Human Rights Law Commons^™

Old Issues New Perspectives, Ronald Griffin

Faculty Books and Book Contributions

The book commences with Ronald C. Griffin‟s essay Ghost Town: The Death of Marriage, the Birth of Cohabitation, and the Emergence of the Single Woman. In his essay he revisits the history of marriage, the economics of marriage, the rise and demise of childhood, the emergence of new couplings and the social traumas that come with them.

The Kapo On Film: Tragic Perpetrators And Imperfect Victims, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

The Nazis coerced and enlisted detainees into the administration of the labour and death camps. These detainees were called Kapos. The Kapos constitute a particularly contested, and at times tabooified, element of Holocaust remembrance. Some Kapos deployed their situational authority to ease the conditions of other prisoners, while others acted cruelly and committed abuse. This project explores treatment of the Kapo on film. This paper considers two films: Kapò (1959, directed by Pontecorvo, Italy) and Kapo (2000, directed by Setton, Israel). These two films vary in genre: Kapò (1959) is a feature fiction movie, whereas Kapo (2000) is a documentary. …

Book Review, Jamie Rowen, Searching For Truth In The Transitional Justice Movement (2017) & Leonie Steinl, Child Soldiers As Agents Of War And Peace: A Restorative Transitional Justice Approach To Accountability For Crimes Under International Law (2017), Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

Why do truth commissions emerge following some conflicts but not others? Jamie Rowen tackles this question in Searching for Truth in the Transitional Justice Movement. Rowen approaches this topic through a detailed study of three jurisdictions: the former Yugoslavia, Colombia, and the United States. Although truth commissions did progress in Colombia, they stalled in both the former Yugoslavia in the wake of the Balkan Wars as well as in the United States in regard to the conduct of US officials after the events on 11 September 2001. Rowen unpacks what happened and what failed to happen — and why …

Abstraction From The Religious Dimension, Sohail Wahedi

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Caged In: The Devastating Harms Of Solitary Confinement On Prisoners With Physical Disabilities, Jamelia N. Morgan

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Whole Wide World: Recognizing Jus Cogens Violations Under The Alien Tort Statute, Ursula Tracy Doyle

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Slave Gambling In The Antebellum South, Robert M. Jarvis

Florida A & M University Law Review

In the Antebellum Era (c. 1800-60), Southern slaves gambled regularly, both with each other and with free blacks and poor whites. This fact has received a fair amount of scholarly attention. Curiously, however, the reported court opinions involving such gambling have been all but overlooked. Accordingly, this article collects and discusses these decisions. As will be seen, Southern judges often were exasperated by the less-than-precise wording of the laws that were put in place to punish slaves who gambled and whites who facilitated or participated in such gambling.

The Contributions Of United Nations Security Council Resolutions To The Law Of Non-International Armed Conflict: New Evidence Of Customary International Law, Gregory H. Fox, Isaac Jenkins, Kristen E. Boon

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

The Right To Education: An Analysis Through The Lens Of The Deontological Method Of Immanuel Kant, Kavana Ramaswamy

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The framework of categorical imperatives is one of the most famous deontological theories of rights that have been formulated. The framework has often been used to justify human rights policies all over the world. While they have been subject to several criticisms over the last two centuries, some of these include improvements to the original framework. This paper analyses the framework of the categorical imperatives and suggest certain modifications to improve internal coherence.

The paper then seeks to apply this framework to the right to education, a right that is under fire in the conservatively-charged political arena today. This is …

The African Court And Human Rights: What Lies Ahead For The Merged Court?, Florence Shu-Acquaye

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines the African Court of People’s and Human Rights, the historical evolution, criticism, and explores issues that the Court may deal with as it assumes its new and envisioned role and form as the Merged Court.

Dominic Ongwen And The Rotten Social Background Defense: The Criminal Culpability Of Child Soldiers Turned War Criminals, Raphael Lorenzo Aguiling Pangalangan

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Individual Criminal Liability And State Responsibility For Genocide: Boundaries And Intersections, Rafael Leme

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Banks As Human Rights Enforcers? A Comparative Analysis Of Soft Law Instruments, Rita Mota

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

R. V. K.R.J.: Shifting The Balance Of The Oakes Test From Minimal Impairment To Proportionality Of Effects, Marcus Moore

All Faculty Publications

The judgment of the Supreme Court in R. v. K.R.J. reflects an important potential change in the way proportionality analysis is conducted in the review of constitutional rights limitations under Canada’s Oakes test. Previously, most cases came down to the “Minimal Impairment” stage of Oakes. Its dominant role is challenged by KRJ, which places new weight on the subsequent and final “Proportionality of Effects” step. A permanent shift in the focus of the test to the Proportionality of Effects inquiry would be a landmark change in the thirty-year history of proportionality in Canada. The shift does not appear crafted to …

Religious Organizations As Partners In The Global And Local Fight Against Human Trafficking, Mary Graw Leary

Scholarly Articles

This paper explores the role of religious organizations as effective partners in the fight to end modern day slavery. As a crime with both global and local dimensions, trafficking must be combatted with tools that are both global and local. Such tools include the world’s religions and religious organizations. They have been addressing human trafficking for decades, and through their work with the poor, immigrants, and sexually exploited, they possess significant knowledge of the manifestations of this form of exploitation and can be important stakeholders in combating it. The paper concludes by offering several recommendations for how policymakers can deepen …

Women’S Rights In The Dprk: Discrepancies Between International And Domestic Legal Instruments In Promoting Women’S Rights And The Reality Reflected By North Korean Defectors, Jina Yang

Cornell International Law Journal

It is commendable that the DPRK has ratified the CEDAW and has established legislative measures to protect women from violence and guarantee equal protection. However short of internationally accepted human rights standard the DPRK may fall, such actions show that the DPRK is nonetheless trying to be a responsible member of the international community. However, many findings show that women’s rights are far from reaching the international standards, because of patriarchal traditions that are entrenched to the North Korean society and the national institutions related to women’s rights, which are used to mobilize women to work for the state, rather …

Human Rights In Times Of Crisis: Article 3 Prevails-Examining How Lgbtq Asylum Seekers In The European Union Are Denied Equal Protection Of Law, Michael A. Witschel

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To Environment In The 21st Century: A Case For Its Recognition And Comments On The Systemic Barrier It Encounters, Luis E. Rodriguez-Rivera

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Complexities Of Human Rights And Constitutional Reform In The United Kingdom; Brexit And A Delayed Bill Of Rights: Informing (On) The Process, Katie Boyle, Leanne Cochrane

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The United Kingdom’s politicised and contested human rights framework has come under increasing pressure during recent periods of constitutional and political instability. The UK 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, the delayed repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the proposals to enact a British Bill of Rights have all shaped the discourse at the national level around decisions to retain rights (or not) rather than progressively improve the human rights structure. The European Union and Council of Europe human rights frameworks act as important pillars of human rights and democracy under the UK constitution and each …

The Security And Human Rights Dilemma: An Inquiry Into U.S.-Ethiopia Diplomatic Relations 1991-2012, Seife Ayalew

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

In the post-1991 U.S.-Ethiopian diplomacy, the use of foreign policy as a framework to advance the cause of human rights has faced several challenges rooted in the way human rights is defined and the intricate interests vested in the U.S. foreign policy establishment. This article elucidates the limitations and challenges of diplomatic machinery as a framework for advancing the cause of human rights. First, human rights in the U.S. foreign policy machine have been given a marginal or subordinate place in diplomatic priorities. Second, the Government of Ethiopia’s (GOE) resistance and tough diplomatic measures and Ethiopia’s strategic importance to the …

When Death Becomes Murder: A Primer On Extrajudicial Killing, William J. Aceves

Faculty Scholarship

International law prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of life, which includes extrajudicial killing. This norm is codified in every major human rights treaty and has attained jus cogens status as a non-derogable norm in international law. In the United States, the Torture Victim Protection Act ("TVPA") establishes civil liability for extrajudicial killing. As evidenced in the TVPA's text and legislative history, the definition of extrajudicial killing is based on international law. Despite the clear meaning of the TVPA's text and the clarity of international law, the TVPA's definition of extrajudicial killing is still contested in litigation, and some courts express uncertainty …

Interrogation Or Experimentation? Assessing Non-Consensual Human Experimentation During The War On Terror, William J. Aceves

Faculty Scholarship

The prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation has long been considered sacrosanct. It traces its legal roots to the Nuremberg trials although the ethical foundations dig much deeper. It prohibits all forms of medical and scientific experimentation on non-consenting individuals. The prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation is now well established in both national and international law.

Despite its status as a fundamental and non-derogable norm, the prohibition against non-consensual human experimentation was called into question during the War on Terror by the CIA's treatment of "high-value detainees." Seeking to acquire actionable intelligence, the CIA tested the "theory of learned helplessness" on …

Cost-Benefit Analysis And Human Rights, William J. Aceves

Faculty Scholarship

This Article considers whether cost-benefit analysis can provide the human rights movement with the answers it seeks. It offers an instrumentalist and empirical approach to complement the normative arguments that are most often used by the human rights movement. If human rights could be fully monetized, states could consider the full range of benefits that arise from protecting rights and the costs that occur when rights are violated. This approach could provide states with a more accurate methodology for making decisions that affect human rights. In fact, protecting human rights may prove to be cost-effective, particularly when second order costs …

Taking Ihi, R2p And Legitimate Defense Seriously: North Korea As The Primary Consideration, Morse Tan

Cornell International Law Journal

North Korea has the worst human rights crisis in terms of the breadth and extent of its violations, and also presents the most serious security crisis in the world. A trio of doctrines— International Humanitarian Intervention, the Responsibility to Protect, and legitimate defense— provide the foundation for a range of solutions and approaches to resolve this crisis. At the same time, North Korea poses real dangers, the situation is delicate, and the resolutions may prove difficult. Strong determination is necessary to stay the course until the Koreas reunite, ideally in a peaceful manner. The situation has moved rapidly over the …

North Korean Detention Of U.S. Citizens: International Law Violations And Means For Recourse, Patricia Goedde, Andrew Wolman

Cornell International Law Journal

North Korean detention of U.S. citizens has prompted considerable attention in the U.S. media over the years, especially with the most recent case of Otto Warmbier’s death. Releases have usually been negotiated through diplomatic channels on a humanitarian basis. While detainee treatment is influenced primarily by political considerations, this Article asks what international legal implications arise from these detentions in terms of international law violations and recourse. Specifically, this Article analyzes (1) violations of consular law and international human rights law as applied to the detainees, such as standards for arrest, investigation, trial, and detention, and (2) whether viable legal …

Labor And Human Rights Conditions Of North Korean Workers Dispatched Overseas: A Look At The Dprk’S Exploitative Practices In Russia, Poland, And Mongolia, Teodora Gyupchanova

Cornell International Law Journal

The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) has so far dedicated over three years to a focused research on the human rights conditions of North Korean laborers overseas. In this amount of time NKDB researchers have only managed to uncover a small fraction of the abuses endured by the North Korean citizens dispatched overseas to earn revenue for the North Korean regime. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done, which should involve investigation of the working and living conditions of North Korean laborers residing in different countries, seeking accountability from the entities, government …

El Desafío De Interpretar El Derecho Internacional De Los Derechos Humanos Y El Derecho Internacional Humanitario, Sergio Alejandro Rea Granados

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

What If Goliath Killed David? The Coalition To Counter Isis And The Status And Responsibility Of Isis' Child Soldiers, Samantha Bradley

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Two Is Better Than One: Systemic Integration Of International Humanitarian Law And International Human Rights Law To Boko Haram Conflict, Ogunnaike O. Taiwo

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Outside Of Criminal Courtrooms And Jailhouses, In Arcs Of Global Justice: Essays In Honour Of William A. Schabas (Margaret M. Deguzman & Diane Marie Amann Eds., 2018), Mark A. Drumbl

Books and Chapters

This chapter examines alternate forms of transitional justice, notably, customary forms of dispute resolution, restitution, reparations, amnesties, and civil sanctions. It suggests that the international community’s preference for criminal trials as accountability mechanisms in the aftermath of genocide results in the ‘othering’ of these alternate forms of justice. Such ‘othering’ narrows legal pluralism to questions of the location of criminal process and the imposition of custodial punishment (who prosecutes, who sentences?), rather than a richer examination of how deployment of a conceptual diversity of overlapping mechanisms could promote shared objectives of accountability, justice, and transition.