Human Rights Law Commons^™

Slavery And The Law In Atlantic Perspective: Jurisdiction, Jurisprudence, And Justice, Rebecca J. Scott

Articles

The four articles in this special issue experiment with an innovative set of questions and a variety of methods in order to push the analysis of slavery and the law into new territory. Their scope is broadly Atlantic, encompassing Suriname and Saint-Domingue/Haiti, New York and New Orleans, port cities and coffee plantations. Each essay deals with named individuals in complex circumstances, conveying their predicaments as fine-grained microhistories rather than as shocking anecdotes. Each author, moreover, demonstrates that the moments when law engaged slavery not only reflected but also influenced larger dynamics of sovereignty and jurisprudence.

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 …

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 …

The Price Of The Ottoman Failure, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

The question of the implications of secularization for Christian communities in today’s Middle East is a difficult one, both because the extent of contemporary secularization in the region is contested, and because the term itself has so many different meanings. Nonetheless, a preliminary consideration imposes itself. Whatever else it means, secularization means legal equality for religious minorities, including Christians. Formal equality often exists in the Middle East today. Yet legal restrictions – apostasy prosecutions, limitations on clergy and churches, and so on – continue to pose real threats to Christians. Moreover, as Abdullahi An-Na‘im notes, ‘tension with the traditional …

Global Finance, Multinationals And Human Rights: With Commentary On Backer's Critique Of The 2008 Report By John Ruggie, Faith Stevelman

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Torture Victim Protection Act: A Means To Corporate Liability For Aiding And Abetting Torture, Jessica Grunberg

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Transforming Students, Transforming Self: The Power Of Teaching Social Justice Struggles In Context, Raquel Aldana

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To Health And Hiv/Aids: South Africa And South-South Cooperation To Reframe Global Intellectual Property Principles And Promote Access To Essential Medicines, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating and disproportionate impact in countries of the Global South. The experience of an individual infected with HIV in Africa is very different than that of an individual infected with HIV in America. Life expectancy varies sharply. The ability or inability to access medicines essential for treatment accounts for much of the variance. This article examines how the rhetoric of human rights used in the context of South Africa's AIDS crisis resonated across the Global South, resulted in a powerful social movement for access to medicines, and contributed to important changes in international intellectual …

Political Protest, Mass Arrests, And Mass Detention: Fundamental Freedoms And (Un)Common Criminals, Debra Parkes, Meaghan Daniel

All Faculty Publications

“No Justice. No Peace.” The mass arrest and detention of over 1,105 people during the Toronto G20 summit in June 2010, including author Meaghan Daniel, prompted reflection on the connections between justice and peace and in particular, between peaceful protest, policing, detention and the justice system. The record breaking weekend of mass arrests and temporary detention of people described as “innocent bystanders” and “peaceful protestors” provoked an ongoing conversation about the criminalization of protest. It is the authors’ hope to extend this conversation beyond these (un)common criminals to the “every day” processes of criminalization and imprisonment that go largely unquestioned …

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 …

Insite: Site And Sight (Part 1 - Insights On Insite), Margot Young

All Faculty Publications

The Insite case is a great study for students of constitutional law. The twinning of a claim of inter-jurisdictional immunity - in a somewhat novel application to provincial jurisdiction - to the assertion by some of Canada's most marginalized citizens of the fundamental freedoms of life, liberty, and security of the person delivers a compact and compelling recitation of basic features of Canada's constitutional landscape. The case is set in the landscape of the Vancouver's Downtown East-side (DTES) - a geography of spatial outcomes that reflects balances of economic and social power and displacement. This place has a specific demography …

Examining The Reality Of Foreign National Child Victims Of Human Trafficking In The United States, Bridgette A. Carr

Articles

Human traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities of other people. Poverty, lack of education, and language barriers are keys that human traffickers use to successfully exploit others. For foreign national children who have been trafficked in the United States, these same vulnerabilities are often ignored by the immigration system. From its inception, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) has been touted as a tool to combat grave human rights violations that affect children. In fact, the TVPA's legislative history is rife with stories, statistics, and anecdotes involving children-often young girls. The TVPA has always recognized the failure of a one-size-fits-all approach …

Paper Thin: Freedom And Re-Enslavement In The Diaspora Of The Haitian Revolution, Rebecca J. Scott

Articles

In the summer of 1809 a flotilla of boats arrived in New Orleans carrying more than 9,000 Saint-Domingue refugees recently expelled from the Spanish colony of Cuba. These migrants nearly doubled the population of New Orleans, renewing its Francophone character and populating the neighborhoods of the Vieux Carre and Faubourg Marigny. At the heart of the story of their disembarkation, however, is a legal puzzle. Historians generally tell us that the arriving refugees numbered 2,731 whites, 3,102 free people of color, and 3,226 slaves. But slavery had been abolished in Saint-Domingue by decree in 1793, and abolition had been ratified …

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 …

Forced To Flee And Forced To Repatriate? How The Cessation Clause Of Article 1c(5) And (6) Of The 1951 Refugee Convention Operates In International Law And Practice, Marissa E. Cwik

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The purpose of refugee law is to provide international protection for vulnerable people who are denied state protection. In fulfilling this purpose, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and asylum states have different legal foundations and implementing materials. When terminating refugee status and protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the obligations and legal authorities of UNHCR and asylum states differ. The UNHCR implementing statute allows the facilitation of voluntary repatriation when refugees can return in safety and with dignity. In contrast, host states are able to mandate repatriation when a change in …

Un Women: Jumping The Hurdles To Overcoming Gender Inequality, Or Falling Short Of Expectations?, Kerry Boyne

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the challenges faced by UN Women in addressing the interconnected issues of the feminization of poverty and HIV/AIDS, particularly in developing countries. It argues that while UN Women represents a significant step forward with its consolidated structure and increased resources, its success in eradicating these issues depends on overcoming deeply entrenched gender inequalities, inadequate funding, and the effectiveness of its implementation strategies. The analysis highlights the need for UN Women to not only formulate norms but also ensure their proper incorporation and implementation at national and local levels.

Beyond The Guantánamo Bind: Pragmatic Multilateralism In Refugee Resettlement, Melissa (M.J.) Durkee

Scholarship@WashULaw

The international refugee protection system is under threat. States weary of increased refugee flows and preoccupied with national security increasingly exploit legal gaps or avoid refugee law altogether. The U.S. approach to resettlement of Guantánamo detainee refugees exemplified this trend. Yet, in the Guantánamo context, U.S. avoidance of international refugee law put the executive in a bind that it could not easily escape: Because the U.S. executive was unwilling to assume the political cost of resettling the refugee detainees domestically, it resorted to peddling them for resettlement to foreign states while, at the same time, mounting a robust legal defense …

A Lesson From The Holocaust Restitution Movement For Armenians: Generate Momentum To Secure Restitution, Vartges Saroyan

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note proceeds in five parts. Part I provides a historical background of the events prior to and during the Armenian Genocide, and the claims arising out of the Genocide. Part II discusses the status of Genocide restitution and the roadblocks that continue to prevent widespread recovery. Part III explains the timeline of the Holocaust restitution movement and how advocates for restitution were finally able to have some success. Part IV proposes that Genocide-era claims be sought not only by filing lawsuits, but also by creating momentum through negotiation and other principles of ADR. Part V concludes by reiterating the …

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 …

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

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

'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

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

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

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

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.