Law Commons^™

Beyond Westphalia: Competitive Legalization In Emerging Transnational Regulatory Systems, Errol E. Meidinger

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 7 in Law and Legalization in Transnational Relations, Christian Brütsch & Dirk Lehmkuhl, eds.

This paper analyzes several emerging transnational regulatory systems that engage, but are not centered on state legal systems. Driven primarily by civil society organizations, the new regulatory systems use conventional technical standard setting and certification techniques to establish market-leveraged, social and environmental regulatory programs. These programs resemble state regulatory programs in many important respects, and are increasingly legalized. Individual sectors generally have multiple regulatory programs that compete with, but also mimic and reinforce each other. While forestry is the most developed example, similar …

The U.N. Disability Convention: Historic Process, Strong Prospects And Why The U.S. Should Ratify, Tara J. Melish

Journal Articles

On December 13, 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention is historic and path-breaking on several levels, both in protection terms for the world's 650 million persons with disabilities who may now draw upon its provisions in defense of their internationally-protected rights, and in relation to the unprecedented level of civil society input and engagement in the negotiation process. This sustained and constructive engagement has given rise to a dynamic process of dialogue, cooperation, and mutual trust that will fuel monitoring and implementation work, at national and international …

Standard Setting In Human Rights: Critique And Prognosis, Makau Wa Mutua

Journal Articles

This article interrogates the processes and politics of standard setting in human rights. It traces the history of the human rights project and critically explores how the norms of the human rights movement have been created. This article looks at how those norms are made, who makes them, and why. It focuses attention on the deficits of the international order, and how that order - which is defined by multiple asymmetries - determines the norms and the purposes they serve. It identifies areas for further norm development and concludes that norm-creating processes must be inclusive and participatory to garner legitimacy …

In Defense Of The Roosevelt Court, Wilson Ray Huhn

Florida A & M University Law Review

The overriding purpose of the New Deal was to create opportunities for the common person to acquire a stake in society. The Roosevelt appointees to the Supreme Court were unwilling to allow either entrenched wealth or arbitrary governmental action to interfere with that objective. They remade the Constitution, but in so doing they returned the Constitution to its original purpose--the protection of personal liberty. The Roosevelt Court laid the foundation for a jurisprudence of human rights upon which the Warren Court and subsequent Supreme Courts have continued to build. Two justices presently serving on the Supreme Court--Justice Antonin Scalia and …

Unsafe In America: A Review Of The U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, Andrew F. Moore

Santa Clara Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address: Indigenous Peoples And Their Mark On The International Legal System, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate Change, The United States, And The Impacts Of Arctic Melting: A Case Study In The Need For Enforceable International Environmental Human Rights, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Climate change is currently the most significant and daunting international environmental problem, with disproportionate and devastating impacts on indigenous groups. The plight of the Inuit is illustrative of a larger need to recognize and enforce international environmental human rights violations. Part I of this Article examines the evolution of various approaches to environmental human rights theories in (1) United States law, (2) international human rights law instruments, and (3) the laws of other nations. Part II considers the scientific evidence and legal theory underlying the Inuit petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and explores how this scenario underscores …

The Place Of The Private Transnational Actor In International Law: Human Rights Norms, Development Aims, And Understanding Corporate Self-Regulation As Soft Law, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

My presentation advances a more expansive vision of the subjects and sources of international law by conceptualizing recent efforts to bring the conduct of private transnational commercial actors into compliance with human rights norms as potentially law making. Applying the "communication process theory" of international law making advanced by Professor Michael Reisman to the recent proliferation of pledges made by private corporate actors purporting to embrace international development priorities and human rights principles in response to civil society activism, I argue that international legal scholars should develop a critical appreciation for the ways in which non-state actors are engaged in …

After Atrocity Examples From Africa: The Right To Education And The Role Of Law In Restoration, Recovery, And Accountability, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

This article begins to consider these important questions through a discussion of the multiple models used to address, and redress massive human rights violations in South Africa, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. I argue that lawyers and policy makers working to advance the rule of law must consider the role of law in transitional societies not only as a means of ensuring that perpetrators of grave human rights abuses are held accountable, but also as a foundation for the future. I submit that for the rule of law to take root, the conditions of a society must be fertile; and respect …

Interpreting Bills Of Rights: The Value Of A Comparative Approach, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In certain jurisdictions, among them Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States, the practice of consulting comparative legal materials in interpreting domestic bills of rights has been criticized as illegitimate. This article examines four main concerns: (1) the texts of bills of rights -- the argument that a bill of rights is to be interpreted within its own four walls and not in the light of analogies drawn from other jurisdictions; (2) national identity -- the argument that a bill of rights embodies the values of a nation's people, and it is wrong to refer to foreign experiences to determine such …

A Theory Of Expressive International Law, Alex Geisinger, Michael A. Stein

Vanderbilt Law Review

What is the "pull of international society" and how does it influence the willingness of States to enter into or comply with international law? Since Grotius first identified the concept that States seek esteem from the broader global community, its parameters have proven illusive. Nonetheless, the notion remains central to discussions of why States comply with international agreements.

Understanding the reputational mechanism that impels State compliance is especially important to human rights treaties. Unlike other regimes, States that ratify and abide by the terms of these instruments receive neither reciprocal nor immediate benefits.

Consequently, the desire for international esteem is …

Changing Territoriality, Fading Sovereignty, And The Development Of Indigenous Group Rights, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

For much of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the international community resisted the notion of indigenous peoples' rights. In recent years, however, this has changed. The emergence of indigenous rights in international law may finally be upon us. At the very least, the language of international instruments and certain court decisions indicate a new era is emerging in which international law is beginning to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples. And the public seems increasingly aware of the challenges facing indigenous groups. Despite a past where victories for indigenous peoples' rights have been few, scholars are cautiously optimistic for the …

The Individual And Customary International Law Formation, Christiana Ochoa

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A state monopoly on customary international law formation was once required and acceptable, given the status states enjoyed as the sole subjects of international law. Since the drafting of the most commonly cited doctrinal sources of customary international law, legal personhood has been extended to individuals. During this same time period, individuals have come to participate in treaty-making in some key areas of international law, including human rights. The customary international law of human rights, no less than treaty law, has direct effects on individuals. It sees them as the subjects protected by those provisions that have attained the status …

Regional Human Rights Courts And Internal Armed Conflicts, Michele D'Avolio

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

This article explores the role of regional human rights courts in internal armed conflicts and asks the question: How have regional human rights courts contributed to the development of and interplay between, international humanitarian and international human rights law in internal armed conflicts? In order to address this question, I have first set forth a brief discussion of the laws of war ("LOW") as they pertain to internal armed conflict. This discussion will establish the framework for a discussion of the interplay between International Humanitarian Law ("IHL") and International Human Rights ("IHR") and, more specifically, why issues of convergence arise …

Seeking Protection: Recognition Of Environmentally Displaced Persons Under International Human Rights Law, Brooke Havard

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Culture, Power, And Law: Thinking About The Anthropology Of Rights In Thailand In And Era Of Globalization, Frank W. Munger

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Operation "Drive Out The Trash": The Case For Imposing Targeted United Nations Sanctions Against Zimbabwean Officials, Katherine Hughes

Fordham Law Review

In May 2005, representatives of President Robert Mugabe's government initiated a slum-clearance campaign entitled Operation Murambatsvina, which displaced nearly one million Zimbabweans. Using Operation Murambatsvina as a case study, this Note examines how the United Nations (U.N.) should respond to governments that violate the human rights of those living within their borders. Exploring arguments for and against the various responses available to the U.N., this Note argues that targeted sanctions are the most appropriate response to the abuses perpetrated by the Mugabe regime and offers suggestions for crafting a “smart” sanctions program.

Sending The Self-Execution Doctrine To The Executioner, Aya Gruber

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Land Of The Free: Human Rights Violations At Immigration Detention Facilities In America, Caitlin J. Mitchel

LLM Theses and Essays

In America today, aliens who commit even minor visa violations can be detained in one of many immigration detention facilities throughout the U.S. These detainees may be transferred to a facility far away from their homes, families, and attorneys. While imprisoned in these detention facilities, some detainees are treated as and housed with criminals. Their substantive and procedural rights are limited and their human rights are violated. The U.S. laws that should protect them are the very laws that strip them of their rights to court proceedings, challenges of decisions regarding detention, and judicial review. By issuing substantial reservations, declarations, …

Comfort Women: Human Rights Of Women From Then To Present, Jinyang Koh

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper discusses the human rights of women through the atrocities in the Japanese comfort system during World War II. Approximately 100,000 military sexual slaves, so-called "comfort women", were recruited coercively, raped and mostly killed under the control of the Japanese government and military. The stance of Japan which has denied any legal liability in this matter affects severely the retrogression of the human rights of women. In order to ameliorate the human right at both international and domestic levels ultimately, it is significant to observe the facts of the comfort women issue, to analyze the legal liabilities of the …

An Introduction To The History Of International Human Rights Law, Dinah L. Shelton

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

As part of a lecture series given at the International Institute of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, France, in July 2003, the author presents an overview of the history of international human rights law. The author explores numerous religious, political, cultural, philosophical, economic and intellectual movements throughout history that have informed and guided the development of human rights law on the global stage. In doing so, the author examines the moral and ethical dimensions which underpin international human rights law, including what she defines as the innate human desire for protection from abuse. The author highlights the world's most significant historical …

Joel R. Pruce On The Human Rights Reader: Major Political Essays, Speeches And Documents From Ancient Times To The Present (Second Edition), By Micheline R. Ishay. New York, Ny: Routledge, 2007. 592pp., Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Human Rights Reader: Major Political Essays, Speeches and Documents from Ancient Times to the Present (Second Edition), by Micheline R. Ishay. New York, NY: Routledge, 2007. 592pp.

Human Rights And The War On Terror Second Edition: Introduction, Jack Donnelly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“9/11 changed everything.” Not really. In fact, there has been far more continuity than change over the past six years in both international and domestic politics. Nonetheless, human rights often have been harmed—although not by terrorism but by “the war on terror.”

Title Page

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Title page for the 2007 supplement to the Human Rights and the War on Terror topical research digest.

A Survey Of Terrorism And Human Rights In Uganda, Arika Long

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Tragically, Uganda is a primary example of a country dominated by terror and human rights violations. In a 2006 interview with Integrated Regional Information Networks IRIN, the news department of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, called the conflict in Uganda “the worst form of terrorism in the world.” Defining terrorism as indiscriminate violence against civilians, he declares that nowhere in the world is there a more concentrated area where so many people are being terrorized, and have been for such a long period of time. According to …

Chechnya: Human Rights Issues, Latife Bulur

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Chechnya is a country plagued by terrorism and human rights abuses. A primary source of these issues is the unsettled situation between local insurgents and the Russian military. This conflict, increasing in magnitude over time, makes it incredibly difficult to negotiate the terms of Chechnya’s independence perpetuating the crisis. Rising violence fuels Russia’s frustration in addressing the conflict with Chechen groups. Russia has and continues to employ various tactics to minimize the violence, but such tactics have all so far been unsuccessful.

Civil Society And Human Rights, Ken Bonneville

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A dynamic civil society is essential to a functioning democracy. After the fall of the Soviet Union there was hope that Russia could create a robust civil society to compliment its burgeoning democracy, but 15 years after the fall neither occurrence appears to be the case. Instead of an open society, Russian civil society faces challenges of oppression, threats of violence, an overbearing bureaucracy, and a constitution open to interpretation. The following research outlines some of the obstacles facing Russia’s civil society and addresses how the government is restricting civil society functions.

Disability Rights, Annika Johnson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Disability rights are often ignored in discussions of human rights. Recently, however, scholars and activists have begun producing a body of literature on disability rights in Russia and the former Soviet bloc states. Much of the literature focuses on children’s rights with an emphasis on the right to inclusive education. The literature addressing adult issues includes articles considering civil society, civil rights, and community integration. Finally, several articles address the intersection of disability rights with gender rights and ethnic minority rights.

Gender And Human Rights, Lisa Weilminster

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Russia’s historical transition from a communist society to a system of democracy and free market practices has resulted in major social changes affecting the rights of men and women. Analysis of gender and human rights in Russia requires an evaluation of the changing social relations within post-Soviet society, which are shaped by the complex factors of ethnicity, economic class, gender norms, and the role of the state in shaping present gender inequities that hinder the realization of universal human rights. Looking particularly at how gender issues relate to changing identities, employment opportunities, health care and conditions, and public and private …

Violations Of Human Rights In The Russian Military, Cathy Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In 2005, an estimated 450 deaths were caused by injuries due to internal military violence. The degradation inflicted on Russian soldiers within their regime necessitates reformation by the government and implementation of resolutions. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military has been experiencing heightened levels of personnel decline despite the compulsory draft. The prestige that the Soviet Army of the 1950s received through the late 1980s is dwindling rapidly. Despite the military code of conduct, today’s army is afflicted with perpetual violations of human rights. For the future of the Russian military, extensive action must include systemic …