Law Commons^™

Updates To The Uncitral Legislative Guide On Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects, Brooke Guven, Motoko Aizawa

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI, jointly with The Observatory for Sustainable Infrastructure, submitted comments to the UNCITRAL Secretariat regarding updates to the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects. CCSI’s comments focused on the need for an updated guide, which will now refer to Public Private Partnerships, to holistically and systematically incorporate considerations of: (1) sustainable development and the SDGs, (2) rebalancing of the public versus private nature of PPPs, (3) transparency, participation, accountability, and remedy, (4) empirical evidence-based assessments of contexts in which PPPs may be desirable, (5) objectives of investment and PPPs, (6) human rights, (7) labor, (8) climate change, …

October 30, 2018: Executing Robert Bowers, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Executing Robert Bowers“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Bring Your Own Tampon Policy: Why Menstrual Hygiene Products Should Be Provided For Free In Restrooms, Elizabeth Montano

University of Miami Law Review

Like toilet paper, menstrual hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, are necessities for managing natural and unavoidable bodily functions. However, menstrual hygiene products widely receive separate treatment in restrooms across the globe. While it would be absurd today to carry a roll of toilet paper at all times, it is considered necessary and common sense for all menstruators to carry menstrual hygiene products at all times, for approximately forty years, in case of an emergency. This is the “Bring Your Own Tampon” (“BYOT”) policy and it is a violation of human rights and equal protection.

This Note seeks to …

October 28, 2018: The Shootings In Pittsburgh, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Shootings in Pittsburgh“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

October 3, 2018: Judge Kavanaugh Doesn’T Have A Judicial Philosophy: Only Randy Barnett Does, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Judge Kavanaugh Doesn’t Have a Judicial Philosophy: Only Randy Barnett Does“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Guarantees Of Children’S Rights In The Republic Of Uzbekistan, A Hamidov

ProAcademy

This a rticle discusses the im po rta n ce in te rn a tio n a l norm s on defense o f S rights in the legislation o f the Republio o f Uzbekistan a n d certain peculiarities o f execution o f c o u rt decisions in term s o f m aterialistic p rovision o f the juveniles in the country. R ecom m endations o n the im provem ents o f the legislation in the sphere a re p rovid e d.

Legal Framework For The Protection Of The Rights Of Migrant Workers, M. Tursunova

Review of law sciences

This article is devoted to the legal framework for the right protection of migrant workers. Changes in modern global economic links and world migration processes lead to the understanding of the importance and value of protecting the rights of migrant workers from the point of view of both international and national law. The study observes the theoretical and international legal framework for the right protection of migrant workers, offers suggestions for improving mechanisms for protecting the rights of migrant workers.

Legal Framework For The Protection Of The Rights Of Migrant Workers, M. Tursunova

Review of law sciences

This article is devoted to the legal framework for the right protection of migrant workers. Changes in modern global economic links and world migration processes lead to the understanding of the importance and value of protecting the rights of migrant workers from the point of view of both international and national law. The study observes the theoretical and international legal framework for the right protection of migrant workers, offers suggestions for improving mechanisms for protecting the rights of migrant workers.

September 27, 2018: Abortion And Climate Change, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Abortion and Climate Change“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Introduction: Developing Strategies For Stability And A Sustainable Shared Development In Euro-Mediterranean Migrations, Emanuela C. Del Re

New England Journal of Public Policy

This special issue on migration offers a collection of contributions from prominent scholars, academics, and researchers from Europe, Africa, and the United States who provide a unique multilevel and prismatic analysis of this fundamental social phenomenon.

Strategies For Stability And Sustainability In Euro-Mediterranean Migrations, Emanuela C. Del Re

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this article, the author provides a wide and vivid picture of the several dimensions of migration flows in the current global scenario and, in particular, in the Mediterranean. She proposes new interpretations of this complex phenomenon, analyzing its multiple aspects and characteristics and the push factors and policies and responses of the countries of origin, transit, and destination. She suggests new approaches and strategies to deal with the issue of migration, urging the EU member states and EU institutions to develop management policies for stability and sustainability that are welcoming and that respect human rights.

Response And Responsibilities Of The Republic Of Macedonia In The Migrant And Refugees Crises, Toni Mileski

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Republic of Macedonia has had a long history of dealing with migrants and refugees. Since the late nineteenth century, conflicts, including the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), the First and Second World Wars, the Greek civil war (1945–1949), the Kosovo conflict, and the 2001 internal security crisis, have caused successive waves of migration. More recently, armed conflict in the Middle East, especially in Syria, caused a migrant and refugee crisis that has deeply affected the country. This article analyses how the Republic of Macedonia has responded to this crisis. It examines the initial period of the crisis, the measures, activities, and …

European Immigration Controls Conforming To Human Rights Standards, Yannis Ktistakis

New England Journal of Public Policy

The European continent has for some years been facing increased pressure from migration. In 2010, Europe, in comparison with the other continents, was expected to host the largest number of migrants: 69.8 million migrants representing 32.6 percent of the total flow of migrants (213.9 million international migrants). This pressure has caused the two main European organizations, the Council of Europe and the European Union, to act decisively for the protection of migrants. Although the European legal order offers a high standard of human rights protection—having adopted, over the decades, the relevant instruments and developed effective mechanisms—the two European organizations have …

Holding U.S. Corporations Accountable: Toward A Convergence Of U.S. International Tax Policy And International Human Rights, Jacqueline Laínez Flanagan

Pepperdine Law Review

International human rights litigation underscores the inverse relationship between corporate power and corporate accountability, with recent Supreme Court decisions demonstrating increased judicial protections of corporate rights and decreased corporate accountability. This article explores these recent decisions through a tax justice framework and argues that the convergence of international human rights law and U.S. international tax policy affords alternate methods to hold corporations accountable for violations of international law norms. This article specifically proposes higher scrutiny of foreign tax credits and an anti-deferral regime targeting the international activity of U.S. corporations that use subsidiaries to shelter income and decrease taxation while …

Policing Against The State: United Nations Policing As Violative Of Sovereignty, Alexandra R. Harrington

San Diego International Law Journal

It is the author's contention that both parties to the policing arrangement-be they individuals, states, or organizations-give up portions of their sovereignty in the creation and maintenance of the police and policed relationship where the police are not serving the state which theoretically guards the policed. Part II of this Article provides a discussion of legal concepts of state sovereignty in international law. Part III examines the role of police in U.N. peacekeeping missions from the first peacekeeping mission entailing policing operations in the 1960s through present day operations. This examination reveals a pattern in the growth and development of …

September 18, 2018: The Kavanaugh Story, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ The Kavanaugh Story“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Outcome Report Of Roundtable On International Investment Regime And Access To Justice, Michelle Chan, Kanika Gupta, Jesse Coleman, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

On October 18, 2017, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the CCSI co-hosted a one-day roundtable on the impacts of the international investment regime on access to justice for investment-affected individuals and communities.

Held at Columbia University in New York, the roundtable brought together 32 individuals from civil society organizations, communities affected by investments at the heart of investor-state claims, governments, academia, donor organizations, UN mandate holders, and other stakeholder groups. The roundtable provided an opportunity for participants to: (i) explore and assess the specific impacts of international investment agreements and investor-state dispute settlement on access …

Community-Investor Negotiation Guide 2: Negotiating Contracts With Investors, Sam Szoke-Burke, Rachael Knight, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Marena Brinkhurst

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. If an investment project is carried out in a respectful and inclusive way, it may help community members to achieve their development goals, which may include creating jobs and local economic opportunities. But investments come with risks. Investment projects may make the land that community members need for farming and other livelihood activities unavailable for some time. They may pollute local rivers, lakes, air, and soils, or block access to sacred areas or water …

Community-Investor Negotiation Guide 1: Preparing In Advance For Potential Investors, Rachael Knight, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Sam Szoke-Burke, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Marena Brinkhurst

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. If an investment project is carried out in a respectful and inclusive way, it may help community members to achieve their development goals, which may include creating jobs and local economic opportunities. But investments come with risks. Investment projects may make the land that community members need for farming and other livelihood activities unavailable for some time. They may pollute local rivers, lakes, air, and soils, or block access to sacred areas or water …

August 24, 2018: The Coming Desperate Struggle, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Coming Desperate Struggle“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

August 15, 2018: The Catholic Church Child Abuse Scandal Comes Out, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Catholic Church Child Abuse Scandal Comes Out“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

July 24, 2018: But Why Do Immigrants Vote Democratic?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “But Why Do Immigrants Vote Democratic?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

July 1, 2018: Can We Agree That Not Everything Unions Do Is Speech, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Can We Agree that not Everything Unions Do is Speech“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Implementing The Ahafo Benefit Agreements: Seeking Meaningful Community Participation At Newmont’S Ahafo Gold Mine In Ghana, Benjamin Boakye, Maggie M. Cascadden, Jordan Kuschminder, Sam Szoke-Burke, Eric Werker

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In 2008, ten communities in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana entered into agreements with Newmont Ghana to govern company-community relations, ensure local job creation, and share the benefits of the company’s mining operations. Ten years later, this report, co-authored by Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI), African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), CCSI, and ISP, looks at the communities’ experience of those agreements and suggests how the agreements might be improved. Though the agreements were celebrated for their attempts to include all stakeholders in decision-making, challenges remain around representation, consultation, and participation. New entities established to facilitate multi-stakeholder …

June 26, 2018: Liberal Inconsistency And Arrogance, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Liberal Inconsistency and Arrogance“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Does Trade Trump Law In The Protection Of Human Rights? International Trade, Law, And Human Rights In South Africa And South Korea, Cristina Campo

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

International relations have become categorically dependent on the sophisticated trading systems that interconnect and empower sovereign states. Thus, a state’s focus on protecting the rights of its individuals comprising and affected by that system would appear to come secondary to the economic decisions involved in conducting trade agreements. This article asks whether the international trade regime can be used to further the protection of human rights or whether such protection should be better left in the hands of legal entities in international bodies and sovereign states. I analyze South Korea and South Africa’s legal and trade regimes—two of the world’s …

June 5, 2018: Yes, The President Can Pardon Himself And This Court Is Going To Vote For Religious Believers, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Yes, the President Can Pardon Himself and This Court is Going to Vote for Religious Believers“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Professors Of Law And Religion File Brief Supporting Arizona Immigration Rights Activist's Use Of Rfra As A Defense To Federal Criminal Prosecution, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

June 21, 2018: Today, five prominent professors of law and religion filed an amicus brief in support of Dr. Scott Warren, a humanitarian aid worker who faces up to twenty years in prison for providing food and shelter to migrants crossing the Arizona desert. The amicus was filed in an Arizona federal court, and contends that Dr. Warren is entitled to an accommodation from being criminally prosecuted for acting on his sincerely held religious beliefs.

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 …

A Martin Luther King Jr. Amendment To The U.S. Constitution: Toward The Abolition Of Poverty, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prescribed that we add an economic bill of rights to the U.S. Constitution. A King-Inspired bill of rights should include a constitutional amendment that enumerates a natural human right to be free from economic poverty, and appropriate enforcement legislation.

For the sake of abolishing slavery, the Thirteenth Amendment says:

(Section 1) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

(Section 2) Congress shall have power to enforce this article by …