Human Rights Law Commons^™

Refugees In The European Union: The Harsh Reality Of The Dublin Regulation, Lana Maani

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The refugee crisis is a highly contested and controversial issue. The world, and specifically Europe, has seen a rapid increase in the number of refugees applying for asylum. In fact, the European Union (“EU”) has received well over one million refugees: the highest number of refugees since the Second World War. The crisis is testing the EU’s main building blocks, including, most importantly, its Member States’ notion of an ever-closer union. Some Member States have been more responsive to the crisis than others. For example, Germany is the highest refugee hosting country in the EU. On the other hand, Hungary …

Combating Statelessness In The Wake Of The Syrian Conflict: A Right Without A Remedy, Tim Schultz

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In the wake of the Syrian Civil War, millions of persons have been displaced from their homes. As desperate families flee zones of conflict, they leave all but their most precious belongings behind, in search of safety in neighboring countries. The path to safety and security, however, is a dangerous one. Displaced persons must traverse national borders, military checkpoints, and journey great distances to find safe haven. Unfortunately, Syrian families often do not carry identification documents to establish a legal recognition of their nationality in foreign lands. Consequently, this population of refugees is left vulnerable to the ugly reality of …

Fairness At A Price: Protecting The Integrity Of Athletic Competitions At The Expense Of Female Athletes, Annie Bach Yen Nguyen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Ever since women were allowed to compete in the Olympics, they have been subjected to some form of gender verification. Initially, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) required female athletes to present certificates from their doctors confirming that they were in fact women. In 1966, the IOC and the IAAF “decided they couldn’t trust individual nations to certify femininity, and instead implemented a mandatory genital check of every woman competing at international games.” This process was dubbed the “nude parades”. In response to the overwhelming disapproval of such examination, the IOC and IAAF began implementing …

Forced Evictions, Homelessness, And Destruction: Summer "Games"? Olympic Violations Of The Right To Adequate Housing In Rio De Janeiro, Leigha C. Crout

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

This article details the violations of the right to housing that took place in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Analyzed under the international, regional, and domestic instruments that enumerate this guarantee, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Charter and the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of the Organization of American States, and the Constitution of Brazil, the aim of this work is to draw attention to the systematic deprivation of one of the most central human rights in the name of the Games.

The Cambridge Handbook Of Social Enterprise Law, Lloyd Histoshi Mayer

Books

Book Chapters

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Creating a Tax Space for Social Enterprise, in The Cambridge Handbook of Social Enterprise Law 157 (Benjamin Means & Joseph W. Yockey eds., 2018)

While still relatively few in number compared to traditional nonprofit and for-profit organizations, the rise of social enterprises represents a possible disruption of not only existing models of doing business but also areas of law that in many respects have seen little fundamental change for decades. One such area is domestic tax law, where social enterprises currently find themselves subject to the rules of for-profit activities and entities. Here, both scholars …

Shifting Sands In The International Economic System: "Arbitrage" In International Economic Law And International Human Rights, Diane Desierto

Journal Articles

International economic law is in the middle of rapid sea changes, arising from converging demands for deep reform on all fronts. These reforms range from current initiatives to recast the orthodox substantive guarantees of foreign market access, investment protection, prudential regulation and financial stability to states' choices between paths of unilateralism, bilateralism, regionalism, multilateralism, or some hybrid multi-speed variation between gradualism and compliance with economic commitments. They also include the formulation of different proposals to revise the dispute settlement mechanisms in world trade law, to rewrite the terms of investor-state dispute settlement, and to harden a definitive dispute settlement process …

Globalization Without A Safety Net: The Challenge Of Protecting Cross-Border Funding Of Ngos, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Journal Articles

More than 50 countries around the world have sharply increased legal restrictions on both domestic non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) that receive funding from outside their home country and the foreign NGOs that provide such funding and other support. These restrictions include requiring advance government approval before a domestic NGO can accept cross-border funding, requiring such funding to be routed through government agencies, and prohibiting such funding for NGOs engaged in certain activities. Publicly justified by national security, accountability, and other concerns, these measures often go well beyond what is reasonably supported by such legitimate interests. These restrictions therefore violate international law, …

The Human Costs Of Exiting And Revising Trade And Investment Agreements: Local Community Interests, Human Rights, And Global Politics, Diane Desierto

Journal Articles

International law is both a process of assertion and reliance and a system of principles and rules: together they constitute the course of international law, confounding those critics who simplemindedly assert that it can be one (process) or the other (system) but not both. . . . we treat the international legal system as an axiom—a social fact. We differ on many other ideas: new subjects, the limits of multilateralism, fragmentation, pluralism and universality, as a result of which we continue to debate the true characteristics of the international system. States intent upon effecting changes in the law will naturally …

There Are No Ordinary People: Christian Humanism And Christian Legal Thought, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

This short essay is a contribution to a volume celebrating a new casebook, "Christian Legal Thought: Materials and Cases", edited by Profs. Patrick McKinley Brennan and William S. Brewbaker.

The Legality And Conduct Of Drone Attacks, Waseem Ahmad Qureshi

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Amid contentions of legality and conduct of drone attacks, this paper explores the legitimacy of drone strikes in Pakistan and whether or not they constitute the “use of force” and an “act of war” under international law. This paper will define jus ad bellum—that is, whether it is justified to use force against non-state actors while also taking into consideration the consent of host states under the laws and regulations of the “use of force” and “self-defense” in the United Nations Charter and customary international law—in the context of armed conflict to discuss the legality of drone strikes. Likewise, this …

California Propositions 62 & 66 As Misguided Models For The Capital Punishment Debate: The Argument For The Inclusion Of Catholic Social Teaching And Other Religious Denominations In The Discussion And A Proposed Solution, Cornelius V. Loughery

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Cracking The Toughest Nut: Colombia's Endeavour With Amnesty For Political Crimes Under Additional Protocol Ii To The Geneva Conventions, Marie-Claude Jean-Baptiste

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

After years of negotiations, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have reached an unprecedented peace agreement. The agreement, rooted in transitional justice, contains a strong and nuanced focus on political amnesty for rebel forces. The scope and nature of the agreement has garnered international attention and praise. Of particular interest is whether the amnesty provision under the peace agreement is compatible with international law. This legal brief tracks the contours of existing international law on amnesty for political crimes—specifically under Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions—to analyze this compatibility. The conclusion is that all relevant …

Hungary's Refugee Crisis: Why A Uniform Approach Is Not The Solution, Yvonne Kupfermann

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

The recent refugee crisis that swept over many European nations requires an inquiry into how to balance humanitarian concerns with the resources of the respective nations involved. Oftentimes, the approach is purely humanitarian, placing much of the focus on inclusion and resettlement. However, countries that stray from this humanitarian approach are often criticized. This Note aims to offer a new theoretical framework for analyzing a refugee crisis of this scope. It uses Hungary as a case study to demonstrate how history can play a role in how a refugee crisis is handled and to provide concrete examples of a country …

The Consequences Today Of The United States' Brutal Post-9/11 Interrogation Techniques, Peter Jan Honigsberg

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

Penetrating the minds and souls of alleged terrorists while still upholding the constitution, federal law, and the human rights obligation to treat the suspects with dignity and without torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment was not the immediate objective for high-ranking American officials and military interrogators in the early years following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001. Although the United States was a party to the Geneva Conventions (GC), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention Against Torture (CAT)—all three …

Dynamic Regulatory Constitutionalism: Taking Legislation Seriously In The Judicial Enforcement Of Economic And Social Rights, Richard Stacey

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

The international human rights revolution in the decades after the Second World War recognized economic and social rights alongside civil and political rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in 1966, regional treaties, and subject-specific treaties variously describe rights to food, shelter, health, and education, and set out state obligations for the treatment of children. When they first appeared, these international, economic, and social rights instruments raised questions about whether economic and social rights are justiciable in domestic legal contexts and whether they can be meaningfully enforced by courts …

Can Armed Drones Halt The Trend Of Increasing Police Militarization?, Ian Thresher

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

Following presidential declarations of “war” on drugs and terror, domestic law enforcement agencies were saddled with difficult and dangerous new duties. They responded to the danger by becoming more dangerous themselves; increasingly adopting the training, tactics, and equipment of the United States military. This “militarization” of domestic police officers has, predictably, led to a breakdown in community policing, almost one thousand fatal shootings by police officers per year, and growing rifts between law enforcement agencies and the communities they are sworn to protect. In this essay, I examine whether police drones armed with non-deadly force might, perhaps paradoxically, help to …

Competent Hunger Strikers: Applying The Lessons From Northern Ireland To The Force-Feeding In Guantanamo, Sara Cloon

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

The United States allows force-feeding of prisoners, regardless of their state of mind or mental health because they deem preservation of life as paramount. In the United Kingdom, a prisoner who is of a sound mind “can be allowed to starve himself to death.”1 This difference is due to the balance between the importance of preservation of life and of the right to self-determination and autonomy in medical decisions. My note will first briefly explore the history of force-feeding prisoners who are protesting for political purposes in both countries, and the relevant cases and statues that led up to the …

Ending The Excessive Use Of Force At Home And Abroad, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

In the mid-1980s the American Society of International Law (ASIL) launched an initiative to engage more women and minority members in the Society and international law more generally.' Professor Henry Richardson was there, encouraging all of the new aspirants, including me. He is still doing that, and this essay in his honor is an expression of gratitude, admiration, and affection. It develops themes Hank and I have both pursued for decades: human rights, peace and non-violence, and the promotion of international law and ASIL.

Outlining The Case For A Common Law Duty Of Care Of Business To Exercise Human Rights Due Diligence, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

This article outlines the case for a business duty of care to exercise human rights due diligence, judicially enforceable in common law countries by tort suits for negligence brought by persons whose potential injuries were reasonably foreseeable. A parent company’s duty of care would extend to the human rights impacts of all entities in the enterprise, including subsidiaries. A company would not be liable for breach of the duty of care if it proves that it reasonably exercised due diligence as set forth in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. On the other hand, a company’s failure to …

Juvenile Justice Reform In Texas: The Context, Content & Consequences Of Senate Bill 1630, Sara A. Gordon

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

The Problematic Applicability Of Subsidiarity To International Law, Paolo G. Carozza

Journal Articles

This article seeks to explore some of the reasons why the principle of subsidiarity, although applicable in some sectors of international law and particularly in the field of international human rights law, has difficulty in serving as a general principle of public international law more broadly. The obstacles to advancing a more robust understanding of subsidiarity's place in the current structure of global norms and institutions include: the normative and institutional fragmentation of international law; the continuing centrality of state sovereignty in the international legal system; and the endemic weaknesses and incapacity of states and sub-state communities with respect to …

White Paper: Options For A Treaty On Business And Human Rights, Douglass Cassel, Anita Ramasastry

Journal Articles

The United Nations Human Rights Council decided in June 2014 to establish an Intergovernmental Working Group to “elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.” The first meeting of the Working Group will take place in Geneva in July 2015.

The Council did not further specify what sort of instrument should be drafted. The Center for Human Rights of the American Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales have asked the present authors to prepare a “White Paper” on possible options for a …

Does The Death Penalty Require Death Row? The Harm Of Legislative Silence, Marah Stith Mcleod

Journal Articles

This Article addresses the substantive question, "Does the death penalty require death row?" and the procedural question, "Who should decide? In most capital punishment states, prisoners sentenced to death are held, because of their sentences alone, in far harsher conditions of confinement than other prisoners. Often, this means solitary confinement for the years and even decades until their executions. Despite a growing amount of media attention to the use of solitary confinement, most scholars and courts have continued to assume that the isolation of death-sentenced prisoners on death row is an inevitable administrative aspect of capital punishment. To the extent …

Book Review, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

Reviewing Federico Fabbrini, Fundamental Rights in Europe: Challenges and Transformations in Comparative Perspective (2014)

Fabbrini’s study sheds valuable light on the dynamics that shape the interactions among multiple levels of human rights protection in Europe, and on the consequences for rights protection that tend to ensue. Less successful is his outsized confidence in a comparative approach, especially as applied to political and juridical communities as distinct as the USA and Europe. While the imperfect comparisons yield useful insights, Fabbrini at times overstates their import.

International Legal Protections For Migrants And Refugees: A Response To Father Brennan, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

Father Brennan’s Essay, “Human Rights and the National Interest: The Case Study of Asylum, Migration, and National Border Protection,” is a complex legal and ethical analysis of refugee law. This Commentary focuses on one aspect of the international law relevant to the Essay, namely, state obligations to migrants. Father Brennan’s main argument that migrants and refugees may be turned back, so long as the action respects human rights law, is consistent with the human right to life. Justly stopping migrants and refugees requires states to stop them before they enter either international waters or the state’s territorial waters. Further, Father …

Getting To Group Under U.S. Asylum Law, Jillian Blake

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

In February 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or the Board) issued two new precedential decisions, Matter of M-E-V-G- and Matter of W-G-R-, clarifying the legal requirements for PSG asylum. This Essay argues that the BIA’s decisions further confuse this already complex area of law and the standards established in the decisions exclude particular social groups already recognized under U.S. law. The complications and contradictions in these and other BIA decisions carry the risk of excluding valid claims to PSG protection and rely upon criteria that cannot be applied consistently. Because the new BIA PSG standards are unworkable, …

Between Idealism And Realism: A Few Comparative Reflections And Proposals On The Appointment Process Of The Inter-American Commission And Court Of Human Rights Members, Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In this Article, Professor Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen, a renowned scholar in European and Latin-American law, explores flaws in the process by which members are appointed to the Inter-American Commission and Court of human rights, respectively. Seeking to strike a balance between "Idealism" and "Realism," Burgorgue-Larsen seeks methods for improving the independence and impartiality of the Commissioners and Judges in the Inter-American system in the hopes of ultimately lending greater credibility and legitimacy to the system as a whole. Drawing comparisons to the appointment of judges on national and international courts worldwide, Burgorgue-Larsen ultimately produces specific suggestions for improving the appointment process, …

Death Penalty, Amnesty Laws, And Forced Disappearances: Three Main Topics Of The Inter-American Corpus Juris In Criminal Law, Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor, Pablo GonzáLez DomíNguez

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In this Article, Judge Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and International Human Rights Researcher Pablo González Domínguez explore three of the richest and most contentious areas of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: death penalty cases, amnesty law, and cased regarding forced disappearance. These topics encompass some of the most pressing human rights issues in the Inter-American System. For each topic, Ferrer Mac-Gregor and González Domínguez provide a succinct but comprehensive view of the Inter-American Court's jurisprudence, discuss the ways in which the core principles of this jurisprudence have been applied in …

The Anglo-Latin Divide And The Future Of The Inter-American System Of Human Rights, Paolo Carozza

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

A former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Paolo Carozza draws on his personal experience to identify and propose solutions for a key flaw in the Inter-American Human Rights System: the division between English-language member states and states with Latin-based languages. Terming this division "The Anglo-Latin Divide," Carozza traces the division not only to linguistic difference, but also to differences in legal traditions. He explains how the differences between Anglo tradition of common law and the Latin tradition of civil law manifest in both substantive and procedural divides within the Inter-American Human Rights system, including in sensitive areas …

The Rules And The Reality Of Petition Procedures In The Inter-American Human Rights System, Dinah Shelton

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In this Essay, Professor Dinah Shelton draws on her personal experience as a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to discuss the underlying causes of a "crisis of commitment" to the Inter-American system of human rights. Shelton traces the roots of this crisis in large part to the Inter-American petition procedures. Giving an in-depth account of the structure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the details of the petition procedures, Shelton explores the issues of legitimacy, transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency raised by various aspects of the petitioning process, and discusses the various ways in which these …