Law Commons^™

An Environmental Justice Critique Of Biofuels, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Human Rights Litigation Against Corporations After Jesner V. Arab Bank, Patrick C. Reed

Publications and Research

In this paper, Dr. Reed explores issues of corporate civil liability for human rights violations. The paper analyzes the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jesner v. Arab Bank where the Court rejected federal subject-matter jurisdiction over corporate defendants under the Alien Tort Statute. The paper then moves beyond the Supreme Court ruling to identify potential legal exposure for corporations outside the Alien Tort Statute.

Drones And The Decolonization Of International Law, Markus Gunneflo

Markus Gunneflo

Leveraging Regional Human Rights Mechanisms Against Universal Human Rights: The Oic Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission Study On Sexual Orientation, Robert C. Blitt

William & Mary Law Review Online

This article critically assesses a recent study on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) prepared by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC). The first two parts review the establishment of the IPHRC and the norms governing regional human rights mechanisms (RHRMs). Following this, the article demonstrates that the methodology and conclusions evidenced in the IPHRC’s SOGI study diametrically oppose substantive international human rights law, and furthermore undermine the intended purpose of RHRMs within the human rights system. The article concludes by recommending that human rights advocates and others clearly and publicly call out these …

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 …

Against Criminalization: Gender, Activism, And The Pursuit Of Justice, Chi Adanna Mgbako, Jeanne Flavin, Sapana Anand

Posters

Maloney Library lecture series, Behind the Book

Corporate Social Responsibility And Social Media Corporations: Incorporating Human Rights Through Rankings, Self-Regulation And Shareholder Resolutions, Erika George

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the emergence and evolution of selected ranking and reporting frameworks in the expanding realm of business and human rights advocacy. It explores how indicators in the form of rankings and reports evaluating the conduct of transnational corporate actors can serve as regulatory tools with potential to bridge a global governance gap that often places human rights at risk. This article examines the relationship of transnational corporations in the Internet communications technology sector (ICT sector) to human rights and the risks presented to the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy when ICT sector companies …

Convergence And Divergence Between International Investments Law And Human Rights Law, In The Context Of The Greek Sovereign Debt Restructuring, Venetia Argyropoulou

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

International investment law developed separately from and was, for a long period, perceived as incompatible with human rights law. Despite the tendency to distinguish the evolution of these two fields of international law, however, they are not completely dissimilar. Inter alia, they both aim to safeguard investors’ rights to property, to promote respect for due process, and to address the undisputed position of power of the state against the individual. In situations of sovereign default, the asymmetry between the powers of the state and the rights of investors is even more clearly demonstrated, even within the European Union. Indeed, although …

Reimagining Justice For Gender-Based Crimes At The Margins: New Legal Strategies For Prosecuting Isis Crimes Against Women And Lgbtiq Persons, Lisa Davis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Gender Violence And Human Rights In An Era Of Backlash, Julie Goldscheid

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article brings the lens of civil cases seeking accountability for gender violence to the question of how international human rights decisions interpret gender and gender norms. It argues that a broad interpretation of gender is particularly critical as we face increasing backlash globally. It demonstrates how international human rights decisions assessing state responses to gender violence recognize the role of historic gender biases and stereotypes in holding states to account for redressing discriminatory responses to abuse, and considers structural limitations in those instruments that could impede those instruments’ transformative reach.

The Role Of International Human Rights Law In Mediating Between The Rights Of Parents And Their Children Born With Intersex Traits In The United States, Cristian González Cabrera

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

No Place To Call Home: The Iraqi Kurds Under The Ba’Ath, Saddam Hussein, And Isis, Craig Douglas Albert Ph.D.

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnonational group without their own state. They have often been the target of ethnic strife and discrimination. Even within their semi-autonomous territory, Iraqi Kurds have faced humiliation and oppression. This essay argues that the Kurds in Iraq have been deprived of their property and dignity and hence have been subjected to “dignity takings.” This occurred in three distinct phases: the 1970s under “Ba’athification,” the 1980s under Saddam Hussein, and at present under the Islamic State (ISIS). During each phase, the Kurds have suffered involuntary property loss through forced relocations and the destruction of homes …

Access Denied—Using Procedure To Restrict Tort Litigation: The Israeli-Palestinian Experience, Gilat J. Bachar

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Procedural barriers which limit individuals’ ability to bring lawsuits—like conditioning litigation upon the provision of a bond—are a subtle way to reduce the volume of tort litigation. The use of such procedural doctrines often spares legislatures from the need to debate the substance of legal rights, especially when those rights are politically controversial. This Article presents a case study of this phenomenon which has escaped scholarly attention, in the intriguing context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. On the books, a unique mechanism enables non-Israeli citizen Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to bring civil actions for damages against Israel …

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 …

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.

To Speak With One Voice: The Political Effects Of Centralizing The International Legal Defense Of The State, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

When a government official defends a case before an international court, whose interest should he/she be representing? In today’s era of expanding international treaties that give standing to individual claimants, international courts review the actions of different government actors through the yardsticks of international law. The state is not unitary; alleged victims can bring international claims against various government entities including the executive, the legislature, the administrative branch, and the judiciary. Yet, the international legal defense of government actions is in the hands of the executive power. This paper focuses on the consequences of this centralization for inter-branch politics. It …

Truth Seeking: The Lenahan Case And The Search For A Human Rights Remedy, Margaret B. Drew

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Human Rights Based Approach To International Financial Regulatory Standards, Daniel D. Bradlow

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Globalization and information and communication technologies pushed national financial regulators to establish international standard setting bodies (SSBs) which promote non-binding international financial regulatory standards. However, finance inevitably has social and human rights impacts and the SSBs and their members are not meeting their responsibility to account for these impacts in their international standards. This failure means that financial regulators and institutions may under-estimate the risks associated with their operations leading to misallocations of credit, less safe financial institutions and less efficient and transparent financial markets. To avoid this problem, SSBs should adopt a human rights approach to standard setting. The …

The Corruption And Human Rights Connection: Government Acquiescence In Torture, Edward Popovici

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Corruption has human rights consequences. That was the conclusion of a 2009 study by the International Council on Human Rights Policy and Transparency International and it is a conclusion that the 9th Circuit implicitly reached in Parada v. Sessions, a review of a dismissal of asylum case decided on August 29th, 2018. Despite the fact that such a conclusion enjoys widespread support, courts have been slow to recognize the relationship between corruption and human rights abuses. Parada v. Sessions represents an effort by the 9th Circuit to give legal cognizance to the corruption-human rights link. The holding of the …

Implementation Of The Global Magnitsky Act, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

The Global Magnitsky Act is an expansion of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (the “Magnitsky Act”). The original statute enabled the U.S. government to sanction individuals from the Russian Federation for torture, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights violations. The bill was named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison from police abuse and neglect after exposing fraud by members of the Russian government. The Global Magnitsky Act expands the scope of potential sanctions from covering just Russian nationals to covering persons worldwide who engage in …

The Upside Of The Downside: Local Human Rights And The Federalism Clauses, Martha F. Davis

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Regional Human Rights Mechanisms Against Universal Human Rights: The Oic Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission Study On Sexual Orientation, Robert C. Blitt

Scholarly Works

This article critically assesses a recent study on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) prepared by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC). The first two parts review the establishment of the IPHRC and the norms governing regional human rights mechanisms (RHRMs). Following this, the article demonstrates that the methodology and conclusions evidenced in the IPHRC’s SOGI study diametrically oppose substantive international human rights law, and furthermore undermine the intended purpose of RHRMs within the human rights system. The article concludes by recommending that human rights advocates and others clearly and publicly call out these …

Prison Preparedness And Legal Obligations To Protect Prisoners During Natural Disasters, William Omorogieva

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Since at least 2004, the intensity of hurricanes and the damage they have caused in America has increased significantly. After the turbulent hurricane season of 2017, citizens should recognize the elevated risks to safety that occur when individuals stay put, especially during high-intensity hurricanes (Category 3 and higher). States of emergency and evacuation orders have been declared recently in many states and cities that anticipated extreme hurricane conditions. However, even with increased calls for evacuations, warnings from public officials, and around the clock media coverage, a significant portion of the population has continued to be overlooked during times of natural …

Understandings Of Self-Managed Abortion As Health Inequity, Harm Reduction And Social Change, Joanna Erdman, Kinga Jelinska, Susan Yanow

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This commentary explores how self-managed abortion (SMA) has transformed understandings of and discourses on safe abortion and associated health inequities through an intersection of harm reduction, human rights and collective activism. The article examines three primary understandings of the relationship between SMA and safe abortion: first SMA as health inequity, second SMA as harm reduction, and third SMA as social change, including health system innovation and reform. A more dynamic understanding of the relationship between SMA, safe abortion and health inequities can both improve the design of interventions in the field, and more radically reset reform goals for health systems …

Access To Knowledge And The Global Abortion Policies Database, Joanna Erdman, Brooke Johnson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Research shows that women, healthcare providers, and even policy makers worldwide have limited or inaccurate knowledge of the abortion law and policies in their country. These knowledge gaps sometimes stem from the vague and broad terms of the law, which breed uncertainty and even conflict when unaccompanied by accessible regulation or guidelines. Inconsistency across national law and policy further impedes safe and evidence‐based practice. This lack of transparency creates a crisis of accountability. Those seeking care cannot know their legal entitlements, service providers cannot practice with legal protection, and governments can escape legal responsibility for the adverse effects of their …

Template Policy Re: Access To Medical Assistance In Dying In Publicly-Funded Institutions, Jocelyn Downie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Patients are being denied access to assessments for, and provision of, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in publicly-funded institutions in Canada. Health authorities should implement policies that prohibit forced transfer for MAiD (assessments and provision) unless it can be achieved without undue delay or harm to the patient (as determined by the MAiD Program, not the institution). This is a template policy that health authorities could adopt to ensure access to a legal health service in all publicly-funded institutions (including faith-based institutions) under their authority.

What Does It Mean To Belong In San Antonio? How The Battle Of The Alamo And The Cart Wars Shaped What It Means To Be American Through The Institutionalization Of Discrimination And Violence Toward Those Of Mexican Descent, Madison Endesha Sharp-Johnson

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Advancing Human Rights-By-Design In The Dual-Use Technology Industry, Jonathon Penney, Sarah Mckune, Lex Gill, Ronald Deibert

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

It is no secret that technology companies have greased the wheels for human rights abuses around the world — backed by a global web of private sector support and investment that has yielded significant financial returns. For example, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab recently published research analyzing the use of Internet filtering technology developed by Canadian company Netsweeper in ten countries globally — Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen — and concluded these uses likely violated international human rights law. Products like Netsweeper’s Internet filtering systems are often referred to as "dual …

Access To Knowledge And The Global Abortion Policies Database, Joanna Erdman, Brooke Johnson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Research shows that women, healthcare providers, and even policy makers worldwide have limited or inaccurate knowledge of the abortion law and policies in their country. These knowledge gaps sometimes stem from the vague and broad terms of the law, which breed uncertainty and even conflict when unaccompanied by accessible regulation or guidelines. Inconsistency across national law and policy further impedes safe and evidence‐based practice. This lack of transparency creates a crisis of accountability. Those seeking care cannot know their legal entitlements, service providers cannot practice with legal protection, and governments can escape legal responsibility for the adverse effects of their …

Extradition And Trial Delays: Recent Developments (And Lessons?) From Canada, Laura Ellyson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Extradition – the formal rendition of criminal fugitives between states – is well-known to be a time-consuming process that often has impacts, minor or major, on the ability of states to complete prosecution in a timely manner. Thus, the extradition process can sometimes be at odds with the right to trial within a reasonable time, which is part of the overall package of fair trial rights enshrined in international human rights law. In Canada, this right is implemented by paragraph 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In recent years Canadian courts have developed a series of principles …