International Law Commons^™

The Amazon Ablaze: Are The Environmental Policies Of The Bolsanaro Administrative In Contravention Of Brazil’S Commitment To The Convention On Biological Diversity?, Jordan Johnson

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In the Summer of 2019, the Amazonian Rainforest in Brazil experienced an unprecedented increase forest fires. This dramatic uptick in forest fires, according to environmental officials and scientists, is believed to have been caused by recent, rampant illegal deforestation of the Brazilian Amazonian Rainforest. Furthermore, some within the scientific community believe that the increased deforestation and ensuing forest fires are attributable to the anti-environmental protections and pro-development policies of Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro. Since taking office in January 2019, President Bolsonaro has publicly endorsed and encouraged deforestation of the Amazon as a means to spur economic development within Brazil. This …

The Impact Of Cultural Heritage On Japanese Towns And Villages, Yuichiro Tsuji Dr.

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

In 1954, when historically significant clays and clay pots were found in the Iba district of Shizuoka prefecture, the city applied to the prefectural education committee for a historic site designation. The committee granted this designation to the city..

However, in 1973 the education committee lifted its permission to promote development around the location. Historians have sought revocation of this decision under the Administrative Case Litigation Act (ACLA), but the Supreme Court has denied standing. By denying standing, the Japanese Supreme Court allows the prefecture to destroy a historical site.

First, this paper seeks to discuss the doctrine of standing …

Who Upholds Your Human Rights When You Are “Stateless?” Why Couldn’T The Un Protect The Rohingya’S Human Rights?, Hyochan Lee

Student Theses and Dissertations

In 2017, genocide in Myanmar took place against the stateless minority Rohingya Muslims. Why couldn’t the UN protect the Rohingya’s human rights? The international community's efforts to oppose these violations against the stateless people have been only passive. Then, who upholds your human rights when you are stateless? Using chronology, historical institutionalism, and process tracing analyses, this thesis (1) evaluates the UN’s legal regime’s systemic design and capabilities in protecting human rights; then (2) identifies the design flaws of our international human rights regime; and lastly, (3) develops a recommendation to protect all people, stateless or not. Based on both …

The Human Dimension Of Peace And Aggression, Chiara Redaelli

International Law Studies

Since the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, the current international legal framework has drastically changed. In its traditional understanding, aggression is “the supreme international crime” aimed at protecting sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states. On the other hand, the U.N. Charter endorses an understanding of peace in the negative sense, that is, as mere absence of war. As human rights have gained momentum, they have helped reshape the legal landscape, a phenomenon referred to as the humanization of international law. How do peace and aggression fit within the humanized legal framework? This article will investigate the …

Global Apathy And The Need For A New, Cooperative International Refugee Response, Emily Gleichert

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

While an increasing number of nations move toward isolationist, nationalist policies, the number of refugees worldwide is climbing to its highest levels since World War II. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the international body tasked with protecting this population. However, the office’s traditional solutions for refugees – local integration, resettlement in a third country, and voluntary repatriation – have mostly eluded refugees who spend an average of twenty years in exile. The limitations UNHCR’s structure imposes on the office, specifically in its ability to fund its operations and compel nations to act, have contributed to its …

Briefing Note: Aligning International Investment Agreements With The Sustainable Development Goals, Lise Johnson, Lisa E. Sachs, Nathan Lobel

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Policy makers and other stakeholders are currently asking fundamental questions about whether and to what extent international investment agreements (IIAs) are consistent with and are helping to advance sustainable development objectives at home and abroad.

A 2019 paper from CCSI examines the alignment of IIAs with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, arguing that while FDI will play an important role in advancing development outcomes, existing treaties must be reformed and future IIAs reimagined in order to achieve deep alignment with the sustainable development goals.

The paper proposes that IIAs should be designed and evaluated with respect to their ability to …

Dispute Settlement Under The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: A Preliminary Assessment, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) will add a new dispute settlement system to the plethora of judicial mechanisms designed to resolve trade disputes in Africa. Against the discontent of Member States and limited impact the existing highly legalized trade dispute settlement mechanisms have had on regional economic integration in Africa, this paper undertakes a preliminary assessment of the AfCFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). In particular, the paper situates the AfCFTA-DSM in the overall discontent and unsupportive practices of African States with highly legalized dispute settlement systems and similar WTO-Styled DSMs among other shortcomings. Notwithstanding the transplantation of …

Fraudulent Malattributed Comments In Agency Rulemaking, Michael Herz

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is The U.S. Government Violating The Safe Conducts Of Noncitizens? How A Turn To Strict Originalism Could Revitalize The Alien Tort Statute, Gabe Cahn

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Victims Of The Hungarian Holocaust Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondents, Richard H. Weisberg

Amicus Briefs

This amicus curiae brief was submitted on behalf of victims of the Hungarian Holocaust in support of petitioners in case No. 18-1447 before the United States Supreme Court. The brief addresses questions of international law, sovereign immunity, and the rights of Holocaust survivors seeking restitution and legal accountability. It provides historical context and legal arguments relevant to holding foreign states accountable for atrocities committed during World War II.

Enough Is As Good As A Feast, Noah C. Chauvin

Seattle University Law Review

Ipse Dixit, the podcast on legal scholarship, provides a valuable service to the legal community and particularly to the legal academy. The podcast’s hosts skillfully interview guests about their legal and law-related scholarship, helping those guests communicate their ideas clearly and concisely. In this review essay, I argue that Ipse Dixit has made a major contribution to legal scholarship by demonstrating in its interview episodes that law review articles are neither the only nor the best way of communicating scholarly ideas. This contribution should be considered “scholarship,” because one of the primary goals of scholarship is to communicate new ideas.

Policing In A Democratic Constitution, Michael Wasco

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

Most constitutions contain provisions relating to or impacting policing. Separate from the armed forces and intelligence services, the police are the state’s internal security apparatus, and codifying issues related to policing within a constitution can ensure efficient service delivery and human rights protections.

Originating from the Libyan constitution making process, this paper provides a taxonomy of options for constitution drafters and scholars. More so than other issues, such as separation of powers or human rights protections generally, policing sections are very country specific. While not advocating for specific best practices, the work gives ample justifications for certain policing principles and …

Free, Prior And Informed Consent: Addressing Political Realities To Improve Impact, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Leila Kazemi

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Indigenous and Tribal peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) has transformative potential. Yet, there is a considerable gap between the theory and what happens in practice. Global actors supporting recognition of FPIC and effective prior consultation processes usually focus on normative standards and best practices. They concentrate much less on addressing the political challenges and opportunities that shape how these processes unfold.

With funding from the Ford Foundation, we looked at the politics of FPIC in Latin America, analyzing how the power and interests of the key players–across governments, companies and indigenous peoples–can determine the fate of …

Toward A Theory Of Intercountry Human Rights: Global Capitalism And The Rise And Fall Of Intercountry Adoption, Barbara Stark

Indiana Law Journal

This Article proposes another mechanism for enforcement, an alternative to self-serving domestic policing and weak international bureaucracy. “Intercountry,” as opposed to “international,” human rights would apply to specific rights in specific contexts and be enforceable through the legal mechanisms and other resources of the state parties that accepted them. Intercountry adoption is a useful context in which to consider this proposal for several reasons.

First, as a practical matter, there have probably never been more babies and children in orphanages, on the street, on the market, or on their own. Yet intercountry adoptions have declined to levels not seen for …

Health Priorities For Sustainable Development, Lisa E. Sachs, Jeffrey D. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The right to health has been repeatedly recognized as one of the core human rights, essential for human functioning, human dignity, economic well-being and development. But the right to health continues to elude hundreds of millions and with Covid-19, perhaps billions of people. Poverty remains the most critical obstacle to the realization of the right to health in developing countries. Achieving universal health coverage, before the additional costs of Covid-19, would require roughly $50 billion per year, approximately 0.1 percent of the GDP of the high-income OECD countries. Yet despite this broad understanding of the vicious cycle of poverty and …

2020 Fall - Clihhr Newsletter, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr)

CLIHHR Newsletters

This Fall 2020 issue of the CLIHHR Newsletter documents the Institute’s legal advocacy and programming during the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of heightened political and human rights challenges. It features litigation challenging U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court, amicus advocacy on Holocaust restitution, clinic efforts supporting Indigenous communities in Brazil, strategic planning on housing and health rights, student and alumni achievements, and virtual public events on genocide prevention, citizenship, and international justice. The newsletter reflects CLIHHR’s continued commitment to accountability, human rights protection, and survivor-centered advocacy.

Should They Stay, Or Should They Go? Statue Politics In Shifting Societies: The Permissibility Of Peacetime Removal, Alteration And Destruction Of Problematic Political Monuments In The United States, Adrienne Liebenberg Nel

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note argues that Confederate monuments in the U.S. are often protected by outdated preservationist laws that hinder efforts to remove or alter them, despite their association with systemic racism and oppression. It advocates for legal reform to allow local governments to address these problematic symbols, drawing on international examples and emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that respects history while promoting inclusivity.

It Is Time To Get Back To Basics On The Border, Donna Coltharp

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Victims And Prosecutors: Clientelism, Legalism, And Culture At The International Criminal Court, Stephen Cody

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have a dual mission: hold perpetrators accountable for grave international crimes, and deliver justice to victims. To fulfill these mandates, the Office of the Prosecutor must navigate dynamic understandings of justice in disparate post conflict societies. Yet, few empirical studies have investigated how culture--viewed as a resource for navigating social relations--impacts relationships between ICC prosecutors and victims and shapes participants' expectations of international criminal law. Do prosecutors and victims embedded in distinct relational networks experience international justice differently?
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/="/">Drawing from 298 interviews with atrocity crime victims in Uganda and Democratic Republic …

With An Even Hand: The Call For Pakistan’S Executive Task Force For Religious Tolerance, J. Clifford Wallace

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Special Rules Of Attribution Of Conduct In International Law, Marko Milanovic

International Law Studies

Are there are any special rules of attribution in international law? Are there, in other words, imputational rules that are not recognized as such in general international law, but are specific to particular branches of international law? This is the first article to systematically analyze the notion of special rules of attribution in international law. In particular, it searches for such rules in international humanitarian law, the law on the use of force, and European human rights law.

The article argues that, to the extent special rules of attribution exist, they are rare and never uncontroversial. In most situations, putative …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Making The Case For Genocide, The Forced Sterilization Of Indigenous Peoples Of Peru, Ñusta P. Carranza Ko

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Peru’s national health program Programa de Salud Reproductiva y Planificación Familiar (PSRPF) aimed to uphold women’s reproductive rights and address the scarcity in maternity related services. Despite these objectives, during PSRPF’s implementation the respect for women’s rights were undermined with the forced sterilization of women predominantly of indigenous, poor, and rural backgrounds. This study considers the forced sterilization of indigenous women as a genocide. Making the case for genocide has not been done previously with this particular case. Using the normative markers of the Genocide Convention, this study categorically sets forced sterilization victims from the state-led-policy as victims of genocide, …

A Radiographic Analysis Of Compliance With The Decisions Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights, Max Silva Abbott

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

This study examines the compliance level of all Inter-American Court of Human Rights judgments until December 31, 2018. The paper contrasts the data on implementation with the majority narrative regarding the degree of influence that the Inter-American Court has in protecting human rights. It also includes an Annex listing all court cases and judgments until December 2018 (Judgements on Merits, Complementary Judgments, Provisional Measures, Monitoring Compliance with Judgment and Reimbursement), and their corresponding implementation status (full compliance, partial compliance, unfulfilled, pending).

Un Análisis Radiográfico Del Cumplimiento De Las Sentecias De La Corte Interamericana De Derechos Humanos, Max Silva Abbott

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Mining And The Sdgs: A 2020 Status Update, Responsible Mining Foundation, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In September 2015, the UN member states agreed on a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which represent the global agenda for equitable, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable economic development until 2030. Mining companies have the potential to become leading partners in achieving the SDGs. Through their direct operations, mining companies can generate profits, employment, and economic growth in low-income countries. And through partnerships with government and civil society, mining companies can ensure that benefits of mining extend beyond the life of the mine itself, so that the mining industry has a positive impact on the natural environment, climate …

Applying International Law Solutions To The Xinjiang Crisis, Preston Jordan Lim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Revisiting Individual Rights And Personal Responsibilities Amid Covid-19, Christie S. Warren

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Oppression Or Occupation: An International Analysis Of Sex Work And Sex Trafficking, Carver Wolfe

International Relations Summer Fellows

Although there is some debate over the exact number of victims of sex trafficking, it is agreed that it is an issue that affects primarily women and girls around the world. This paper will examine modern-day slavery and the unresolved, century-old debate surrounding sex trafficking and sex work. While abolitionists advocate for the total eradication of all sex work, whether it is consensual or not, libertarians support the right to voluntary sex work while condemning the coercion and exploitation that surrounds all forms of trafficking. I will use an analysis of international conventions and will begin a comparative analysis by …

Oppression Or Occupation: Conflicting Views On The Nature Of Sex Work In France And Under International Law, Carver Wolfe

Politics and International Relations Presentations

Although there is some debate over the exact number of victims of sex trafficking, it is agreed upon that it is an issue that affect primarily women and girls around the world. This paper will examine modern day slavery and the unresolved, century-old debate surrounding sex trafficking and sex work. While abolitionists advocate for total eradication of all sex work, whether it is consensual or not, libertarians support the right to voluntary sex work while condemning the coercion and exploitation that surrounds all forms of trafficking. I will use an analysis of international conventions and will begin a comparative analysis …