Human Rights Law Commons^™

Debating Rights Inflation In Canada: A Sociology Of Human Rights, Hannah Steeves

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Dominique Clément’s Debating Rights Inflation in Canada is intended to augment a report he co-authored, “The Evolution of Human Rights in Canada,” published by the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2012. The book’s goal is to stimulate discussion on the effects that rights inflation has had and could continue to have in Canada.

Between The Margins And The Mainstream: The Case Of Women's Rights, Hilary Charlesworth, Christine M. Chinkin

Book Chapters

This chapter investigates the conceptual limits of the field of women’s rights. It identifies two main currents of activity in the field: the elaboration of human rights standards, particularly through the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979; and the development of the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ agenda by the UN Security Council since 2000. Both areas are limited in their understandings of the diverse lives of women. The chapter argues that campaigns for the recognition of women’s rights shuttle between the mainstream and the margins of international law and that the structural …

From Protecting Lives To Protecting States: Use Of Force Across The Threat Continuum, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The increasing prominence in recent years of non-international armed conflicts that extend across state borders has strained the traditional legal categories that we use to regulate state use of force. Simultaneous with this phenomenon has been growing acceptance that human rights law and international humanitarian law should co-exist, with the former informing interpretations of the latter to varying degrees. Scholars continue to debate vigorously the implications of these developments and how these bodies of law should interact. As Kenneth Watkin’s book Fighting at the Legal Boundaries: Controlling the Use of Force in Contemporary Conflict observes, however, commanders have no choice …

Roots Of Revolution: The African National Congress And Gay Liberation In South Africa, Joseph S. Jackson

UF Law Faculty Publications

South Africa’s post-apartheid constitutions were the first in the world to contain an explicit prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, and that prohibition established the foundation for marriage equality and broad judicial and legislative protection of gay rights in South Africa. The source of this gay rights clause in the South African Constitution can be found in the African National Congress’s decision to include such a clause in the ANC’s A Bill of Rights for a New South Africa, published when the apartheid government of South Africa was still in power. This article traces the story of that …

"Scientific Inference" Vs. "Legal Reasoning"? -Not So Fast!, Susan Haack

Articles

To understand why the interactions of science with the legal system can be so problematic, it's not enough to gesture vaguely towards a supposed contrast between scientific and legal "modes of thinking"; we need to look, instead, to the consequences of the different purposes of science and the law, the different constraints under which they pursue those purposes, and the different cultures of the two enterprises. From this perspective we can see why the law sometimes asks more of science than science can give, and sometimes gets less from science than science could give; and also why a simple dichotomy …

The Human Rights Movement And The Prevention Of Evil: The Need To Look Inward As Well As Out, Jeffrey A. Brauch

Catholic University Law Review

The modern human rights movement began as a response to great evil perpetrated by individuals and nations against others during and preceding World War II. The movement has been dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals by confronting evil and holding nations accountable should efforts to prevent it fail.

This article contends that while the human rights movement is good at confronting evil “out there,” it has failed in important ways to recognize flaws within itself. In particular, it displays a hubris that shows itself in two ways. First, the movement has embraced a utopian expansion of rights to be …

The Hague Rules On Business And Human Rights Arbitration, Bruno Simma, Diane Desierto, Martin Doe Rodriguez, Jan Eijsbouts, Ursula Kriebaum, Pablo Lumerman, Abiola Makinwa, Richard Meeran, Sergio Puig, Steven Ratner, Giorgia Sangiuolo, Martijn Scheltema, Anne Van Aaken, Katerina Yiannibas

Other Publications

The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration provide a set of procedures for the arbitration of disputes related to the impact of business activities on human rights. The Hague Rules are based on the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (with new article 1, paragraph 4, as adopted in 2013) (the “UNCITRAL Rules”), with modifications needed to address certain issues likely to arise in the context of business and human rights disputes. Each article is accompanied by a commentary, which includes background on the drafting of various provisions in the Rules, explaining in …

(Un)Safe Zones: Good Intentions, Bad Logic, Emma Henson

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis aims to explore the disconnect between calls for safe zones as a tool of humanitarian intervention, and the dark history of safe zone failure. This thesis begins with a brief discussion of current calls for safe zones in Syria, and how a proper theoretical framework and historical understanding are needed to discuss whether or not safe zones can be successfully implemented in Syria. The following literature review discusses not only prominent academic arguments and the history of humanitarian intervention, but it suggests a framework for deconstructing case studies. This framework looks first at the interests of an intervening …

The Future Of Disability Rights Protections For Transgender People, Kevin M. Barry, Jennifer L. Levi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Let’S Try Again: Why The United States Should Ratify The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of People With Disabilities, Arlene S. Kanter

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

How To Get Away With Murder: The “Gay Panic” Defense, Omar T. Russo

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Structural Underpinnings Of Access To Justice: Building A Solid Pro Bono Infrastructure, Latonia Haney Keith

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Submission To The United Nations Universal Periodic Review Of Yemen, Mwatana Organization For Human Rights, Human Rights Clinic, Cairo Institute For Human Rights Studies, International Federation For Human Rights (Fidh), Gulf Centre For Human Rights (Gchr)

Human Rights Institute

Mwatana for Human Rights (Mwatana), the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic (the clinic), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) submit this report to inform the examination of Yemen during its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This submission focuses on international human rights and humanitarian law violations by the Government of Yemen and by the armed group Ansar Allah (the Houthis).

Bridging The Information Gap: How Access To Land Contracts Can Serve Community Rights, Lara Wallis, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Land contracts (also known as investor-state contracts, or concession agreements) show what commitments a forestry, farming or renewable energy company has made and what the government has said the company can do on the land. These promises define the positive and harmful effects the company’s project could have on community members’ livelihoods and human rights, and on the environment.

Accessing land contracts is a crucial strategy for local organizations. This briefing note explains how local organizations can use land contracts and the Open Land Contracts repository (OpenLandContracts.org) to help communities to:

• Understand company and government obligations related to a company …

The Bemba Appeals Chamber Judgment: Impunity For Sexual And Gender-Based Crimes?, Susana Sacouto, Patricia Viseur Sellers

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

On June 8, 2018, a majority of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reversed the conviction of former military commander Jean-Pierre Bemba for the crimes against humanity of rape and murder and the war crimes of rape, murder, and pillaging committed by his troops in the Central African Republic (CAR) between October 2002, and March 2003. The decision was clearly a disappointment for the victims of the crimes committed by Bemba’s troops, who have been waiting for more than fifteen years for a measure of justice. Significantly, the acquittal also means that sixteen years after the Rome …

Talking Foreign Policy: North Korea Summit, Paul Williams, Shannon French, Michael P. Scharf, Milena Sterio, Tim Webster

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Beyond Samuel Moyn's Countermajoritatian Difficulty As A Model Of Global Judicial Review, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article responds to Samuel Moyn's critique of judicial review and his endorsement of judicial modesty as an alternative. By invoking the countermajoritarian difficulty, Moyn argues that judicial overreach has become an unwelcome global phenomenon that should be reexamined and curbed. I reject Moyn's claim that this kind of judicial modesty should define the role of courts for all time. By applying the countermajoritarian difficulty beyond its United States origins, Moyn assumes it is an unproblematic baseline against which to measure the role of courts globally. Moyn's vision says nothing about when it would be appropriate for courts to rule …

Identities In Critical Condition: The Urgent Need To Reevaluate The Investigation And Resolution Of Claims Of Medical Identity Theft, Stephanie Lindgren

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Demand Side Of Sex Trafficking In Minnesota: The Who, Where, And Why—And What We Can Do About It, Erinn B. Valine

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Investment Treaties On Health And Human Rights, Gus Van Harten

Articles & Book Chapters

While investment treaties could help protect health and promote human rights, they are rather often used as a means to discourage governments from taking action. The treaties allow foreign investors to initiate investor-state dispute settlement (or ISDS) proceedings against states for their legislative, executive, administrative, and judicial decisions at any level. Thus, they provide a powerful tool for “foreign” investors to frustrate state action in virtually any area, including health and human rights. This article describes how ISDS provisions have impacted health-related decision- making by states and, in so doing, weakened their abilities to fulfill their human rights obligations.

The New Social Contracts In International Supply Chains, David Snyder

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Individual In International Law, Chiara Giorgetti

Law Faculty Publications

The acceptance of the individual as a subject of international law has been gradual and asymmetrical. Individuals have become international law subjects in their own rights in some international legal areas, including human rights and international criminal law. This affords individuals substantive rights and obligations, as well as procedural rights. In most legal areas, however, individuals acquired substantive rights, but not direct procedural rights. In those instances, individuals need the filter of a nationality to enforce their claim and remedy in international proceedings. This Article criticizes the nationality-based approach and argues that there are better and alternative ways to provide …

Warrantless Searches Of Electronic Devices At U.S. Borders: Securing The Nation Or Violating Digital Liberty?, Ahad Khilji

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

The steady increase of U.S. citizens traveling with smart phones and other electronic devices has been met with the rise of searches and seizures by CBP officers at U.S borders. Although only less than 0.1% of all travelers may actually be subjected to a search while entering the United States, when comparing the statistics between a six month period in 2016 with the same period in 2017, electronic device searches have almost doubled from 8,383 to 14,993. Approximately one million travelers to the U.S. are inspected by the CBP every day. Out of this population, nearly 2,500 electronic devices are …

Privatizing The Reservation?, Kristen A. Carpenter, Angela R. Riley

Publications

The problems of American Indian poverty and reservation living conditions have inspired various explanations. One response advanced by some economists and commentators, which may be gaining traction within the Trump Administration, calls for the “privatization” of Indian lands. Proponents of this view contend that reservation poverty is rooted in the federal Indian trust arrangement, which preserves the tribal land base by limiting the marketability of lands within reservations. In order to maximize wealth on reservations, policymakers are advocating for measures that would promote the individuation and alienability of tribal lands, while diminishing federal and tribal oversight.

Taking a different view, …

Binary Governance: Lessons From The Gdpr’S Approach To Algorithmic Accountability, Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

Algorithms are now used to make significant decisions about individuals, from credit determinations to hiring and firing. But they are largely unregulated under U.S. law. A quickly growing literature has split on how to address algorithmic decision-making, with individual rights and accountability to nonexpert stakeholders and to the public at the crux of the debate. In this Article, I make the case for why both individual rights and public- and stakeholder-facing accountability are not just goods in and of themselves but crucial components of effective governance. Only individual rights can fully address dignitary and justificatory concerns behind calls for regulating …

Call For Proposals 2019: The Social Practice Of Human Rights, University Of Dayton

Content presented at the Social Practice of Human Rights Conference

2019 marks 30 years since the end of the Cold War and the beginning of an era pregnant with promise and potential for human rights, democracy, and global governance.

Yet today, global capitalism drives widening and deepening inequalities. Its dependence on natural resource extraction and exploitation is hastening ecological collapse. Authoritarianism and populism have risen from the rubble of liberalism’s inability to deliver on its pledges. Technology, once promoted as a panacea for transnational boundary breaking and democratization, further empowers the powerful to reshape politics and upend notions of privacy, social life, information, employment, and even biology.

Critics have questioned …

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Death With Dignity: A Right To Death?, Emily Knox

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Best We Can Be: How Toxic Masculinity Creates A Second Inescapable Situation For Inmates, Mariah Woodson

Public Interest Law Reporter

Toxic masculinity is a concept that has been in modern society for some time now. However, the recent release of the controversial Gillette razor commercial has sparked an uptick in discussions, from those who lauded the company for addressing the negative traits often associated with traditional masculinity to those who felt as though the company was unfairly targeting masculinity altogether. Regardless of where one falls on the debate, there is no denying the need for conversation. One point of discussion is what areas of our society embody these traits the most? An area that may be less intuitive are prisons …

The School To Prison Pipeline: Widespread Disparities In School Discipline Based On Race, Tara Carone

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.