International Law Commons^™

Profitable Proposals: Explaining And Addressing The Mail-Order Bride Industry Through International Human Rights Law, Vanessa Brocato

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article looks at the MOBI in the United States through the lens of international human rights. Part II will describe the MOBI. Part III will evaluate the MOBI within an international human rights framework. Part IV will examine current U.S. legislation relating to the MOBI. Part V suggests strategies for addressing the MOBI. Nations will not be able to solve the problem independently because the MOBI is a transnational phenomenon. Conducting a critique of marriage brokers in a human rights context can help place problems caused by the MOBI at the forefront of international debate. Applying current human rights …

Hong Kong Right Of Abode: Ng Siu Tung & (And) Others V. Director Of Immigration - Constitutional And Human Rights At The Mercy Of China, Teresa Martin

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment argues that the Court's refusal to sidestep the Standing Committee's reinterpretation using either the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation, or the judgments previously rendered clause in the Basic Law, signifies its capitulation to the Standing Committee, and its inability to protect constitutional rights and/or human rights in Hong Kong. This Comment will first give a brief background on the concept of one country, two systems and the drafting of the basic law. Second, it will introduce the Right of Abode cases, and explain the constitutional crisis of 1999. Third, it analyzes Ng Siu Tung & Others v. Director of …

From The Nuremberg Charter To The Rome Statute: Defining The Elements Of Crimes Against Humanity, Mohamed Elewa Badar

San Diego International Law Journal

The purpose of this study is to examine the past and present contours of the prohibition of "crimes against humanity", analyzing and scrutinizing the essential elements of this crime, with a view to obtaining and drawing together basic criteria that could eventually guide the adjudication of this offence. Furthermore, this clarification of "crimes against humanity" is particularly timely with respect to the soon functioning International Criminal Court (ICC).

Human Rights Approaches Of Corruption Control Mechanisms - Enhancing The Hong Kong Experience Of Corruption Prevention Strategies, C. Raj Kumar

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article is intended to make a case for promoting transparency in governance policies from a human rights perspective so as to argue for the development of a human right to good governance in Hong Kong. Secondly, it analyzes the work of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong and addresses certain concerns in improving the efficiency of the ICAC. Thirdly, it argues that rights against corruption in Hong Kong should move beyond a law enforcement and public policy issue and attain the status of a human right. Fourthly, this Article examines the growth and development of international …

Soldiers Of Semipalatinsk: Seeking A Theory And Forum For Legal Remedy, Anne Miers Kammer

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment will address the unique dilemma of individuals in Kazakhstan whose health has been compromised by the former Soviet Union's 40-year period of nuclear testing on what is now Kazakhstan soil. The principal legal analysis of this Comment will focus on the availability of remedies (in the form of monetary damages available through legal resolution) to the citizens and/or state of Kazakhstan, and potential judicial forums in which to seek those remedies. Particular attention will be paid to the comparative likelihood of successful remedial legal action if pursued by a private class of Kazakhstan citizens versus action pursued by …

Rumsfeld V. Padilla: Brief Amicus Curiae Of Comparative Law Scholars And Experts On The Laws Of The United Kingdom And Israel In Support Of Respondent, Samuel R. Gross, J. Christopher Mccrudden

Appellate Briefs

Amici are comparative law scholars and experts on the laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the State of Israel.

Both terrorism and democratic values transcend borders. Democratic allies of the United States also face threats of terrorism. Some, notably the United Kingdom and Israel, have long histories of fighting terrorism. This brief documents how dramatically the indefinite, incommunicado detention to which Petitioner has subjected Jose Padilla departs from the minimum procedural protections that other democracies provide detained suspected terrorists. Each of these democratic allies uses four controls to constrain executive authority to detain suspected …

International Child Abductions: The Challenges Facing America , Charles F. Hall

ExpressO

International child abductors often escape domestic law enforcement and disappear without consequence or resolution. International child abductions occur too frequently; in the United States alone, the number of children abducted abroad every year has risen to over 1,000. Currently, 11,000 American children live abroad with their abductors. These abductions occur despite international treaties and the Congressional resolutions that have significantly stiffened the penalties for those caught. Effectively combating international child abductions requires drafting resolutions that are acceptable across the diverse societies and cultures of the international community. Without such resolutions to fill the gaps of current treaties this problem will …

Rumsfeld V. Padilla: Brief For Amici Curiae Law Professors In Support Of Respondent, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Appellate Briefs

Amici Curiae are law professors who are concerned about the human rights questions involved in this matter. Amici support affirmance and write to situate the issues in this case within the broader context of international human rights law. Amici believe that this Court's analysis of the decision rendered by the Second Circuit should take into account the serious rights questions raised by the assertion of executive authority to designate, detain, and isolate people deemed "enemy combatants" or any equivalent category. These concerns weigh strongly against endorsement of such broad, unilateral executive power and in favor of a strict construction of …

Reverse Moderate Relativism Applied: Third Generation International Human Rights From An Islamic Perspective, Jason G. Morgan-Foster

ExpressO

This article develops my reverse moderate relativist theory on the universality of human rights, which I proposed in an article forthcoming in the ILSA J. Intl. & Comp. L. In this prior work, I argued that the debate over the universality of international human rights norms is too constrained, and that the three most popular theories in the universality debate – universalism, strict cultural relativism, and moderate cultural relativism – are each conceptually flawed. Universalism is untenable, because it eliminates the tensions between various cultures simply by ignoring them. Strict cultural relativism is unsatisfactory, because it discredits the whole field …

Human Rights Treaty Drafting Through The Lens Of Mental Disability: The Proposed International Convention On Protection And Promotion Of The Rights And Dignity Of Persons With Disabilities, Aaron A. Dhir

Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Student Conference Papers

In this piece I explore whether, if established, the proposed International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities will be an effective way to limit abuses of the rights of persons diagnosed with mental disabilities. In Section I, I discuss the failure of international human rights law to effectively address these abuses to date. In Section II, I consider the debate surrounding the need for a disability-specific Convention. In Section III, I argue that in order for the proposed Convention to be effective, and not simply a hollow mechanism, it must reject the …

Assisted Reproduction In Germany And The United States: An Essay In Comparative Law And Bioethics , John A. Robertson

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Lysistrata, Women And War: International Law's Treatment Of Women In Conflict And Post-Conflict Situations, Emma L. Lindsay

ExpressO

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is powerful anti-war play often revived during times of international conflict. This paper uses Lysistrata to highlight and critique binary oppositions that underpin the treatment of women in conflict and post-conflict situations in the play and in international law. While many of the experiences of women and girls in war are similar to those of men and boys, there are important differences. Existing inequalities between women and men, and patterns of discrimination against women and girls, tend to be exacerbated in wartime. There are circumstances in which women suffer harms of a different kind and to a different …

A Positive Theory Of Universal Jurisdiction, Eugene Kontorovich

ExpressO

Academic discussions of universal jurisdiction (“UJ”) have been almost entirely normative, focusing on what UJ “should” be in an ideal world. This Article breaks with the normative approach and analyzes UJ from a positive perspective, drawing on historical evidence and rational choice models to understand what UJ has in fact been and what it can be.

Piracy was for centuries the only UJ offense. This Article begins by isolating the characteristics of piracy that made it uniquely suitable for UJ. While these characteristics show why UJ over piracy would cause fewer problems than UJ over other crimes, they still fail …

Citizens Of An Enemy Land: Enemy Combatants, Aliens, And The Constitutional Rights Of The Pseudo-Citizen, Juliet P. Stumpf

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Democracy In Hong Kong: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On East Asian And Pacific Affairs Of The S. Comm. On Foreign Relations, 108th Cong., Mar. 4, 2004 (Statement Of Professor James V. Feinerman, Geo. U. L. Center), James V. Feinerman

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Beyond Rights: Legal Process And Ethnic Conflicts, Elena A. Baylis

ExpressO

Unresolved ethnic conflicts threaten the stability and the very existence of multi-ethnic states. The realities of ethnic conflict are daunting: ethnic disputes tend to be both persistent and complex, and efforts to use democracy or ethnic-blind policies to deal with those conflicts tend to fail. While multi-ethnic states have struggled to devise political solutions for ethnic conflict, they have largely ignored the role that legal processes might play in resolving ethnic discord. But at certain crucial moments in the development of ethnic conflicts, legal processes such as mediation, adjudication, and constitutional interpretation might effectively address these disputes.

This article explores …

Models Wanted: The Search For An Effective Response To Human Trafficking, Elizabeth M. Bruch

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Etat Des Lieux Des Droits De L’Homme, Du Droit International Humanitaire Et Du Droit International Pénal Face Aux Requêtes En «Réparation» Des Grands Crimes De L’Histoire: Bilan Prospectif (In French), Bartram Brown

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Barely Borders: Issues Of International Law, Bartram Brown

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Beware Of Lawyers Bearing Gifts:A Critical Evaluation Of The Proposals On Fundamental Rights In The Draft Constitutional Treaty., Stephen Carruthers

Articles

The article assesses how far the provisions on fundamental rights contained in the draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe advance the objectives of promotion of the rule of law, transparency, a balanced relationship between the Union and national legal orders, and effective judicial redress. Argues that while the proposed accession of the Union to the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 and incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 2000, notwithstanding justiciability problems, deserve support, the retention of the general principles of law as a source of fundamental rights and the suggested amendments to the …

When Her Feet Touch The Ground: Conflict Between The Roma Familistic Custom Of Arranged Juvenile Marriage And Enforcement Of International Human Rights Treaties, Jeff Timmerman

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Outsourcing Refugee Protection Responsibilities: The Second Life Of An Unconscionable Idea, Ronald C. Smith

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Sexual Slavery And The International Criminal Court: Advancing International Law, Valerie Oosterveld

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article explores the advancement of the international crime of sexual slavery, from its initial inclusion in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court through further development in the delineation of the ICC's Elements of Crime document. This Article begins with a detailed exploration of the negotiation process that led to the inclusion of the crime of sexual slavery in the Rome Statute. The first Section describes the decision to include both sexual slavery and enforced prostitution as crimes, as well as the debate on listing sexual slavery as a crime separate from that of enslavement. Next, the Section …

The Reality Of Private Rights, Duties, And Participation In The International Legal Process, Jordan J. Praust

Michigan Journal of International Law

In a realistic and descriptive sense, international law is a complex and dynamic legal process profoundly interconnected with regional and domestic legal processes throughout the globe. There are no single sources or evidences of international law; no single set of participants; and no single arenas or institutional arrangements for the creation, invocation, application, change or termination of such law. Like all human law, it is full of human choice and rich in individual and group participation and inter-affectation. Awareness of this reality can have significant consequences with respect to identification of international legal norms, realistic meaning or content, remedies, and …

Of Federalism, Human Rights, And The Holland Caveat: Congressional Power To Iplement Treaties, Ana Maria Merico-Stephens

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article explores whether the Rehnquist Court's federalism doctrine, as elaborated during this last decade, should or ought to extend to the domestication of discrete provisions of ratified human rights treaties. It explores this question by examining the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Covenant) and by considering the civil remedy provision of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as potential implementing legislation for the equality provisions of the Covenant. In the context of this inquiry, the discussion engages federalism, as developed by the current Court, on its own terms. That is, I do not seek here to defend it …

Indigenous People's Right To Free, Prior And Informed Consent And The World Bank's Extractive Industries Review, Fergus Mackay

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Updates From The Regional Human Rights Systems, Patricia Staible, Kristin Edison, Lilah Rosenblum

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Trivializing Torture: The Office Of Legal Counsel’S 2002 Opinion Letter And International Law Against Torture, Robert K. Goldman

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Human Rights For All Workers: The Emergence Of Protections For Unauthorized Workers In The Inter-American Human Rights System, Sarah Paoletti

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Ethnic Conflict In Plateau State: The Need To Eliminate The Indigene/Settler Dichotomy In Nigeria, Nabila Isa-Odidi

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.