Law Commons^™

Currency Wars And The Erosion Of Dollar Hegemony, Lan Cao

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article examines how and why the dollar is being challenged. Part I provides a brief history of the U.S. dollar, showing how it has evolved from something with intrinsic value to something that has no intrinsic value, except via government fiat. Part I traces the evolution of money in the United States, from its original foundation in commodities and gold and silver coins, to the creation of money via Federal Reserve notes which function as money substitutes, that is, paper instruments that represent gold and silver and presumably can be converted into real money. The aim of Part I …

The Problem Of Purpose In International Criminal Law, Patrick J. Keenan

Michigan Journal of International Law

Keenan addresses the problem of purposes in this Article, with two principal objectives. The first is to sort through the competing theories to identify the core purposes of international criminal law. The second is to show how those purposes are or can be put into effect in actual cases. These questions are important because the purposes for which the law is deployed significantly influence how it is deployed. Prosecutors bring different kinds of cases and argue different theories based at least in part on what they hope to achieve. For example, in the domestic context, prosecutors might choose to prioritize …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: • United States Achieves Progress in Iran Relations with Nuclear Agreement Implementation, Prisoner Swap, and Hague Claims Tribunal Resolutions • European Union and United States Conclude Agreement to Regulate Transatlantic Personal Data Transfers • After Lengthy Delay, Congress Approves IMF Governance Reforms that Empower Emerging Market and Developing Countries • United States Joins Consensus on Paris Climate Agreement • United States and Eleven Other Nations Conclude Trans-Pacific Partnership

Delegating Peace Enforcement Missions- But To Whom? What The U.N.'S Recent Recommendation Reveals About Today's Crisis In Legitimate Actors For Robust Peace Operations, Karima Tawfik

Michigan Law Review Online

This Essay argues that in assessing whether or not to move towards the U.N. panel’s proposed model that champions regional actors and ad hoc coalitions over the U.N. itself, the international community must weigh the marginal costs and benefits of this plan. This essay follows the U.N. panel’s call for the international community to derive lessons from the past by examining three case studies where regional actors and ad hoc coalitions, rather than the U.N., have embarked on peace enforcement missions. It argues that if the international community chooses to follow the U.N. panel’s recommendation on deferring to regional actors …

Debunking The Myth Of Universal Male Privilege, Jamie R. Abrams

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Existing legal responses to sexual assault and harassment in the military have stagnated or failed. Current approaches emphasize the prevalence of sexual assault and highlight the masculine nature of the military’s statistical composition and institutional culture. Current responses do not, however, incorporate masculinities theory to disentangle the experiences of men as a group from men as individuals. Rather, embedded within contestations of the masculine military culture is the unstated assumption that the culture universally privileges or benefits the individual men that operate within it. This myth is harmful because it tethers masculinities to military efficacy, suppresses the costs of male …

Ambivalent Enforcement: International Humanitarian Law At Human Rights Tribunals, Shana Tabak

Michigan Journal of International Law

In addition to exploring the limitations of the Inter-American System’s jurisdictional capacity to adjudicate issues of IHL, this Article examines Inter-American jurisprudence in light of recent scholarly conversations regarding the relevance of the principle of lex specialis, which seeks to guide tribunals when two bodies of law may apply simultaneously, by providing for the prioritization of a specialized body of law over a general one. This concept, first articulated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Nuclear Weapons case, has proven to be the source of much scholarly consternation. As a means of addressing problems arising from …

Virtual Violence - Disruptive Cyberspace Operations As "Attacks" Under International Humanitarian Law, Ido Kilovaty

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Power outages, manipulations of data, and interruptions of Internet access are all possible effects of cyber operations. Unfortunately, recent efforts to address and regulate cyberspace operations under international law often emphasize the uncommon, though severe, cyber-attacks that cause deaths, injuries, or physical destruction. This paper deals with cyber operations during armed conflicts that cause major disruption or interruption effects – as opposed to deaths, injuries, or physical destruction. The purpose of this paper is to explore the consequences of these cyber operations that cause major disruption or interruption effects, and to argue that they might still constitute “acts of violence,” …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: • Iran and United States Continue to Implement Nuclear Deal, Although Disputes Persist • United States Continues to Challenge Chinese Claims in South China Sea; Law of the Sea Tribunal Issues Award Against China in Philippines-China Arbitration • U.S. Navy Report Concludes That Iran’s 2015 Capture of U.S. Sailors Violated International Law • United States Justifies Its Use of Force in Libya Under International and National Law • U.S. Drone Strike Kills Taliban Leader in Pakistan • U.S. Government Releases Casualty Report, Executive Order, and Presidential Policy Guidance Related to Its Counterterrorism Strike Practices • The Department …

Exposing The Gendered Myth Of Post Conflict Transition: The Transformative Power Of Economic And Social Rights, Madeleine Rees, Christine M. Chinkin

Articles

Post conflict transition has become an industry, with a plethora of states, NGOs, experts, institutes, academics and U.N. bodies, all seeking to find the right formula to effect real and sustainable peace where previously there has been none. It is valuable and important, nevertheless, to note that "more than [fifty] percent of peace agreements fail within the first five years of signature". The evidence is clear: transitions are not working.

In this essay we seek to explain and deconstruct some of the terminology applied to post conflict situations by briefly looking at conceptss of "gender equality" participation, political economy, neo-liberalism, …

Rescuing Policy And Terror Victims: A Concerted Approach To The Ransom Dilemma, C. Elizabeth Bundy

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Note will analyze the current framework governing hostage situations to determine the permissibility of ransom payments under international law. Part II will examine the two dominant positions that have developed among states and identify the justifications and shortcomings of each. Part III will conclude, firstly, that for states to develop a multilateral approach to hostage situations, they must take the lead within their respective domestic spheres and, secondly, that the option to negotiate for ransomed release should be preserved as an essential tool for confronting terrorist organizations.

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: • United States and France Sign Agreement to Compensate Holocaust Victims • United States Conducts Naval Operation Within Twelve Nautical Miles of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Prompting Protests from China • United States Pursues Bilateral and Multilateral Initiatives in and Around the Arctic

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: • U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Law Facilitating Compensation for Victims of Iranian Terrorism • Russia Argues Enhanced Military Presence in Europe Violates NATO-Russia Agreement; United States Criticizes Russian Military Maneuvers over the Baltic Sea as Inconsistent with Bilateral Treaty Governing Incidents at Sea • U.S. Secretary of State Determines ISIL Is Responsible for Genocide • United States Blocks Reappointment of WTO Appellate Body Member • U.S. Department of Defense Releases Report of Investigation Finding That October 2015 Air Strike on Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Was Not a War Crime • United States Expands Air …