Law Commons^™

Legal Status Of Drones Under Loac And International Law, Vivek Sehrawat

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

No abstract provided.

Comparing Supreme Court Jurisprudence In Obergefell V. Hodges And Town Of Castle Rock V. Gonzales: A Watershed Moment For Due Process Liberty, Jill C. Engle

Journal Articles

“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning. When new insight reveals discord between the Constitution’s central protections and a received legal stricture, a claim to liberty must be addressed.” -- Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, …

On The Evolution Of The United Nations’ 'Protect-Respect-Remedy' Project: The State, The Corporation And Human Rights In A Global Governance Context, Larry Cata Backer

Journal Articles

The advent of contemporary economic globalization has substantially altered the regulatory environment in which economic enterprises operate. Once assumed to be creatures of the states that recognized and regulated their existence, economic enterprises today are increasingly capable of arranging their activities beyond the regulatory scope of any state or groups of states. That gap between operational and regulatory capacity has produced a sustained reaction at the national and international levels. States have sought to extend their power over corporations beyond their borders. International organizations have sought to develop supra national legal governance frameworks. This paper examines one of the more …

The Spirit Of Law Librarianship: Legal Education Reform In Iraq, Kimberli Morris Kelmor

Law Library Faculty Works

Morris talks about her changing perspectives on her experiences while working in Iraq with the International Human Rights Law Institute from February 2004 to Jan 1, 2006. The contract was initially proposed as a three-year plan to help Iraqi law schools overcome the effects of more than twenty years of economic, physical, and intellectual isolation. The complete project included a program for clinical legal education, curriculum reform, rule of law, and library and educational technology. Accomplishing this in three geographically dispersed schools was a logical plan, but a very ambitious one. As the security situation and travel restrictions worsened, and …

U.S. Immigration Policy: Contract Or Human Rights Law?, Victor C. Romero

Journal Articles

The current immigration debate often reflects a tension between affirming the individual rights of migrants against the power of a nation to control its borders. An examination of U.S. Supreme Court precedent reveals that, from our earliest immigration history to the present time, our immigration policy has functioned more like contract law than human rights law, with the Court deferring to the power of Congress to define the terms of that contract at the expense of the immigrant's freedom.

On Elián And Aliens: A Political Solution To The Plenary Power Problem, Victor C. Romero

Journal Articles

The poignant story of a little boy fished out of the sea after losing his mother to the elements captured the country's imagination and ignited a political firestorm. The Elián González saga drew conflicting opinions from nearly every branch of American local, state, and federal governments.

This article takes no specific position on Elián's situation. Rather, this artivle values the González story for putting a human face on often faceless legal issues. More specifically, Elián's saga raises the following important question: When should the right of the human being to be treated as an individual trump the right of government …

The Effect Of The Tiananmen Square Massacre Upon Negotiations For The Draft Basic Law Of The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Wendy Dullea Bowie

Penn State International Law Review

This Comment will examine the effect of the massacre and the Chinese government's subsequent actions upon the negotiation of certain provisions of Hong Kong's future laws. Section II will examine the massacre, China's subsequent denial of any massacre, and Hong Kong's reaction to those events. Section III will discuss Great Britain's acquisition of Hong Kong, and the China-Britain agreement regarding Hong Kong. Section IV will compare provisions for the protection of human and individual rights contained within the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC Constitution), the China-Britain Joint Declaration, (Joint Declaration) and the Draft Basic Law (DBL) which …

Arrest First, Ask Questions Later: The Japanese Police Detention System, Christopher James Neumann

Penn State International Law Review

The Japanese police detention system enables police and prosecutors to detain criminal suspects for up to twenty-three days without a formal charge, thus posing numerous human rights problems. This comment concentrates on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides a means for identifying the human rights abuses occurring under the Japanese police detention system, as well as a method for rectifying such abuses.

Saving Grace Or Saving Face: The Roman Catholic Church And Human Rights, John A. Onorato

Penn State International Law Review

The first part of this Comment examines the structure and organization of the Roman Catholic Church, the means of papal diplomacy, and the Vatican's participation in international organizations. Special attention is focused on the Code of Canon Law, the Lateran Agreements, and other important documents. The second part of this Comment examines the role the Church plays as a protector of human rights. This focuses on the Church's actions and recent history in two nations, Chile and Poland, and examines the effects of papal visits to these countries and the publication of papal encyclicals dealing with human rights.

The Dust Of Life: The Legal And Political Ramifications Of The Continuing Vietnamese Amerasian Problem, Ernest C. Robear

Penn State International Law Review

Vietnamese disparagingly refer to them as bui doi. Americans refer to them as persons "of particular humanitarian concern to the United States." In both cases the reference is to Amerasians, the children and young adults of mixed American/Asian parentage. For the purpose of this Comment, an Amerasian may be defined as one whose mother is Asian and whose father is American. Since the last United States forces pulled out of Vietnam on April 30, 1975, these Amerasians have been caught up in a bureaucratic tug-of-war between Washington and Hanoi. Despite positive legislation, the problems faced by Vietnamese Amerasians still …

The Principle Of Religious Liberty And The Practice Of States: Seek And Ye Shall Find A Violation Of Human Rights Obligations, Scott A. Burr

Penn State International Law Review

Is religious freedom a fundamental human right? This comment examines the theological and legal basis for this theory, and through a study and comparison of the laws of four nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Republic of India, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, determines the current status of this right. The author submits proposals for bridging the gaps between states' lip service to international law and actual compliance.

Indefinite Detention Of Cuban Aliens: Is The End In Sight?, Francis G. Troyan

Penn State International Law Review

In spite of the fact that international law dictates that a sovereign should be able to protect its borders, international law also dictates that every human being has the right to be free from unnecessary detention. For nearly eight years the United States has indefinitely detained Cuban aliens who arrived in the Mariel boatlift of 1980. This comment examines this policy and offers alternatives to improve the plight of the Cubans without sacrificing the safety of Americans in general.

An Analysis Of The 1984 Draft Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Pubishment, Ahcene Boulesbaa

Penn State International Law Review

This article will review specific provisions of the Draft Convention Against Torture. Those sections that resolve the conflicting interests at the heart of the non-interference and declaration of competence principles will be highlighted. Those provisions in which the drafters were unable to reach an effective compromise will also be analyzed. The article will focus in one section upon the current Watson/D'Amato debate regarding the existence or non-existence of world-wide enforcement power. Finally, the article will propose further methods through which nations can enforce and promote human rights throughout the world.

Feast Or Famine: Do Ethiopians Have A Choice?, Janice J. Bole

Penn State International Law Review

This Comment will discuss whether an international human right to food can exist and, if so, whether Ethiopians have a right to be fed by their government given the circumstances of the current famine. An overview of Ethiopia's political and social environment will be followed by an examination of international human rights law as it is reflected in treaties, international agreements, and the customs and practices of states.

After Tel-Oren: Should Federal Courts Infer A Cause Of Action Under The Alien Tort Claims Act, Gregory A. Gross

Penn State International Law Review

This Comment, consisting of three main parts, examines the cause of action issue that arose in Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic and places it in the context of the Alien Tort Claims Act's (ACTA) prior history. The first part focuses on the three instances in which a federal court has used the statute to exercise jurisdiction in an alien tort action. The second part examines the Tel-Oren case, centering on two of the three concurrences forming the District of Columbia Court of Appeals' decision. The third part suggests that proving a distinct cause of action embodied in the law of …

Defining Filartiga: Characterizing International Torture Claims In United States Courts, John Paul George

Penn State International Law Review

Filartiga v. Pena-Irala is the paradigm for studying private torture claims against foreign officials in the United States. As the paradigm, the Filartiga action must be succinctly defined. This will assist inquiries into its judicial jurisdiction and choice of law, and it will make Filartiga-type cases more understandable and therefore more acceptable to critics. This discussion is limited to the assertion of personal jurisdiction over a foreign official for a private torture claim brought in the United States. Although this analysis is focused narrowly on Filartiga, it is designed to enhance understanding of future torture claims as well.