Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Growing Public Domain In Medicine, Saurabh Vishnubhakat

Faculty Scholarship

This essay describes the growing public domain of inventions associated with drugs and medicine, and geographies associated with identifiable shifts in the balance of innovation that may be especially favorable for promoting wider access to socially useful technologies. To do so, it departs from the largely ex ante perspective that currently informs the intersectional debate regarding human rights and patent rights and, instead, looks backward to inquire what innovations from past patents have already become publicly available in service of the human rights objective of greater access to technology. Ex post analysis of this kind may help public and private …

Slides: “Human Sustainability” In Natural Resources Industries: The New Frontier In Compliance, Social Responsibility, Disclosure, And Transparency, T. Markus Funk

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: T. Markus Funk, Partner, Perkins Coie

21 slides

Supreme Court Ruling Shields Corporations From Accountability, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Mediation As The Key To The Successful Transfer Of The Case Of Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi From The Jurisdiction Of The Ictr To The Republic Of Rwanda, Taylor Friedlander

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The article discusses on the history of the Rwanda Genocide of 1994 and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and different systems of justice that should be involved in prosecuting Jean Bosco Uwinkindi, the suspect of the mass killing at the Rwanda Genocide. It also mentions that three separate processes undertaken in Uwinkindi's gacaca court hearings, including truth-telling, truth-hearing, and truth-shaping.

The Vatican Still Protects Pedophile Priests, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

No Excuse: The Failure Of The Icc’S Article 31 “Duress” Definition, Benjamin J. Risacher

Notre Dame Law Review

This Note proceeds in four Parts. Part I traces the historical development of “duress” through the common and civil law systems, World War II cases, the Model Penal Code (MPC) and, finally, through an in-depth analysis of the Erdemovic case before the ICTY Appeals Chamber discussed in the introduction. Part II then discusses “duress” under Article 31 of the Rome Statute and includes a survey of the Article’s drafting history, a statutory analysis of Article 31, and an application of the ICC definition of “duress” to the Erdemovic set of facts. This Part highlights the unjust result that inevitably occurs …

Cholera As A Grave Violation Of The Right To Water In Haiti, Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak, Steven D. Schwinn, Beatrice Lindstrom

Faculty White Papers

This report is submitted to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation concerning the United Nation’s responsibility in spreading cholera in Haiti as a violation of the right to water and sanitation. The submission discusses violations of the right to water, including the role of United Nations peacekeepers in introducing the virus to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. The report addresses the United Nations’ unwillingness to accept responsibility for its role in the outbreak and its failure to establish redress mechanisms for victims affected by the cholera epidemic. It further discusses the …

U.S. Immigration And Custom Enforcement’S New Directive On Segregation: Why We Need Further Protections, Steven D. Schwinn, Sarah Dávila A., John Marshall International Human Rights Clinic

Faculty White Papers

This report addresses the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) September 2013 directive concerning the use of segregation and why it does not provide sufficient protection to detainees. It specifically addresses the changes the directive makes in the use of segregation, the identification of individuals with special vulnerabilities, the review process of detainees in segregation, and the reporting procedures required of detention facilities. This report examines previous attempts to implement immigrant detention standards and sheds light on current practices by detention facilities throughout the United States in relation to their use of solitary confinement. It recommends that ICE should strictly …

Digital Fingerprints: Using Electronic Evidence To Advance Prosecutions At The International Criminal Court, Alexa Koenig, Eric Stover, Camille Crittenden, Stephen Cody

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This report summarizes efforts to improve the collection and use of electronic evidence in atrocity crime prosecutions at the International Criminal Court.

Global Diversity And The Living International Human Rights Law, Obiora C. Okafor

Conference Papers

Professor Obiora Okafor from Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC will open the third cycle of the Owada Chair with the lecture Global Diversity and the Living International Human Rights Law. Following this, there will be a debate on his lecture. Wednesday 17 January will include a roundtable discussion and a PhD workshop.

Charting The Legal Geography Of Non-International Armed Conflict, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

This article examines the geographical reach of international humanitarian law (law of armed conflict), particularly during armed conflicts between States and non-State organized armed groups. The issue is operationally critical, since to the extent that IHL applies, practices which are lawful during armed conflicts, such as status-based targeting, may be employed. When IHL does not apply, human rights obligations shouldered by the State govern the conduct of its military operations. The article surveys the various approaches to the the legal geography of non-international armed conflict, arguing that an interpretation by which IHL is not geographically restricted is the most supportable.

Going Overboard: The Criminalization Of Seafarers In Violation Of Their Human Rights, Regional And Domestic Law's Conflict With Unclos And Marpol, And The Need For Reform, Megan K. Reid

Student Works

Following an oil spill, swift and aggressive measures are often taken to ensure that the public demand for justice is fulfilled. Unfortunately, seafarers are often placed in the post-incident spotlight, regardless of whether the incident involved operational error. During the 2002 Prestige accident, an oil spill formed off the coast of Spain in the middle of a raging storm. Spanish authorities denied the ship access to a calm harbor, which would have allowed the captain and crew to mitigate the environmental harm.

Part I of this article will review the Prestige oil spill, where criminal liability was imposed on the …

Unquenched Thirst: The Need For A Constitutionally Recognized Right To Water In Ghana, Tia Crosby

Student Works

The practice of privatizing water is often discussed as the leading method for improving access to adequate water in developing countries. Notably, this method has a cost that frequently impedes access to water in the developing world, while exploiting the profitability of a natural resource that is vital to human life. In Ghana, the failure of water privatization initiatives and the growing scarcity of adequate water have caused a public health crisis that necessitates a quick and efficient solution. As demonstrated in South Africa, the codification of the right to water in its constitution has improved access to adequate water, …

Business And Human Rights: Understanding The Un Guiding Principles From The Perspective Of Transnational Business Governance Interactions, Karin Buhmann

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of Transnational Business Governance Interactions (TBGI) analytical framework (Eberlein et al. 2014). The article identifies and discusses dimensions of interaction and components of regulatory governance which characterise the Guiding Principles, focusing in particular on the rule formation and implementation. The article notes that the Guiding Principles actively enrolled other actors for the rule-making process ensuring support in a politically and legally volatile field. It identifies mutual 'piggy-backing' by the Guiding Principles and other TBGI Schemes, …

Review Of Global Coloniality And Power In Guatemala By Egla Martínez-Salazar, Andrew Crookston

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

African American Women, Hiv/Aids, And Human Rights In The Us, Monica L. Melton

Societies Without Borders

In the US alone, 84 percent of women’s HIV infections are due to heterosexual contact (CDC 2013). Fifty percent of all people globally who are living with HIV/AIDS are women (UNAIDS 2009), yet, HIV-positive women’s perspectives on prevention are mostly missing from the trajectory of scholarly literature on HIV/AIDS. I thought it imperative to go to the source (women living with HIV/AIDS) to get an insiders perspective on HIV prevention. Thirty HIV-positive Black women were recruited to participate in the study, which lasted seven months. These women live in a Florida innercity and range in age from 21 to 60. …

Unexpected Links Between Baby Markets And Intergenerational Justice, Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

Intergenerational justice does not require increased government regulation of reproductive technologies in the United States. Arguments tarring reproductive technologies as unnatural or immoral fail to withstand close scrutiny, and moreover ignore competing moral concerns like the liberty and equality of people to form families in different ways, as well as the interests of children born via assisted reproduction in having their families recognized just as coitally conceived children’s families are recognized. Embryo markets, in contrast, might present different challenges, requiring a separate analysis of their potential impact on intergenerational justice.

Interim Measures In Inter-State Proceedings Before The European Court Of Human Rights: Ukraine V. Russia, Stefan Kirchner

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Over the course of the year 2014, the situation in Ukraine has turned from a domestic political issue involving protests, killings, and the ouster of the former president, into a military confrontation with Russia. At the time of writing (August 2014), Russia has annexed Crimea and is supporting separatists, who are in a state of civil war against the Ukrainian state, in Eastern parts of the country. This conflict is ongoing and an unknown number of civilians have been killed, notably the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which is thought to have been shot down over the conflict …

When Speech Isn't Free: Legal Barriers And Consequences Of Reporting Sexual Violence, Kevin M. Fleming

Departmental Honors Projects

Incidents of sexual violence continue to be a serious problem for society. Likewise, acts of sexual violence impose severe consequences for survivors. The consequences initially begin at the onset of the survivor’s journey to psychological recovery following the traumatic sexual assault. The consequences take on a unique set of characteristics when the survivor attempts to use the justice system to confront the perpetrator who committed the offense. These characteristics can transform an adversarial process into an isolated battle for the survivor. In the worst cases, the justice system empowers individuals who wish to silence survivors with free speech restrictions instead …

Statelessness And Mass Expulsion In Sudan: A Reassessment Of The International Law, Mike Sanderson

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Book Review, David R. Boyd, The Right To A Healthy Environment, Revitalizing Canada's Constitution, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Boyd’s new book, The Right to a Healthy Environment, attempts to prove that Canadians would benefit if they amended their constitution to recognize the right to a healthy environment. Throughout this work, he emphasizes the general benefits of recognizing environmental rights as human rights and the positive impact recognizing these rights in the Canadian constitution would have on the lives of Canadian citizens. He examines the gradual domestic emergence of environmental rights both in Canadian law and from a global perspective. By including both viewpoints, Boyd attempts to identify the complexities and intricate questions that arise regarding various environmental issues …

The International Rule Of Law In A Human Rights Era

Global Business & Development Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Education Rights And The New Due Process, Areto A. Imoukhuede

Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues for a human dignity-based, due process clause analysis to recognize the fundamental duty of government to provide high quality, public education. Access to public education is a fundamental duty, or positive fundamental right because education is a basic human need and a constituent part of all democratic rights.

An Evaluation Of The Prospects For Successful Implementation Of The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities In The Islamic World, Brenton Kinker

Michigan Journal of International Law

This note will examine the CRPD’s aspirations in light of Islamic law, comparing whether the two are—or can be—consistent. Part I will provide background on the CRPD, including the intent of the treaty, the negotiations leading to the final wording, and the solid obligations it contains for state parties. Part II examines the background of Shari’a and its provisions regarding disability. Part III compares the treatment of the disabled under Islamic law with that required by the CRPD in order to gage consistency. Where tensions exist, alternative interpretations of both Islamic law and the CPRD are proposed that might facilitate …

Public Engagement "Reach In, Reach Out": Pursuing Environmental Justice By Empowering Communities To Meaningfully Participate In The Decision-Making Processes Of Brownfields Redevelopment And Superfund Cleanups, Josephine M. Balzac

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eco-Migration And Vulnerability: Linkages Between Human Rights Protection And Environmental Governance In Georgia, Tamari Bulia

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Panama's Pando And Monte Lirio Dams: Proactive Engagement In Environmental Human Rights Through Project Due Diligence Leads To Improved Risk Management And Cost Controls, Gregory M. Karch

Florida A & M University Law Review

The Pando-Monte Lirio Hydroelectric Power Project (Pando Project) is located along the Chiriqui Viejo River (CVR) in Western Panama. It consists of two hydroelectric dams that are part of nineteen hydroelectric installations planned and partially constructed along the CVR in Western Panama. The Pando Project reflects the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB’s) commitment to investments in “clean energy” in Central America. The project is an important contribution to Central America’s energy needs, but has caused a number of residents and citizen organizations in the CVR region to raise issues regarding the impact the project will have on the CVR and their …

The March Of Judicial Cosmopolitanism And The Legacy Of Enemy Combatant Case Law, Madalina Lulia Sontrop

LLM Theses

This thesis explores the concept of judicial cosmopolitanism and its prevalence in enemy combatant case law. The author draws upon the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of cosmopolitanism and cosmopolitan law to describe judicial cosmopolitanism as form of legal discourse through which judges show a willingness to extend constitutional protections based on a contemporary, functional understanding of sovereign jurisdiction. The purpose of this work is to address the correlation between enemy combatant jurisprudence and the aforementioned understanding of judicial cosmopolitanism. It is argued that a march of judicial cosmopolitanism developed early in enemy combatant cases, and that it came to a …

3(D) View Of India’S Patent Law: Social Justice Aspiration Meets Property Rights In Novartis V. Union Of India & Others, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 719 (2014), Saby Ghoshray

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Not many constitutional decisions from developing countries find themselves at the center of global debate like the Indian Supreme Court’s Novartis decision invalidating the Gleevec patent. The patent was invalidated under amended Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act, which was amended to address some of the concerns of imbalance between the maximalist and minimalist cultures in the pharmaceutical context. Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act introduced a new threshold of patent eligibility for pharmaceutical innovation that requires applicants to demonstrate enhanced efficacy of their products. The objective of this Article is to get beyond the reactionary reviews of …

International Civil Disobedience: Unauthorized Intervention And The Conscience Of The International Community, Nathan J. Miller

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.