Criminal Law Commons^™

Trends. Death Penalties For Purveyors Of Death? Not For Many Terrorists, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the nuances surrounding the use of the death penalty in terrorism cases.

Procedural Reforms In Capital Cases Applied To Perjury, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 453 (2001), Steven Clark

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Righting Illinois' Wrongs: Suggestions For Reform And A Call For Abolition, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 469 (2001), Sharone Levy

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

News From The International Criminal Tribunals , Cecile E.M. Meijer, Amardeep Singh

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

News From The International Criminal Tribunals , Alexandra L. Wisotsky, Kelly D. Askin

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Reflections On When "We, The People" Kill, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 713 (2001), Michael P. Seng

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juridical And Jurisdictional Disconnects, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

Although extraterritorial trials for human rights abusers certainly achieve some justice, this Article posits -- through a case-study of post-genocide Rwanda -- that the effects of such trials are circumscribed by the fact they may have little meaning among perpetrators and victims in post-conflict societies. This limited meaning particularly attaches to trials conducted extraterritorially through international tribunals as well as trials conducted in foreign national courts through the exercise of what loosely is called "universal jurisdiction." This circumscribed meaning results in these trials' having limited deterrence effects, although they may go some way to satisfying the deontological need to punish …

Public Executions In America Should Death Row Inmates Be Able To Choose Between Private And Public Death, Nicholas Compton

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

On June 13, 1997, Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19,1995. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 168 people and the wounding of over 500 more. McVeigh successfully petitioned U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch to put an end to his appeals and expedite his execution. At midnight on February 16, 2001 McVeigh let pass his deadline to petition President George W. Bush for clemency. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 16, 2001 at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, …

A New Strategy For Human Rights Protection: Learning From Narcotics Trafficking In Mexico, Jeremiah E. Goulka

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article explores the challenges in human rights protection by examining Mexico's struggle with narcotics trafficking. It highlights how corruption and ineffective law enforcement lead to both underpolicing and overpolicing, undermining the Rule of Law and human rights. The author advocates for a two-tiered strategy to develop the Rule of Law internationally and locally to address these issues effectively.

The Doctrine Of Non-Inquiry And The Preservation Of Human Rights:-Is There Room For Reconciliation?, Michael S. Topiel

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note explores the tension between individual human rights under international law and state interests in combating cross-border crime, focusing on the doctrine of noninquiry in extradition cases. It argues that while the Convention Against Torture imposes obligations to prevent extradition to situations of torture, the doctrine of noninquiry—where courts avoid scrutinizing the requesting state’s justice system—remains crucial for maintaining separation of powers and diplomatic relations. The analysis highlights the balancing act between protecting human rights and ensuring international cooperation in law enforcement.

Public Executions In America Should Death Row Inmates Be Able To Choose Between Private And Public Death, Nicholas Compton

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

On June 13, 1997, Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19,1995. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 168 people and the wounding of over 500 more. McVeigh successfully petitioned U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch to put an end to his appeals and expedite his execution. At midnight on February 16, 2001 McVeigh let pass his deadline to petition President George W. Bush for clemency. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 16, 2001 at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, …

Reconciling Amnesties With Universal Jurisdiction - A Reply To Mr. Phenyo Keiseng Rakate, Juan E. Mendez, Garth Meintjes

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Calling Children To Account: The Proposal For A Juvenile Chamber In The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

In a unique proposal to the United Nations Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended that a Juvenile Chamber of the Special Court have authority to try defendants as young as fifteen. The plan sparked immediate controversy. Sierra Leoneans wanted the worst perpetrators punished regardless of age, while human rights organizations argued that juvenile prosecutions would weaken rehabilitative efforts. The Security Council subsequently diluted the proposal; nevertheless, it merits examination, given the increasing use, in Africa and around the world, of children in combat.

Little Sisters Book And Art Emporium V. Minister Of Justice: Sex Equality And The Attack On R. V. Butler, Janine Benedet

All Faculty Publications

Scholars and philosophers spend much of their time discussing what pornography means and whether it can be defined. This debate persists despite the fact that most men, regardless of their sexual orientation, seem to understand quite well what pornography is, and what it is for: they produce it commercially, buy it in magazines, rent it in videos, and search for it on the Internet. The pornography industry has the distinct advantage of selling a product that, in legal terms, is considered "expression," and therefore a product that has been declared worthy of constitutional protection under section 2(b) of the Canadian …

The Future Of Southeast Asia: Challenges Of Child Sex Slavery And Trafficking In Cambodia, Benjamin Perrin, Shuvaloy Majumdar, Nicholas Gafuik, Stephanie Andrews

All Faculty Publications

The Cambodia Project: During 2000-2001, The Future Group launched its inaugural project in Southeast Asia to address child sex slavery and trafficking. For nearly one-hundred days, a deployment team of four worked with local organizations in Cambodia to implement new ideas to help the children affected by this crisis of international proportions. Initially, The Future Group had planned to work to implement five projects in Cambodia. After just three weeks, the deployment team was significantly ahead of schedule and began to actively identify new areas to pursue. Critical areas of need at local centres were addressed and projects that increased …

Beware Aggressors: In Times Of Conflict, The Eyes Of The World Are Upon You, Rachel M. Wittman

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Problem Of Obtaining Evidence For International Criminal Courts, Jacob Katz Cogan

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

International criminal courts will be judged by their fairness to defendants as well as to victims. In a very practical way, such claims will hinge, inter alia, on the ability of prosecutors and defendants to have reasonable access to probative evidence. But international criminal courts depend on states to provide them with evidence or access to evidence. The obligation of states to cooperate with international criminal tribunals in the production of evidence was at issue in the recent decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Blaki case (1997). That judgment and the provisions of the …

Conflicts Of Law And Policy In The Caribbean -- Human Rights And The Enforcement Of The Death Penalty -- Between A Rock And A Hard Place, David A. C. Simmons

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, And Environmental Security: Can The International Criminal Court Bridge The Gaps?, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

The gap between international humanitarian law and environmental security should trouble international lawyers. Just as armed conflict often creates a context in which the most serious human rights abuses occur, so too, does it create a similar context for the infliction of wanton and extensive destruction to the environment. This destruction creates profound environmental insecurity. Part (II) of this Article explores the insecurities caused by the environmental consequences of armed conflict. Although the international community has shown considerable concern for the humanitarian consequences of war, it has been significantly more hesitant in accounting for war's environmental consequences. It is for …

Punishment, Postgenocide: From Guilt To Shame To Civis In Rwanda, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, national and international trials set out to encourage national reconciliation, promote peace, punish perpetrators, foster a culture of human rights, and effect justice. In this Article, Professor Mark Drumbl questions the ability of these trials to achieve these goals and suggests they may in fact aggravate ethnic identity politics, thereby threatening Rwanda's long-term stability. He argues that the highly interdependent yet dualist nature of Rwandan society, together with the widespread level of participation in and victimization by the genocide, create a situation where accountability for the violence and the deterrence of future violence can be …

A Global Court? U.S. Objections To The International Criminal Court And Obstacles To Ratification, Teresa Young Reeves

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

News From The International Criminal Tribunals , Cecile E.M. Meijer, Amardeep Singh

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

The Finality Of Judgment And Sentence Prerequisite In The United States-Peru Bilateral Prisoner Transfer Treaty: Calling Congress And The President To Reform And Justifying Jurisdiction Of The Inter-American Human Rights Commission And Court, 15 Am. U. Int'l L. Rev. 1071 (2000), Ralph Ruebner, Lisa Carroll

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sclerosis: Retributive Justice And The Rwandan Genocide, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

In the 1994 Rwandan genocide 800,000 people were massacred. The victims were overwhelmingly of the minority Tutsi ethnic group and the aggressors of the majority Hutu group. At present, 125,000 Hutu prisoners remain incarcerated while awaiting trial on genocide-related charges. This article argues that these trials, and the extensive incapacitation that necessarily precedes them, may do little to promote justice, regime legitimacy, or national reconciliation in Rwanda. This, in turn, raises broader questions about the role of criminal punishment and sentencing in situations of mass violence. Criminality usually attaches to deviant conduct. Mass political violence -- from Nazi Germany to …

Lessons From The Past And Strategies For The Future: Using Domestic, International And Comparative Law To Overturn Sodomy Laws, Charlene Smith, James Wilets

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will first discuss the legal importance of challenging sodomy laws, even though those laws are rarely enforced. It will then discuss the importance of incorporating international and comparative law in formulating these challenges. In Section II, Professor Charlene Smith will discuss past and future strategies, focusing on the topics of equal protection, morality, and the difference (or lack thereof) between acts and status. In Section III, Professor Jim Wilets will explore incorporating international and comparative law into domestic challenges to U.S. sodomy laws. This Article will demonstrate that there is binding Supreme Court authority requiring all U.S. courts …

Reconciling Amnesties With Universal Jurisdiction, Juan E. Mendez, Garth Meintjes

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Reach Of Icc Jurisdiction Over Non-Signatory Nationals, Jordan J. Paust

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A new International Criminal Court (ICC) was created on July 17, 1998 under the Rome Statute adopted by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. Under the Statute, the ICC will have jurisdiction over crimes of genocide, certain crimes against humanity, and certain war crimes, leaving the crime of aggression for further definition.

Nonetheless, there are certain preconditions to the exercise of such jurisdictional competence, as noted especially in Articles 12-14 of the Statute. In general, the Court can exercise jurisdiction if a "situation" or case (1) is referred to the Prosecutor …

Basic Rights And Anti-Terrorism Legislation, Kevin D. Kent

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note addresses whether Britain's Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act (CJTCA), which permits police officer opinion testimony as to whether a terrorist suspect is a member of an illegal terrorist organization and allows adverse inferences to be drawn from that suspect's silence, can be reconciled with the fair trial provisions of the Human Rights Act (HRA). Part II of this Note describes the background of the CJTCA, concentrating on the reasons for its rushed passage and on the evidentiary changes it makes to trials of defendants charged with terrorist offenses. Part II describes the background and mechanics of the …

Is America A Systematic Violator Of Human Rights In The Administration Of Criminal Justice?, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on vast American violations of human rights in the administration of criminal justice. It traces the development of these rights in the context of the two most pernicious human rights violations plaguing the United States: the death penalty and racism in the enforcement of criminal laws. The author calls attention to the politicization of the American justice system and its devastatingly negative impact on America’s preservation of human rights.

Human Rights And International Mutual Legal Assistance: Resolving The Tension, Robert Currie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

If indeed, as has been said, "it is fashionable nowadays to discuss the problems that arise from the application of general human rights to extradition", then it is also true that human rights concerns are increasingly being raised with regard to other forms of international criminal co-operation as well. As compliance with international human rights norms has become the subject of greater scrutiny by both States and international adjudicative bodies, concerns have been raised regarding their application to the various processes by which States aid each other in combating transnational crime. Prosecuting authorities are presented with problems of how the …