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Articles 1 - 30 of 82
Full-Text Articles in Law
Exiting The Disaster, Evading The Responsibility? Wadi Al-Qamar -- The Moon Valley, Suzan Nada
Exiting The Disaster, Evading The Responsibility? Wadi Al-Qamar -- The Moon Valley, Suzan Nada
Perspectives
This essay explores a case that delivered no results for the complainants, where harm was not prevented, and where stakeholders who filed the complaint were not compensated. Investigated by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Wadi al-Qamar case illustrates some of the limitations of accountability mechanisms in limiting the harms caused directly or indirectly by projects in which the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) invest.
Legal Risk And Accountability In Development Finance: Lessons From Jam V. International Finance Corporation, Michelle Harrison, Shannon Marcoux
Legal Risk And Accountability In Development Finance: Lessons From Jam V. International Finance Corporation, Michelle Harrison, Shannon Marcoux
Perspectives
In a landmark decision in 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Jam v. International Finance Corporation that international organizations like the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group, can be sued in U.S. courts, ending the “absolute immunity” from suit that they had long claimed. The Jam lawsuit arose out of IFC’s gross mishandling of the Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant project in Gujarat, India, which has destroyed the livelihoods, environment, and way of life of local communities living in its shadow. The lawsuit, and especially the clash between IFC’s sweeping assertions of …
Imf Human Rights Accountability: A Pragmatic Way To Break The Deadlock, Aldo Caliari
Imf Human Rights Accountability: A Pragmatic Way To Break The Deadlock, Aldo Caliari
Perspectives
In the three decades since the 1993 establishment of the World Bank Inspection Panel, almost all development finance institutions (DFIs) have established analogous panels, ombudsperson offices or other independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) to allow people who believe they have been harmed by the DFI’s activities to directly trigger processes of fact-finding, dispute resolution, and, if applicable, redress. The primary exception has been the International Monetary Fund.
World Bank's Roadmap And The Inspection Panel's Human Rights Responsibilities, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, C.P. Chandrasekhar
World Bank's Roadmap And The Inspection Panel's Human Rights Responsibilities, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, C.P. Chandrasekhar
Perspectives
The World Bank has been under pressure to devise a process for “evolving” its mission, operations, and resources, acknowledging that decades of engagement with low- and middle-income countries has resulted, paradoxically and contrary to its official mission, in a “crisis of development.” The Bank bluntly notes in the opening to its paper “Evolving the World Bank Group’s Mission, Operations, and Resources: A Roadmap,” issued in December 2022, “after decades of progress, growth and poverty reduction have stalled.” Indeed, this “crisis of development” threatens to unleash political instability around the world.
Future-Proofing U.S. Laws For War Crimes Investigations In The Digital Era, Rebecca Hamilton
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 …
The Values-Based Trade Agenda, Fernanda Giorgia Nicola Dr., Michelle Egan
The Values-Based Trade Agenda, Fernanda Giorgia Nicola Dr., Michelle Egan
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
With the increasing trade tensions between the United States and China, pressures created by Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic, most trade scholars have focused on rising protectionism exhibited through defensive strategies such as tariffs and export controls. However, this focus ignores the fundamental shift in international trade goals of the United States and the European Union towards a values-based trade agenda.
Instead of merely focusing on free trade based on efficiency and market access, trade regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have independently pursued measures designed to address environmental sustainability and social equity. These policies resonate with their domestic …
Reflections On The Role Of The Panel, Charles Di Leva
Reflections On The Role Of The Panel, Charles Di Leva
Perspectives
Over the past thirty years, the World Bank and the Inspection Panel have had a supportive relationship regarding the principle of accountability, particularly as applied to the field of development finance operations and the role and responsibility of the Bank as a multilateral public sector financial institution. This relationship has been apparent in at least three key aspects: i) following the Bank’s lead, many development institutions around the globe have taken steps to improve their own accountability and developed independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) modeled on the Inspection Panel; ii) the Bank and other development institutions have been supporting the development …
Can Mediation Provide Remedy For Human Rights Violations? A Quest For Justice Using A Development Bank Accountability Mechanism, Natalie Bugalski, David Pred
Can Mediation Provide Remedy For Human Rights Violations? A Quest For Justice Using A Development Bank Accountability Mechanism, Natalie Bugalski, David Pred
Perspectives
This essay describes what it takes—the enormous tenacity, solidarity, courage and skill required—for communities and their civil society partners to seek recourse through the dispute resolution processes of development bank accountability mechanisms. While these mechanisms can be the crucial centerpiece of an effective strategy, their critical shortcomings mean that community advocates must often engage in Olympian advocacy gymnastics to achieve even a small measure of redress. The essay makes recommendations for strengthening community-centered accountability in development finance, so that remediation and prevention of harm become the norm, and not the rare exception.
The World Bank, The Inspection Panel & Immunity, Joe Athialy
The World Bank, The Inspection Panel & Immunity, Joe Athialy
Perspectives
The establishment of the Inspection Panel marked a turning point for the World Bank, at a time when the notion of accountability in international financial institutions was still nascent. Triggered by people's movements, this bold experiment aimed at transparency faced hurdles as the Bank was immune to legal consequences, and over a while, it weakened the Panel's mandate. The 2019 US Supreme Court decision stripping the Bank of absolute immunity reshapes its accountability landscape. Post-immunity, the Panel gains renewed significance, scrutinizing and recommending actions. Legal repercussions for non-compliance bring a paradigm shift, compelling the Bank to enhance transparency, engage communities, …
"Use And Improve" Is My Accountability Mantra, Despite 30 Years Of Eye-Opening Disappointments, Natalie Bridgeman Fields
"Use And Improve" Is My Accountability Mantra, Despite 30 Years Of Eye-Opening Disappointments, Natalie Bridgeman Fields
Perspectives
This essay finds justification for championing the continued existence, functioning and evolution of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs). An inside assessment of the thirty-year functioning of IAMs reveals that inadequate power and independence are severely hampering IAM efforts to hold actors accountable for harm. Simultaneously, IAMs can’t make progress without the underlying financial institutions reforming their incentive structures to reward harm prevention and remedy. Despite decades of systemic failure to deliver accountability, when exceptions happen, they are worth it and can be spectacular. With an influx of new climate-related funding expected at the financial institutions, exceptions need to become the rule. …
The Critical Contribution Of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (Iams) To The Global Governance Paradigm, Owen Mcintyre
The Critical Contribution Of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (Iams) To The Global Governance Paradigm, Owen Mcintyre
Perspectives
For several decades now, the environmental and social safeguard policies adopted by international financial institutions (IFIs), along with the related accountability frameworks provided by the independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) established by each, have been at the very forefront of a global movement to extend good environmental and social governance values to the practice of international development finance. The complex of substantive and procedural standards of institutional conduct required under multilateral development bank (MDB) safeguard policies in respect of the assessment and implementation of bank-funded development projects or activities exemplifies the phenomenon of so-called “transnational” or “global” law - the rich …
An Increased Normalization Of Iams Faces Ground Realities: Lack Of Transparency Impedes Access To Iams, Hamid Sharif
An Increased Normalization Of Iams Faces Ground Realities: Lack Of Transparency Impedes Access To Iams, Hamid Sharif
Perspectives
The creation of the Inspection Panel at the World Bank has led to the emergence of a norm that international financial institutions (IFIs) must hold themselves accountable to project-affected people through independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs). AIIB as a 21st century bank reflects this normalization of IAMs. As a new MDB, AIIB’s charter mandates creation of an oversight body that includes the independent accountability mechanism or the Project-affected People’s mechanism (PPM). The PPM is aligned with many features of IFI’s IAMs while incorporating some innovations.
The central question asked by civil society and board members across IFIs is why there …
Between Disruption And Legitimation Of Development: A Critical Perspective On The Inspection Panel And A Call For More Radical Thinking Within The Accountability Community, Dustin Schäfer
Perspectives
The essay explores the Inspection Panel’s (the Panel) conflicting role of providing accountability for negatively affected people while facing political limitations. The Panel has proven its potential to disrupt harmful development practices. However, by reproducing “dev-speak” it also continuously contributes to legitimizing the same assumptions of “how to do development”, and thus to the continuation of harmful development practices. This ambivalent effect is inherent to the Panel because of its politically inhibited and depoliticized (i.e. technocratic) environment. To overcome this long-lasting and structural condition will require critical examination of the concept of development and the role it plays in …
Are The Mdbs Accountable? Reflecting On The Independent Accountability Mechanisms Of The Multilateral Development Banks, Susan Park
Perspectives
The International Accountability Mechanisms of the Multilateral Development Banks provide important insights into how to hold intergovernmental organizations to account for their environmental and social impacts. This perspective identifies how the IAMs hold the Banks to account according to the six standard questions of accountability: who is accountable, to whom, for what are they accountable, and what are the standards, processes, and sanctions employed to demonstrate that the MDBs are accountable. This highlights what the IAMs can and cannot hold the MDBs to account for, and how this might shape further international grievance mechanisms for people seeking to defend their …
Rethinking 'What Counts' As Accountability, Jonathan Fox
Rethinking 'What Counts' As Accountability, Jonathan Fox
Perspectives
The current accountability impasse suggests it may be time to rethink core concepts, as well as the field’s underlying theories of change. The idea of accountability is malleable, ambiguous — and contested. This fuzziness poses challenges for both theory and practice – how do we know what strategies bolster accountability – or whether accountability produces its expected effects? This think piece recognizes the challenge of defining ‘what counts’ as accountability, unpacks a longstanding theory of change - that sunshine is the best disinfectant - and considers some information-based reform initiatives to identify missing links in the causal chain between transparency …
Ending Violence In Development Finance Actions To Affirmatively Prevent And Stop Reprisals Against Rights Defenders, Gregory Berry
Ending Violence In Development Finance Actions To Affirmatively Prevent And Stop Reprisals Against Rights Defenders, Gregory Berry
Perspectives
This Essay makes a case for stronger enforcement and implementation of zero-tolerance policies on reprisals within Development Finance Institutions. It argues that for DFIs to inculcate any hopeful vision of a just and inclusive transition to a sustainable future, they must begin by affirmatively cutting at the roots of reprisals. The essay particularly emphasizes two essential changes. First, Independent Accountability and Audit Mechanisms must be empowered to protect the safety of defenders by self-initiating investigations where there are credible concerns of reprisals, and by accepting anonymously submitted complaints. Second, DFIs must evolve to grow teeth for enforcing measures against retaliatory …
The Inspection Panel And International Law, Daniel D. Bradlow
The Inspection Panel And International Law, Daniel D. Bradlow
Perspectives
This essay argues that the creation of the Inspection Panel (Panel) was an important international legal development. It was the first time that an international organization established a mechanism that enabled those communities and individuals who claimed they had been harmed by the decisions and actions of the international organization to hold the organization accountable. The creation of the Panel also promoted the role of non-state actors in making the soft international law that is applicable to the international financing of development projects. This essay will discuss each of these developments before drawing some conclusions about the Panel and international …
The Promise Of Collaborative Problem Solving In Enhancing Iam Effectiveness, Gina Barbieri
The Promise Of Collaborative Problem Solving In Enhancing Iam Effectiveness, Gina Barbieri
Perspectives
This essay analyses the effectiveness of collaborative problem-solving through mediation within accountability mechanisms, and considers ways in which western mediation principles should be enhanced to ensure fair outcomes given the power imbalance at play in development disputes. It also considers whether there is any scope to use problem solving principles to address questions of compliance, arguing for consideration of a hybrid approach to bolster tools available to IAMs, and so strengthen outcomes for communities.
Thirty Years Of Community-Centered Accountability In International Development Key Developments At The World Bank Inspection Panel, Dilek Barlas
Perspectives
Through the lens of important cases, this essay reflects on major developments that occurred at the Panel during the tenure of the author as the Executive Secretary of the World Bank Inspection Panel and shows how the Panel has evolved to improve accessibility, has influenced overall development policies, and has become a catalyst for institutional change. The essay observes that the Panel’s success has largely been due to its structural and operational independence, reporting as it does directly to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. However, there are challenges facing the Panel on certain issues, including most importantly its independence, …
Three Decades Of Seeking Elusive Remedies, Richard E. Bissell
Three Decades Of Seeking Elusive Remedies, Richard E. Bissell
Perspectives
Remedy is a topic to be approached with some trepidation in the area of accountability. Throughout three decades of proliferating International Accountability Mechanisms ( IAMs), remedy has been the issue least addressed by leadership. Most management and board members find it threatening, wherever a remedial action falls on the spectrum, from an apology for error to financial compensation. The pursuit of remedy builds on the demonstrated existence of harm, which is embarrassing at the least, and brings a focus on consequences and actionable steps for those people whose lives have been damaged as well as for environmental violations. This short …
Glass Half-Full Or Glass Half-Empty? Thirty Years Of Accountability At The Inspection Panel--The Impact Of Its Work And What The Data Tells Us, Ramanie Kunanayagam, Mark Goldsmith, Ibrahim James Pam, Serge Selwan, Richard Wyness, Ayako Kubodera, Camila Jorge Do Amarel, Rupes Dalai
Glass Half-Full Or Glass Half-Empty? Thirty Years Of Accountability At The Inspection Panel--The Impact Of Its Work And What The Data Tells Us, Ramanie Kunanayagam, Mark Goldsmith, Ibrahim James Pam, Serge Selwan, Richard Wyness, Ayako Kubodera, Camila Jorge Do Amarel, Rupes Dalai
Perspectives
“A stroke of a genius”, “a bold experiment in transparency and accountability that has worked to the benefit of all concerned”, “a precedent under international law”, and a “citizen-based accountability mechanism” are some of the ways in which close observers have described the World Bank Inspection Panel, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2023.
Guide On Multisectional Responses For The Protection Of Migrants, Refugees, And Internally Displaced Persons During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon, Claudia Martin
Guide On Multisectional Responses For The Protection Of Migrants, Refugees, And Internally Displaced Persons During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon, Claudia Martin
Reports
The Guide on Multisectoral Responses for the Protection of Migrants, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons during and after the COVID19 pandemic is an initiative of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity of the Organization of American States (OAS) that offers a situational analysis and promotes a dialogue on proposals to address the particular needs of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in the face of the emergency generated by COVID-19. It also seeks to define proposals with a post-pandemic perspective that provide multisectoral responses to address the needs of vulnerable populations.
This …
Defending Democracy Through Law: The Establishment Of The Legal Service Of The European Parliment, Fernanda Giorgia Nicola Dr., Antonio Caiola
Defending Democracy Through Law: The Establishment Of The Legal Service Of The European Parliment, Fernanda Giorgia Nicola Dr., Antonio Caiola
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Democracy, as well as the rule of law, is one of the founding values of the European Union. With the recent rise of some authoritarian governments in Europe, scholars have focused primarily on the efforts led by the European Commission and the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) to curb democratic backsliding. While European institutions have struggled defending the rule of law inside the Union through lawsuits and economic sanctions against those governments, the history of integration shows how the European Parliament (“EP”) led the efforts to cure the democratic deficit existing in the European institutional system. Since the end of …
Copyright In The Texts Of The Law: Historical Perspectives, Charles Duan
Copyright In The Texts Of The Law: Historical Perspectives, Charles Duan
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Recently, state governments have begun to claim a copyright interest in their official published codes of law, in particular arguing that ancillary materials such as annotations to the statutory text are subject to state-held copyright protection because those materials are not binding commands that carry the force of law. Litigation over this issue and a vigorous policy debate are ongoing.
This article contributes a historical perspective to this ongoing debate over copyright in texts relating to the law. It reviews the history of government production and use of annotations, commentaries, legislative debates, and other related information relevant to the law …
Erasing Race, Llezlie Green
Erasing Race, Llezlie Green
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Low-wage workers frequently experience exploitation, including wage theft, at the intersection of their racial identities and their economic vulnerabilities. Scholars, however, rarely consider the role of wage and hwur exploitation in broader racial subordination frameworks. This Essay considers the narratives that have informed the detachment of racial justice from the worker exploitation narrative and the distancing of economic justice from the civil rights narrative. It then contends that social movements, like the Fight for $15, can disrupt narrow understandings of low-wage worker exploitation and proffer more nuanced narratives that connect race, economic justice, and civil rights to a broader antisubordination …
Sdlp After 20: Sustainable Development In The Anthropocene, David Hunter
Sdlp After 20: Sustainable Development In The Anthropocene, David Hunter
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Panel 1: Prison Reform In The United States And Abroad, Brenda V. Smith, William Hellerstein, Deborah Labelle, Juan E. Mendez
Panel 1: Prison Reform In The United States And Abroad, Brenda V. Smith, William Hellerstein, Deborah Labelle, Juan E. Mendez
Presentations
Professor Emeritus Herman Schwartz’s distinguished career has focused attention on the cause of human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law. From the UN to Helsinki Watch, and from Israel and Eastern Europe to the United States, his work on emerging democracies, constitutional reform, and rule of law has inspired a generation of students, scholars, and practitioners to engage in this important work. Join us for a symposium on prison reform, comparative constitutionalism, voting rights, and human rights in Israel, with experts, activists, and academics in celebration of his contributions.
Indecency Regulation Of The Fcc And Censorship Law In Republic Korea: Comparison And Contrasts, Min-Soo "Minee" Roh
Indecency Regulation Of The Fcc And Censorship Law In Republic Korea: Comparison And Contrasts, Min-Soo "Minee" Roh
Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers
Regulating music on radio or television is not a straightforward process, as the music is comprised of lyrics of words. On top of the lyrics, any music performance has an additional layer of choreography and dress code. If any individual elements or combined elements is obscene or indecent, the government attempts to regulate broadcasting both music and performance. This leads to regulating general speech on communications and it requires this paper to look into regulation of broadcasting in general and specific examples of music broadcasting regulation on radio and television, particularly, in the United States (“States”) and in Republic of …
The New Social Contracts In International Supply Chains, David Snyder
The New Social Contracts In International Supply Chains, David Snyder
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
This Article considers, from legal, practical, moral, and policy perspectives, Model Contract Clauses (MCCs) to protect the human rights of workers in international supply chains. The product of the ABA Business Law Section Working Group to Draft Human Rights Protections in International Supply Contracts, the MCCs are an effort to provide companies with carefully researched and well-drafted clauses to incorporate human rights policies into supply contracts (purchase orders, master vendor agreements, and the like). The Article discusses the impetus, goals, and strategies of the MCCs and explains the paradigm of the corporate, operational, and political landscape for which they are …
The Clinical Law Review At 25 - What Have We Wrought, Robert Dinerstein
The Clinical Law Review At 25 - What Have We Wrought, Robert Dinerstein
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.