International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

The Seizure Of Abu Anas Al-Libi: An International Law Assessment, Gordon Modarai, David O'Connell, Timothy Kelly, James Farrant

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Belligerent Targeting And The Invalidity Of A Least Harmful Means Rule, Geoffrey S. Corn, Laurie R. Blank, Chris Jenks, Eric Talbot Jensen

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Cameroon Pastoralists Fight For Their Way Of Life, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

After years of struggles against governments and private parties, the Mbororo-Fulani are gaining international attention. But is this too little too late?

Why The Extractive Industry Should Support Mandatory Transparency: A Shared Value Approach, Julien Topal, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The Transparency Amendment, included in the Dodd‐Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, can be an important tool in curtailing the resource curse that so heavily burdens resource‐rich developing countries by shedding light on opaque payments between the extractive sector and host countries. From the get‐go, however, extractive industry companies have fiercely opposed the new mandatory disclosure requirements as set out in this regulation. The corporate opposition is for the largest part motivated by the fear of a competitive disadvantage that derives from the fact that the amendment is housed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thus …

Protection Against The Forced Return Of War Refugees: An Interdisciplinary Consensus On Humanitarian Non-Refoulement, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Book Display Case

This book contributes to a long-standing but ever topical debate about whether persons fleeing war to seek asylum in another country – ‘war refugees’ – are protected by international law. It seeks to add to this debate by bringing together a detailed set of analyses examining the extent to which the application of international humanitarian law (IHL) may usefully advance the legal protection of such persons. This generates a range of questions about the respective protection frameworks established under international refugee law and IHL and, specifically, the potential for interaction between them. As the first collection to deal with the …

A Proposal For Addressing Violations Of Indigenous Peoples' Environmental And Human-Rights In The Inter-American Human Rights System, Natalia Gove

Student Works

International concerns in the areas of human rights, health, and environment have expanded considerably in the past several decades. International environmental law primarily focuses on environmental damage, rather than its impact on human beings. The focus of environmental treaties is primarily on constraining environmentally deleterious behavior, rather than preventing injuries to people. Part I of this paper will discuss the significance of environmental protection for indigenous peoples. Part II will analyze the linkage between environmental and human rights, as well as the lack of a direct enforcement mechanism for redressing violations of environmental rights. It will also describe the existing …

Torture By The U.S.A.: How Congress Can Ensure Our Human Rights Credibility, 46 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1209 (2013), Kyle Mcconnell

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Transcending Victimhood: Child Soldiers And Restorative Justice, In Victims Of International Crimes: An Interdisciplinary Discourse (Thorsten Bonacker & Christoph Safferling Eds., 2013), Mark A. Drumbl

Books and Chapters

The international community strives to eradicate the scourge of child soldiering. Mostly, though, these efforts replay the same narratives and circulate the same assumptions. This chapter, which takes a second look at these efforts, aspires to refresh law and policy so as to improve preventative, restorative, and remedial initiatives while also vivifying the dignity of youth. As a starting point, this chapter proposes that the dominant language used to characterise child soldiers—that of passive victimhood—be revisited so as to better recognise the potentiality of child soldiers to participate in and lead post-conflict reconstructive efforts. This chapter suggests a variety of …

Consular Notification For Dual Nationals, 38 S. Ill. U. L.J. 73 (2013), Mark E. Wojcik

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

In a case against the United States brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Mexico sought to protect the rights of fifty-four Mexican nationals who had been arrested in the United States for various crimes and put on trial without being informed of their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). These fifty-four Mexican nationals all faced the death penalty in various states of the United States. Shortly after filing its case in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals, however, Mexico dropped from the case one Mexican national who was also a citizen of the United States. The …

Fairness And Politics At The Icty: Evidence From The Indictments, 39 N.C. J. Int'l L. & Com. Reg. 45 (2013), Stuart K. Ford

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Juvenile Pirates: "Lost Boys" Or Violent Criminals?, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has flourished over the past decade, and has both caused a global crisis in maritime shipping and destabilized regional security in East Africa. In addition, piracy attacks have spread more recently to the coast of West Africa, and in particular, the Gulf of Guinea. Thus, piracy is an ongoing global issue that should continue to occupy many maritime nations in the near future, and one that should command continuous scholarly attention.

This article examines the issue of juvenile piracy, with a specific focus on the treatment of juvenile piracy suspects by both the capturing …

Proceedings Of The Seventh International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, Recent Developments In International Criminal Law: 2012–2013, Mark A. Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

This publication is based on Professor Drumbl’s keynote address on August 27, 2013 at the Seventh International Humanitarian Law Dialogs held in Chautauqua, New York.

Networks In Non-International Armed Conflicts: Crossing Borders And Defining "Organized Armed Group", Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

‘Germans Are The Lords And Poles Are The Servants’: The Trial Of Arthur Greiser In Poland, 1946, In The Hidden Histories Of War Crimes Trials (Kevin Jon Heller & Gerry Simpson Eds., 2013), Mark A. Drumbl

Books and Chapters

In the aftermath of World War II, the first conviction of an influential Nazi German official for the crime of waging aggressive war was delivered not by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, but, rather, by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland sitting in Poznán. The accused was Arthur Greiser. Beginning in September 1939, Greiser served as Gauleiter (i.e. Governor) of the Warthegau, a large expanse of western Poland that had been illegally annexed to Nazi Germany. The Warthegau's residents suffered brutally under Greiser's boot.

The Polish Tribunal sentenced Greiser to death on July 9, 1946. His execution by public …

After Assad: Syria’S Post-Conflict Reconstruction, H. M. Roff

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Simon Adams and Condoleezza Rice warn us that with the portended fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, the country could witness even more heinous crimes and, potentially, regional political fallout. These worries are not unfounded. However, what seems to be truly missing in their discussions is any mention of post-conflict reconstruction planning. This is unfortunate, as much handwringing is still occurring over "what to do" in Syria, and it will continue until there is a clear vision of what to do after this civil war. Syria's post-conflict reconstruction plan is—or should be—inherently tied to its current operational agenda.

All Other Breaches: State Practice And The Geneva Conventions’ Nebulous Class Of Less Discussed Prohibitions, Jesse Medlong

Michigan Journal of International Law

With respect to the protections afforded by the Geneva Conventions, a great deal of ink has been spilled in recent years over the two-tiered system of tribunals employed by the United States in its prosecution of enemy combatants in the “war on terror.” Less discussed, though, is the wholly separate two-tiered system for sorting violators of the Geneva Conventions that emerges from the very text of those agreements. This stratification is a function of the Conventions’ distinction between those who commit “grave breaches” and those who merely commit “acts contrary to the provisions of the present convention” or “all other …

Migrant Smuggling: Canada's Response To A Global Criminal Enterprise, Benjamin Perrin

All Faculty Publications

Migrant smuggling is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, criminal activity. Failing to respond effectively to migrant smuggling and deter it will risk emboldening those who engage in this illicit enterprise, which generates proceeds for organized crime and criminal networks, funds terrorism and facilitates clandestine terrorist travel, endangers the lives and safety of smuggled migrants, undermines border security, and undermines the integrity and fairness of immigration systems. Introduced in the Canadian House of Commons in June 2011, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) includes proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would enhance …

Bordering On Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy And The Politics Of Refugee Exclusion, Efrat Arbel, Alletta Brenner

All Faculty Publications

In June 2012, the Canadian government ushered in sweeping reforms to Canada’s refugee system. These reforms brought debates about Canadian refugee protection to the forefront of legal and political discourse. In advancing these reforms, the Canadian government has asserted that Canada’s refugee system is among the most generous and compassionate in the world. Canada’s doors, the Canadian government has stated, remain open to legitimate refugees. This report evaluates these claims by examining the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement and border measures implemented under the rubric of the Multiple Borders Strategy, and analyzing their effects on asylum seekers. A detailed examination …

Shifting Borders And The Boundaries Of Rights: Examining The Safe Third Country Agreement Between Canada And The United States, Efrat Arbel

All Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the Canadian Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal decisions assessing the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States (STCA). It examines how each court’s treatment of the location and operation of the Canada-US border influences the results obtained. The article suggests that both in its treatment of the STCA and in its constitutional analysis, the Federal Court decision conceives of the border as a moving barrier capable of shifting outside Canada’s formal territorial boundaries. The effect of this decision is to bring refugee claimants outside state soil within the fold of Canadian constitutional …

Hate Speech And Persecution: A Contextual Approach, Gregory S. Gordon

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Scholarly work on atrocity-speech law has focused almost exclusively on incitement to genocide. But case law has established liability for a different speech offense: persecution as a crime against humanity (CAH). The lack of scholarship regarding this crime is puzzling given a split between the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the issue of whether hate speech alone can serve as an actus reus for CAH-persecution. This Article fills the gap in the literature by analyzing the split between the two tribunals and concluding that hate speech alone may be the …

Optimal Asylum, Shalini B. Ray

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The U.S. asylum system is noble but flawed. Scholars have long recognized that asylum is a "scarce" political resource, but U.S. law persists in distributing access to asylum based on an asylum seeker's ability to circumvent migration controls rather than the strength of the asylum seeker's claim for protection. To apply for asylum, an asylum seeker must either arrange to be smuggled into the United States or lie to the consulate while abroad to obtain a nonimmigrant visa. Nonimmigrant visa requirements effectively filter the pool of asylum applicants according to wealth, educational attainment, and intent not to remain in the …

Owning Justice And Reckoning With Its Complexity, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

A series of developments, both doctrinal and political, seem to signify a retreat from earlier innovations in the law and practice of international justice. On closer examination, however, recent developments in international justice cannot be reduced to a single trend line. Even as various actors and processes continue to work out the ground rules for exercising jurisdiction in respect of human rights violations that international law condemns as criminal, and as international and national courts work through the inherently challenging project of redressing mass atrocities, states have increasingly internalized, owned and acted on the principle that they should ensure accountability …

Panel Iv: Challenges To Proving Cases Of Torture Before The Committee Against Torture, Juan E. Mendez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Corruption And Human Rights: Exploring The Relationships, Berihun Adugna Gebeye

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Corruption is a global phenomenon which every society faces though its degree of severity varies from country to country. Despite its long history, there is no single universally agreed upon definition of corruption. Moreover, its causes, forms and impacts are diverse and multi-faceted. Understanding corruption by itself is a complex undertaking. However, it is agreed that corruption is inimical to public administration, undermines democracy, degrades the moral fabrics of the society and violates human rights. The pain of corruption touches all the human family but it disproportionately affects the vulnerable sections of the society. It reinforces discrimination, exclusion and arbitrariness. …

Accountability And The Sri Lankan Civil War, Steven R. Ratner

Articles

Sri Lanka's civil war came to a bloody end in May 2009, with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by Sri Lanka's armed forces on a small strip of land in the island's northeast. The conflict, the product of long-standing tensions between Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils over the latter's rights and place in society, had begun in the mid-1980s and ebbed and flowed for some twenty-five years, leading to seventy to eighty thousand deaths on both sides. Government repression of Tamil aspirations was matched with ruthless LTTE tactics, including suicide bombings of civilian …

“Seeking Justice, Strategically”, Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In his opinion piece, Ian Paisley takes to task the International Criminal Court (ICC) for, as he sees it, intervening in domestic processes of reconciliation at the expense of long-term prospects for peace. The "peace versus justice" paradox is not a new one and Paisley expresses a common criticism of justice mechanisms as disruptive of post-conflict, societal healing and the overwhelming hurdle of governing in the aftermath of violence. Missing from his analysis is a broader understanding of trends in international justice and accountability, of which the ICC is only one component. While the ICC is certainly not immune from …