International Law Commons^™

Panel Discussion - Climate Change And Economy, Richard Cunningham, David Terry, Grant Goodrich, Karlis Vasarais

Canada-United States Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Cruising The Great Lakes: A Report On The United States And Canadian Regulations For The Commercial Cruise Industry On The Great Lakes, Theodore V. Parran Iii

Canada-United States Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Balance Of Safety And Religious Freedom: Allowing Sikhs The Right To Practice Their Religion And Access Courthouses, Karamvir Dhaliwal

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Fixing The Problem Of Incompetent Defense Counsel Before The International Criminal Court, Matthew Catallo

Michigan Journal of International Law

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth-century, defense counsel arguing before international criminal tribunals provided notoriously ineffective assistance. This note examines whether defense counsel similarly fail to provide competent assistance at the International Criminal Court––and if they do so for similar reasons. In examining the ICC’s procedural and regulatory framework, this note highlights the systemic inequities at the Court that favor the prosecution and devalue the defense, thereby hindering the acquisition of competent defense counsel and promoting the retention of incompetent defense counsel.

To address these iniquities, this note promotes various administrative reforms, all of which could be implemented without …

Ungovernable Ships At The End Of Their Lives And The Response Of The Hong Kong Convention: A Critical Appraisal Of The Treaty On Ship-Breaking From The Perspective Of South Asian Ship-Breaking Nations, Ahmed, Ishtiaque

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

Ungovernable Ships at the End of their Lives and the Response of the Hong Kong Convention: A Critical Appraisal of the Treaty on Ship-breaking from the Perspective of South Asian Ship-breaking Nations

Preventing Trafficking Through New Global Governance Over Labor Migration, Janie A. Chuang

Georgia State University Law Review

This Article offers initial thoughts on the possible impacts the GCM might have on global efforts to prevent and address trafficking, focusing on the newly elevated role of the IOM in this endeavor. Based on arguments I have made elsewhere, my analysis takes as a given that a normative, rights-based approach to migrant work is necessary to prevent migrant worker exploitation and abuse from escalating into trafficking. From that perspective, the Article explores the possibility that, in advising States on GCM implementation, the IOM could take a more proactive role in advancing workers’ rights in furtherance of the longer-term goal …

Mechanisms For Consultation And Free, Prior And Informed Consent In The Negotiation Of Investment Contracts, Sam Szoke-Burke, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Investor-state contracts are regularly used in low-and middle-income countries to grant concessions for land-based and natural resource investments, such as agricultural, extractive industry, forestry, or renewable energy projects. These contracts are rarely negotiated in the presence of, or with meaningful input from, the people who risk being adversely affected by the project. This practice will usually risk violating requirements for meaningful consultation, and, where applicable, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and is particularly concerning when the investor-state contract gives the investor company rights to lands or resources over which local communities have legitimate claims.

This article explores how consultation …

Best Practices In Data Driven Development Planning In Mining Regions, Nicolas Maennling, Josefina Correa

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Strategic development planning has long been used by private and public sectors to guide actions that will lead to a determined goal in the medium- to long-term. The SDG framework has helped to create a common language of what development means, what the global objectives are by 2030, and how progress can be measured. With the world entering an era in which data is generated and used at an unprecedented scale, data and ICT systems should be used to better inform policy decision making and help evaluate progress to hold stakeholders accountable to their promises and performance. This report outlines …

Cross-Border Data Flows, The Gdpr, And Data Governance, W. Gregory Voss

Washington International Law Journal

Today, cross-border data flows are an important component of international trade and an element of digital service models. However, they are impeded by restrictions on cross-border personal data transfers and data localization legislation. This Article focuses primarily on these complexities and on the impact of the new European Union (“EU”) legislation on personal data protection—the GDPR. First, this Article introduces its discussion of these flows by placing them in their economic and geopolitical setting, including a discussion of the results of a lack of international harmonization of law in the area. In this framework, rule overlap and rival standards are …

An Inquiry Into The Scope Of Mfn Provisions In Bilateral Investment Treaties, Amit Kumar Sinha

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This article inquires into the scope of MFN treatment in Bilateral Investment Treaties. The article primarily analyzes the ways in which MFN treatment may be extended to foreign investors; this includes extending favorable treatment to a foreign investor in cases of internal/domestic measures and borrowing more favorable provisions from third-party BITs. This article attempts to shed light on the interpretation and dynamics of the use of MFN provisions for internal measures. It also delves into the rationale for borrowing provisions from third-party BITs. It further presents a critique of various tribunals’ decisions and scholarly discussions and writings that deal with …

The Right Stuff In Geospace: Using Mutual Coercion To Avoid An Inevitable Prison For Humanity, Sarah Louise Vollmer

St. Mary's Law Journal

Even though you cannot see it, catastrophe is brewing in near-Earth orbit. As a product of the Cold War, the legal regime governing geospace and beyond has presented mankind with a paradox. Though we are free to utilize space through peaceful means, the inability to appropriate space by any sovereign claim of right has triggered a modern-day tragedy of the commons, with the only restriction being the constraints of radio frequency interference. The destructive domino effect of space debris collisions threatens the invaluable communicative and scientific utility derived from satellites in geospace. International and domestic space jurisprudence encourage space debris …

Taking The State To Court: A Study Of The Baha’I Case, Reem Awny Abuzaid

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Social Contract Theory And Transitional Justice: A Philosophical Approach To A Problem Of Global Importance, Brendan Moriarty

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I seek to bring together two areas of scholarly work to see how each can inform the other: social contract theory and transitional justice. The social contract, as it exists and as it was theorized about by Rousseau, was born from the world-historic forces that spread capitalism across the globe, stirring up nationalism everywhere it went. In its wake, there was vast inequality and new legal regimes which protected the hoarded wealth of the capitalist class by enshrining the right of private property along with life and liberty. To examine the intricacies of transitional justice and its …

A Keystroke Causes A Tornado: Applying Chaos Theory To International Cyber Warfare Law, Daniel Garrie, Masha Simonova

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Cyber warfare today finds itself on the front page of the news daily. It is increasingly apparent that the cyber domain demands more guidance, with leaders opting for the deployment of cyber capabilities to bypass kinetic warfare norms. Proposed solutions abound, but none adequately address the specific features of cyber warfare that set it apart from traditional kinetic warfare. This Article argues that a new legal framework is necessary to properly address this problem, and such a doctrine should incorporate principles of chaos theory. Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics dealing with complex systems, with the most well-known example …

Constitutionalism And Africa's Agenda 2063: How To Build "The Africa We Want", John Mukum Mbaku

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 2013, Africans, under the leadership of the African Union, set out to develop a “strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years.” This new development program was expected to “accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable development.” This transformative program, called Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, was officially adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2015. The heart of this ambitious development initiative are seven aspirations, which Africans hope to achieve by the …

Electromagnetic Conflict: The Implications Of New Methods Of Warfare And The Need For International Action, Joseph M. Nielsen

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

During the Summer of 2017, American diplomats stationed in Havana, Cuba began experiencing symptoms associated with traumatic brain injuries after hearing strange noises in the night. These symptoms ranged from mere nausea to memory loss and hearing loss. While there has been no definitive conclusion as to the cause of these symptoms, the world has speculated that American diplomats were subjected to sonic warfare by an unknown enemy whose identity has remained masked by the anonymity of this type of warfare. This Note explores the implications of sonic warfare and what the international community is able to do when battling …

Kosovo's Controversial 100 Percent Tariff: An Analysis Of Its Imposition And The Issues Bleeding Into The Conflict Between Kosovo And Serbia, Ernira Mehmetaj

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

On November 6, 2018, Kosovo imposed a 10 percent tariff on products imported from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Later that month, on November 28, 2018, after Kosovo was denied membership in the International Criminal Police Organization, Kosovo increased the custom tariffs on Serbian and Bosnian goods from 10 to 100 percent. These actions resulted in a standstill of the European Union–mandated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue—a dialogue seeking to normalize the relations between the two states. Having the tumultuous history shared by Kosovo and Serbia as a backdrop, this Note analyzes the international agreements Kosovo is party to, specifically the Central European …

Comity & Calamity: Deference To The Executive And The Uncertain Future Of The Fsia, Michael Cooper

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 1976, Congress set out to remedy the haphazard and politically influenced system by which foreign states were granted sovereign immunity from United States’ courts. Its remedy was the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which explicitly put the power to determine whether a foreign state should be granted immunity from a court’s jurisdiction in the hands of the judiciary. Moreover, with some minor exceptions, the FSIA did not explicitly contemplate any involvement from the executive branch in reaching those determinations. However, given that concerns involving foreign relations inherently arise when a foreign state is sued in U.S. courts, the courts …

Making Sense Of Customary International Law, Monica Hakimi

Michigan Law Review

This Article addresses a longstanding puzzle about customary international law (CIL): How can it be, at once, so central to the practice of international law—routinely invoked and applied in a broad range of settings—and the source of such persistent confusion and derision? The centrality of CIL suggests that, for the many people who use it, it is not only comprehensible but worthwhile. They presumably use it for a reason. But then, what accounts for all the muddle and disdain?

The Article argues that the problem lies less in the everyday operation of CIL than in the conceptual baggage that is …

40 Years Later: It’S Time For U.S. Ratification Of The American Convention On Human Rights, Justin M. Loveland

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The International Claims Trade, Kathleen Claussen

Cardozo Law Review

Investments are mobile in the twenty-first century international economy. They are seldom held for their duration by a single owner from a single country. They change hands and they do so for a variety of reasons, often in the course of a dispute. But the scholarship addressing what happens when international investments and legal claims against sovereigns regarding those investments change hands appears only at the margins. The practice of buying and selling claims or claims trading is well known and institutionalized in some areas of domestic litigation. For cross-border investment disputes against sovereigns, however, many of the cases discussing …

Introduction To The Symposium On Soft And Hard Law On Business And Human Rights, Steven R. Ratner

Articles

This symposium turns to a major debate within a field of international law that has moved from the periphery to center stage in just a few decades—business and human rights, or BHR: Can and should international law's approach to the human rights impacts of business activity shift from today's mostly soft-law framework to a multilateral treaty regime? While advocates for and against such a treaty debate this point at the UN Human Rights Council and other venues, this symposium examines the problem from four theoretical perspectives. Each contribution offers insights for practitioners and scholars alike, but they suggest no easy …

Bringing Animal Protection Legislation Into Line With Its Purported Purposes: A Proposal For Equality Amongst Non-Human Animals, Jane Kotzmann, Gisela Nip

Pace Environmental Law Review

The United States has a strong history of enacting laws to protect animals from the pain and suffering inflicted by humans. Indeed, the passage of the Massachusetts’ Body of Liberties in 1641 made it the first country in the world to pass such laws. Nevertheless, contemporary animal protection laws in all jurisdictions of the United States are limited in their ability to adequately realize their primary purpose of protecting animals from unnecessary or unjustifiable pain and suffering. This is a result of limited statutory definitions of ‘animal’ and far-reaching exclusions commonly found in animal protection legislation. These exclusions frequently apply …

Nebulous Law: Using Soft Law To Give Structure To The Amorphous Rpo Industry, Kylie Mclaughlin

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Imagine looking down at your smartphone and realizing that you cannot make phone calls or access the internet. A communications satellite enabling these functions on your cellphone has just been struck by a piece of uncontrolled space debris. Now, imagine being in the aftermath of a natural disaster, and search and rescue teams do not know you and your family are missing or in distress. A satellite within the International Satellite System for Search and Rescue has just run out of fuel. Finally, imagine trains, planes, and ships remaining in their stations, gates, and ports because each has lost …

Law School News: Distinguished Research Professor: John Chung 05-24-2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Bumpy Road Of Home States’ Regulation Of Globalized Businesses—Legal And Institutional Disruptions To Supply Chain Disclosure Under The Modern Slavery Act, Shuangge Wen, Jingchen Zhao

Catholic University Law Review

In response to the paradigm shift from territorial corporations to global businesses and supply chains, states are increasingly engaging in regulating extraterritorial business activities, supply chain disclosure regulation being a primary example. Much ink has thus far spilled on the intrinsic doctrinal and conceptual aspects of this regulatory approach, with its interactions to the external regulatory and institutional environment far less considered. This article seeks to correct the scholarly imbalance by critically examining how s.54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act (MSA) – a prominent attempt among state-level initiatives designed to promote human rights protection within global supply chains – …

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: The United States, Trade Sanctions, And International Blocking Acts, Meaghan Jennison

Catholic University Law Review

When the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA,” colloquially known as the Iran Nuclear Deal) in May of 2018, that withdrawal signaled not only the United States withdrawal from that deal, of which it had been one of the chief negotiators, but also of a new level of trade engagement by the United States and the Trump Administration within the international community. European countries, in an attempt to continue existing business relationships with the Iranians, pulled an old tool from their toolbox – the blocking statute – to attempt to allow European and multinational …

The Subjects Of Spatial Statism: Reclaiming Politics And Law In International Entanglement: Afterword To The Foreword By Ran Hirschl And Ayelet Shachar, Paul Linden-Retek

Journal Articles

In their Foreword, Hirschl and Shachar challenge the supposed contemporary decline of state sovereignty and describe the enduring and expansive spatial reach of state power to counter threats to sovereign territorial control. This Afterword looks into the normative foundations of this account and its consequences for public international law and for international courts, in particular. “Spatial statism” exposes, I argue, a disjunction between the concepts of state sovereignty and popular sovereignty—and thus disrupts the normative expectation that those subject to the law are also its authors. It is this expectation that international judicial review must seek to restore. The attempt …

Bringing Rule Of Law And Fairness To The Dysfunctional World Of Sovereign Debt: A Role For Canada?, Maziar Peihani, Mark Jewett

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Restructuring sovereign debt has long proved challenging: There is no formal regime for sovereign insolvencies similar to those that that govern domestic bankruptcy and insolvency and attempts to create one by international treaty have been met with political resistance. Currently, sovereign debt restructuring is governed by the debt contracts themselves along with the background law in the jurisdiction in which the debt is issued. Sovereign immunity also protects most state assets from seizure. These ad hoc restructuring processes are plagued by unpredictability, however, and there are incentives for individual creditors to “hold out,” demanding full repayment of their claims and …

Pakootas V. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., Connlan W. Whyte

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Throughout the twentieth century, Teck Cominco Metals leaked metal pollutants into the Upper Columbia River that ultimately entered the United States and the Colville Indian Reservation. In 2004, after almost a decade of working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Colville Tribes initiated a citizen suit under CERCLA against Teck for damaging the ecosystem of the Upper Columbia River. In 2018, the Ninth Circuit affirmed judgment against Teck for recovery costs and attorney’s fees.