Human Rights Law Commons^™

Protecting Black Tribal Members: Is The Thirteenth Amendment The Linchpin To Securing Equal Rights Within Indian Country?, Lydia M. Edwards

ExpressO

Currently, two of those tribes are caught in an ongoing struggle between their “full blood” members and their members of African descent. The Seminole and Cherokee tribes have taken several measures to remove their Freedmen from the tribes thus denying them access to federally funded programs, monies, and the right to vote in tribal elections. The Freedmen filed suit to contest this discrimination, but courts have continually dismissed the suits because of tribal sovereignty. In some cases, the Freedmen sued the federal government for allowing the tribes to disenfranchise them. However, the courts dismissed the suits because tribes are indispensable …

Assassination Under The International Human Law, Wasem Mawlana

ExpressO

Israel has adopted a policy of assassinations, much earlier than its racist assassination policy that was renewed during the Palestinian uprising against the occupation. It goes back as far as 1947, when Israeli terrorists assassinated special UN Representative Count Bernadette . International law prohibits without exception the extra-judicial killing of protected persons. Israel's policy of assassination clearly amounts to intentional or willful killing; such killings violate international humanitarian law, and human rights protocols. Since 9 November 2000 the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has actively pursued a policy of deliberately targeting those alleged to have carried out, or to have planned …

The Case For Closing The School Of The Americas, Bill Quigley

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Sita's Trousseau: Restorative Justice, Domestic Violence, And South Asian Culture, Rashmi Goel

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the particular cultural factors that affect South Asian women who are abused and immigrant South Asian women who are abused, in particular, in the restorative justice process. By exploring cultural practices and the icon of Sita, the mythological heroine of the Ramayana, this article demonstrates how the South Asian ideals of womanhood and wifehood help to create a mind-set whereby South Asian women are reluctant to advocate for themselves and are reluctant to leave. Such a condition is contrary to the conditions and abilities assumed by the restorative justicemovement for dispute resolution, inside or outside of …

The Prohibition Of Widespread Rape As A Jus Cogens, Dean Adams

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment explains why the prohibition of widespread rape should be recognized as a jus cogens through analyses of the failure of existing international legal instruments, advances within international law towards the universal prohibition of widespread rape, and policy reasons for classifying widespread rape as a jus cogens. In doing so, this comment will demonstrate the particular timeliness of this topic by reviewing the use of widespread rape in several countries through the 1990s, the widespread rape presently occurring in Kenya, and the emerging reports from Iraq of rape committed at the hands of the Saddam Hussein regime. Finally, this …

David P. Forsythe On The United States And The Rule Of Law In International Affairs By John F. Murphy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 367pp., David P. Forsythe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The United States and the Rule of Law in International Affairs by John F. Murphy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 367pp.

Securing A Journalist's Testimonial Privilege In The International Criminal Court, Anastasia Heeger

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article argues that given the unique and significant contribution of journalists to uncovering and documenting war crimes, the ICC should amend its evidentiary rules to recognize a qualified journalist's privilege. In doing so, the ICC should clearly identify who may benefit from such a privilege, clarify a procedure for balancing the need of reportorial testimony against prosecution and defense interests, and, lastly provide for mandatory consultations between the court and affected news organizations or journalists before allowing the issuance of a subpoena. Such clarity will benefit not only journalists working in war zones and the ICC, but will provide …

"When Caterpillars Kill": Holding U.S. Corporations Accountable For Knowingly Selling Equipment To Countries For The Commission Of Human Rights Abuses Abroad, Zaha Hassan

San Diego International Law Journal

With the recent trend towards holding corporations accountable for aiding and abetting human rights abuses abroad, this paper asks the question whether corporations should be held liable for knowingly facilitating human rights abuses abroad by selling equipment widely known to be used in such abuses. To this end, the case of Caterpillar sales to Israel will here be examined. Part II provides an overview of the history of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and its applicability in United States courts. Part III gives an overview of how corporate liability for human rights abuses abroad developed under the ATCA. Part …

Child Labor: The Pakistani Effort To End A Scourge Upon Humanity - Is It Enough?, Aine Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article will encompass the issues necessary to create such a report card. In the process of assessing Pakistan's efforts, this article will demonstrate that the measures taken in Pakistan are not sufficient to end bonded child labor. In addition, this comment proposes that the international community must expend more financial and legal resources to tackle the problem of child labor. Part II focuses on Pakistan's use of child labor. This includes a discussion of the history of child labor, the international rights being abrogated by child labor, the efforts implemented to combat child labor, and an evaluation of Pakistani …

Reforming U.S. Immigration Policy In An Era Of Latin American Immigration: The Logic Inherent In Accommodating The Inevitable, Ryan D. Frei

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moving From Impunity To Accountability In Post-War Liberia: Possibilities, Cautions, And Challenges, Rena L. Scott

ExpressO

Liberia has become the quintessential example of an African failed state. Though Liberia’s civil war is officially over, war criminals are free and some are even helping run the transitional government under the authority of Liberia’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This peace agreement calls for the consideration of a general amnesty for those involved in the Liberian civil war alongside the parceling of governmental functions among members of various rebel groups. The drafters of the agreement claim that this was the only viable solution for sustainable peace in Liberia. Meanwhile, Charles Taylor relaxes in Nigeria’s resort city of Calabar. To …

Some, But Which? Filling In The Theoretical Gaps In Sosa V. Alvarez-Machain, Arthur Traldi

ExpressO

This Note lays out the development of the ATCA and of the jus gentium (law of nations) into contemporary customary international law, as well as the two existent paradigms of ATCA interpretation, and establishes that Sosa is inconsistent with either extreme position. Since the Court’s holding in Sosa is under-theorized, this Note crafts a reasonable middle ground between the two paradigms: holding all universal jurisdiction offenses (and those significantly analogous) civilly actionable under the ATCA. It then uses Yousef as well as the Princeton Principles to synthesize a test for universal justiciability. The resultant formula constitutes a middle ground consistent …

Exporting U.S. Anti-Terrorism Legislation And Policies To The International Law Arena, A Comparative Study: The Effect On Other Countries' Legal Systems, Olga Kallergi

Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Student Conference Papers

The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11 set in motion a new era all over the world: an era of a world uniting against a common enemy, but also an era of insecurity and fear. Laws have been changed worldwide, nations have united against a common threat, legal theories and beliefs of centuries have been questioned, and civil liberties have been replaced by a need for national safety. Has this worldwide effort worked? Is our world a better place now that we are all fighting the same enemy? Did we learn from our past …

Out Of Bounds: San Francisco's Homeless Policies, Alexandra Flynn

ExpressO

Homelessness, both a legal and public policy issue, has dominated the City of San Francisco government agenda for over fifteen years. Despite the front-and-center nature of homelessness, the policies enacted have done little to reduce the count. This paper, first, presents San Francisco’s new approach to the issue; namely, the creation of a new and far more limited class of “chronically homeless” persons. This first section includes an examination of the causes of homelessness, the physical alienation of homeless persons through “quality of life” laws, and recent policy initiatives used to social exclude the bulk of homeless persons by limiting …

The New Deterrence: Crime And Policy In The Age Of Globalization, Patrick Keenan

ExpressO

Globalization has made it much easier for criminal activity to cross borders, but deterrence theory has not kept up with this changed reality. I draw insights from both law-and-economics and criminology literature to enrich our understanding of deterrence. I ground my theoretical discussion in the real-world problem of sex tourism as an example of the kind of unwanted activity that now crosses borders and has complicated our understanding of deterrence. I focus on two issues central to deterrence that have not gotten sufficient scholarly attention: the phenomenon of displacement and the role of status. I argue that informal sanctions, as …

Symposium: Religious Liberty In America And Beyond: Celebrating The Legacy Of Roger Williams On The 400th Anniversary Of His Birth: Introduction, Edward J. Eberle

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Peoples Or A Law For People: Consumers, Boycotts, And Non-Human Animals, Gary Chartier

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Roger Williams On Liberty Of Conscience, Edward J. Eberle

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Follow The Leader?: Japan Should Formally Abolish The Execution Of The Mentally Retarded In The Wake Of Atkins V. Virginia, Simon H. Fisherow

Washington International Law Journal

Japan is the only industrialized democracy in the world to not explicitly proscribe the execution of the mentally retarded. In the face of opposition from both international bodies and non-governmental organizations, Japan persists in engaging in a practice condemned by both international law and the laws of the vast majority of the world's nations. Even the United States, a nation that remains staunchly pro-death penalty, abandoned its practice of executing the mentally retarded in 2002 due to the emergence of a national consensus against the practice. This Comment examines Japan's use of the death penalty and its imposition on mentally …

Magdalena A. Zolkos On Rethinking The Holocaust By Yehuda Bauer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. 335pp., Magdalena A. Zolkos

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Rethinking the Holocaust by Yehuda Bauer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. 335pp.

Akinbola E. Akinwumi On Sickness And Wealth: The Corporate Assault On Global Health By Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer And Oscar Gish (Eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp., Akinbola E. Akinwumi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health by Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer and Oscar Gish (eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp.

Sex Slavery In The United States And The Law Enacted To Stop It Here And Abroad, Susan W. Tiefenbrun

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Comparing Human Rights In Two Ethiopian Constitutions: The Emperor's And The "Republic's"-Cucullus Non Facit Monachum, Minasse Haile

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article compares Ethiopia's Constitutions from 1931, 1955, and 1995, arguing that the earlier constitutions under Emperor Haile Selassie provided a stronger foundation for human rights and democracy compared to the 1995 Constitution under the TPLF. It suggests that traditional autocracies may evolve into democracies, whereas modern elected autocracies often perpetuate power. The TPLF's Constitution, despite its progressive rhetoric, fails to ensure free elections, enforce human rights, and uphold international law, leading to a totalitarian state with unchecked executive power.

Corporate Speech In A Democracy: What Can Nigeria Learn From Abroad?, Ige Omotayo Bolodeoku

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article critiques Nigeria's absolute ban on corporate political activism as unrealistic and counterproductive, advocating for a more nuanced regulatory framework. It proposes allowing corporate political participation with safeguards like disclosure requirements and shareholder involvement, drawing insights from U.S., U.K., and Canadian approaches to balance free expression with corruption prevention.

The Role Of Courts In Preventing International Child Abduction, Deborah M. Zawadzki

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that international child abduction is a growing issue exacerbated by globalization, with existing legal frameworks like the Hague Convention and the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA) proving insufficient to address the problem. It advocates for a more proactive role for U.S. courts in preventing abductions through legislative support and comprehensive preventative measures, emphasizing the need for state-level reforms, such as Texas’s H.B. 1899, to fill gaps in current laws and protect children at risk

Jacobson V Massachusetts: It's Not Your Great-Great-Grandfather's Public Health Law, Wendy K. Mariner, George J. Annas, Leonard H. Glantz

Faculty Scholarship

Jacobson v Massachusetts, a 1905 US Supreme Court decision, raised questions about the power of state government to protect the public’s health and the Constitution’s protection of personal liberty. We examined conceptions about state power and personal liberty in Jacobson and later cases that expanded, superseded, or even ignored those ideas.

Public health and constitutional law have evolved to better protect both health and human rights. States’ sovereign power to make laws of all kinds has not changed in the past century. What has changed is the Court’s recognition of the importance of individual liberty and how it limits …

What Does "Religion" Mean In The Public Square?, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Compliance Theory And The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights, Morse Tan

ExpressO

Abstract This essay fills a gap by exploring compliance theory in international law to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. After introducing the topic and setting the context, it delves into the question of why nations follow international law. Interacting with prominent theoretical models (including the managerial model, fairness and legitimacy, transnational legal process, self-interest, and a comparative perspective with Europe), it arrives at a critical synthesis in the conclusion.

The Disability Integration Presumption: Thirty Years Later, Ruth Colker

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Working Paper Series

The fiftieth anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision has spurred a lively debate about the merits of “integration.” This article brings that debate to a new context – the integration presumption under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). The IDEA has contained an “integration presumption” for more than thirty years under which school districts should presumptively educate disabled children with children who are not disabled in a fully inclusive educational environment. This article traces the history of this presumption and argues that it was borrowed from the racial civil rights movement without any empirical justification. In …

Hijacked Justice: Domestic Appropriation Of International Norms, Jelena Subotić

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This paper explores the domestic politics of international norm diffusion, using the global transmission of transitional justice norms as the empirical context of the research. Applying sociological institutionalism as the principal theoretical framework, I argue that the motivation of states to adopt international models of transitional justice has changed over time. The transitional justice norm - that posits that war crimes and massive human rights abuses must be dealt with in a proper legal setting and not through “victors’ justice” or impunity - was institutionalized in large part as the result of a strong domestic demand for transitional justice in …