Human Rights Law Commons^™

International Courts As Agents Of Legal Change: Evidence From Lgbt Rights In Europe, Laurence R. Helfer, Erik Voeten

Faculty Scholarship

Do international court judgments influence the behavior of actors other than the parties to a dispute? Are international courts agents of policy change or do their judgments merely reflect evolving social and political trends? The authors develop a theory that specifies the conditions under which international courts can use their interpretive discretion to have system-wide effects. The authors examine the theory in the context of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues by creating a new dataset that matches these rulings with laws in all Council of Europe (CoE) member states. The …

Taking The Bloody Linen Out Of The Closet: Menstrual Hygiene As A Priority For Achieving Gender Equality, Inga T. Winkler, Virginia Roaf

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Regular menstruation signals a woman's health and fertility. menstruation is surrounded by shame, secrecy, embarrassment, fear, humiliation, silence, taboo, and stigma. Linked to this taboo, many cultural and religious norms-often grounded in patriarchal assumptions-seek to prevent contact with menstruating women and girls in order to avoid 'contamination' or 'becoming impure'. To some extent, this perception of menstruation is a paradox, given that motherhood is glorified. However, menstruation is not perceived as feminine', and it does not conform to the stereotypical role and behavior of women. Such stereotypes require women to be beautiful and beautified, deodorized and fresh, not bloody and …

Gendered Border Crossings, Efrat Arbel

All Faculty Publications

Nine years after the implementation of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), this chapter examines the STCA while asking the question: what about gender? How have initial concerns about the STCA’s adverse gender impact mapped onto the current, much-altered landscape of Canadian refugee law? The chapter revisits findings made in Bordering on Failure, a recent report I co-authored about the STCA, in an effort to read gender into its absence. I begin by charting an overview of the STCA’s operation and effect to provide context for discussion. I then revisit the central findings made in Bordering on Failure, paying …

Business, Human Rights, And The Promise Of Polycentricity, Jamie D. Prenkert, Scott J. Shackelford

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises (SRSG) John Ruggie referred to the "Protect, Respect, and Remedy" Framework (PRR Framework) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles) as a polycentric governance system. However, the exact meaning of this phrase has not been very carefully elucidated. This Article analyzes that description in the context of the deep and varied body of literature on polycentric governance and evaluates the PRR Framework in that light. In particular, this Article uses a case-study approach, analyzing the emerging polycentric …

Amnesty Or Accountability: The Fate Of High-Ranking Child Soldiers In Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, Stella Yarbrough

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In May 2013, Uganda surprisingly resurrected its amnesty provision for two more years after having let it lapse only a year earlier. Uganda's vacillation likely represents its competing desires to grant amnesty to low-level actors in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and to end impunity for decades of gross human rights violations in accordance with international criminal law. However, instead of crafting an amnesty provision that would satisfy both of these needs, Uganda reinstated the same "blanket" amnesty, or all-inclusive pardon, found in the Amnesty Act of Uganda (2000) (Act). As a result, high-level LRA actors like Thomas Kwoyelo and …

Liberty And Justice For All? Protecting The Right To Privacy For Incapacitated Individuals: The Need For Comprehensive Sterilization Legislation In All Fifty States, Mindy K. Fersel

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the intersection of disability rights and reproductive rights, highlighting the legal confusion and human rights violations that arise from the lack of comprehensive federal guidance on the sterilization of individuals with disabilities. While landmark Supreme Court decisions like Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade established constitutional protections for reproductive autonomy, the legacy of cases such as Buck v. Bell and inconsistent state statutes continue to undermine the rights of individuals with disabilities. The article argues that the absence of clear legislative frameworks leaves vulnerable populations at risk of exploitation and discrimination, necessitating urgent reform to ensure …

Women, Water & Privatization: A Human Rights-Based Approach To Global Water Governance, Tara Pistilli

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that recognizing and clearly defining the human right to water is essential for ensuring equitable access, particularly for women and children, who are disproportionately affected by water scarcity and privatization. It emphasizes that a human rights-based approach to water governance is necessary to prevent conflicts and protect vulnerable populations, as demonstrated by the Cochabamba Water War. This approach, supported by international law, provides a legally binding framework to hold states and corporations accountable for fulfilling the right to water.

Aboriginal Food Security In Northern Canada: An Assessment Of The State Of Knowledge, Harriet Kuhnlein, Fikret Berkes, Laurie Hing Man Chan, Treena Wasonti:Io Delormier, Asbjørn Eide, Chris Furgal, Murray Humphries, Henry Huntington, Constance Macintosh, Ian Mauro, David Natcher, Barry Prentice, Chantelle Richmond, Cecilia Rocha, Kue Young

Reports & Public Policy Documents

As the world’s population increases, as global markets become more interconnected, and as the effects of climate change become clearer, the issue of food insecurity is gaining traction at local, national, and international levels. The recent global economic crisis and increased food prices have drawn attention to the urgent situation of the world’s 870 million chronically undernourished people who face the number one worldwide risk to health: hunger and malnutrition. Although about 75% of the world’s undernourished people live in low-income, rural regions of developing countries, hunger is also an issue in Canada. In 2011, 1.6 million Canadian households, or …

Adapting The Law Of Armed Conflict To Autonomous Weapon Systems, Kenneth Anderson, Daniel Reisner, Matthew Waxman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

As increasingly automated – and in some cases fully autonomous – weapon systems enter the battlefield or become possible, it is important that international norms to regulate them head down a path that is coherent and practical. Contrary to the claims of some advocates, autonomous weapon systems are not inherently illegal or unethical. The technologies involved potentially hold promise for making armed conflict more discriminating and causing less harm on the battlefield. They do pose important challenges, however, with regard to law of armed conflict rules regulating the use of weapons. Those challenges demand international attention and special processes for …

Regulation 55 And The Rights Of The Accused At The International Criminal Courts, Susana Sacouto, Katherine Cleary Thompson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Foreword, The Future Of International Criminal Justice, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

International criminal law attempts to sanction crimes that have a global nature and impact. After World War II, the international community came together to begin addressing important international issues, including preventing future war and non-war related atrocities and crimes. From the International Military Tribunals established in the wake of World War II to the world's first permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), a number of international bodies, treaties, and statutes have been formed in an effort to effectively administer criminal justice on an international level. Yet the administration and application of international criminal justice has faced significant hurdles and there are …

Implementing Human Rights In Closed Environments Through The United Nations Convention Against Torture, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Closed environments pose a major challenge to the full and effective implementation of human rights norms and conventions. However, many conventions contain mechanisms that can be used to further advance implementation of human rights in those closed environments. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention) has several mechanisms in place that play an important role in enforcing and implementing human rights obligations. Along with the creation of a supervisory organ, the Committee against Torture (the Committee), the Convention provides a framework for: State Party reporting and concluding observations (COBs) under …

Human Rights Violations By Peacekeeping Forces In Somalia, Richard Wilson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Widespread sexual violence is occurring throughout South-Central Somalia, and the perpetrators of this violence are often alleged to be government security forces and military personnel from the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM). Within Somalia, there is little recourse for victims of sexual violence, and human rights practitioners are looking to international options as alternative venues for seeking justice. This article uses the case of peacekeeping troops in Somalia perpetrating human rights violations to explore the liability of peacekeepers and their home states in these situations. It assumes, for purposes of analysis here, that due to their traditional immunities, the …

The Most Important Cases Of The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Richard Wilson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), together with its companion body, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), are autonomous organs of the Organization of American States (OAS). The IACHR promotes and protects human rights in the Western Hemisphere. Created by the OAS in 1959, the Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Together with the Court, established in 1979 in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Commission has emerged as a model of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as of individual rights.Since its inception, the Commission has made extraordinary progress. Through its 55-year history, it has …

Remarks: The Tension Between Law And Politics: Can The Icc Navigate A Multi-Polar World?, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Problems Faced By Mexican Asylum Seekers In The United States, Anna Cabot

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Violence in Mexico rose sharply in response to President Felipe Calder6n's military campaign against drug cartels which began in late 2006. As a consequence, the number of Mexicans who have sought asylum in the United States has grown significantly. In 2013, Mexicans made up the second largest group of defensive asylum seekers (those in removal proceedings) in the United States, behind only China (EOIR 2014b). Yet between 2008 and 2013, the grant rate for Mexican asylum seekers in immigration court fell from 23 percent to nine percent (EOIR 2013, 2014b). This paper examines-from the perspective of an attorney who represented …

The Breakthrough: Human Rights In The 1970s (Book Review), Richard Wilson

Book Reviews

The Breakthrough, as the title suggests, is a kind of sequel to the provocative work of human rights history’s current enfant terrible, Samuel Moyn. He co-edits this volume of contributed works with a kindred colleague, Jan Eckel, who teaches modern and contemporary history at the University of Freiburg, Germany. In an early footnote, Moyn recognizes the similarity of the project he and Eckel share: “[Eckel and I] propose somewhat different interpretations of why the decade [of the 1970s] was so pivotal.” Moyn, until this year a professor of history at Columbia University, and who is also trained in law, joined …

Anatomy Of An Uprising: Women, Democracy, And The Moroccan Feminist Spring, Karla M. Mckanders

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

During the Arab Spring, Moroccan men and women first took to the streets on February 20, 2011 to demand governmental reforms. Their movement became known as the Mouvement du 20-Février. In a series of protests, Moroccans called for democratic change, lower food prices, freedom for Islamist prisoners, and rights for the Berber people. Initially, King Mohammad VI attempted to suppress the movement. When this approach did not succeed, in a televised speech, the King agreed to reform the government. In June 2011, the constitutional committee proposed changes that would reduce the King’s absolute powers, implement democratic reforms, and create a …

The Democratic Life Of The Union: Toward Equal Voting Participation For Europeans With Disabilities, János Fiala-Butora, Michael Ashley Stein, Janet E. Lord

Faculty Publications

This Article puts forward preliminary legal scholarship on equal political participation by persons with disabilities and what international human rights law requires for its attainment. The goal is to provoke an informed dialogue on the neglected but fundamental human right to enfranchisement by persons with disabilities while also acknowledging that a complete and just resolution requires further information and reflection.

The Article argues that the fundamental right to vote cannot be curtailed on the basis of an alleged lack of capacity. Disenfranchisement based on individual assessment unjustly excludes a certain number of voting-capable individuals. Since all those affected are persons …

Toward A Legal Theory On The Responsibility To Protect, Monica Hakimi

Faculty Scholarship

The idea of the "responsibility to protect" has received enormous attention in recent years-so much attention that it now goes simply by R2P. R2P posits that, when a state fails to protect its population from mass atrocities, the broader international community should step in to help. The vision here is of outside states banding together and doing everything possible to protect the at-risk population. But for all the attention this vision receives, its effect on international law or on the ultimate goal of protecting people from atrocities is unclear. This Article critiques that vision and offers an alternative. The Article …

Health Rights In The Balance: The Case Against Perinatal Shackling Of Women Behind Bars, Brett Dignam, Eli Y. Adashi

Faculty Scholarship

Rationalized for decades on security grounds, perinatal shackling entails the application of handcuffs, leg irons, and/or waist shackles to the incarcerated woman prior to, during, and after labor and delivery. During labor and delivery proper, perinatal shackling may entail chaining women to the hospital bed by the ankle, wrist, or both. Medically untenable, legally challenged, and ever controversial, perinatal shackling remains the standard of practice in most US states despite sustained two-decades-long efforts by health rights legal advocates, human rights organizations, and medical professionals. Herein we review the current statutory, regulatory, legal, and medical framework undergirding the use of restraints …

Report As To Proposed Pilot Project On The Electronic Monitoring Of Forensic Mental Health Patients, Elaine Gibson, Leah Hutt, Sheila Wildeman, Constance Macintosh

Reports & Public Policy Documents

This report was undertaken in response to a request from the Nova Scotia government for assistance in identifying and analyzing legal issues related to the potential establishment of a pilot project. The project would involve the use of electronic monitoring (EM) of forensic mental health patients (patients) detained at the East Coast Forensic Hospital (ECFH) who are exercising indirectly supervised and unescorted community access (community access). The purpose of our analysis is not to determine if an EM policy or its application violates any laws. Rather, the purpose is to consider whether there are factors that may support legal challenges …

Bridging The Justice Gap: Exploring Approaches For Improving Indigent Access To Civil Counsel, Kelsey Atkinson

Pomona Senior Theses

The United States is among one of the only democratic industrialized nations in the world that does not provide guaranteed access to civil representation in cases involving basic human need. This leaves indigent litigants who are at risk of losing their homes or their children left to seek counsel through insufficient pro-bono programs or limited scope legal self-help centers. This thesis provides a history of the struggle for the right to civil counsel, known as Civil Gideon, and explores a variety of proposed solutions to bridge the justice gap for indigent litigants. Despite considerable support for Civil Gideon among scholars …

A Dark Side Of Virtue: The Inter-American Court And Reparations For Indigenous Peoples, Thomas Antkowiak

Faculty Articles

"The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has now developed a significant jurisprudence on indigenous peoples, far more extensive than the case law of the other regional human rights tribunals. Also, unlike the various United Nations institutions that promote indigenous rights, the Inter-American Court issues binding and detailed judgments. As a result, the Court has become a global leader in the adjudication and redress of indigenous claims. For this reason, this first close and critical examination of the Court’s reparations for indigenous peoples is vital. With respect to non-monetary remedies, the Court has ordered the restitution of communal lands and other …