Human Rights Law Commons^™

Ag Gag Past, Present, And Future, Justin F. Marceau

Seattle University Law Review

While the animal rights and food justice movements are relatively young, their political unpopularity has generated a steady onslaught of legislation designed to curtail their effectiveness. At each stage of their nascent development, these movements have confronted a new wave of criminal or civil sanctions carefully tailored to combat the previous successes the movements had achieved.

An Analysis Of The Legality Of Television Cameras Broadcasting Juror Deliberations In A Criminal Case, Daniel H. Erskine Esq.

Akron Law Review

This work sets out the constitutional, statutory, and common law applicable to television’s intrusion into the jury room. The first section addresses federal constitutional considerations focusing on Article III Section 2, the Sixth Amendment, and the First Amendment. The second section analyzes certain federal rules and particular statutes applicable to televising federal judicial proceedings, as well as the rationale behind their enactment. Finally, the third section discusses comparative approaches addressing television’s intrusion into the courtroom, particularly focusing on recent jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and the Scottish Court of Session.

Celebrity Newsgathering And Privacy: The Transformation Of Breach Of Confidence In English Law, John D. Mccamus

Akron Law Review

In recent years, a series of leading cases have returned to consider these questions. The implications of these decisions for the current shape of English law relating to civil redress for privacy invasion are the subject of this article. Surprisingly, perhaps, English courts have remained steadfast in their refusal to recognize invasion of privacy as a tort and in doing so have quite explicitly declined to rely on American experience in this area. Rather, English courts have preferred to resist innovation of this kind and leave the difficult question of privacy law reform to Parliament. On a number of recent …

The Right To Freely Have Sex? Beyond Biology: Reproductive Rights And Sexual Self-Determination, Yakaré-Oulé Jansen

Akron Law Review

Part I will briefly set out how sexual rights are approached in the national legal arena. The way the U.S. Supreme Court treats reproductive rights provides a good example as it has some analogies with the treatment of reproductive rights under international human rights law; the Court focuses primarily on the biological aspects of sexuality and has been reluctant to acknowledge rights that fall within the realm of sexual self-determination. This case study is followed in Part II by an analysis of to what extent the treaty bodies of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), International Covenant …

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations And Security And Reconstruction, Muna Ndulo

Akron Law Review

This Article is in part based on a memorial lecture delivered by Muna Ndulo at The University of Akron School of Law in honor of the late Justice Tawia Modibo Ocran...In August 2000, a famous UN report, the Brahimi Report, acknowledged the shortcomings of the UN peacekeeping efforts and recommended wide-ranging reforms aimed at strengthening the operations and making them more effective. Since then there have been numerous other reports aimed at implementing reforms to strengthen UN PKOs...This Article builds on that report and discusses the broad challenges facing UN peacekeeping missions today and the role of the UN PKOs …

Common Law Petition For Writ Of Certiorari, Beasley V. Chicago Commission On Human Relations & Betts Realty (Cook County 2015), J. Damian Ortiz, John Marshall Fair Housing Legal Clinic

Court Documents and Proposed Legislation

No abstract provided.

The Applicability Of The Humanitarian Intervention 'Exception' To The Middle Eastern Refugee Crisis: Why The International Community Should Intervene Against Isis, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The refugee crises in Iraq and Syria, which has been evolving over the past decade as a result of both ongoing conflict in these countries and the recent surge of Islamic State-led violence, has morphed into a true humanitarian catastrophe. Tens of thousands of refugees have been subjected to violence and have been dispersed and forced to live under dire conditions; such massive population flows have destabilized the entire region and have threatened the stability of neighboring countries. The United States and several other countries have been engaged in a military air strike campaign against the Islamic State, but the …

Engaging U.N. Special Procedures To Advance Human Rights At Home: A Guide For U.S. Advocates, Human Rights Institute

Human Rights Institute

Social justice advocates in the United States are increasingly using the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations to advance their domestic advocacy on issues ranging from criminal justice to access to health care. These mechanisms offer unique opportunities for U.S. advocates to mobilize grassroots communities, raise public awareness, exert international pressure, and engage with local, state, and national government officials around local human rights concerns. The U.N. special procedures are among the more versatile of the U.N. human rights mechanisms.

This report explores ways in which U.S. advocates are making effective use of the U.N. special procedures. Based on …

Memo To Prime Minister Cameron On The Revision Of The U.K. National Action Plan On Business And Human Rights, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2015, CCSI sent a memo to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to provide input on the 2015 revision of the U.K. National Action Plan on business and human rights, originally published in 2013. The memo applauded the U.K. Government’s early adoption of a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.K. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to highlight the importance of land …

Those Awful Tahrir Rapes, Lama Abu-Odeh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay highlights the myriad ways in which street sexual harassment of women in Egypt, of which I argue the mass rapes of Tahrir are an egregious instance thereof, disciplines women's bodies. It describes briefly and dismisses the frameworks for understanding those practices proposed by the left, the right and the government. I also describe the role that law, in conjunction with its lax enforcement, plays in intensifying this regulation.

The essay uses purposefully the fighting radical feminist pronoun "we" to describe the predicament. I "am" an Egyptian women. I consider myself an ally in their attempt to understand, resist …

Three Grotian Theories Of Humanitarian Intervention, Evan J. Criddle

Faculty Publications

This Article explores three theories of humanitarian intervention that appear in, or are inspired by, the writings of Hugo Grotius. One theory asserts that natural law authorizes all states to punish violations of the law of nations, irrespective of where or against whom the violations occur, to preserve the integrity of international law. A second theory, which also appears in Grotius’s writings, proposes that states may intervene as temporary legal guardians for peoples who have suffered intolerable cruelties at the hands of their own state. Each of these theories has fallen out of fashion today based on skepticism about their …

Dangerous Diagnoses, Risky Assumptions, And The Failed Experiment Of "Sexually Violent Predator" Commitment, Deirdre M. Smith

Faculty Publications

In its 1997 opinion, Kansas v. Hendricks, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law that reflected a new model of civil commitment. The targets of this new commitment law were dubbed “Sexually Violent Predators” (SVPs), and the Court upheld indefinite detention of these individuals on the assumption that there is a psychiatrically distinct class of individuals who, unlike typical recidivists, have a mental condition that impairs their ability to refrain from violent sexual behavior. And, more specifically, the Court assumed that the justice system could reliably identify the true “predators,” those for whom this unusual and extraordinary deprivation of liberty …

The Supreme Court's Civil Assault On Civil Procedure, Alexander A. Reinert

Articles

No abstract provided.

The 2014 Farm Bill: Farm Subsidies And Food Oppression, Andrea Freeman

Seattle University Law Review

The 2014 Farm Bill ushered in some significant and surprising changes. One of these was that it rendered the identity of all the recipients of farm subsidies secret. Representative Larry Combest, who is now a lobbyist for agribusiness, first introduced a secrecy provision into the bill in 2000. The provision, however, only applied to subsidies made in the form of crop insurance. Until 2014, the majority of subsidies were direct payments and the identity of the people who received them was public information. In fact, the Environmental Working Group’s release of the list of recipients led to a series of …

Equal Justice Remains Elusive For The Poor, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Transitional Justice And Local Ownership: A Framework For The Protection Of Human Rights, Andrew B. Friedman

Akron Law Review

The focus of this paper will be only on prosecutions and other mechanisms with formality and ability to punish akin to a prosecution. Of the many such pseudo-prosecutions, particular focus will be paid to Truth and Reconciliation Commissions for their formality, their ability to grant amnesty, and the darling space they occupy in the collective public and scholarly imagination. Second, the importance of local ownership will be discussed. As previously mentioned, a great deal of work has been done on this particular topic. The discussion in this article will be limited to the problems associated with local ownership in transitional …

Privatizing Human Rights? Creating Intellectual Property Rights From Human Rights Principles, David S. Welkowitz

Akron Law Review

This article focuses on one human rights treaty, the Convention, and the possible uses of its provisions to secure and expand intellectual property rights (“IP rights”). Although the Convention does not contain any provision specifically referencing IP rights, it does contain several provisions that could be used to expand IP rights. Furthermore, the existence of a substantial body of interpretive case law from the ECHR affords us a more detailed perspective on the manner in which the Convention could be used to further IP rights. Finally, the group of countries adhering to the Convention, though all part of Europe, represent …

Summary And Initial Response To The Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The primary components of this decision depend on both a narrative of continuity and change."

Posting about the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage ­­­­­­­­from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/a-summary-and-initial-response-to-the-same-sex-marriage-ruling/

Babies Behind Bars: An Evaluation Of Prison Nurseries In American Female Prisons And Their Potential Constitutional Challenges, Seham Elmalak

Pace Law Review

This note opens the prison doors and delves into the United States female prison system, primarily focusing on the positive and negative impact of nursery programs on mothers and children, along with potential constitutional claims that can be brought against these programs. Part I provides a general background about the American prison system, and briefly touches on the constitutional standards of prisoners’ rights. It also discusses the history and development of female prisons and illustrates the rapid increase of female incarceration. Part II focuses on the prevalence of mothers within the female population in prisons. Part III introduces prison nursery …

Stop Mass Deportation From The Dominican Republic To Haiti, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Canada Confronts ‘Cultural Genocide’ Against Aboriginal People, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of Disparate Impact: An Opportunity To Realize The Promise Of The Fair Housing Act, Valerie Schneider

School of Law Faculty Publications

Abstract:

Twice in the past three years, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Fair Housing cases, and, each time, under pressure from civil rights leaders who feared that the Supreme Court might narrow current Fair Housing Act jurisprudence, the cases settled just weeks before oral argument. Settlements after the Supreme Court grants certiorari are extremely rare, and, in these cases, the settlements reflect a substantial fear among civil rights advocates that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in cases such as Shelby County v. Holder and Fisher v. University of Texas are working to dismantle many of the protections of …

Applying The European Convention On Human Rights To The Use Of Physical Force: Al-Saadoon, David S. Goddard

International Law Studies

In Al-Saadoon and Others v. Secretary of State for Defence, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales has found that the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) can be activated extraterritorially simply through the use by State agents of physical force against an individual. This article explains the judgment and places it in the context of the development of the law both in the United Kingdom and at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). While it remains subject to appeal domestically and its approach may not be followed by the ECtHR, …

Revelations On Fbi Spy Fleet Cloud Surveillance Reform, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

End Sexual Exploitation By Peacekeepers, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Stop Warehousing The Mentally Ill In Prisons, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

“A Sordid Case”: Stump V. Sparkman, Judicial Immunity, And The Other Side Of Reproductive Rights, Laura T. Kessler

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Education For All: A Proposal For The Post-2015 Development Agenda, Gillian Macnaughton

Washington International Law Journal

The Millennium Development Goals (“MDGs”) have been highly successful in bringing commitment, expertise and funding to key human development targets in education, health, gender equality and other poverty reduction measures. Yet, the MDGs failed to integrate, or even align with, the international human rights laws to which states have committed themselves. Many commentators argue that linking the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals with human rights would bring greater participation by people living in poverty in creating the agenda intended for their benefit, higher levels of accountability from governments and international organizations, greater attention to marginalized groups and economic inequality, and a …

Who Leads The G-Zero World? Multi-Nationals, Sustainable Development, And Corporate Social Responsibility In A Changing Global Order, Avi Sharma

Washington International Law Journal

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) aim to create a more peaceful, just, and environmentally sustainable global community. The SDGs target seventeen areas that demand immediate action by the international community, including the eradication of poverty, gender equality, climate change mitigation, and resilience building. Unfortunately, the world’s most powerful nation-state actors are unlikely to make the costly investments required to achieve the goals laid out in this ambitious UN document. In fact, this article argues that nation-state actors have powerful disincentives to play a leadership role in advancing the SDGs. The question then becomes: if nation-states are unable or unwilling …

Sustainable Development And Social Inclusion: Why A Changed Approach Is Central To Combating Vulnerability, Joshua Castellino, Sarah Bradshaw

Washington International Law Journal

The United Declaration of Human Rights established the fundamental basis of international human rights law, Unfortunately, the over emphasis on civil and political rights within this agenda restricted greater engagement with questions concerning development. The focus on individual rights and antagonistic relations between states has led to a human rights practice that fails to achieve social inclusion for many and allows vulnerable groups io fall by the wayside. Equally unfortunately, the practice has too often focused on international level actors such as states and other entities, thus failing to take notice of national level policies and initiatives that do help …