International Law Commons^™

Arming The Conflict: United States’ Complicity In Mexico’S War On Drugs, Jesus Oliveros

Pace International Law Review

Mexico’s ongoing human rights crisis during the war on drugs has been driven not only by domestic factors, such as political corruption and organized crime, but also by decades of United States (U.S.) policy and strategy. The U.S. has played a central role in shaping the policy framework governing the drug war, often unilaterally, while overlooking significant drivers of the crisis within its own control. Through sustained support for militarized strategies and permissive domestic firearm regulations, the U.S. has exercised significant influence over the conditions under which violence and human rights abuses have proliferated in Mexico. Against this backdrop, this …

Non-State Actors And The Due Diligence Obligation To Protect Healthcare Facilities In Cyberspace: Is The World Prepared For The Next Pandemic?, Dr. Ardit Memeti

Pace International Law Review

This article presents a novel approach by developing a lex specialis due diligence framework based on the elements identified in the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change, which by analogy, establishes sector-specific elements to protect healthcare facilities from cyberattacks by Non-State Actors (NSAs). Cyberattacks by NSAs during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks, including the disruption of essential healthcare services and hindrance of positive obligations to ensure the rights to health, life, and privacy, among others. Existing instruments, including the Budapest Convention, the Tallinn Manuals, and the Oxford Statements, offer an important but incomplete framework. Meanwhile, the recent UN Convention …

Do The Members Of The Un Security Council Have An Absolute Right To Veto A Un Security Council Resolution?, Asif H. Qureshi

Pace International Law Review

The focus of this article is the exercise of the UN Security Council “veto.” This is done through an examination of the question whether members of the UN Security Council have an absolute right to veto? The author comes to this query against the background of different arguments that have been proffered thus far in the recent contemporary discourse on the issue and then presenting the author’s findings on this, including suggesting a strategic way of uncovering an authoritative answer to this vexed question that has thwarted the work of the UN Security Council in times of international crisis.

Manual Alignment—A Comparison Of The Law Of Armed Conflict Manuals Of The United States And Its Allies: How Reading Manuals Helps Military Lawyers Speak The Same Language When Planning Combined Operations, Jacob M. Fisch

Pace International Law Review

This article helps military lawyers work with allies.  By comparing the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) Manuals printed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia, this article identifies consequential differences in the interpretation of LOAC between these five countries.  The article discusses four such differences: definitions of foundational principles, incursion into a neutral or nonparticipating State during a conflict, the role of doubt in making targeting decisions, and the degree of protection accorded to the environment from the effects of attacks.  While these differences point to possible challenges for cooperation between the United States and its …

Shrinking Sovereignty: By Land, Sea, And…Air?, Cynthia R. Harris

Pace Environmental Law Review

Atlantis was a mythical State destroyed by the gods as an object lesson to humanity. The complete destruction of a State, as a political entity, does have precedent in historical reality. The complete and permanent loss of a State’s physical territory, however, is a problem humanity has never faced—until now. Today, climate change-driven sea level rise is bringing the future sovereign status of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in question. A growing body of legal scholarship argues for maintaining these States’ maritime jurisdictions but has not yet extended the question skyward to SIDS’ jurisdiction over airspace.

This Article addresses that …

This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us, Edward Mendoza

Pace International Law Review

The beautiful city of Barcelona has an estimated population of 5.7 million. Located in the north-eastern tip of Spain, the city boasts a vibrant culture and historic past that entices people from all over the world to visit. One could spend the morning visiting the stunning La Sagrada Familia church that towers 172.5 meters (566 feet) above the ground, following that, they could cool off by swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, and finally they could finish their day by visiting the historic Spotify Camp Nou and support Barcelona FC (soccer team) along with 99,354 loyal fans. Despite these enticing tourist …

The Human Rights Fulcrum: Using Environmental Rights As Leverage For Change, Rebecca Bratspies

Pace International Law Review

“Give me a lever long enough and a firm place on which to stand and I will move the earth." That is how Archimedes famously described the power of levers and the possibility they create for moving something that otherwise seems immovable. His point was that with the use of distance, a fulcrum, and a lever, nothing is really immovable. This same characterization has been applied to human rights law, and its attempts to disrupt patterns of structural dispossession, discrimination and oppression that bedevil human society. Indeed, the metaphor that human rights are a lever for change is relatively common …

The (Non-) Protection Of Indigenous Rights In Isds, Dr. Kevin W. Gray

Pace International Law Review

International investment law largely flows from the protections afforded foreign investors under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties.  Until recently, few of these treaties required investors to comply with human rights provisions in national constitutions or in international law, or preserved the ability of states to regulate to protect constitutional rights.  As a result, critics have argued, investor-state dispute settlement fails to protect human rights or preserve the ability of states to regulate in the public interest, and that arbitral awards rarely consider, let alone give effect to, rules of human rights.

This article considers the question of how Indigenous rights, …

Decoding Chinese Law In U.S. Courts: The Logic Of Extra-Legality, Tian Xie

Pace International Law Review

U.S. courts and regulators often face challenges in interpreting Chinese law, as actual regulatory practices frequently diverge from formal legal provisions. This article argues that a strictly formalist approach that relies solely on legal text is inadequate. Instead, U.S. authorities should adopt an extra-legality framework, which considers how Chinese law functions to reinforce political authority while maintaining a legal façade. The article further illustrates the application of this approach through a case study of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), which pro- vides a more nuanced and realistic understanding of Chinese regulatory practices surrounding U.S. access to audit work …

Despair Amongst Brazil’S Youth: Does The Hague Convention On International Child Abduction Need More Bite?, Ishani Sanyal

Pace International Law Review

For decades, international child abduction by one parent from the legal custody of the other has been a persistent issue which continues to be overlooked by international organizations and countries from around the world. While the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has helped to initiate certain progress in addressing acts of international child abduction by parents, signatory states including Brazil have failed to enforce rulings and provisions of the convention. This article addresses how the convention does not account for structural inadequacies of Brazilian court systems which prevent thorough enforcement of international custody and visitation …

“Fleeing The Climate: The Need For Protection Of Climate Refugees In The Light Of International Law”, Carina Dietmayer

Pace International Law Review

Climate change, which is already making itself felt, poses challenges for international law and the international community. Climate change and its consequences will lead to (involuntary) human mobility and affect many people. This forced migration is not yet specifically addressed by international law. This article addresses climate-induced migration and the protection of climate refugees through international refugee and migration law, international human rights law, international environmental law, climate change law and international disaster law. It analyzes how and, above all, why climate refugees are protected. The core thesis of the article is the justification of a need for protection of …

Conserving Conservation Servitudes: The Role Of The Prior Public Use Doctrine In Protecting Privately Conserved Land In The United States And Australia, Olivia Clausen

Pace International Law Review

Both the United States and Australia would benefit from more conservation of private land, and conservation servitudes can help both countries achieve this. However, in the United States and Australia, the power of eminent domain is a threat to the perpetuity of conservation servitudes. The prior public use doctrine, a common law doctrine in the United States arising out of the public trust doctrine, could limit eminent domain in these cases and provide protection to conservation servitudes. This doctrine states that land devoted to one public use (such as conservation) may not be condemned for another inconsistent public use unless …

Rightly Dividing Jus Ad Bellum And Jus In Bello In The Israel/Hamas War, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Remembering Eric E. Bergsten, Jay Carlisle

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Memories Of Dr. Eric Bergsten From The 2004 International Program, Christopher Boies

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tribute To Eric Bergsten From Louise Barrington, Chair, Vis East Moot Foundation, Louise Barrington

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unsafe At Any Speed: "Safe Third Country Agreements" - Offshoring And Eroding Legal Protections Owed To Refugees And Asylum Seekers, Thomas Michael Mcdonnell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this Article analyzes third country agreements and refugee transfer practices of the United States and the European Union. Part II demonstrates that, under international law, all countries are obligated to protect refugees and are prohibited from directly or indirectly sending them to a country where there is a substantial basis for believing that their life or freedom would be threatened. Part II will likewise show that the notion of "safe third country" transfer agreements and practices is often a fallacy, an oxymoron. Instead of keeping refugees safe, such agreements and practices seriously erode the fundamental non-refoulment obligation …

Toward A Global Consensus On The "S" In Esg: Strengthening Human Rights And Corporate Accountability Through Global Governance, Emma O'Connor

Pace International Law Review

This paper argues that the international community, led by the United Nations, must develop a coherent global framework for the “S” in Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) to strengthen corporate accountability and human rights protections. While environmental metrics in ESG have gained global traction, the social pillar remains fragmented, inconsistently defined, and weakly enforced, opening the door to impact washing, where companies misrepresent or exaggerate their positive social impact. Drawing from international, regional, and domestic case studies, this paper illustrates how this incoherence leads to economic, ethical, and operational harms for businesses and the global community. It argues that public governance …

Prioritizing Peace: Elevating Women Influencers In Global Governance, Stacy H. Runia

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Denied: Forced Evictions And Housing Injustice In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Francesco Seatzu

Pace International Law Review

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) grapples with a pervasive and alarming phenomenon of forced evictions orchestrated by multinational corporations operating within its cobalt and copper mining sites. This comprehensive inquiry, undertaken collaboratively by Amnesty International and the DRC-based Initiative for Good Governance and Human Rights, meticulously scrutinizes the multifaceted human rights implications emanating from four mining projects situated in the Kolwezi region of the DRC. The investigative report documents a troubling pattern of systematic disregard for the fundamental rights and dignity of affected populations, compounded by a stark failure on the part of mining operators to adhere to extant …

Forced Adoptions Of Ukrainian Children From An International Human Rights And Humanitarian Law Perspective, Ines Gillich

Pace International Law Review

The article analyzes the legality of the Russian practice of forced adoptions of Ukrainian children from an international human rights and humanitarian law perspective. It argues that while the relocation of children from conflict zones to safe areas is generally lawful under international law, these measures must only be temporary, and persons abducted must be returned as soon as possible. This article also argues that human rights obligations must be read in the light of international humanitarian law, which is the lex specialis applicable in armed conflicts. The article concludes that any permanent measures against the will of the children …

State Responsibility For Disrupting Earth’S Climate System: Anticipating The Icj Advisory Opinion, Natalia Urzola, Nicholas A. Robinson, Léonore Gaboardi Carandell, Daye Chen, Bryce Clark, Madison Routledge Pettus

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver an advisory opinion on the legal obligations of nations with respect to the mounting damage caused by climate change. This ruling will definitively restate applicable international law, provide a basis for new global policy decisions within the U.N. General Assembly, and provide a predicate for new lawsuits in national courts. To be effective, remedies for breaching a government's duties to avert climate change will require a “collective remedy,” not merely financial compensation. This ruling was sought by law students from the South Pacific and elsewhere; this Article, also by young …

Beyond Reform: Food Sovereignty And The Future Of Global Food Systems, Smita Narula

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

We live in a deeply destructive food system, and the need for alternatives is clear. Yet state and corporate actors, beholden to an extractive, industrial model of food production, continue to push for incremental reforms instead of transformative action. In response, food sovereignty movements are charting a normative path in international human rights law to secure peasants' rights and promote more sustainable and just alternatives to our industrial food system. Against the backdrop of the political economy of industrial agriculture, this Article compares mainstream approaches to food systems reform with transformative alternatives rooted in food sovereignty. It explores two key …

They “Eyeballed” The River And Built The Dam: Lessons From The Hidrotambo Dam Flood Disaster To Guide Improvements In Environmental Impact Assessment Law In Ecuador, Rachel E. Conrad

Pace International Law Review

Ecuador is a trailblazer in human and environmental rights. The country enshrined in its 2008 Constitution the human right to water and the right to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment. It was also the first country in the world to recognize nature as a subject of rights in and of itself. However, the Ecuadorian legislature has failed to fully recognize these rights in the country’s civil law codes. This article explores the shortcomings of Ecuadorian law on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and proposes modifications to better ensure the protection of international and constitutional human and nature’s rights …

The Right To Have Rights Or The Right To Have Life? An Assessment Of Proactive Citizenship-Stripping To Fulfill The State Duty Of Non-Refoulment, Omar Khoury

Pace International Law Review

Especially since the collapse of the Islamic State Caliphate in 2019, a fierce debate has arisen in international legal policy and within domestic governments about what to do with citizens who have committed acts of terror abroad. While repatriation and extradition are possible solutions, many States have refused to repatriate some citizens back and have revoked their nationalities such that those individuals are unable to return to their citizenship-country to face prosecution and/or punishment. Citizenship-stripping, however, may not always be legal. But if a State contends instead that it must deprive the citizen of nationality because, in being repatriated back …

International Criminal Law And The Role Of Narrative In The War In Ukraine, Jonathan Hafetz

Pace International Law Review

This article examines the multiple ways that international criminal law (ICL)—the body of international law that seeks to impose criminal responsibility on individuals for international crimes—has impacted the conflict in Ukraine. Most violations remain unpunished, and ICL’s legal accountability mechanisms continue to face significant obstacles. But even absent prosecutions and trials, which remain contingent on an array of shifting factors, ICL has affected the Ukraine conflict in multiple ways.

The article focuses on how ICL has helped shape narratives about the war in Ukraine. In doing so, the article cautions against a strict law/politics dichotomy and instead focuses on the …

A Global Puzzle: Integrating Iot Jurisprudential Approaches, Colin Savino

Pace International Law Review

While devices in the Internet of Things (hereinafter “IoT”) such as smart appliances, smart watches, and pacemakers are intended to make life easier and safer, they sometimes complicate users’ lives with system failures and expose them to new risks instead. Users suffer the risks stemming from hastily developed cybersecurity in IoT devices, sometimes with serious consequences and without recourse against manufacturers or cybercriminals. Cybercriminals’ ability to exploit gaps in cybersecurity from anywhere makes the IoT especially risk-prone to transnational crime and may make tort claims against multinational manufacturers tenuous on issues of causation and actual harm suffered. Most problematically, the …

40 Years After The Moratorium On Commercial Whaling: Assessing The Competence Of The International Whaling Commission To Confront Critical Threats To Cetaceans, Chris Wold

Pace International Law Review

With Japan’s withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), no member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) hunts whales commercially except by objection or reservation, thus intensifying the debate over what the IWC should do and what it may do. For decades, some IWC members have questioned the mandate of the IWC to manage small cetaceans, regulate whaling in coastal State exclusive economic zones, and make recommendations concerning entanglement, bycatch, and other threats to whale conservation. An analysis of the ordinary meaning of the ICRW and the practice of the IWC shows that the IWC has …

Law And Social Justice: Operationalizing Stakeholder Theory In Governmental Regulations And Corporate Decision-Making For Social And Economic Sustainability, Resilience, And Democracy, Daniel Herron, Laura Powell

Pace International Law Review

It is time to shed the twentieth century capitalistic ways of shareholder maximization. It is time to fashion a “new” capitalism which retains the competitive dynamic but redefines its force to create a more socially just society. That is a huge order, to say the least. But, there is a path to that end. The 2019 U.S. Business Roundtable’s announcement, the creation of the Benefit Corporation, and the United Kingdom’s 2006 Companies Act began that process. These developments are enabling the beginning of the redefining of one of the bedrocks of capitalism: fiduciary obligation. The methodology of these developments is …

The Teetotalling Winebibber: A Case Study For The International Sale Of Goods, Stephen M. Shrewsbury

Pace International Law Review

Case studies are very effective pedagogical tools available to business and legal educators. Hypothetical fact patterns provide instructors an additional advantage of being able to modify facts to target particular learning goals for students. This article presents a substantial case study and teaching notes for a hypothetical international sale of goods transaction. The facts presented will necessitate student research and examination of a wide range of legal issues related to contract negotiation and interpretation, shipping and related difficulties that might arise during contract execution, and issues related to disputes over the quality of goods. Questions in the study require students …