International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Amnesty Laws In Modern Peace Agreements: An Analysis Of The Northern Ireland Legacy Act Under International Law, Mckenzie Gallagher

American University International Law Review

In September 2023, the United Kingdom passed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act (“Legacy Act”), which grants amnesty to anyone who discloses information regarding murders, disappearances, or other unsolved crimes during the period known as “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. The Legacy Act’s amnesty provision is expected to hinder the peace process in Northern Ireland and in turn, avert accountability for serious international crimes. This Comment considers to what extent the Legacy Act’s amnesty provision violates the Good Friday Agreement, the peace accord ending decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, the European Convention on Human Rights, the United …

Measuring The Unmeasurable: Foreign Aid And The Rule Of Law, Natallia Karkanitsa

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

This article provides an analysis of the international indexes and rankings that assess and compare the rule of law globally. It first starts with a discussion on the necessity of the international measurements of the rule of law in context of the foreign aid allocation to developing countries. Then, this article defines the rule of law and explains its relationship with governance and human rights. This article further reviews three rule of law indexes from the World Bank, the World Justice Project, and Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network, using the position of Belarus in these measurements as a …

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”).

International Agreements Shaping Migration Solutions, Camilo Mantilla

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

In an increasingly complex and interdependent state of international relations, international treaty negotiation, adoption, and implementation constitute an important component of global foreign policy and activity of states. International agreements embody sovereign and state-to-state relations and behavior in a global forum. International agreements manifest in ways that vary in form, subject, formalities, parties, scope, forum and many other elements.

Nefarious Notarios: Responding To Immigration Scams As White Collar Crime As A Matter Of Public Policy, Sarah Cossman

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

Immigration scams targeting non-citizens can have devastating impacts on an individual's status and ability to remain in the United States legally. The phenomenon of notario fraud occurs when an individual misrepresents themself as a notario publico in an effort to defraud immigrants seeking legal services. In Spanish-speaking countries, a notario publico is a highly trained legal professional, akin to an attorney, who provides legal advice and drafts legal documents. The term is a false cognate. The English equivalent, a notary, is an individual with narrow witnessing duties and much less discretion. Problems arise when individuals obtain a notary public license …

Anti-Corruption’S Next Great Migration?: Strengthening U.S. Refugee And Asylum Law Under Existing U.S. Anti-Corruption Commitments, Bianka Ukleja

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

First, this paper will describe the U.S.’s anticorruption commitments under international law. Next, it will present the general features of current U.S. refugee and asylum law, pertaining to particular social group (PSG) and political opinion claims. Last, this paper will discuss how the Biden Anti-Corruption Memo provides fertile ground for DHS to initiate an informal rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to engage civil society on how U.S. refugee and asylum laws can better support a pathway to citizenship for anti-corruption activists in pursuit of key U.S. foreign policy interests abroad and who find themselves unable to seek …

Future-Proofing U.S. Laws For War Crimes Investigations In The Digital Era, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Advances in information technology have irrevocably changed the nature of war crimes investigations. The pursuit of accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community now invariably requires access to digital evidence. The global reach of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter means that much of that digital evidence is held by U.S. social media companies, and access to it is subject to the U.S. Stored Communications Act.

This is the first Article to look at the legal landscape facing international investigators seeking access to digital evidence regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. It …

Movement Lawyering: Rebuilding Community Power & Decentering Law, Sami Schramm, Naima Muminiy, Madison Sharp, Angela Altieri, Thea Cabrera Montejo

Human Rights Brief

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Human Rights Brief held its annual symposium entitled Movement Lawyering: Rebuilding Community Power and Decentering Law. It was organized by Angela Altieri, Madison Sharp, Naima Muminiy, Sami Schramm, Destiny Staten, Angel Gardner, Leila Hamouie, Fabian Kopp, Marnie Leonard, and Thea Cabrera Montejo. Together, the team curated a day full of empowering keynotes, inspiring panels, and an insightful workshop. The team also created a resource to document the event.

Lessons In Movement Lawyering From The Ferguson Uprising, Maggie Ellinger-Locke

Human Rights Brief

Michael Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. That day, I was on vacation in Michigan with my family, hanging on the beach and playing in the water. My father passed away from liver cancer exactly four months before, and I made the decision to close down his law practice in the St. Louis, Missouri area, and move to Washington, DC, where my longterm partner had taken a job. The trip to Michigan was supposed to be a stopover on my way to DC; my car was packed to the brim.

Access To Education: Protecting Students With Disabilities By Decriminalizing Behavior, Maria Jardeleza

Human Rights Brief

Contrary to international human rights standards, laws that criminalize disorderly and disruptive behavior in schools neglect the needs of students with disabilities. These laws lead to the exclusion of students with disabilities from educational settings and are applied unfairly against them. This Article will first look at state statutes and school policies that grant broad discretion in determining when and how to exclude students from learning opportunities through suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement1. Understanding the use of these statutes against students within the context of the data on school discipline rates for students with disabilities shows the disproportionate …

A Double Standard In Refugee Response: Contrasting The Treatment Of Syrian Refugees With Ukrainian Refugees, Deanna Alsbeti

Human Rights Brief

The unrelenting proliferation of international crises marks the twenty-first century with mass global displacement. In 2011, the world witnessed the Arab Spring, a series of anti-government protests that led to the Syrian Civil War and injected more than 13.5 million displaced Syrians into the global system. Today, twelve years later, the international system still struggles to accommodate and protect Syrians who cannot return to their homeland. In addition to the dire Syrian refugee crisis, and other refugee crises throughout the globe, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine added approximately 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees to the world’s already stressed humanitarian system.

Can Mediation Provide Remedy For Human Rights Violations? A Quest For Justice Using A Development Bank Accountability Mechanism, Natalie Bugalski, David Pred

Perspectives

This essay describes what it takes—the enormous tenacity, solidarity, courage and skill required—for communities and their civil society partners to seek recourse through the dispute resolution processes of development bank accountability mechanisms. While these mechanisms can be the crucial centerpiece of an effective strategy, their critical shortcomings mean that community advocates must often engage in Olympian advocacy gymnastics to achieve even a small measure of redress. The essay makes recommendations for strengthening community-centered accountability in development finance, so that remediation and prevention of harm become the norm, and not the rare exception.

The World Bank, The Inspection Panel & Immunity, Joe Athialy

Perspectives

The establishment of the Inspection Panel marked a turning point for the World Bank, at a time when the notion of accountability in international financial institutions was still nascent. Triggered by people's movements, this bold experiment aimed at transparency faced hurdles as the Bank was immune to legal consequences, and over a while, it weakened the Panel's mandate. The 2019 US Supreme Court decision stripping the Bank of absolute immunity reshapes its accountability landscape. Post-immunity, the Panel gains renewed significance, scrutinizing and recommending actions. Legal repercussions for non-compliance bring a paradigm shift, compelling the Bank to enhance transparency, engage communities, …

"Use And Improve" Is My Accountability Mantra, Despite 30 Years Of Eye-Opening Disappointments, Natalie Bridgeman Fields

Perspectives

This essay finds justification for championing the continued existence, functioning and evolution of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs). An inside assessment of the thirty-year functioning of IAMs reveals that inadequate power and independence are severely hampering IAM efforts to hold actors accountable for harm. Simultaneously, IAMs can’t make progress without the underlying financial institutions reforming their incentive structures to reward harm prevention and remedy. Despite decades of systemic failure to deliver accountability, when exceptions happen, they are worth it and can be spectacular. With an influx of new climate-related funding expected at the financial institutions, exceptions need to become the rule. …

The Slippery Concept Of "Object And Purpose" In International Criminal Law, Patrick J. Keenan

American University International Law Review

In little more than twenty-five years, the field of international criminal law has grown from a small slice of public international law into a functioning system of international justice, complete with multiple juridical bodies and substantial scholarly attention. Building on the legacy of the Nuremberg Tribunals and drawing from international humanitarian law, human rights law, and domestic criminal law principles, international criminal law has become its own discipline. Creating any new field of law is a complicated endeavor; this is especially true when the field affects and is affected by so many politically sensitive issues. Throughout this doctrinal experiment, one …

Sanctions As Virtue-Signaling: Transitioning From Symbolism To Reparation For Rohingya Genocide Victim, Kelsey Peden

American University International Law Review

Kyi sat on the banks of the Inya Lake, saying goodbye to the place they said was no longer her home. The government of Myanmar had given her an option: leave or be arrested. She felt lucky to leave; most activists she knew did not get a warning first. A few kilometers away, her parents’ graves sat cleaned, adorned with fresh flowers. She hoped her sister would keep up the task in her absence, but she hadn’t been able to get ahold of her in quite some time. The feeling of the country was getting more concerned—"frantic" she explained, laughing, …

The Dialogic Function Of I.C.J. Provisional Measures Decisions In The U.N. Political Organs: Assessing The Evidence, Michael Ramsden, Jiang Zixin

American University International Law Review

The aim of this article is to consider the degree to which provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (I.C.J.) have influenced United Nations (U.N.) diplomacy and the exercise of functions by its political organs in the areas of international peace, security, and human rights. This article evaluates this influence by examining decisions in which the I.C.J. indicated provisional measures, denoting the remedy available to the Court, on an interim basis, to restrain or instruct the parties to take certain measures to preserve either or both parties’ rights pending the outcome of the case. In doing so, this …

Criminalizing Environmental Degradation And Devastation: New Prospects For The Icc Rome Statute, Kelly Pisimisi

American University International Law Review

Over the last decade, steadily increasing voices are ringing the tocsin to the international community for the impact of human activities on climate and their potential consequences on human life and dignity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its recent (6th) Assessment Report, confirmed this assertion. Greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions (particularly CO2), as well as the retreat of arctic glaciers and the subsequent sea level rise causing—among other issues—the acidification of the oceanic waters, are some of the most evident human-induced implications on climate and the environment.

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

American University International Law Review

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.”

Ambulatory Versus Fixed Baselines Under The Law Of The Sea In The Context Of Rising Sea Levels, Sean Murphy

American University International Law Review

It is a great pleasure to be here, especially with such an esteemed group of participants. My thanks to all the co-sponsors for the invitation to participate in this event; I am very happy to contribute to the conversation.

When “diving” into consideration of sea-level rise issues, one finds various “pools” of international law that are perfectly suited for answering some of the issues we are addressing. For example, Professor Galvão Teles spoke about the protection of persons in the event of sea-level rise. There are, of course, various aspects of human rights law and international law relating to disasters …

Stars, Stripes, And Surveillance: The United States' Failure To Regulate Data Privacy, Sam Begland

American University Law Review

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s devastating decision to strip Americans of their constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, data privacy is more salient than ever. Without adequate data regulations, state governments and anti-abortion activists alike can harass and prosecute pregnant people attempting to exercise their bodily autonomy. This comment argues that the United States has violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 17 by failing to protect against interference with the use and collection of reproductive health data. Further, this comment analyzes interpretations of …

La Responsabilidad Internacional De Los Estados Por Violaciones A Los Derechos Humanos Como Consecuencia Del Cambio Climatico: El Rol Del Sistema Interamericano De Proteccion De Derechos Humanos, Jose Daniel Rodriguez Orue

American University International Law Review

El fenómeno del cambio climático es una de las mayores amenazas para la garantía y protección de los derechos humanos a nivel global. Las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático, tales como incremento en el nivel del mar, el aumento de eventos meteorológicos extremos, la perdida de biodiversidad y las sequías, son susceptibles de ocasionar varias violaciones a los derechos humanos en las Américas. Estas violaciones a los derechos humanos se manifiestan con mayor intensidad en determinados grupos poblacionales que se encuentran expuestos de forma desproporcionada a la degradación medioambiental debido a su vinculación especial con los recursos naturales, pero también, …

Ending Violence In Development Finance Actions To Affirmatively Prevent And Stop Reprisals Against Rights Defenders, Gregory Berry

Perspectives

This Essay makes a case for stronger enforcement and implementation of zero-tolerance policies on reprisals within Development Finance Institutions. It argues that for DFIs to inculcate any hopeful vision of a just and inclusive transition to a sustainable future, they must begin by affirmatively cutting at the roots of reprisals. The essay particularly emphasizes two essential changes. First, Independent Accountability and Audit Mechanisms must be empowered to protect the safety of defenders by self-initiating investigations where there are credible concerns of reprisals, and by accepting anonymously submitted complaints. Second, DFIs must evolve to grow teeth for enforcing measures against retaliatory …

Facial Recognition System Is A Violation Of Human Rights In The Context Of The Echr, Aykhan Dadashov

Human Rights Brief

On January 31, 2020, Nikolay Sergeyevich Glukhin lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) arguing that the Russian government violated his right to respect for private life (Article 8) and freedom of expression (Article 10) under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Glukhin held a banner in metro station of Moscow to protest the detention and criminal proceedings against a political activist. Using CCTV cameras and videos taken by a passersby on an app called Telegram, the police managed to identify and arrest Glukhin. It investigated CCTV cameras installed in other stations for further inquiry …

Youth Voices For Human Rights Litigation In The Face Of Climate Change, Mckenzie Gallagher

Human Rights Brief

In the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), six young activists, age eleven to twentyfour, filed a case against thirty-two countries claiming violations of their human rights related to climate change. The Grand Chambers of the ECtHR heard the case, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others, on September 27, 2023, but the court has yet to issue an opinion on the admissibility and merits of the claim. The case was granted priority status and deferred directly to the Grand Chambers due to the importance of the issue, climate change.

The International Criminal Court’S Arbitrary Exercise Of Its Duties Under The Rome Statute To The Benefit Of Western Global Supremacy, Azadeh Shahshahani, Sofia Veronica Montez

Human Rights Brief

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a constituent institution of the United Nations (UN) that investigates and prosecutes perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Established in 1998 by the Rome Statute, the ICC may open an investigation through referrals by state parties to the Statute; referrals by the UN Security Council; or the prosecutor’s own initiative. Additionally, non-party states may extend qualified jurisdiction to the ICC to prosecute cases within their territories, setting the scope of investigations and prosecutions as well as the dates they shall encompass.

The Rome Statute assigns various other …

When The Race To Net Zero Becomes A Race To The Bottom: Human Rights Violations In The Renewable Energy Transition And The Extraterritorial Obligation To Protect Human Rights, Yogi Bratajaya

American University International Law Review

Recent reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have shed light on and confirmed the extent of damages that will result if the world fails to keep global warming below 2°C. Irreversible adverse impacts on our ecosystems and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters will have a significant negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights worldwide. Climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events. Additionally, the deteriorating conditions caused by climate change will cause millions of people to leave their homes and …

The Art Of International Law, Hilary Charlesworth

American University International Law Review

International lawyers study international law primarily through its written texts—treaties, official documents, judgments, and scholarly works. Critical to being an international lawyer, it seems, is access to the written word, whether in hard copy or online. Indeed, as Jesse Hohmann observes, “the production of text can come to feel like the very purpose of international law.”

Former Peruvian President Fujimori's Forced Sterilization Program Faces Prosecution 26 Years Later, Taylor Potenziano

Human Rights Brief

In 1996, the Peruvian government under President Alberto Fujimori launched the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program (PNSRPF). While the government pitched the program as a way to promote access to family planning for low-income families and a way for women to be “masters of their own destiny,” the PNSRPF functioned as a forced sterilization program. From 1996 to 2001, 272,028 people were forcibly sterilized, the majority of them impoverished indigenous women from rural areas.

Violating The Protections Of International Law: Examining Methods To Combat The Practice Of Female, Angel R. Gardner

Human Rights Brief

In 2021, the women’s rights non-governmental organization (“NGO”), Equality Now, filed a lawsuit alongside other organizations1 challenging Mali’s failure to outlaw the practice of female genital mutilation (“FGM”). FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical purposes. The practice of FGM traces back to an ancient ritual, however, current research reveals that it causes serious health problems. The case brought by these NGOs has the potential to create binding precedent against the practice of FGM across all the African States.