International Law Commons^™

Criminal Law In A World Of States, Ryan Liss

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent decades, a new school of criminal law theory has emerged. Its proponents reject the traditional story that criminal law ought to be justified on either retributivist or utilitarian grounds alone. Instead, they argue that justifications for criminal law must be rooted in a broader political theory of the state’s authority. While this political theory turn is becoming increasingly dominant in the literature, it gives rise to two significant challenges that scholars have thus far failed to recognize. These challenges emerge when we turn our attention from an internal, domestic view of the state to the world beyond its …

Interdisciplinary Perspectives On Global Labor Governance: Organizing, Legal Mobilization And Decolonization, Chaumtoli Huq

Michigan Journal of International Law

Labor movements around the world have explored various forms of global labor governance mechanisms to hold multinational companies accountable for ensuring workers’ and human rights throughout their supply chains. This article examines H&M’s Global Framework Agreement (H&M GFA) and its implementation in three Asian producing countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India to develop some insights on global labor governance. H&M commits to foster trade union and labor rights but is not legally obligated to take steps to actualize those rights. The article contextualizes and signify GFAs importance within international human rights and labor law by referring to business and human rights …

The Consent-Based Problems Surrounding The Persistent Objector Doctrine, Moisés Montiel Mogollón

Michigan Journal of International Law

Most analyses of the persistent objector doctrine seem to omit the impact that its application has on the general requirement of consent as a cornerstone of the international legal order, and as an unavoidable requisite in the formation of rules of customary international law. The present work holds that the persistent objector rule not only undermines the consensual nature of obligations in international law, but also generates issues of normative authority, dubious attribution of meaning to silence, temporal determination, and with self-determination and equality. It concludes that the doctrine, furthermore, lacks practice and opinio juris, meaning that its validity …

The Global Practice Of Systematic Enforced Disappearances Of Children In International Law: Strategies For Preventing Future Occurrences And Solving Past Cases, Jeremy J. Sarkin, Elisenda Calvet Martinez

Catholic University Law Review

The aim of this article is to first investigate and understand the widespread and systematic practice of enforced disappearances against children around the world, with a key purpose being to show that it is a regular occurrence. The article reviews the systematic disappearances of children in their historical context, beginning from the Second World War. A variety of country examples –some historical and some contemporary –are discussed to indicate the widespread nature of the practice. The variety of cases is used to understand why states participate in such practices and why children specifically are targeted as victims of enforced disappearances. …

Climate Action Needs Investment Governance, Not Investment Protection And Arbitration, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

A response by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment to the OECD Public Consultation on Investment Treaties and Climate Change.

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) — a joint research center of Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute at Columbia University — explores elements of the international investment legal framework, including the impact of investment treaties, investor–state dispute settlement, and home and host government policies governing inward and outward investment, among many other issues.

New Producer Contract Terms And Uncertainty: Lessons From The Recent Past, Patrick R.P. Heller, Perrine Toledano, David Mihalyi, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The petroleum industry is volatile, and governments in “new producer” countries have operated at a significant information disadvantage when negotiating with international oil companies. This challenge is growing today; new producer countries face intensifying questions around whether to offer fiscal incentives to maintain investment in the face of 1) the pandemic-induced volatility in oil prices and 2) long-term questions about the future of the industry in the face of the climate crisis and the global energy transition.

This confluence of short-term and long-term uncertainty is prompting a reexamination of the narrative that once took hold in many new producer countries. …

Tariffs And Threats In Us Trade Policy: Debunking The Myth Of "Global Reset", Julien Chaisse, Debashis Chakraborty

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In June 2020, the United States pushed for a "reset"of tariffs at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This move was heralded as necessary for the United States to level the uneven playing field caused by "high bound tariff rates." Ordinarily, the United States perceives trade remedies as a defensive measure. However, in this context, the United States seems to be preemptively acting against any misapplied, anti-dumping duties that it may face. For this reason, a global reset of tariffs will likely find support. It can be counterproductive for the new US administration to pursue such a strategy. If realized, it …

Sovereignty 2.0, Anupam Chander, Haochen Sun

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Digital sovereignty-the exercise of control over the internet-is the ambition of the world's leaders, from Australia to Zimbabwe, seen as a bulwark against both foreign states and foreign corporations. Governments have resoundingly answered first-generation internet law questions of who, if anyone, should regulate the internet. The answer: they all will. Governments now confront second-generation questions--not whether, but how to regulate the internet. This Article argues that digital sovereignty is simultaneously a necessary incident of democratic governance and democracy's dreaded antagonist. As international law scholar Louis Henkin taught, sovereignty can insulate a government's worst ills from foreign intrusion. Assertions of digital …

Cross-Examination Of Witnesses In Chinese Criminal Courts: Theoretical Debates, Practical Barriers, And Potential Solutions, Zhiyuan Guo

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Questioning witnesses is essential for both fact-finding and ensuring the defendant's right to confrontation in criminal trials. Part I introduces the recently released judicial interpretation on the Application of Criminal Procedure Law by China's Supreme Court as a background for discussion of this Article. In Part II, the author sets the stage by arguing that resolution of questions concerning examination and cross-examination of witnesses is essential to the effective achievement of China's trial-centered criminal procedure law reform. In Part III, a historical review is given of the academic debate on the questioning of witnesses in Chinese criminal courts. Part IV …

Criminal Justice Is Local: Why States Disregard Universal Jurisdiction For Human Rights Abuses, Jeremy A. Rabkin, Craig S. Lerner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A German court recently convicted a minor Syrian official of abuses committed in Syria's civil war. The case was announced with fanfare but has since stirred no interest. Nor should this be surprising. The world has been here before. There was intense excitement in 1998, when British authorities arrested Augusto Pinochet, the former president of Chile, for human rights abuses committed in Chile. It was taken at the time as vindicating the doctrine that the worst human rights abuses fall under "universal jurisdiction," allowing any state to prosecute, even for crimes against foreign nationals on foreign territory. As generally acknowledged …

This Content Is Unavailable In Your Geographic Region: The United States' And The European Union's Implementation Of Anti-Circumvention Measures, Kyle Berry

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Recently, people streaming movies and TV shows have begun to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access content that streaming services restrict to certain geographic regions. Because of the ambiguity in international law and the implementation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, domestic law fails to offer streaming services a recourse to sue foreign VPN users. The WIPO Copyright Treaty established an anti-circumvention provision that would seem to apply to using VPNs to stream from other countries. But because of the provision's ambiguity, many of the WIPO Copyright Treaty member countries have adopted different standards. This problem …

Nonparty Jurisdiction, Aaron D. Simowitz, Linda J. Silberman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Supreme Court's recent decisions on personal jurisdiction, including its 2021 decision in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, have all focused on the adjudication of plenary claims. In seven years, the Court has decided six major cases on personal jurisdiction in that context. However, these precedents also appear to guide lower courts in areas outside the traditional focus of personal jurisdiction doctrine but where personal jurisdiction is nonetheless necessary. For example, a court must have personal jurisdiction over a nonparty witness in order to compel the witness to testify or to produce documents. A court must …

Money Finds A Way: Increasing Aml Regulation Garners Diminishing Returns And Increases Demand For Dark Financing, Jacquelyn B. Lewis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The cost of anti-money laundering regulations has grown to many billions of dollars, and countries worldwide are increasingly complying with international standards for financial regulation. Yet, the interception rate for criminal proceeds remains under 1 percent. Banks in the United States, United Kingdom, and France continue to engage in unsafe practices, undeterred by legal penalties. Recent US legislation will narrow, but not eliminate, regulatory gaps. The cost of regulation has become so great that banks accept litigation as a cost of doing business or reduce legal exposure by ending relationships in areas of perceived high risk for money laundering; this …

Mapping Sustainable Development In Investment Treaties: An Analysis Of Asean States' Practice, Mark Mclaughlin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The interaction between sustainable development and international investment treaties is of growing concern. Could investment protection stymie health regulation? Will States be sued for introducing measures to tackle climate change? A growing body of sustainability-related case law is evidence that arbitral tribunals balance investment obligations against States’ ability to regulate for national security, health, the environment, labour rights, transparency, and corporate social responsibility. Against this background, this paper maps sustainable development issues in 371 bilateral investment treaties (hereinafter “BITs”) concluded by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) States. It finds that only 26% of these treaties make any reference …

An Ngo Input For The Special Rapporteur For The Human Rights Of Migrants To The Office Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights Report On Human Rights Violations At International Borders: Trends, Prevention, And Accountability, Katherine Kaufka Walts, Sarah J. Diaz, Abigail Mitchell

Center for the Human Rights of Children

The Center for the Human Rights of Children, in collaboration with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (“Young Center”) submits this input in response to the call for submissions made by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to inform the forthcoming report to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council regarding the United States’ current border management policies that aim to prevent migration atthe southern border. This input will focus on United States’ push back methods, namely the recently reimplemented Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) otherwise known as “Remain …

Is Popia Bad Business For South Africa? Comparing The Gdpr To Popia And Analyzing Popia’S Impact On Businesses In South Africa, Brea Jones

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

The Road To Independence: Historical Background, Legality, And Legitimacy Of The Proposed Secession Of The Bosnian Serbs From Bosnia And Herzegovina, Paul Pepi

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Programming A Fair Use: The Limitations Of Judicial Precedent, Patrick Misale

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Neutrality, Accommodation, Or Compromise: Comparing The Effectiveness Of Three Approaches Towards Protecting Religious Freedom, Beth Anne Patterson

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

How Uber’S Regulatory Success In The United States Slowed Its International Expansion, Grace A. Canfield

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Aboriginal Transboundary Passage Rights On Connected United States Watercourses: From Canada To Mexico, Indigenous North American Reconciliation, Christopher Mark Macneill

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Not So Respectful Consideration: The U.S. Supreme Court’S Deference Or Lack Thereof To Foreign Government Statements Of Law, Cindy G. Buys

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The amount of deference due foreign governments’ statements regarding the meaning of foreign law has long plagued U.S. courts. Courts have applied a variety of approaches in answering this question, including reliance on doctrines of international comity, respectful consideration, and Rule 44.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The U.S. Supreme Court recently attempted to provide additional guidance to lower courts and litigants in Animal Science Products, Inc. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., where it created a new, five-factor test. However, application of this new test is likely to generate continued uncertainty and inconsistency in this area of …

China’S Defense Of Its Human Rights Policies, Daniel C.K Chow

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Dedication

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Foreward

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

23-1, 2022 Masthead

San Diego International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Corporate-Consumer Power Dynamic Operating Behind The International Intellectual Property Regime: An Intractable Development Model With Uneven Results, Jefferson T. Stamp

San Diego International Law Journal

The corporate-consumer power dynamic operating behind the international intellectual property regime has created a development model that perpetuates the hegemonic power of corporate elites and their governmental agents at the expense of developing nations. The inequity of the regime seems to be rooted in the paradoxical delegation of exclusive intellectual property rights to private corporate interests who dispense knowledge as a global public good. However, the inequality actually begins with the inception of knowledge itself and is the consequence of natural exclusivity over one’s own thoughts and creations, including how those ideas are conveyed to the public sphere. The freedom …

Developing Judicial Dialogue Between Eu Courts: The Role Of Eu Banking Legislation, Filippo Annunziata

San Diego International Law Journal

In the EU legal system, the relationship between European and National law has always been a fruitful and challenging terrain for discussion and analysis. The expression “judicial dialogue” usually refers to different channels, both formal and informal. These channels are in place in the interchange between European Courts, including, most importantly, Constitutional Courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. While the scholarly debate on judicial dialogue in the EU context is by now quite extensive, new, interesting strands are recently developing in the specific context of EU Banking and Financial Legislation. Going beyond technicalities of EU Banking …

These Kids Need Lawyers: Why And How The United States Must Provide The Right To Appointed Counsel For Detained Unaccompanied Children, Adrielli Ferrer

San Diego International Law Journal

Children throughout the world are fleeing home situations of violence and seeking safety in the United States. Some children begin their migration with their families, only to find that some family members do not survive the journey, while others are separated by the United States government upon arrival. Some children are so driven by fear and desperation that they flee without family at all. Alone in the United States, unaccompanied children are a hyper vulnerable population. Exacerbating matters, upon encountering law enforcement, they are locked and contained within “secure facilities,” or detention centers. What can be done to aid detained …