International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: Moving Forward With A New Crimes Against Humanity Treaty, Leila Nadya Sadat, Akila Radhakrishnan

Scholarship@WashULaw

Eleven years after the International Law Commission (ILC) began considering the topic of crimes against humanity, and nearly 80 years after the London Charter was negotiated in the ashes of World War II, will States finally begin negotiating a new crimes against humanity treaty next year? The answer is not yet clear, although an overwhelming majority of the States expressing themselves last week said “yes.” This essay is a snapshot of the current state of play and is based on our firsthand observation of the plenary debate as well as discussions with State delegates and members of civil society. Negotiations …

A Draft Treaty On Crimes Against Humanity Draws More Engagement From States, Leila Nadya Sadat

Scholarship@WashULaw

The world’s first treaty on crimes against humanity inched closer to reality as the U.N. General Assembly’s Sixth (Legal) Committee recently wrapped up the last of a series of “resumed sessions” before States decide this October whether to proceed to formal negotiations on the document. Significantly more States and regional groups intervened during the most recent session, held last month, than in 2023, and the number that support the draft increased. Representatives of civil society also were present in much higher numbers, issuing a “Joint Statement in Support of Progress toward a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty” from more than 400 …

The Life Of International Law Is Not Logic But Experience, David Lefkowitz

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. famously maintained that ‘the life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.’ Holmes’ statement suggests an antecedent question: what is the life of the law? This article construes this question ontologically. What gives law life? What animates it, and in so doing warrants the claim that law contributes to the production of social order in a particular community? The answer, I contend, is that law lives, or exists, only in those societies where law rules, and law rules only when the exercise of political power is conducted under the supervision of …

A Study Of Gender Apartheid: Afghanistan And The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Golazin Safaeimojarad

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the systemic and institutionalized forms of gender-based discrimination termed gender apartheid, focusing on Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It argues that gender apartheid, a severe form of discrimination where women and girls are subjugated and denied fundamental rights under institutional frameworks, and Afghanistan under Taliban rule and Iran under the Islamic Republic of Iran are two prime cases of gender apartheid. Through a qualitative research approach employing case studies and a comprehensive review of legal documents, academic materials, and reports from reputable organizations, the thesis outlines how gender apartheid is not only a direct product …

Students For Fair Admissions: Affirming Affirmative Action And Shapeshifting Towards Cognitive Diversity?, Steven A. Ramirez

Seattle University Law Review

The Roberts Court holds a well-earned reputation for overturning Supreme Court precedent regardless of the long-standing nature of the case. The Roberts Court knows how to overrule precedent. In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), the Court’s majority opinion never intimates that it overrules Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court’s leading opinion permitting race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Instead, the Roberts Court applied Grutter as authoritative to hold certain affirmative action programs entailing racial preferences violative of the Constitution. These programs did not provide an end point, nor did they require assessment, review, periodic expiration, or revision for greater …

Model For Understanding Cedaw's Impact On Implementing Gender Equality Reforms: Lessons From Canada And India, Amanda L. Stephens

Faculty Articles

This Article provides a model for examining the impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW") on implementing gender equality reforms using Canada and India, two CEDAW State Parties, as case studies. It also explores the influence of heteropatriarchy, deeply rooted cultural norms perpetuating gender inequality, on hindering CEDAW's ratification in the United States, as well as CEDAW's effectiveness in implementing reforms in Canada and India. The analysis showcases how non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") in these countries have nevertheless achieved limited successes through their mobilization of CEDAW to address specific gender injustices, such as …

Aggressor Status And Its Impact On International Criminal Law Case Selection, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

The laws of war apply equally to all parties to a conflict; thus, a party that violates international law by launching a war is granted the same international humanitarian law rights as a party that is required to defend against the illegal war. This doctrine—known as the equal application doctrine—has been sharply critiqued, particularly by philosophers, who claim the doctrine to be morally indefensible. Lawyers and legal academics, by contrast, defend the equal application doctrine because they reasonably fear that applying different rules to different warring parties will sharply reduce states’ willingness to comply with the international humanitarian law system …

Developments At The United Nations International Law Commission On Sea-Level Rise, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Sea-level rise is a pressing global challenge that could generate catastrophic consequences for humankind. The implications for States and people all over the world are grave, making rising sea-levels a matter of utmost urgency. This paper will examine some of the challenges presented by the phenomenon of sea-level rise in relation to international law with a focus on the analysis undertaken by the Study Group on Sea-Level Rise (“Study Group”) of the United Nations International Law Commission (“ILC”).

Key Developments At The World Bank Inspection Panel (2013-2024), Dilek Barlas

Perspectives

Through the lens of important cases, this essay reflects on major developments that occurred at the Panel during the tenure of the author as the Executive Secretary of the World Bank Inspection Panel and shows how the Panel has evolved to improve accessibility, has influenced overall development policies, and has become a catalyst for institutional change. The essay observes that the Panel’s success has largely been due to its structural and operational independence, reporting as it does directly to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. However, there are challenges facing the Panel on certain issues, including most importantly its independence, …

Ending 30 Years Of Imf Exceptionalism: A Call For An Accountability Mechanism At The International Monetary Fund, Luiz Vieria

Perspectives

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the World Bank’s Inspection Panel (WBIP or Panel), created as the result of grass-roots and international pressure on the Bank to address the well-documented negative impacts on marginalised communities of the Bank-financed Narmada dam and similar projects.

The establishment of the world’s first independent accountability mechanism (IAM) at the World Bank led to the creation of similar mechanisms at nearly all international financial institutions (IFIs), with the IMF an important exception. The establishment of the WBIP and other IAMs was a step-change in accountability, as previously IFIs were only accountable to shareholders …

Are The Mdbs Accountable? Reflecting On The Independent Accountability Mechanisms Of The Multilateral Development Banks, Susan Park

Perspectives

The International Accountability Mechanisms of the Multilateral Development Banks provide important insights into how to hold intergovernmental organizations to account for their environmental and social impacts. This perspective identifies how the IAMs hold the Banks to account according to the six standard questions of accountability: who is accountable, to whom, for what are they accountable, and what are the standards, processes, and sanctions employed to demonstrate that the MDBs are accountable. This highlights what the IAMs can and cannot hold the MDBs to account for, and how this might shape further international grievance mechanisms for people seeking to defend their …

The Sword, The Shield, And The Jab: How Nato Can Bypass The Un And World Health Organization To Help Control And Prevent Future Pandemics, Aaron Earlywine

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

An autopsy of the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic reveals many preexisting conditions that only exacerbated the crisis. Chief among them are the failures and obfuscations of the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is sick with corruption, incompetence, or at very least riddled with dysfunction. This is not the first time the WHO has proven itself unable to meet the demands of global health initiatives, let alone global health crises. Not only is this dysfunctional organization proving itself to be a money-consuming abscess, but hostile powers, namely China, have used it to covertly wield influence and shield themselves …

A Right Without A Remedy: How One Cincinnatian's Story Illustrates Terrorism Victims' Inability To Obtain Compensation Under The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Christopher T. Colloton

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discussant Commentary On The Twenty-Fourth Annual Grotius Lecture, Karima Bennoune

Other Publications

I express my sincere thanks to the American Society of International Law and the International Legal Studies Program at American University Washington College of Law for the invitation to be this year’s commentator. It is indeed an honor to respond to Judge Charlesworth’s erudite Grotius Lecture: “The Art of International Law.”

Embracing The Flow: The Right To Menstrual Health As A Response To Climate Change Impacts In South Asia, Lea Kuhlmann

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Haiti: Confronting An Immense Challenge, Irwin Stotzky

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article analyzes the history of Haiti, from its origins as a slave colony of France, which was the richest colony in the Americas, to its war of independence leading to the first Black independent nation in the Americas, to its economic re-enslavement under the power of France and then the United States. The article discusses the great harm the French caused the Haitian people by imposing through force a ransom of billions of dollars that has led Haiti to its present position of being on the brink of becoming a failed state, with all of the disastrous consequences for …

Haiti’S Legal Claim For Restitution: The Political Context For The Recovery Of The Double-Debt, Ira J. Kurzban

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article discusses Haiti’s efforts to seek restitution from France for the “Double-Debt” imposed in 1825. After Haiti gained independence in 1804 following a slave revolt, France threatened to invade and re-enslave the Haitian people if they did not pay compensation to French slave owners for their lost “property.” This became known as the Double-Debt, as French and American banks profited by converting the debt into high-interest loans. In 2003, on the 200th anniversary of Haitian hero Toussaint Louverture’s death, Haiti’s president Jean-Bertrand Aristide announced his intention to demand repayment from France. This sparked retaliation from France and Haiti’s elite, …

Redress For Historical Injustices: Haiti’S Claim For The Restitution Of Post-Independence Payments To France, Günther Handl

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Restitution For Haiti, Reparations For All: Haiti’S Place In The Global Reparations Movement, Brian Concannon Jr., Kristina Fried, Alexandra V. Filippova

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Haiti’s claim for restitution of the debt coerced by France in exchange for Haiti’s 1804 independence has unique legal advantages that can open the door to broader reparations for the descendants of all people harmed by slavery. But in order to assert the claim, Haiti first needs help reclaiming its democracy from a corrupt, repressive regime propped up by the powerful countries that prospered through slavery and overthrew the Haitian President who dared to assert his country’s legal claim. This article explores Haiti’s Independence Debt, and the fight for restitution of it, in the context of two centuries of continued …

Haiti And The Indemnity Question, Alex Dupuy

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

1) Haiti did not agree to pay an indemnity to France in 1825 because it feared a war with its former colonial power. In 1814, France sent envoys to Haiti to demand that King Henry Christophe, who controlled the north of Haiti, and President Alexandre Pétion, who controlled the south and west, resubmit to French sovereignty. Christophe had that envoy arrested and jailed. Pétion, on the other hand, offered to pay an indemnity to France to compensate the former colonial property owners in return for France’s official recognition of Haiti’s independence.

2) Jean-Pierre Boyer succeeded Pétion as president of the …

Haiti And The Burden Of History, Frédérique Beauvois

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lost Haitian Generation And The 1826 “French Debt”: The Case For Restitution To Haiti, Charlot Lucien

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The War On Gangs: El Salvador’S Playground For International Human Rights Violations, Sanobar Valiani

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

International human rights law was developed with the underlying philosophy that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. However, since its development, we have seen a vast number of human rights violations persist with no recourse. The War on Gangs in El Salvador is just one example of this. This Note examines the history of the War on Gangs in El Salvador, the tumultuous political landscape that has spurred as a result, and how political efforts to address gang violence have been used as a tactic to strip Salvadorans of their fundamental rights and dignity. …

Time To Enumerate The Slave Trade As A Distinct Provision In The Crimes Against Humanity Treaty, Patricia Viseur Sellers, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Alexandra Lily Kather

Online Publications

The proposed Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity under consideration at the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee (Legal) are bereft of a distinct provision to address the international crime of the slave trade.

Climate Change, Corruption, And Colonialism: Solving The Conundrum With Regional Courts, Taylor Nchako

Northwestern University Law Review

It is no secret that climate change is the most pressing issue of our times. Global South countries, especially those in Africa, face challenges mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, adapting technological solutions, and continuing to develop their nation’s infrastructure and industry. Cameroon provides an archetypal example of the challenges many African countries face. Plagued by an economy that both exacerbates climate change and stands to collapse from it, Cameroon struggles with corruption that has roots in colonialism and neocolonialism. This corruption taints not only the forestry service and the executive branch, but the judiciary as well, leaving Cameroon’s …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Twenty Years After Krieger V Law Society Of Alberta: Law Society Discipline Of Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Krieger v. Law Society of Alberta held that provincial and territorial law societies have disciplinary jurisdiction over Crown prosecutors for conduct outside of prosecutorial discretion. The reasoning in Krieger would also apply to government lawyers. The apparent consensus is that law societies rarely exercise that jurisdiction. But in those rare instances, what conduct do Canadian law societies discipline Crown prosecutors and government lawyers for? In this article, I canvass reported disciplinary decisions to demonstrate that, while law societies sometimes discipline Crown prosecutors for violations unique to those lawyers, they often do so for violations applicable to all lawyers — particularly …

Vaccine Development, The China Dilemma, And International Regulatory Challenges, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the role played by China in the development of international regulatory standards at the intersection of intellectual prop- erty, international trade, and public health. It begins by briefly discussing the role China has played in the global health arena during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article then highlights the difficulty in determining how best to engage with the country in the development of new international regula- tory standards. It shows that the preferred method of engagement will likely depend on one’s perspective on China’s potential contributions and hin- drances: a perspective that focuses on global competition—in the economic, …

Sexual Orientation At The Crossroads, Johan D. Van Der Vyver

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County that sexual orientation is included in the concept of “sex” in the non-discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is historically indefensible. The Civil Rights Act was initiated by President John F. Kennedy to combat racial discrimination in the workplace and the word “sex” was included in the Act by a “claque of Southern Congressmen” as part of a filibuster attempt to prevent its enactment. It was accepted by proponents of the Act on the instructions of President Johnson merely to avoid the …

Indefinite Detention At Guantánamo: How The National Defense Authorization Act Results In Indefinite Detention In Violation Of International Human Rights, Molly Turro

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The majority of the remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay have been cleared for transfer to other countries. Provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act that prohibit government funds to be used for transfer and reinforce the United States government’s authority to detain enemy combatants until the end of active hostilities have left these detainees waiting in limbo to be transferred elsewhere. The following piece argues that the resulting indefinite detention that these Guantánamo detainees face is both a violation of international human rights and an unnecessary financial burden on the US government. This Note compares the approach taken by the …