International Law Commons^™

Revolutionizing Corporate Accountability: The La Oroya Case And The Right To A Healthy Environment In The Inter-American System, Teresa Jacques Valenzuela

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

La Oroya v. Perú marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Business and Human Rights and the Right to a Healthy Environment (R2HE) under the Inter-American legal framework. This paper examines the groundbreaking judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which established new standards for state responsibility in regulating and supervising corporate activities to prevent environmental harm. By integrating principles of environmental law with human rights obligations, the case highlights the transformative potential of judicial action in addressing corporate accountability. While the judgment sets a precedent for advancing corporate responsibility, it exposes enduring challenges, including jurisdictional limitations, corporate …

Censorship And Human Rights Violations: The Suppression Of Freedom Of Expression, Press, And Assembly In Cuba, Nicaragua, And Venezuela, Elisabell Laura Velázquez

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

As the days, months, and years go by, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela continue to violate the fundamental human rights of their citizens. Despite worldwide technological advancements and increased access to the digital world, these regimes continuously monitor and censor their citizens, depriving them of the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, press, and assembly. This article explores how censorship can represent a systemic violation of human rights. This article argues that strengthening cooperation between different international organizations is necessary because censorship in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela is a human rights crisis that impacts civil society. Furthermore, this article explains the …

The Right Of Nature: Lessons From Panama For Mangrove Protection In Miami, Jayson Fry

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Mangrove ecosystems are indispensable to climate resilience, yet traditional environmental governance has repeatedly failed to prevent their decline. This Note employs a comparative framework to examine Panama and Miami, two rapidly developing coastal regions facing parallel pressures of urbanization and sea-level rise, to demonstrate that mangrove loss persists not because law is absent, but because existing frameworks structurally authorize regulated degradation. Panama’s 2022 Rights of Nature Law, which grants ecosystems legal personhood and enforceable rights, represents a departure from anthropocentric environmental regulation. Its early judicial application in the Cobré Panamá mine case shows how rights-based protections can override extractive economic …

Who Will Hear My Case?: The Backdrop Of Hameed V. Canada And Its Impact On Canada’S Judicial Vacancy Crisis, Adrian T. Peraza

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling in R v. Jordan, requiring prosecutors to try their case within eighteen months in provincial courts and thirty months in the superior courts. Through its holding, the Court sought to protect a defendant’s right to be tried within a reasonable time, a privilege enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, at the time of the decision, the Canadian judicial system faced a vacancy crisis. A total of forty-three judicial vacancies existed in the federal courts, a figure that would later rise to eighty-six in August 2023. …

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond Judicial Dialogue: Reference To Domestic Law By The Inter–American Court Of Human Rights, Soledad Bertelsen

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The recent freeze of U.S. funding to the Inter–American Commission on Human Rights serves as a reminder of how fragile the Inter–American System of Human Rights truly is. The effectiveness of the Inter–American institutions largely depends on their legitimacy in the eyes of the member states. This article argues how the legitimacy of the Inter–American Court can be enhanced by the language used in its judgments. The paper focuses on how references to domestic law in the case–law of the Inter–American Court can persuade states to comply with its decisions. Citations transcend the much–discussed judicial dialogue since they also reference …

The Times They May Be A–Changin’: A Look Into Cuba’S Future For Property Rights And Restitution Through 3 Lenses, Patrick M. Denny

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro took power and instituted a new regime that formed itself into a communist stronghold of the global south. With this new government came curtailment of private property rights, effectuated in government confiscation and limitation in private ownership opportunity. As many Cubans and foreign persons/entities had their residential, rural/agricultural, and commercial/industrial property confiscated, demands for restitution over the years has grown, particularly through US–led efforts. As Cuba has begun to soften to the idea of private property, as evidenced in its new 2019 Constitution, this Note seeks to analyze how property rights in Cuba …

Constitutional Law On Abortion In Latin America And The Caribbean: A Regional Consensus Towards An International Custom Or A Peremptory Norm Of Jus Cogens?, Ligia Castaldi

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The Inter–American Court of Human Rights recently declared the existence of a jus cogens right to a healthy environment: could it lawfully reach the same conclusion regarding a right to abortion? This paper examines constitutional law and constitutional jurisprudence on abortion in Latin American and Caribbean countries to determine whether a regional consensus exists on abortion rights in the region. The paper looks at landmark abortion decisions favoring abortion rights in Colombia and Mexico, as well as broad abortion decriminalization through statutory reform in Argentina, Uruguay, Haiti and Cuba. The paper also looks at prenatal right to life protections in …

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pretrial Decision-Making In Brazil Under Inter-American Human Rights Law, Thiago Nascimento Dos Reis

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

In recent decades, pretrial detention has been a key contributor to Brazil’s mass incarceration. This is true, despite domestic and international norms limiting pretrial detention to exceptional circumstances and mounting evidence linking it to worse outcomes for arrestees in their criminal proceedings and post-release life prospects. As a longitudinal multivariate pretrial research in Brazil, this Article investigates the key mechanisms and factors that explain pretrial detention in relation to inter-American human rights standards. This Article conducts a quantitative case study of the first one hundred days of detention for all 2,158 non-confidential flagrant arrests in the first eight months of …

Single-Owner Sociedades Within The Corporate Landscape Of Latin America, Nicolás José Muñiz Arias

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The concept of a sociedad in Latin America has undergone profound changes throughout this century. Following the example set by the French Code de commerce of 1807, the sociedad was initially viewed as a contractual arrangement between two or more partners who make contributions to a business for purposes of sharing in the resulting profit or loss, wherein a plurality of partners was an intrinsic component. Nonetheless, the notion of a sociedad has evolved to entail the establishment of a separate legal entity, making the plurality of partners requirement increasingly obsolete for its formation and/or operation.

This Article describes the …

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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America’S Footnote: International Intervention Required To Decolonize Guam, Katherine Murray

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Conozco A Ninguna Miranda Y Quiero Mi Abogado: The Constitutional Inadequacies Of Translated “Miranda Cards” In Police Interrogations, Sean Werkheiser

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article explores the challenges and complexities surrounding the application of the Miranda warning in the United States and specifically addresses its impact on non– English–speaking immigrants. While many Americans are familiar with these rights, recent immigrants may not fully understand them, particularly if they come from countries that do not offer equivalent legal protections. This article performs a comparative analysis of the right to silence and counsel in Cuba, Haiti, and Colombia—three countries with the largest immigrant populations in Miami, FL. Furthermore, this article examines how Miami-Dade Police address the linguistic barriers inherent in translated “Miranda Cards,” and argues …

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

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Courthouse Doors Are Closed To Foreign Citizens For International Law Torts Committed By American Corporations, Gisell Landrian

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This Note examines the intersection of corporate accountability, human rights violations, and legal recourse for victims of child slavery in the cocoa industry inspired by the Court’s decision Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe. This decision further limited the scope of the Alien Tort Statute, hindering the plaintiffs’ quest for justice for international human rights violations. The Note analyzes the decision in Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe through (1) an examination of the Court’s limitations on the Alien Tort Statute and (2) an analysis of the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision in Nevsun.

History Of Mexico’S Tax Regime: A Haphazard Journey, Nicolás José Muñiz Arias

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Mexico’s tax regime can best be described as haphazard and uncoordinated, as indirect levies were often assessed to satisfy short-term needs, irrespective of the economic capacity to pay of the local population. When compared to other members of the OECD, Mexico reports a relatively low tax-to-GDP ratio. This may be attributable to the vast presence of small to medium size companies conducting business in the informal market, the comparatively minor percentage of individuals and companies that regularly pay tax, and proliferation of tax benefits historically enjoyed by the wealthy.

This Article covers the more salient features of Mexican tax legislation …

Puerto Rico: The Island Of Infringement? An Analysis Of The Intersectionality Of Eleventh Amendment Sovereign Immunity And Federal False Endorsement Claims, Robert Hilton

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This Note delves into the complex legal landscape of Puerto Rico’s application of sovereign immunity in the context of federal false endorsement claims, focusing particularly on the recent case involving the unauthorized use of Hall of Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente’s name and likeness. It critically examines the intersectionality of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity with the Lanham Act’s Section 43(a), highlighting the challenges faced in enforcing intellectual property rights within unincorporated territories of the United States.

The analysis begins by exploring the historical basis of sovereign immunity and its evolution from common law to the intricacies of the Eleventh Amendment. …

The Detention Of Immigration Policy: How States Are Commandeering Dhs Enforcement Guidelines, Brianna Riguera

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security issued immigration guidelines that de-emphasized detention and removal of non-citizens who, aside from being undocumented, are otherwise contributing members of communities across the United States. However, Arizona, Montana, Ohio, Texas, and Louisiana challenged these guidelines, launching a nuanced legal dispute that concerned states standing under Article III, prosecutorial discretion, and nationwide preliminary injunctions. In United States v. Texas, the Court ruled 8-1 that the states lacked standing and reversed the Fifth Circuit’s nationwide injunction, but the majority opinion failed to address the other legal issues that are pressing on a rife debate about …

The Oberlin Saga: Integrating North America’S Pipeline System And Potential Impacts On Hydrogen, Samuel Stephens

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This Article explores how the D.C. Circuit’s decision in City of Oberlin, Ohio v. FERC (2022) (Oberlin II) will impact future natural gas pipelines and potentially even future hydrogen infrastructure. While the decision reinforced support for integrating North American natural gas infrastructure, given uncertainties in how the United States will regulate the emerging hydrogen industry, there is a chance that the decision could be more expansive than what initially meets the eye. By continuing down the path of supporting North American energy integration, Congress, federal courts, and administrative agencies will help prepare the United States for an uncertain energy future. …

Shareholders’ Agreements In Public Corporations In Chile: What Are We Missing Out?, Gonzalo Islas, Osvaldo Lagos, Iván Cerda

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Shareholders’ agreements are quite common in many jurisdictions. Theory and empirical evidence suggest that they may have a positive or a negative impact on corporate governance structures depending on companies’ characteristics and on the goals that these contracts pursue. Shareholders’ agreements may be used as Control Enhancement Mechanisms (CEM) allowing controllers to circumvent rules that favor minority investors. However, comparing to other CEM, in many countries information regarding them is scarce. Is it necessary that shareholders’ agreements in public corporations be fully informed?

We examine the case of Chile (a country that only requires to inform that a shareholder agreement …

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 …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Masthead

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.