Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Anti-Essentialism, Relativism, And Human Rights , Tracy E. Higgins

Faculty Scholarship

Confronted with the challenge of cultural relativism, feminism faces divergent paths, neither of which seems to lead out of the woods of patriarchy. The first path, leading to simple tolerance of cultural difference, is too broad. To follow it would require feminists to ignore pervasive limits on women's freedom in the name of an autonomy that exists for women in theory only. The other path, leading to objective condemnation of cultural practices, is too narrow. To follow it would require feminists to dismiss the culturally distinct experiences of women as false consciousness. Yet to forge an alternative path is difficult, …

Women, Just Implementation Of Asylum Policy, And Our Commitment To Human Dignity And Freedom, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Human Rights In The Republic Of China On Taiwan: Ramifications Of Recent Democratic Reforms And Problems Of Enforcement, Winston Hsiao

Washington International Law Journal

October of 1995 marks the Republic of China's ("ROC") fiftieth anniversary of occupation in Taiwan. The ROC's impressive democratization in recent years follows a history of autocratic rule. Fear of government reprisal and a non-rights oriented neo-Confucian culture contributed to the people's slow assertion of their constitutional rights. Presently, the ROC's paradoxical international status raises important accountability issues. Though domestic courts now provide a more impartial forum for claims to be heard, international remedies are drastically limited should domestic ones fail. Expelled from the U.N. in 1971 and not officially recognized by most nation states, the ROC remains frightfully independent …

The Reach Of Rights In The New Russian Constitution, Antti Korkeakivi

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The new Russian Constitution incorporates a comprehensive catalogue of human rights, largely mirroring international standards and Western democracies, while retaining elements influenced by Soviet tradition. It rejects the socialist notion that rights are state-granted, declaring them inalienable and innate. However, the Constitution’s effectiveness in protecting these rights remains uncertain, as its success hinges on the judiciary’s ability to enforce them independently, despite historical weaknesses and ongoing concerns about judicial autonomy.

Per Humanitatem Ad Pacem: International Humanitarian Norms As A Jurisprudence Of Peace In The Former Yugoslavia, Mark R. Von Sternberg

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Nationalism, Ethnic Strife And Human Rights, 28 J. Marshall L. Rev. 769 (1995), Elena Bonner

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Post-Soviet Organized Crime And The Rule Of Law, 28 J. Marshall L. Rev. 827 (1995), Louise Shelley

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents - Cardozo Law Review, Volume 16, Issue 1

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Involuntary Commitment And The Use Of Seclusion And Restraint In Uruguay: A Comparison With The United Nations Principles For The Protection Of Persons With Mental Illness, Angelika C. Moncada

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Emerging From Emergency: Human Rights In South Africa, Etienne Mureinik

Michigan Law Review

A Review of In a Time of Trouble: Law and Liberty in South Africa's State of Emergency by Stephen Ellmann

La Liberté D'Expression Et La Dignité De La Personne Devant La Cour Suprême Du Canada, Mark A. Drumbl, Ian Lee, Martha Rafuse

Scholarly Articles

Although the principle of human dignity is not expressly recognized in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it cannot be denied that it is an important value which underlies many of the rights and liberties which receive explicit constitutional protection. In this article, the authors examine the manner in which the courts, and in particular the Supreme Court of Canada, have taken this fundamental value into consideration when determining the limits that may be imposed on freedom of expression. The authors suggest that the court's jurisprudence does not reveal a coherent approach to the resolution of conflicts which arise …

Fundamental Rights In The "Gray" Area: The Right Of Privacy Under The Minnesota Constitution, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the constitutional aspects of Minnesota privacy law. Part II briefly explains federal privacy law to provide a baseline for consideration of privacy law in Minnesota. Part III examines the right of privacy as it has evolved in the Minnesota common law. Part IV evaluates the Minnesota Supreme Court's application of federal privacy standards and then examines the court's decisions that outline the right of privacy under the Minnesota Constitution. Part V concludes by raising questions concerning the potential application of the court's concept of privacy under the Minnesota Constitution as applied to two areas: same-sex marriages and …

Aug. 5, 1993, Draft Resolution For Wb Inspection Panel, Unauthored

WBIP Creation Up To 1993

No abstract provided.

Ekmekdjian V. Sofovich: The Argentine Supreme Court Limits Freedom Of The Press, Leon Patricios

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Application Of The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights To Hong Kong, Geping Rao

Washington International Law Journal

As a dependency of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong is ineligible to ratify international agreements such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Kingdom ratified the ICCPR and in so doing extended it to Hong Kong, with certain reservations. Full implementation of the ICCPR in Hong Kong requires that it be incorporated into domestic law, however. That was accomplished in 1991 with the passage of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. This Article discusses the incorporation of the ICCPR into Hong Kong law via the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and the Basic Law, and proposes …

"Comfort Women" From Korea: Japan's World War Ii Sex Slaves And The Legitimacy Of Their Claims For Reparations, Yvonne Park Hsu

Washington International Law Journal

During World War II, Japan forced 100,000 to 200,000 women from all over Asia into prostitution to satisfy the sexual cravings of Japanese soldiers. These women thus forced into prostitution were euphemistically called "comfort women". In December 1991, three former Korean comfort women filed suit in the Tokyo District Court, seeking damages for their sufferings. From both legal and moral perspectives, Japan needs to make reparations for violations of these women's fundamental human rights. By meeting the obligations arising from its past abuses of human rights, Japan will take a significant step toward preventing its militant past from re-occurring, fostering …

Illiteracy, Disempowerment And Injustice: How The Ontario Human Rights Code Can Protect Persons With Low Literacy Skills, Mark Anthony Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

For too long individuals with low literacy skills have been viewed as "illiterates" living on the margins of society, unable to function as well as their "literate" counterparts. In reality, the one third of all Canadians who have weak literacy skills perform vital roles in society and deserve not to be discriminated against in political employment and contractual situations.

Accordingly, the author suggests that discrimination against individuals with low literacy skills be prohibited by the creation of a new ground in the Ontario Human Rights Code entitled "lack of proficiency in English or French". The author canvasses the ability of …

South Korea: Implementation And Application Of Human Rights Covenants, Suk Tae Lee

Michigan Journal of International Law

Under article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the State Party undertakes to submit reports on the measures it has adopted which give effect to the rights recognized in the ICCPR and demonstrate the progress it has made in granting its citizens the enjoyment of those rights. The report was examined by the HRC in July 1992 and will be discussed in Part I of this article. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) also requires State Parties to submit reports, but the initial report of the South Korean government has not …

Public Law, Private Actors: The Impact Of Human Rights On Business Investors In China Symposium: Doing Business In China, Diane F. Orentlicher, Timothy A. Gelatt

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Should companies invest at all in countries, like China, where severe human rights abuses are pervasive? If they do invest, should they restrict their operations to areas of the country that have a comparatively good human rights record? Are there basic principles that transnational companies should observe to ensure, at a minimum, that they do not become complicit in a host government's abrogation of universally-recognized human rights? Should such principles be enforced by Executive or congressional fiat, or should companies take primary responsibility for policing themselves? How can companies that wish to factor human rights considerations into their business decisions …

Autopoiesis And Positivism, Richard Weisberg

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Decent Respect To The Opinions Of Mankind, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 215 (1992), Louis Henkin

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In The Islamic Constitutional Tradition: Shared Ideals And Divergent Regimes, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 267 (1992), Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na' Im

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To Development: Its Meaning And Importance, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 235 (1992), James C.N. Paul

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breaking The Deadlock: Toward A Socialist-Confucianist Concept Of Human Rights For China, David E. Christensen

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note offers an alternative perspective on international human rights that seeks to bypass the dead-end universalist-cultural relativist debate, and proposes a concept of human rights that is harmonious with the modern collectivist and socialist Chinese order. Since human rights protect dignity, this study finds the source of human dignity in China in society, not in nature. This analysis opens the door to the development of a meaningful set of guaranteed individual rights for a socialist state and a Confucian order.

Rebirth Of A Nation: The Difficulties Of Transition In Eastern And Central Europe, J. French Hill

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The 1980s will go down in history as the Decade of Democracy. Latin America, Europe, and even parts of Africa saw remarkable gains in political pluralism and individual freedoms, but nowhere was this more pronounced than in central and eastern Europe and the Balkans.

As Timothy Garton Ash chronicled in his inspiring essays, The Magic Lantern, the movements of a people from totalitarianism to freedom were remarkably peaceful. Once started, the speed was breathtaking. This dash toward freedom is epitomized in Ash's quip made famous by playwright, turned President, Vaclav Havel: "In Poland it took ten years, in Hungary ten …

Books Received, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

JAPANESE CRIMINAL JUSTICE

By A. Didrick Castberg

New York, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1990. Pp. 153. $42.95.

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

By David P. Forsythe

Lexington, Massachusetts; Lexington Books, 1991. Pp. 209.$34.00.

FEDERAL COURTS AND THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PARADIGM By Kenneth C. Randall

Durham, North Carolina; Duke University Press. 1990. Pp. 295. $45.00.

ROMAN LAW AND COMPARATIVE LAW

By Alan Watson

Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1991. Pp. 328. $50.00

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND FOREIGN POLICY

By Victoria Marie Kraft

New York, New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. Pp. 185. $45.00.

The Japanese International Law 'Revolution': International Human Rights Law And Its Impact In Japan, Kenneth L. Port

Faculty Scholarship

Some observers have argued that because of a lack of enforcement powers, international law has relatively little impact on the conduct of nations and, in fact, may not be "law" at all. Others have inquired whether legal norms which underlie international human rights law have any influence on the domestic law of signatory nations. This article argues that international law can profoundly influence the development of the domestic laws of nations regardless of the lack of coercive enforcement powers. This point becomes clear through a consideration of Japan's experience in adopting and internalizing international law norms.

Domestic Violence Against Women: A Comparative Analysis Of Remedies Under The American And Indian Legal Systems, Anita Elizabeth Jacob Ninan

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of this thesis is to compare the legal remedies available to women who are the victims of domestic violence in the United States and India and analyze whether the existing laws in the two systems are effective and sufficient in combating this growing problem. Domestic violence against women is a reality. It haunts the female species form the cradle to the grave, manifesting itself in sociocultural crime peculiar to some societies like India, such as female feticide, female infanticide, bride burning dowry deaths, and wife battering (both a developing country like India and an economically developed country like …

International Human Rights Law In Soviet And American Courts, Lori Fisler Damrosch

Faculty Scholarship

To what extent should domestic courts apply international law – specifically the international law of human rights? I would like to examine this question with reference to two very different states: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States. For quite distinct reasons, neither of the two has yet fully embraced the idea of direct application in national tribunals of the body of international law that regulates the relationship between human beings and their own governments. As the post-Cold War era unfolds, it is time to ask whether either or both of these erstwhile adversaries might finally be …

Democracy, Counterinsurgency, And Human Rights: The Case Of Peru, Angela Cornell, Kenneth Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The wave of authoritarianism that swept over Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s focused international attention on the human rights violations committed by military dictatorships. As most Latin American nations experienced transitions to democratic rule in the 1980s, hopes were raised that human rights would be more widely respected. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether a regime change from dictatorship to democracy necessarily entails renewed respect for human rights. Does redemocratization represent a fundamental change in the exercise of political authority—that is, in relations between the state and civil society—or are there conditions under which democratic institutions and constitutional norms …