Law Commons^™

Uncloaking The Secrecy Behind Large-Scale Land Deals, Jesse Coleman

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Large-scale investments in agriculture and forestry have far-reaching implications for the lives of affected individuals and communities. They are also an integral part of efforts by national governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve the governance of land resources. Despite their significance, these “land deals” and the contracts that govern them are often cloaked in secrecy, removed from relevant spheres of public scrutiny and debate.

The North-South Divide In International Environmental Law: Framing The Issues, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The unprecedented degradation of the planet’s vital ecosystems is among the most pressing issues confronting the international community. Despite the proliferation of legal instruments to combat environmental problems, conflicts between rich and poor nations (the North-South divide) have compromised the effectiveness of international environmental law, leading to deadlocks in environmental treaty negotiations and non-compliance with existing agreements. Through contributions from scholars based in five continents, International Environmental Law and the Global South examines both the historical origins of the North-South divide in European colonialism as well as its contemporary manifestations in a range of issues, including food justice, energy justice, …

International Environmental Law And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The unprecedented degradation of the planet’s vital ecosystems is among the most pressing issues confronting the international community. Despite the proliferation of legal instruments to combat environmental problems, conflicts between rich and poor nations (the North-South divide) have compromised the effectiveness of international environmental law, leading to deadlocks in environmental treaty negotiations and non-compliance with existing agreements. Through contributions from scholars based in five continents, International Environmental Law and the Global South examines both the historical origins of the North-South divide in European colonialism as well as its contemporary manifestations in a range of issues, including food justice, energy justice, …

Old Poison In New Bottles: Trafficking And The Extinction Of Respect, Winston P. Nagan, Alvaro De Medeiros

Winston P Nagan

The new form of slavery comes by that relatively innocuous title, “trafficking.” Trafficking is an illustration of the dynamic character of the social and antisocial forces that conspire to undermine the idea of human dignity in the world community. The forms of crime are in fact dynamic. Frequently the institutional forces behind crime have capital, lethal functionaries, technology, and a capacity to advance criminal interests, both within states and across state lines. To the extent that crime itself is dynamic it must as well be acknowledged that human rights violations in general also have a dynamic character. In short, when …

The International Law Of Game Of Thrones, Perry S. Bechky

Perry S. Bechky

Game of Thrones depicts a violent and, some might say, lawless world. Few would think that world evidences much international law. Yet, this article identifies several rules of international law observable on the show and relates them to real-world international law. Observable rules include some fundaments of the law of treaties, customary norms, and (most surprisingly) at least one humanitarian peremptory norm. These rules cover a range of subjects, including sovereignty, state responsibility, jurisdiction, immunities, and human rights. The article also discusses the special legal status of the Night’s Watch, which is governed by the most important legal “text” in …

Ratification, Reporting, And Rights: Quality Of Participation In The Convention Against Torture, Cossette D. Creamer, Beth A. Simmons

All Faculty Scholarship

The core international human rights treaty bodies play an important role in monitoring implementation of human rights standards through consideration of states parties’ reports. Yet very little research explores how seriously governments take their reporting obligations. This article examines the reporting record of parties to the Convention against Torture, finding that report submission is heavily conditioned by the practices of neighboring countries and by a government’s human rights commitment and institutional capacity. This article also introduces original data on the quality and responsiveness of reports, finding that more democratic—and particularly newly democratic—governments tend to render higher quality reports.

Extraterritorial Abductions: A Newly Developing International Standard, Martin Feinrider

Akron Law Review

It is these extra-legal extraterritorial apprehensions, and their status under international law, that will be the subject of this study. Here, the focus will be on the question of protection against acts of outright abduction. The conclusions reached in this study, however, would be applicable to any extra-legal extraterritorial abduction in which the apprehending State could be considered to be guilty of complicity. It is the problem of the extraterritorial violation of human rights that is to be addressed.

Theories Of State Compliance With International Law: Assessing The African Union's Ability To Ensure State Compliance With The African Charter And Constitutive Act, Stacy-Ann Elvy

Stacy-Ann Elvy

No abstract provided.

The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights: Some Preliminary Thoughts, Daniel C. Turack

Akron Law Review

Generally there is a plethora of literature on human rights. Recently published research guides' are most helpful in assisting the researcher and scholar who wants to be informed about this vital area of international law. However, with regard to research into human rights in Africa, there are some special problems to be encountered and a dearth of primary source materials in libraries.

In reference to Africa, this focus is on the sub-Saharan states of the continent excluding the Republic of South Africa and Namibia. Before looking at the Charter, it is important to look at how the African states have …

Human Rights As Comparative Constitutional Law, Jacob W.F. Sundberg

Akron Law Review

This was the background of the Akron symposium on human rights as comparative constitutional law. The purpose of the symposium was to expose U.S. constitutional and international law experts to the working of these human rights protection systems in which decisions under the U.N. Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights have arrived at an independent and influential, if not even precedent-setting role in relation to the national courts. Decision making by the U.S. Supreme Court is the focus of the teaching of Constitutional Law in the United States.

Having a number of European …

Judicial Enforcement Of International Human Rights, Edward D. Re

Akron Law Review

Lawyers are thinkers who must determine what are the fundamental human rights that must be legally enforced by a society worthy of being called civilized. Lawyers, therefore, devote their energies not only to human rights, but also to legal remedies designed to give effect to fundamental rights. Hence, for lawyers, the legal question presented deals with convening the ideals into legally enforceable norms. To phrase the inquiry in simple terms: what needs to be done to give legal effect to those moral norms which embody human rights and fundamental freedoms? What are the institutions of government that are charged with …

Succession By Estoppel: Hong Kong's Succession To The Iccpr, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

No abstract provided.

Sosa V. Alvarez-Machain And The Alien Tort Statute: How Wide Has The Door To Human Rights Litigation Been Left Open?, Carolyn A. D'Amore

Akron Law Review

This Note will explore the Alien Tort Statute from its origin in 1789 to the present interpretation of the Sosa Court. Part II will focus on the Framers’ language and intent, discuss the long lull in the use of the ATS and the impact of Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, and examine a line of cases that reawakened the ATS in the 1980s. Part III explores the elements of the Court’s decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain: the facts that gave rise to an ATS claim, the plurality’s denial of jurisdiction, its dicta regarding potential application of the ATS, and Justice …

Memo To Prime Minister Cameron On The Revision Of The U.K. National Action Plan On Business And Human Rights, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2015, CCSI sent a memo to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to provide input on the 2015 revision of the U.K. National Action Plan on business and human rights, originally published in 2013. The memo applauded the U.K. Government’s early adoption of a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.K. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to highlight the importance of land …

Transitional Justice And Local Ownership: A Framework For The Protection Of Human Rights, Andrew B. Friedman

Akron Law Review

The focus of this paper will be only on prosecutions and other mechanisms with formality and ability to punish akin to a prosecution. Of the many such pseudo-prosecutions, particular focus will be paid to Truth and Reconciliation Commissions for their formality, their ability to grant amnesty, and the darling space they occupy in the collective public and scholarly imagination. Second, the importance of local ownership will be discussed. As previously mentioned, a great deal of work has been done on this particular topic. The discussion in this article will be limited to the problems associated with local ownership in transitional …

Privatizing Human Rights? Creating Intellectual Property Rights From Human Rights Principles, David S. Welkowitz

Akron Law Review

This article focuses on one human rights treaty, the Convention, and the possible uses of its provisions to secure and expand intellectual property rights (“IP rights”). Although the Convention does not contain any provision specifically referencing IP rights, it does contain several provisions that could be used to expand IP rights. Furthermore, the existence of a substantial body of interpretive case law from the ECHR affords us a more detailed perspective on the manner in which the Convention could be used to further IP rights. Finally, the group of countries adhering to the Convention, though all part of Europe, represent …

A New International Human Rights Court For West Africa: The Ecowas Community Court Of Justice, Karen J. Alter, Laurence R. Helfer, Jacqueline R. Mcallister

Jacqueline McAllister

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (ECCJ) is an increasingly active and bold international adjudicator of human rights violations in West Africa. Since acquiring jurisdiction over human rights issues in 2005, the ECCJ has issued several path-breaking judgments, including against the Gambia for the torture of journalists, against Niger for condoning modern forms of slavery, and against Nigeria for failing to regulate the multinational oil companies that polluted the Niger Delta. This article explains why ECOWAS member states authorized the ECCJ to review human rights suits by individuals but did not allow private actors to complain about violations of regional …

Human Rights Treaties In And Beyond The Senate: The Spirit Of Senator Proxmire, Jean Galbraith

All Faculty Scholarship

In 1995, Louis Henkin wrote a famous piece in which he suggested that the process of human rights treaty ratification was haunted by “the ghost of Senator Bricker” – the isolationist Senator who in the 1950s had waged a fierce assault on the treaty power, especially with regard to human rights treaties. Since that time, Senator Bricker’s ghost has proved even more real. Professor Henkin’s concern was with how the United States ratified human rights treaties, and specifically with the packet of reservations, declarations, and understandings (RUDs) attached by the Senate in giving its advice and consent. Today, the question …

Secession: The Contradicting Provisions Of The United Nations Charter – A Direct Threat To The Current World Order, N. Micheli Quadros

N. Micheli Quadros

The preamble of the United Nations' Charter (hereinafter UN Charter) presents its members declaration under which justice and respect for international law and the international community is supposed to be maintained. To date, the United Nations (UN) has failed to ensure international peace by allowing powerful states to infringe upon other nations’ territorial integrity and manipulate individuals to exercise their right of self-determination.

Outdated, redundant and vague provisions that proved their inefficiency have plagued the UN Charter. Chapter I, Art 1 § 2 of the UN Charter, states that one of the main purpose of the UN is “to develop …

Out Of Tune And Out Of Time: The Relationship Between Australia’S International Obligations And Australian Constitutionalism And Why It Matters To Our Identity In The Asian Century, Danielle Ireland-Piper

Danielle Ireland-Piper

The constitutionalism of a nation says much about its national identity. Sections 25 and 51(xxvi) of the Australian Constitution are at odds with Australia’s international obligations under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Further, Australia’s current asylum seeker policy is a perversion of our obligations under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. These failures to comply with our international obligations are at best, relics of a racist colonial history, and at worst, manifestations of our contemporary national identity. Whilst some may argue that there are other states in …

Authorization Versus Regulation Of Detention In Non-International Armed Conflicts, Ryan Goodman

International Law Studies

What does the law of armed conflict say about detention in non-international armed conflict? Is the law “utterly silent,” as some contend, with respect to the grounds for detention—regulating who may be confined and for what status or behavior? And do the in bello rules provide a source of affirmative authority that empowers belligerents to engage in detention? How those questions are resolved and, in particular, the basis for reaching the conclusions may have unintended consequences for the regulation of warfare. This article contends that the laws of war regulate the grounds for detention but do not authorize detention in …

How To Become A Real-Life Human Rights Activist, Provost Marcella David

Environmental and Animal Law

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law presented an Annual Lecture on Human Rights & Global Justice. FAMU's Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law has taught public international law, human rights, national security law, and humanitarian law. Her research interests include the use of economic and other sanctions, international criminal law, and questions related to international organizations.

Beginning To Learn How To End: Lessons On Completion Strategies, Residual Mechanisms, And Legacy Considerations From Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals To The International Criminal Court, Dafna Gozani

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Advancing Climate Justice In International Law: Evaluating The United Nations Human Rights Based Approach, Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi

Environmental and Animal Law

The Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University College of Law's Center for International Law & Justice and the Environment, Development & Justice Program presented the First Annual Climate and Energy Justice Lecture featuring Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi. Dr. Olawuyi teaches and conducts research in the area of public international law, specializing in natural resources, energy and environment, oil and gas law and international human rights law.

Taking God Seriously: Why Religion Is Essential To The Defense Of Religious Human Rights, Kristine Kalanges

Kristine Kalanges

The immediate challenge is to transform the “difficult choice” between religious liberty as a universal human right and peaceful coexistence of diverse legal political cultures. The development of a world legal tradition is an important component of that transformation. World legal tradition emphasizes the comparative moral and historical bases of law in the subject spheres of study. Its integrative jurisprudence necessitates consideration of the contributions made by religion, politics, and historical circumstance to the evolution of law. While the elements of a world legal tradition are to be found in the intellectual and institutional resources of the Western and Islamic …

Talking Points On Report Of The Special Rapporteur On Freedom Of Religion Or Belief, Kristine Kalanges

Kristine Kalanges

To support the Holy See in its work at the United Nations, the Caritas in Veritate Foundation, in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, collaborated in preparing reports on current issues discussed at the United Nations. The Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, a joint venture between the Center for Catholic Studies and the School of Law at the University of St. Thomas, supports this collaboration, helps identify experts to draft these reports and, with the authors' permission, makes them available on its website. In …

Verboten: Forbidden Homeschooling In Germany And Its Conflict With International Religious Freedom., Jacob A. Aschmutat

Jacob A Aschmutat

Germany maintains strict compulsory education laws that prevent families from educating their children at home. Germany strictly enforces these laws, with little regard to the families’ incentives to remove their children from the public schools. As such, these laws contain no exemption for families interested in homeschooling for religious purposes. The absence of such an exemption seems to contradict the internationally recognized right to religious freedom, a right concretely granted through three international treaties that Germany has both signed and ratified. Several decisions by the European Court of Human Rights give little to no credence to the notion of religious …

The Right To Read, Lea Shaver

Lea Shaver

Reading – for education and for pleasure – may be framed as a personal indulgence, a moral virtue, or even a civic duty. What are the implications of framing reading as a human right?

Although novel, the rights-based frame finds strong support in international human rights law. The right to read need not be defended as a “new” human right. Rather, it can be located at the intersection of more familiar guarantees. Well-established rights to education, science, culture, and freedom of expression, among others, provide the necessary normative support for recognizing a universal right to read as already implicit in …

Comments On The World Bank’S Revised Draft Environmental And Social Framework, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In February 2015, CCSI sent comments to the World Bank regarding its draft Environmental and Social Framework. This took place in the context of the Bank’s consultations on the review and update of its safeguards policies. CCSI’s comments focused on ensuring consistent and comprehensive application of the framework, and on the need to more expansively incorporate human rights standards. The memo also underlined the need to protect all legitimate tenure rights, including those not currently recognized by national law, and to limit the permissibility of forced evictions. In addition, the comments include proposed amendments that would ensure that government borrowers …

Strategic Globalization: International Law As An Extension Of Domestic Political Conflict, Jide Nzelibe

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.