Law Commons^™

Increasing International Legal Protections For Freedom Of Expression, Alan Wehbé

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The international community seems to largely agree on the fundamental nature of the freedom of expression. Even countries that do not seem, in practice, to respect the freedom of expression still tend to ratify, sign, or be party to international instruments to that end. This duality tends to simplify the legal argument, but complicate the actual practice for promoting freedom of expression worldwide. For those who agree that the United States is a leader in international affairs, shift towards a more definitive State practice reinforcing the freedom of expression is an easy sell. For those who dispute whether the United …

The Blessing Of Talent And The Curse Of Poverty: Rectifying Copyright Law's Implementation Of Authors' Material Interests In International Human Rights Law, Saleh Al-Sharieh

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) grants authors the right to the protection of the material interests resulting from their intellectual works. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights interpreted these interests to comprise the ability to achieve an adequate standard of living (as a minimum). This paper argues that copyright law provides a useful yet incomplete model for the protection of authors’ material interests. Copyright creates the legal environment necessary for establishing a market for intellectual works but does not guarantee its benefits to authors. Therefore, States Parties to the ICESCR should …

Letter From The Editer, Annie Bach Yen Nguyen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Notre Dame Journal of International and Comparative Law, Volume 8, Issue 2 (2018).

The European Union, The Member States, And The Lex Mercatoria, Gabriella Saputelli

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The phenomena linked to the "internationalization" and "globalization" of the economy prompt the demand for uniform legal frameworks in supranational governance and encourage forms of “self-regulation”. This spontaneous attempt at harmonizing law at the supranational level is often prepared by market forces and comes to add to the classical legal models while leading to the emergence of a new lex mercatoria.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the openings of the European system to the transnational production of law identified under the term "new lex mercatoria" by verifying all the factors that allow its sources of law to …

Refugees In The European Union: The Harsh Reality Of The Dublin Regulation, Lana Maani

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The refugee crisis is a highly contested and controversial issue. The world, and specifically Europe, has seen a rapid increase in the number of refugees applying for asylum. In fact, the European Union (“EU”) has received well over one million refugees: the highest number of refugees since the Second World War. The crisis is testing the EU’s main building blocks, including, most importantly, its Member States’ notion of an ever-closer union. Some Member States have been more responsive to the crisis than others. For example, Germany is the highest refugee hosting country in the EU. On the other hand, Hungary …

The Paris Agreement: Its Role In International Law And American Jurisprudence, Kayla Clark

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Paris Agreement is the most articulate and influential international legal agreement on climate change to date. However, despite record breaking levels of international participation, the future of the Agreement remains uncertain. United States President Donald Trump's decision to remain a part of the international community's efforts on climate change has the potential to affect the scope and scale of this acclaimed treaty. In this note, I discuss the development of the Paris agreement as compared to the Kyoto Protocol, and how its construction promises to facilitate successful implementation. Additionally, given the United States' prominent international role, I discuss the …

Combating Statelessness In The Wake Of The Syrian Conflict: A Right Without A Remedy, Tim Schultz

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In the wake of the Syrian Civil War, millions of persons have been displaced from their homes. As desperate families flee zones of conflict, they leave all but their most precious belongings behind, in search of safety in neighboring countries. The path to safety and security, however, is a dangerous one. Displaced persons must traverse national borders, military checkpoints, and journey great distances to find safe haven. Unfortunately, Syrian families often do not carry identification documents to establish a legal recognition of their nationality in foreign lands. Consequently, this population of refugees is left vulnerable to the ugly reality of …

Masthead Volume 8

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Need For A Supranational Organization In Foreign Investment, David M. Howard

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

While the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) does not regulate the field of foreign investment, the WTO has tried to negotiate multilateral rules on foreign investment in the past, and there are other current international agreements that contain investment provisions designed to regulate foreign investment. Even though the previous multilateral investment agreement negotiations did not come to fruition, some scholars still believe there are several practical reasons for the WTO to regulate investment. Most significantly, trade and investment are strongly linked in our globalizing world and both are complements one another, with an increase in one corresponding to an increase in …

Masthead Volume 8

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Fairness At A Price: Protecting The Integrity Of Athletic Competitions At The Expense Of Female Athletes, Annie Bach Yen Nguyen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Ever since women were allowed to compete in the Olympics, they have been subjected to some form of gender verification. Initially, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) required female athletes to present certificates from their doctors confirming that they were in fact women. In 1966, the IOC and the IAAF “decided they couldn’t trust individual nations to certify femininity, and instead implemented a mandatory genital check of every woman competing at international games.” This process was dubbed the “nude parades”. In response to the overwhelming disapproval of such examination, the IOC and IAAF began implementing …

The Vatican View On Sport At The Service Of Humanity, Ed Edmonds

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Participation in sport, particularly the opportunity for children to enjoy and learn through play, is a human right and strongly supported by the goals of Catholic social teaching and the efforts of the Olympic Movement and the United Nations. On October 5-6, 2016, the Vatican held the Sport at the Service of Humanity Conference, the first global conference on sport and faith, an initiative promoted by Pope Francis and supported by the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations. This essay focuses on the conference, its vision and goals, and a challenge to use sport to advance human development and …

Letter From The Editor, Annie Bach Yen Nguyen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Notre Dame Journal of International and Comparative Law, Volume 8, Issue 1 (2018).

Amateur Vs. Professional In Cold War Hockey: A Consideration Of Relative Skill Levels And Their Implications For Professional Hockey Today, John Soares

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Americans who follow sports often consider amateur sport inferior, by definition, to the skill level of professionals. This article argues that during the 1970s and 1980s, new competitions between amateur (mainly Soviet and Czechoslovakian) and professional (mostly Canadian and American) hockey teams demonstrated that the amateur game could be as skilled –or even more so – than the professional counterpart. The article considers the problematic nature of “amateurism,” international rules changes that made possible the new amateur-vs.-professional competitions, and the results of some of these Cold War confrontations. It concludes with consideration of the relative merits of styles of play …

Forced Evictions, Homelessness, And Destruction: Summer "Games"? Olympic Violations Of The Right To Adequate Housing In Rio De Janeiro, Leigha C. Crout

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

This article details the violations of the right to housing that took place in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Analyzed under the international, regional, and domestic instruments that enumerate this guarantee, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Charter and the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of the Organization of American States, and the Constitution of Brazil, the aim of this work is to draw attention to the systematic deprivation of one of the most central human rights in the name of the Games.