Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

The Peace Corps Is Failing To Keep Volunteers Safe, Marnie Leonard

Human Rights Brief

Nicole Jacobson, an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in a Zambian village, was “far from home and feeling alone” when the father of the host family that the Peace Corps (“the agency”) placed her with sexually assaulted her. Jacobson reported the assault to Peace Corps staff, who told her it was a cultural misunderstanding and kept Jacobson at the site for more than a year before allowing her to leave in 2018. Unfortunately, Jacobson’s story is not unique. In fact, she is one of many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who have come forward in recent years to share stories …

Brazil’S Violence Against Indigenous Peoples, Andre Taylor

Human Rights Brief

Centuries of violence and displacement define the relationship between indigenous peoples and the successive governments of Brazil. As Brazil embarks on a massive expansion of its agribusiness and mining operations, the systemic denial of land rights and illegal economic activity on protected lands has threatened traditional ways of life practiced by indigenous peoples. The most aggressive policy taken by the Brazilian government has involved legitimizing land claims on unregistered ancestral indigenous lands for development, putting 37,800 square miles of territory at risk for exploitation by loggers, ranchers, and farmers.

Chocholáčv. Slovakia: Prisoners, Porn, & Morality In Human Rights, Amanda Lorenzo

Human Rights Brief

Chocholáč v. Slovakia asks whether Slovakia’s disciplinary actions against a prisoner in possession of concealed pornographic materials violated the European Convention of Human Rights (“the Convention”). Roman Chocholáč, a thirtythree-year-old currently serving a life sentence in Leopoldov prison was found possessing a “popular weekly magazine” with sexually-explicit pictures pasted inside. The State deemed the added material a threat to morality and prison staff confiscated it. On November 21, 2017, Chocholáč v. Slovakia was brought to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), presenting legal questions under Slovakia’s Criminal Code and Execution of Prison Sentences Act, as well as Articles 8 …

Overcoming The Westphalian Notion Of "Absolute Sovereignty": The Venezuelan Case With The Inter-American Convention Of Human Rights, Gabriel Ortiz

Human Rights Brief

In 2012, Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez withdrew from the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR or “the Convention”). He presented a letter issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs before the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). The denunciation became effective in 2013. Thereafter, no one could petition before the Inter-American Commission or the Inter-American Court (IACHR) to hold Venezuela accountable for human rights violations. Meanwhile, between 2014 and 2019, the government’s armed groups have killed more than 19,000 people.

Derogations To Human Rights During A Global Pandemic: Unpacking Normative And Practical Challenges, Roman Girma Teshome

American University International Law Review

After the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a “global pandemic,” States responded by taking more restrictive and urgent measures. These measures ranged from restrictions on public events to partial or total lockdowns, which restrict a plethora of human rights. Additionally, an unprecedented number of States declared a state of emergency to justify these measures; as of this writing, roughly two-thirds of States declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”).

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Foreword, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Foreward

The Rise Of 5g Technology: How Internet Privacy And Protection Of Personal Data Is A Must In An Evolving Digital Landscape, Justin Rabine

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Application Of The Right To Be Forgotten In The Machine Learning Context: From The Perspective Of European Laws, Zeyu Zhao

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

The right to be forgotten has been evolving for decades along with the progress of different statutes and cases and, finally, independently enacted by the General Data Protection Regulation, making it widely applied across Europe. However, the related provisions in the regulation fail to enable machine learning systems to realistically forget the personal information which is stored and processed therein.

This failure is not only because existing European rules do not stipulate standard codes of conduct and corresponding responsibilities for the parties involved, but they also cannot accommodate themselves to the new environment of machine learning, where specific information can …

Reproductive Privacy In The World: Critical Examination Of June Medical Services, L.L.C. V. Russo And Buck V. Bell, Kumiko Kitaoka

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Using insights from Professor Stephen A. Simon’s Universal Rights and the Constitution, this Article argues that national courts should continue to assume an active role in the protection of privacy rights by giving due consideration to the nature of the privacy right in combination with the merits of the universal right theory. This Article then demonstrates that both foreign national courts and domestic state courts have recognized the right to procreate and key aspects of the right to abortion as fundamental rights.

Part II introduces the universal right theory, explaining why the theory is particularly relevant to the protection …

Effectiveness Of The Existing International Humanitarian Law Provisions In Protecting The Natural Environment During Internal Armed Conflicts, Joharah M. Alkahtani

Dissertations & Theses

The environment is inherently at risk in any armed conflict and the natural environment is always a victim of wars. In order to properly protect the environment, the international community must explicitly recognize the civilian nature of the environment and bar all damages to it notwithstanding its extent, longevity and severity. The current study focuses on the environmental protection during armed conflicts. In World War I, parties employed the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons as a way of gaining military advantage over their enemies. The world responded by adopting the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and …

Johnson V. M'Intosh: Christianity, Genocide, And The Dispossession Of Indigenous Peoples, Cynthia J. Boshell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Using hermeneutical methodology, this paper examines some of the legal fictions that form the foundation of Federal Indian Law. The text of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1823 Johnson v. M’Intosh opinion is evaluated through the lens of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to determine the extent to which the Supreme Court incorporated genocidal principles into United States common law. The genealogy of M’Intosh is examined to identify influences that are not fully apparent on the face of the case. International jurisprudential interpretations of the legal definition of genocide are summarized and used as …

Making Sex Work Safe: Using A Consensus-Based Approach To Create Meaningful Policy For Sex Workers, Alexandra Sandler

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Sex work has been described as the world's oldest profession, yet it has remained nearly unchanged in the U.S., largely due to the conflation between sex work and sex trafficking. The term "sex worker" refers to a person who willingly works in the industry to make a living. Sex trafficking, though, is a form of modern-day slavery, in which an individual performs commercial sex as a result of force, fraud, or coercion. The conflation of sex work and sex trafficking in the U.S. has resulted in oppressive policies that undermine the rights and safety of sex workers. With the exception …

Hernández V. Mesa: A Case For A More Meaningful Partnership With The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Peyton Jacobsen

Seattle University Law Review

Through an in-depth examination of Hernández, the Inter-American Human Rights System, and the success of Mexico’s partnership with said system, this Note will make a case for embracing human rights bodies— specifically, the Inter-American System on Human Rights—as an appropriate and necessary check on the structures that form the United States government. Part I will look closely at the reasoning and judicially created doctrine that guided the decision in Hernández, with the goal of providing a better understanding of the complicated path through the courts that led to a seemingly straightforward yet unsatisfying result. Part II will illustrate the scope …

Rule Of Law And International Human Rights, Vincent J. Samar

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

This article reviews the field of international human rights with particular attention to the way that the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Human Rights Committee, and local domestic courts operate to resolve human rights cases. It first notes what internationally recognized human rights there are and the sources that give rise to them. It then explains how relativism enters human rights decision-making, especially at the domestic court level, in part because a common grounding for the human rights propounded was never adopted. Even at the level of the International Court of Justice, its failure to include …

Retooling Sanctions: China’S Challenge To The Liberal International Order, Timothy Webster

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Tom Ginsburg has produced yet another classic of transnational law, political science, and international relations. Democracies and International Law yields important insights into the democratic nature of international law but cautions that authoritarian states can apply these very legal technologies for repressive or anti-democratic purposes. Building on Ginsburg’s theories of mimicry and repurposing, this contribution highlights the role of both techniques in the creation of China’s economic sanctions program. On the one hand, China has developed a basic set of tools to impose economic sanctions—a key instrument in the liberal international toolkit—on foreign entities and persons. In so doing, …

Water Privatization And The Case For A Public Model, Jessica Wang

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note examines the risks associated with privatizing water systems, focusing on cases in Flint, Michigan, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It argues that privatization can undermine public rights, exacerbate inequalities, and lead to environmental injustice. The analysis highlights the failure of regulatory oversight and advocates for stronger legal frameworks to protect vulnerable communities.

A Human Rights Approach To Cultural Property: Repatriating The Yaqui Maaso Kova, Kristen A. Carpenter

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

The article argues that current legal frameworks for repatriating cultural property, such as the 1970 UNESCO Convention, are insufficient because they are state-centric and fail to address the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples. It advocates for a human rights approach, emphasizing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to remedy past injustices and ensure the repatriation of sacred objects like the Yaqui Maaso Kova. This approach prioritizes Indigenous Peoples' rights to religion, culture, and self-determination over state interests.

A Law And Politics Contextualization Of Corporate Activism In Nigeria’S 2020 Anti-Police Brutality Campaign, Okanga Ogbu Okanga

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Corporate activism – the progressive pursuit of social justice causes by corporations – is a growing global phenomenon. There are increasing expectations and, in many cases, demands that corporations pull off their gloves to actively confront sociopolitical issues bedevilling their communities. Emerging scholarship suggests that corporate activism is influenced by various factors, including the ethical, political, and commercial orientations of corporate minds and the relative political and legal landscape within which corporations operate. Adopting a qualitative research mechanism that reflects on open-source information about relevant actors, collected from blogs, Twitter, and news sites, as complemented by a broad variety of …

Fundamental Rights And Fundamental Relationships: The Family In Comparative Constitutional Law, Paolo G. Carozza

Book Chapters

The chapter is part of the Proceedings of the 2022 Plenary Session
The Family as a Relational Good: the Challenge of Love
27-29 April 2022
Pierpaolo Donati (editor)
Acta 23, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City, 2023

Perempuan Pekerja Migran Non-Reguler: Konflik Hukum Dalam Pengaturan Perdagangan Orang Dan Penyelundupan Orang, Sriwiyanti Eddyono

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

This paper analyzes the extent to which Indonesian law regulates the position and protection of irregular women migrant workers and the implication of the arrangement of law for irregular women migrant workers who experience human trafficking and people smuggling. This paper follows up on field findings on human trafficking in the Kalimantan border which was carried out in 2018-2019. This paper finds that there are complications in the regulation on laws and regulations, related to the regulation of Irregular Migrant Workers. Even though the law which is based on international conventions explicitly regulates Non-Regular Migrant Workers (Migrant Workers Convention 1990) …

Corporate Accountability In Transitional Justice: Reflections On An Ongoing Social Lab (Roundtable), Tatiana Devia, Avery Kelly, Kaushik Sunder Rajan

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This roundtable describes and reflects upon the Corporate Liability and Sustainable Peace (CLASP) Lab, a “social lab” convened to advance corporate accountability in post-conflict and transitional justice settings around the world. Launched in February 2021, the CLASP Lab is a virtual forum in three languages, bringing together more than 40 lawyers and community activists from 25 countries in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East to share experiences and devise strategies for holding corporations accountable for human rights violations, as part of processes of transitional justice.

Hong Kong’S Extradition Bill: Implications & Ramifications, Grace Wang

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Since June 2019, millions of people in Hong Kong protested against the proposed extradition bill, which would permit the HKSAR government to extradite anyone residing, visiting, or passing through Hong Kong to mainland China with which it has no formal extradition agreement with. This Note will argue that the proposed extradition bill not only created a legal loophole in the existing system by removing legislative scrutiny and judicial oversight, but also violated international human rights law in light of mainland China’s record of serious human rights violation. Instead, the HKSAR and PRC governments should cooperate to create an impartial special …

High Time For A Change: How The Relationship Between Signatory Countries And The United Nations Conventions Governing Narcotic Drugs Must Adapt To Foster A Global Shift In Cannabis Law, Alexander Clementi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Since the early 1970’s, the inclusion of cannabis and its byproducts in the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs has mandated a strict prohibition on cultivation and use of the substance, which has led to a largely global practice of criminalization and imprisonment of anyone found to be in its possession. Yet recently, mostly in response to growing public health concerns, countries like Uruguay, Portugal, The Netherlands, Canada, and the United States have enacted laws which seek to decriminalize or even legalize cannabis use and possession. Yet, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule IV narcotic under the Single Convention, …

Compulsory Dna Testing In Argentina: The Right To Truth Versus The Right To Privacy, Margaret Foster

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

During the Dirty War—a seven year repression by the Argentinian junta of political dissidents and alleged subversives—an estimated 500 babies were stolen from their mothers while imprisoned and given to leading military officials as "adopted" children. These children had their true identities erased and replaced with a false one covering up their true origins. This Note will explore Argentina's response to the Dirty War. Namely, it will consider the tension between the right to truth—an international right right often associated with enforced disappearances—and the right to privacy. In particular, it will consider cases in which adults resisted DNA testing to …

Digital Privacy Rights And Cloud Act Agreements, Tim Cochrane

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) will soon bring into force a new international law enforcement data sharing ‘CLOUD Act agreement’ (US-UK Agreement), the first of its kind under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act 2018 (CLOUD Act). These agreements enable law enforcement in one state to directly request data from service providers based in the other state. They respond to long-standing concerns with the main mechanism for obtaining overseas data, mutual legal assistance (MLA). The US and UK claim the US-UK Agreement will significantly speed up data access relative to MLA while “respecting privacy and …

Venezuelan Prisons' Human Rights Violations And Suggested Reforms Based On The Success Of Norway's Restorative Justice-Focused Approach To Incarceration, Nadiya Singh

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Venezuela holds the title for having the highest crime index in the world, serving as a microcosm of the country’s widespread and devastating political and humanitarian inadequacies. Its prisons are rife with deadly disease, severe overcrowding, and starving prisoners whose entry into these facilities calls into question their guaranteed human rights under the Venezuelan Constitution. This Note highlights these injustices and argues that the starvation, physical and mental abuse, and extreme neglect that Venezuela’s prisoners are subject to, violate the protection of their guaranteed human rights under Articles 46 and 83 of Venezuela’s Constitution. A comparative analysis of Norway, which …

Autonomous Weapons Systems And The Procedural Accounta- Bility Gap, Afonso Seixas-Nunes

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The development and well-established principles of Internationla Humanitarian Law have been progressively establishing limits to the means and methods of warfare. Those principles and rules are necessarily applicable to future autonomous weapon systems (AWS), but questions regarding liability for violations of IHL caused by AWS have been looming the international debate. This article has two parts. The first part aims to identify a technical dimension of AWS that has been neglected by international lawyers: States responsibility for IHL violations caused by errors in AWS’ software. This article argues that “errors” can neither be identified with “malfunctions” nor attributed to human …

Hamiltonian Shifts In State Aid And The Coming Breakdown Of The Internal Market: Can The European Union Survive Its Covid-19 Response?, Richard Dacher

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

This Note analyzes the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to the legal structure of the EU and its path forward. The EU's and the member states' actions to combat the pandemic have brought the political and economic union to the precipice of a breakdown of the Internal Market. Fiscal policies mirroring those of the United States will likely rise in its place. Recent tax court decisions, acquiescence to federal debt-sharing schemes, and deregulated state aid policies highlight the federalization of the EU as a unified economic structure, and also foreshadow its diminished influence over the member states' state aid policies. …

Corporate Violations Of Human Rights: Addressing The Coordinated Surveillance And Persecution Of The Uyghur People By The Chinese State And Chinese Corporations, Ross Smith

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.