: Canada’S Cannabis Legalization In The Context Of International Law, Antonia Eliason, Robert Howse

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Article provides an overview of some of the key terms and provisions of Canada’s Cannabis Act. Part II looks at the Cannabis Act in the context of the International Drug Conventions, examining how the various convention provisions might apply, looking first at the Single Convention and then at the 1988 Convention and how that convention fits with Canadian constitutional provisions. Part III focuses on the international human rights framework and how the Cannabis Act might be viewed as compatible with international human rights law even where incompatible with the International Drug Conventions. This Part also offers …

The International Law Commission's Soft Law Influence, Elena Baylis

Articles

Since the 1990s, the International Law Commission has increasingly produced soft law, such as principles and draft conclusions, in addition to hard law like draft treaty articles This essay explores the implications of the International Law Commission’s transition toward a greater emphasis on soft law. Soft law is an effective vehicle for the International Law Commission’s mission of codification and progressive development of international law; the International Law Commission’s involvement increases the clarity and accessibility of international law norms and promotes a dynamic, synergistic relationship between hard law and soft law that contributes to the effective evolution of international law. …

Reputation And Accountability: Another Look At The United Nations’ Response To The Cholera Epidemic In Haiti, Kristina Daugirdas

Articles

The cholera outbreak in Haiti offers a useful case study of reputation as a disciplinarian of international organizations. On the one hand, UN officials and member states alike have emphasized the need to repair the organization’s damaged reputation. On the other hand, the UN secretariat declined to take certain steps that might have averted—or at least mitigated—that reputational damage in the first place. This contribution argues that the United Nations’ response to cholera in Haiti showcases some important limitations and complications of reputation as a disciplinarian. Reputation will function as a less effective disciplinarian of organizations in the context of …

The Human Rights Movement And The Prevention Of Evil: The Need To Look Inward As Well As Out, Jeffrey A. Brauch

Catholic University Law Review

The modern human rights movement began as a response to great evil perpetrated by individuals and nations against others during and preceding World War II. The movement has been dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals by confronting evil and holding nations accountable should efforts to prevent it fail.

This article contends that while the human rights movement is good at confronting evil “out there,” it has failed in important ways to recognize flaws within itself. In particular, it displays a hubris that shows itself in two ways. First, the movement has embraced a utopian expansion of rights to be …

Evolving Conceptions Of Sovereignty As Applied To Membership In International Organizations, Luke C. Radice

CMC Senior Theses

In the current international climate, both nations and individuals increasingly question both the validity and necessity of international organizations. This paper seeks to answer some of those questions, and to determine why countries choose to surrender significant portions of the national power that they are afforded under traditional perceptions of “Westphalian sovereignty”. This question is answered through an analysis of historical political thought on the concept of Sovereignty, then is applied to two case studies: the United Nations and the European Union, in which the benefits and downsides of surrendering sovereignty are discussed. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the concept …