Law Commons^™

Matthew S. Weinert On Democracy, Minorities, And International Law By Steven Wheatley, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 201 Pp., Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Democracy, Minorities, and International Law by Steven Wheatley, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 201 pp.

Vote-Trading In International Institutions, Ofer Eldar

Faculty Scholarship

There is evidence that countries trade votes among each other in international institutions on a wide range of issues, including the use of force, trade issues and elections of judges. Vote-trading has been criticized as being a form of corruption, undue influence and coercion. Contrary to common wisdom, however, I argue in this paper that the case for introducing policy measures against vote-trading cannot be made out on the basis of available evidence. This paper sets out an analytical framework for analyzing vote-trading in international institutions, focusing on three major contexts in which vote-trading may generate benefits and costs: (1) …

Emerging International Law Constraints On Constitutional Structure And Revision: A Preliminary Appraisal, Stephen J. Schnably

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moving Beyond Markets And Minimalism: Democracy In The Era Of Globalization, Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Democracy as Human Rights: Freedom and Equality in the Age of Globalization by Michael Goodhart. London: Routledge, 2005.

Intent, Presumptions, And Non-Self-Executing Treaties, Curtis A. Bradley

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Eastphalia Rising: An Enquiry Into The Emergence Of An Asian Perspective On International Law And Global Governance, Sung Won Kim

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Interest in the possible impact of the rise of Asia in world affairs has been growing for a number of years. Asia’s emergence has become one of the most important developments in the post-Cold War international system, and it has drawn attention from scholars and practitioners who study the balance of power in international politics, the process of economic growth and competition, and the acceleration of globalization. Although definitions of what constitutes “Asia” differ, there is little disagreement that the epi-center for the rise of Asia sits in eastern and southeastern Asia, with China as the most prominent nation in …

Brain Drain, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Tainted Provenance: When, If Ever, Should Torture Evidence Be Admissible?, Michael P. Scharf

Washington and Lee Law Review

This Article examines whether there should be exceptions to the international exclusionary rule for evidence obtained by torture, and if so, how those exceptions should be crafted to avoid abuse. Rather than explore the question in the hotly debated milieu of terrorist prosecutions, this Article analyzes and critiques three possible exceptions to the torture evidence exclusionary rule in the context of whether the newly established U.N. Cambodia Genocide Tribunal should admit evidence of the Khmer Rouge command structure that came from interrogation sessions at the infamous Tuol Sleng torture facility: (1) that the exclusionary rule should not apply to evidence …

Religious Extremism And International Legal Norms: Perfidy, Preemption, And Irrationality, Louis Rene Beres

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Just Back From The Human Rights Council, Makau Mutua

Journal Articles

The piece critically looks at the transition from the UN Commission on Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council in 2006 and questions whether the change is one of substance or form. It argues that the same paralysis that dogged the Commission will continue to afflict the Council because power politics and regional blocs - fueled by the global asymmetries of power - will not go away. The piece also contends that the charge by the West that the Commission was utterly compromised by the Third World was without merit because it was the one forum where developing could …

Regulatory Takings In Institutional Context: Beyond The Fear Of Fragmented International Law, Steven R. Ratner

Articles

Claims of regulatory expropriation have been raised in diverse venues adjudicating international investment disputes Although a basic consensus position has emerged on a state's power to affect private property rights without compensation to investors, the legality of such actions will and should depend on the specific regime and institutional context in which they are appraised. A uniform doctrinal answer is thus impossible and undesirable, and many worries about fragmentation of international law are misplaced.

Indigenous Sovereignty: A Reassessment In Light Of The Un Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Siegfried Wiessner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article explores the concept of "indigenous sovereignty" against the backdrop of the resurgence of indigenous peoples as actors in international and domestic law and policy. The Author starts with the traditional Western notion of sovereignty and its dynamization via the principle of self-determination, cabined by the exclusionary concepts of "terra nullius" and "uti possidetis." The next Part delineates the global indigenous renascence occurring since the 1970s and the resulting state practice that has led to treaties and to the development of customary international law in the field. The Article proceeds to analyze the scope and legal effect of the …

Reconstituting Japanese Law: International Norms And Domestic Litigation, Timothy Webster

Faculty Publications

This paper examines a number of lawsuits challenging racial discrimination in Japan’s private sector. Since Japan does not have a law banning private acts of racial discrimination, victims of racial discrimination invoke international human rights law to buttress their claims for compensation. I argue that Japanese judges are, by and large, receptive to these international law claims, but that the system for adjudicating racial discrimination disputes is inadequate. Specifically, a law that bans private acts of racial discrimination would put Japan in line with recently emergent global norms of equality.

Beyond Wealth: Stories Of Art, War, And Greed, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

The article tells three stories of great art and priceless antiquities: one about early Christian mosaics from Cyprus, another about five paintings by the Viennese master, Gustav Klimt, and the third about an ancient statute of a Sumerian king from Iraq. All three stories discuss the international law protecting cultural heritage in time of war and occupation. They all tell of individuals pursuing extraordinary profits from the sale of the objects despite the international law that, properly applied, should have protected them from damage and kept them all in places of public display.

The article also tells how in each …

Arbitrating Human Rights, Roger P. Alford

Journal Articles

Corporate liability for human rights abuses is one of the most important developments in current international law and practice. With the advent of human rights litigation against corporations, there is now the prospect of a deep-pocket defendant that is complicit in grave human rights abuses, subject to personal jurisdiction, and not immune from suit. Indeed, if a corporation is accused of "aiding and abetting" human rights abuses, this is all but a concession that the corporate actor is not the principal wrong-doer. It is of course possible that this controversial trend toward corporate responsibility may reflect a genuine concern about …

The Nobel Effect: Nobel Peace Prize Laureates As International Norm Entrepreneurs, Roger P. Alford

Journal Articles

For the first time in scholarly literature, this article traces the history of modern international law from the perspective of the constructivist theory of international relations. Constructivism is one of the leadings schools of thought in international relations today. This theory posits that state preferences emerge from social construction and that state interests are evolving rather than fixed. Constructivism further argues that international norms have a life cycle composed of three stages: norm emergence, norm acceptance (or norm cascades), and norm internalization. As such, constructivism treats international law as a dynamic process in which norm entrepreneurs interact with state actors …

International Delegation And State Sovereignty, Oona A. Hathaway

Law and Contemporary Problems

Hathaway rebuts the claim that state sovereignty almost always suffers when states delegate authority to international institutions. Critics of delegation err, she contends, by overemphasizing the costs but losing sight of some of the substantial benefits of cooperation. She considers the challenge to sovereignty posed by international delegation by focusing on recent debates over the influence of international legal commitments on domestic governance.

The International Trend Toward Requiring Good Cause For Tenant Eviction: Dangerous Portents For The United States?, Andrea B. Carroll

Journal Articles

This article is a first step in an effort to critically examine the invasion of a rather dangerous European property law trend into American law. The view of the right to safe, adequate, and affordable housing as a fundamental right held by all mankind is quickly growing, with more than nine countries now recognizing it. The problem is that the recognition of this fundamental right begs the question of how it is to be assured. The method of assurance chosen by most jurisdictions recognizing a right to housing is a scheme of good cause eviction. Under such a regime, a …

"Federalizing" Immigration Law: International Law As A Limitation On Congress's Power To Legislate In The Field Of Immigration, Shayana Kadidal

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of International Bodies In Influencing U.S. Policy To End Violence Against Women, Lenora M. Lapidus

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lower Courts And Constitutional Comparativism, Roger P. Alford

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Humanity Law: A New Interpretive Lens On The International Sphere, Ruti Teitel

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Extraterritoriality, Antitrust, And The Pragmatist Style, Justin Deystone

Publications

In the last decades of the 20th century, David Kennedy and Martti Koskenniemi made the case that the modern structure of international legal argument was characterized by "pragmatism." Taking this idea as its baseline, this Article's central argument is that legal pragmatism embodies a dominant style of contemporary legal reasoning, and that as Kennedy and Koskenniemi might have suggested, it is on display in some of the canonical antitrust decisions having an international dimension. The Article also seeks to show that pragmatism's ostensible triumph is best understood as a contest of three distinctly legal pragmatisms: "eclectic pragmatism," as evidenced in …

Can Might Make Right? The Use Of Force To Impose Democracy And The Arthurian Dilemma In The Modern Era, Scott Thompson

Publications

This article explains that under international law nations are not permitted to use force to impose democracy on other nations and that such an approach is also impracticable and undesirable from a policy perspective.

Culture, Sovereignty, And Hollywood: Unesco And The Future Of Trade In Cultural Products, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

On October 20, 2005, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) adopted a treaty - by a vote of 148-2, with 4 abstentions - that legitimates domestic legal measures aimed at the protection of local producers of cultural activities, goods and services. Opposed by the United States and Israel, the Convention represents a major diplomatic victory for Canada and France - its principal proponents - and a major blow to Hollywood and the United States, audiovisual products being among America's most lucrative exports. Both Canada and France, like many countries around the world, have long …

Tugba Basaran On The Rights Of Refugees Under International Law By James C. Hathaway. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 1239pp., Tugba Basaran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Rights of Refugees Under International Law by James C. Hathaway. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 1239pp.

Introduction To Sandra Day O'Connor, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

There are many, many reasons to honor Justice Sandra Day O'Connor-and during the course of her brief but rich stay with us here at Columbia Law School, we have touched on only some of those many reasons. There remains this afternoon one more occasion to honor Justice O'Connor-an honor that has a very special resonance at this law school. It is the conferral of the Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award by the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, a recognition of contributions to international law that is deeply meaningful not only at Columbia Law School, but in international law circles generally.

Silence Of The Laws? Conceptions Of International Relations And International Law In Hobbes, Kant, And Locke, Michael W. Doyle, Geoffrey S. Carlson

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay explains how the political theorists Hobbes, Kant, and Locke interpret the decision to go to war (us ad bellum) and the manner in which the war is conducted (just in bello). It also considers the implications of the three theories for compliance with international law more generally. It concludes that although all three can lay claim to certain key features of modern international law, it is Locke who provides the most complete support for both the laws of war, in particular, and with international law, in general.

Soft Law, Dinah L. Shelton

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

International law is a largely consensual system, consisting of norms that states in sovereign equality freely accept to govern themselves and other subjects of law. International law is thus created by states, using procedures that they have agreed are legislative, that is, through procedures identified by them as the appropriate means to create legally-binding obligations. In contrast to the agreed sources listed in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Statute, state practice in recent years, inside and outside international organizations, increasingly has placed normative statements in non binding political instruments such as declarations, resolutions, and programs of action, and has …

Looking Beyond The Dabhol Debacle: Examining Its Causes And Understanding Its Lessons, Preeti Kundra

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes foreign direct investment in India, looking into the investment troubles surrounding the Dabhol power project, India's largest foreign investment project to date. After providing an introduction to the mechanics of project finance and a backdrop to the Dabhol power project, the Note considers whether the Indian government's actions, specifically the use of the Indian legal system, constituted "total expropriation" and violations of international law. Additionally, this Note considers what systemic changes India can make in order to create a more investment-friendly environment in the post-Dabhol context.