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2011

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Articles 331 - 360 of 368

Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law

Four Varieties Of Social Responsibility: Making Sense Of The 'Sphere Of Influence' And 'Leverage' Debate Via The Case Of Iso 26000, Stepan Wood Jan 2011

Four Varieties Of Social Responsibility: Making Sense Of The 'Sphere Of Influence' And 'Leverage' Debate Via The Case Of Iso 26000, Stepan Wood

All Faculty Publications

One of the key controversies in social responsibility discourse is whether an organization’s responsibility should be based on its capacity to influence other parties or only on its actual contribution to social and environmental outcomes. On one side of the debate are those who argue that the limits of an organization’s responsibility should be defined in terms of its “sphere of influence” (SOI): the greater the influence, the greater the responsibility to act. On the other side are those who reject the SOI approach as ambiguous, misleading, normatively undesirable and prone to strategic manipulation. Foremost among the critics is the …


Context, Choice, And Rights: Phs Community Services Society V. Canada (Attorney General), Margot Young Jan 2011

Context, Choice, And Rights: Phs Community Services Society V. Canada (Attorney General), Margot Young

All Faculty Publications

Constitutional law cases that revolve around the rights or circumstances of those groups most marginalized in Canadian society are not frequent cause for celebration. Typically, these cases push the boundaries of classical liberal understandings of the rights our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects, asking the courts to recognize social and economic dimensions to liberties that are traditionally and popularly more narrowly construed. Such demands are more often than not sidestepped (or rejected outright) by courts, with the result that activist agendas focusing on leveraging Charter rights to achieve significant social change are less compelling than initially imagined. It …


The Somali Piracy Problem: A Global Puzzle Necessitating A Global Solution, Milena Sterio Jan 2011

The Somali Piracy Problem: A Global Puzzle Necessitating A Global Solution, Milena Sterio

American University Law Review

Over the past few years, piracy has exploded off the coast of Somalia. The Somali pirates congregate on a mother ship and then divide into smaller groups that sail out on tiny skiffs. Using potent weapons like AK-47’s and hand-propelled grenades, the Somali pirates then attack civilian ships carrying cargo through the Gulf of Aden, toward South Africa or Asia. Once they have overtaken the victim vessel, pirates typically hijack the vessel’s cargo and crewmembers. The former is often resold to willing buyers (some of which include terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda). The latter are taken to the Somali shore …


The Black Poor, Black Elites, And America's Prisons, James Forman Jr. Jan 2011

The Black Poor, Black Elites, And America's Prisons, James Forman Jr.

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.


Is The "Post" In Post-Racial The "Blind" In Colorblind?, Ian F. Haney López Jan 2011

Is The "Post" In Post-Racial The "Blind" In Colorblind?, Ian F. Haney López

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.


From Ideology To Pragmatism: China's Position On Humanitarian Intervention In The Post-Cold War Era, Jonathan E. Davis Jan 2011

From Ideology To Pragmatism: China's Position On Humanitarian Intervention In The Post-Cold War Era, Jonathan E. Davis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article fills a gap in the literature by examining in depth China's state practice and official pronouncements in respect of nine post-Cold War cases typically cited by academics when considering the international legal status of humanitarian intervention. The majority of today's commentary and scholarship holds that the People's Republic of China's position on sovereignty and intervention remains inflexible and absolutist, much as it was for the PRC's first four decades. This Article contends that this view is outdated and overly simplistic: while China continues to champion a strong conception of state sovereignty in interstate relations, it has signaled a …


The Double-Helix Double-Edged Sword: Comparing Dna Retention Policies Of The United States And The United Kingdom, Erica S. Deray Jan 2011

The Double-Helix Double-Edged Sword: Comparing Dna Retention Policies Of The United States And The United Kingdom, Erica S. Deray

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Forensic scientists have used DNA profiling technologies to link suspects to crimes since Alec Jeffreys first proposed the idea in the 1970s. Recognizing the potential for using DNA databases to solve crimes and to prevent future crimes, England and Wales attempted to greatly expand its DNA database by allowing for the collection and indefinite retention of DNA profiles from arrestees. The European Court of Human Rights, however, issued a ruling in 2008 in the case of S. & Marper v. United Kingdom, advising the United Kingdom to restrict use of DNA profiles from arrestees and to establish time frames for …


State Immunity And Human Rights: Heads And Walls, Hearts And Minds, Roger O'Keefe Jan 2011

State Immunity And Human Rights: Heads And Walls, Hearts And Minds, Roger O'Keefe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article suggests that arguments against the availability of state immunity as a bar to civil actions alleging internationally wrongful ill-treatment abroad are not only destined to fall by and large on deaf ears but are also misdirected as a matter both of fairness and of the ultimate policy objectives of human rights advocates. It would make more sense for victims' interest groups to target the failure of allegedly responsible states to afford victims the opportunity of a remedy and the failure of victims' states of nationality to do enough to defend their nationals' interests.


Abusing The Authority Of The State: Denying Foreign Official Immunity For Egregious Human Rights Abuses, Beth Stephens Jan 2011

Abusing The Authority Of The State: Denying Foreign Official Immunity For Egregious Human Rights Abuses, Beth Stephens

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Government officials accused of human rights abuses often claim that they are protected by state immunity because only the state can be held responsible for acts committed by its officials. This claim to immunity is founded on two interrelated errors. First, the post-World War II human rights transformation of international law has rendered obsolete the view that a state can protect its own officials from accountability for human rights violations. Second, officials can be held individually responsible for their own actions even when international law also holds the states liable for those acts. This Article begins with an analysis of …


Managing Forced Displacement By Law In Africa: The Role Of The New African Union Idps Convention, Won Kidane Jan 2011

Managing Forced Displacement By Law In Africa: The Role Of The New African Union Idps Convention, Won Kidane

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article provides a critical appraisal of the newly adopted African IDPs Convention. In particular, it offers a detailed analysis of the Convention's transformation of the UN Guiding Principles into legally binding rules for the management of the phenomenon of internal displacement in Africa. By definition, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are persons who have not crossed international frontiers and are citizens of the state within which they find themselves. Although their conditions may be similar to refugees, who are necessarily aliens to the host community, their legal status is not analogous. At the most basic level, there is no doctrinal …


Italian Judges' Point Of View On Foreign States' Immunity, Elena Sciso Jan 2011

Italian Judges' Point Of View On Foreign States' Immunity, Elena Sciso

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Article gives an account of the most recent Italian practice as regarding foreign states' immunity from the jurisdiction of the forum state. In the absence of domestic laws regulating the matter, Italian courts thus far have been directly applying international customary law, making recourse to a progressive interpretation of international rules. In the past, Italian judicial practice together with the Belgian one gave a great contribution to the consolidation of the restrictive immunity theory. In the last few years, Italian courts have lifted immunity with respect to acts of a foreign state qualified as "acta iure imperii" in civil …


Foreign Official Immunity After Samantar: A United States Government Perspective, Harold H. Koh Jan 2011

Foreign Official Immunity After Samantar: A United States Government Perspective, Harold H. Koh

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I am delighted to speak here at Vanderbilt regarding the U.S. Government's perspective on Foreign Official Immunity after Samantar v. Yousuf.' In the Samantar case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the immunity of foreign government officials sued in their personal capacity in U.S. courts, including for alleged human rights violations, is not controlled by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, but rather, by immunity determinations made by the Executive Branch. Let me break my topic today into three parts: first, the world of foreign official immunity as it existed before the Samantar case; second, the Supreme Court's …


Should Juries Give Reasons For Their Verdicts?: The Spanish Experience And The Implications Of The European Court Of Human Rights Decision In Taxquet V. Belgium, Stephen C. Thaman Jan 2011

Should Juries Give Reasons For Their Verdicts?: The Spanish Experience And The Implications Of The European Court Of Human Rights Decision In Taxquet V. Belgium, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the Belgian jury system and the decision in Taxquet v. Belgium and then explores to what extent a requirement of reasoned judgments will affect the survival of European juries. It focuses on Spain, where the jury is required to give reasons for its verdicts, and where a lively high-court jurisprudence has developed addressing the quality and sufficiency of jury reasons. This article suggests that it might be appropriate for jury courts in the United States to in some way justify their decision of guilt, in order to minimize the amount of completely innocent persons who have been …


'Accountability' As 'Legitimacy': Global Governance, Global Civil Society And The United Nations, Kenneth Anderson Jan 2011

'Accountability' As 'Legitimacy': Global Governance, Global Civil Society And The United Nations, Kenneth Anderson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This essay is a contribution to a symposium on international NGO accountability. It distinguishes between "internal" accountability for NGOs (fiduciary standards, fiscal and internal governance controls, etc.) and "external" accountability (the legitimacy with which they act in the international world, and the legitimacy which they confer upon others, and why). The essay focuses upon the latter, external accountability, and argues that the transformation of international NGOs into "global civil society" signaled an ideological move with regards to legitimacy in the global community, one which asserted claims of "representativeness" and not merely interest or expertise. The essay criticizes this legitimacy move, …


Transparency In The Administration Of Laws: The Relationship Between Differing Justifications For Transparency And Differing Views Of Administrative Law, Robert Vaughn Jan 2011

Transparency In The Administration Of Laws: The Relationship Between Differing Justifications For Transparency And Differing Views Of Administrative Law, Robert Vaughn

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.


The Human Element: The Impact Of Regional Trade Agreements On The Human Rights And The Rule Of Law, Claudio Grossman Jan 2011

The Human Element: The Impact Of Regional Trade Agreements On The Human Rights And The Rule Of Law, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.


Transitional Justice, Peace, And Prevention, Juan E. Mendez Jan 2011

Transitional Justice, Peace, And Prevention, Juan E. Mendez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.


Less Than We Might: Meditations On Life In Prison Without Parole, Robert Blecker Jan 2011

Less Than We Might: Meditations On Life In Prison Without Parole, Robert Blecker

Articles & Chapters

Today, death penalty opponents mostly claim life without parole (LWOP) as their genuinely popular substitute punishment for the worst of the worst. These abolitionists embrace LWOP as cheaper, equally just, and equally effective - a punishment that eliminates the state’s exercise of an inhumane power to kill helpless human beings who pose no immediate threat. Furthermore, they insist, LWOP allows the criminal justice system to reverse sentencing mistakes. Some even characterize it as a punishment worse than death.

Thousands of hours in several states, interviewing and observing more than a hundred convicted killers, along with dozens of correctional officers who …


Panel 2: Protecting Vulnerable Groups Through Detention Visits, Hernan Vales, Haritini Dipla, Catherine Dupe Atoki, Pamela Goldberg, Alison Parker Jan 2011

Panel 2: Protecting Vulnerable Groups Through Detention Visits, Hernan Vales, Haritini Dipla, Catherine Dupe Atoki, Pamela Goldberg, Alison Parker

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Enforcing Remedies From The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights: Forced Evictions And Post-Earthquake Haiti, Nicole Phillips, Kathleen Bergin, Jennifer Goldsmith, Laura Carr Jan 2011

Enforcing Remedies From The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights: Forced Evictions And Post-Earthquake Haiti, Nicole Phillips, Kathleen Bergin, Jennifer Goldsmith, Laura Carr

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Interview With Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Iachr Rapporteur On The Rights Of The Child, Human Rights Brief Jan 2011

Interview With Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Iachr Rapporteur On The Rights Of The Child, Human Rights Brief

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Special Coverage Of The 143rd Period Of Sessions Of The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Lauren Nussbaum, Leah Chavla, Anne Schaufele Jan 2011

Special Coverage Of The 143rd Period Of Sessions Of The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Lauren Nussbaum, Leah Chavla, Anne Schaufele

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Updates From The Regional Human Rights Systems, Anna Taylor, Matthew Lopas, Sarone Solomon Jan 2011

Updates From The Regional Human Rights Systems, Anna Taylor, Matthew Lopas, Sarone Solomon

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Updates From The International And Internationalized Criminal Courts, Claire Grandison, Benjamin Watson, Brynn Weinstein, Adam Dembling, Yaritza Velez, Michelle Flash Jan 2011

Updates From The International And Internationalized Criminal Courts, Claire Grandison, Benjamin Watson, Brynn Weinstein, Adam Dembling, Yaritza Velez, Michelle Flash

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.


Unsex Cedaw, Or What's Wrong With Women's Rights, Darren Rosenblum Jan 2011

Unsex Cedaw, Or What's Wrong With Women's Rights, Darren Rosenblum

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I discusses why CEDAW continues to be relevant as the primary source of international law on sex discrimination. Until the advent of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), CEDAW was the most widely-subscribed international treaty. Some of the draft language of CEDAW reflects the tension between category and identity and how "women" won the debate. Part II contrasts CEDAW with the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). It points to the identitarian focus of CEDAW as a core reason for its failures. Had CEDAW reflected a category focus, as CERD did, it would more …


Carl Schmitt And The Critique Of Lawfare, David Luban Jan 2011

Carl Schmitt And The Critique Of Lawfare, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

“Lawfare” is the use of law as a weapon of war against a military adversary. Lawfare critics complain that self-proclaimed “humanitarians” are really engaged in the partisan and political abuse of law—lawfare. This paper turns the mirror on lawfare critics themselves, and argues that the critique of lawfare is no less abusive and political than the alleged lawfare it attacks. Radical lawfare critics view humanitarian law with suspicion, as nothing more than an instrument used by weak adversaries against strong military powers. Casting suspicion on humanitarian law by attacking the motives of humanitarian lawyers, they undermine disinterested argument, and ultimately …


The Limited Case For Permitting Sme Procurement Preferences In The Wto Agreement On Government Procurement, John Linarelli Jan 2011

The Limited Case For Permitting Sme Procurement Preferences In The Wto Agreement On Government Procurement, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

This is a chapter in the book, Sue Arrowsmith & Robert D. Anderson, The WTO Regime on Government Procurement: Challenge and Reform (Cambridge University Press, 2011). The chapter puts under scrutiny public procurement policies designed to benefit SMEs per se, as small or medium sized enterprises, and to evaluate whether the GPA (and hence possibly other trade agreements liberalizing procurement markets) should be more accommodating to these policies, even though these policies might restrict international trade. The chapter also evaluates whether the GPA should be more accommodating to policies designed to benefit firms controlled by individuals who belong to historically …


Redefining Human Rights Lawyering Through The Lens Of Critical Theory: Lessons For Pedagogy And Practice, Caroline Bettinger-López, Davida Finger, Meetali Jain, Jonel Newman, Sarah Paoletti, Deborah M. Weissman Jan 2011

Redefining Human Rights Lawyering Through The Lens Of Critical Theory: Lessons For Pedagogy And Practice, Caroline Bettinger-López, Davida Finger, Meetali Jain, Jonel Newman, Sarah Paoletti, Deborah M. Weissman

Articles

No abstract provided.


Historical Roots Of Citizens United Vs. Fec: How Anarchists And Academics Accidentally Created Corporate Speech Rights, The General Essay, Zephyr Teachout Jan 2011

Historical Roots Of Citizens United Vs. Fec: How Anarchists And Academics Accidentally Created Corporate Speech Rights, The General Essay, Zephyr Teachout

Faculty Scholarship

This paper looks at how the early rhetoric around the First Amendment enabled later development of corporate political speech rights.


The Advance Democracy Act And The Future Of United States Democracy Promotion Efforts, Patrick J. Glen Jan 2011

The Advance Democracy Act And The Future Of United States Democracy Promotion Efforts, Patrick J. Glen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article addresses whether and to what extent the Obama administration should continue the Bush administration policies relating to democracy promotion. The focus of the article is on the ADVANCE Act of 2007, a legislative enactment that institutionalized democracy promotion in the State Department. After explicating the key provisions of this Act, as well as their implementation status, the article addresses key critiques leveled at democracy promotion, as well as areas where the Obama administration can expand on what has been accomplished thus far in this field. In the end, democracy promotion should continue to be an integral component of …