International Law Commons^™

Beyond Bankovic: Extraterritorial Application Of The European Convention On Human Rights, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The obligations set forth in the international and regional instruments on human rights are considered as having a strictly territorial scope. States parties have the duty to guarantee the rights recognized in the treaties to all individuals within their territories. The territorial reach of these obligations is expanding by way of interpretation. In its decision on Bankovic, the European Court reduced the impact of this international trend toward a progressive enlargement of the protection granted by human rights treaties, affirming those attacks conducted by NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999 fell out of the extraterritorial reach of the European Convention. After …

The Proliferation Security Initiative In The Maritime Domain, Stuart Kaye

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

A Defense Of Structural Injunctive Remedies In South African Law, Danielle E. Hirsch

ExpressO

This Article argues that the use of structural injunction remedies by South African courts is appropriate, and, in light of demonstrated government inaction, often necessary in order to give meaning to the protection of socio-economic rights, which is mandated by their Constitution. The Article draws upon numerous United States judicial decisions where structural injunctions have been successfully implemented to address systemic institutional inaction and violations of the equal protection and due process clauses of the United States Constitution. In numerous instances, the South African government has not acted to effectively give meaning to the socio-economic rights which were broadly declared …

Enforcing Foreign Summary/Default Judgments: The Damoclean Sword Hanging Over Pro Se Canadian Corporate Defendants? Case Comment On U.S.A. V. Shield Development, Antonin I. Pribetic

ExpressO

Following the 2003 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Beals v. Saldanha, where the “real and substantial connection” test is otherwise met (i.e. consent-based jurisdiction, presence-based jurisdiction or assumed jurisdiction) the only available defences to a domestic defendant seeking to have a Canadian court refuse enforcement of a foreign judgment are fraud, public policy and natural justice. The 2005 Ontario decision in United States of America v. Shield Development Co., presents an opportunity to critically analyze the defence of natural justice through a juxtaposition of American and Canadian procedural law. The thesis is that procedural justice mandates that “form follow …

Standing For Extraterritoriality: Defining The Empagran Exception, Max Huffman

ExpressO

Efforts by private plaintiffs to enforce the U.S. antitrust laws extraterritorially have become an enormous industry. A reflection of the challenges facing federal courts in this global age, F. Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd. v. Empagran S.A. (Empagran) held the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982 (FTAIA) precluded the assertion by U.S. courts of jurisdiction over claims by foreign plaintiffs alleging harm felt in wholly foreign commerce.

Empagran left an exception that undermines its general rule. Plaintiffs able sufficiently to show “the anticompetitive conduct’s domestic effects were linked to their foreign harm” are excepted from the preclusion. This is the “Empagran exception.” …

American Military Justice And International Criminal Court Complementarity: The Case Of Ucmj Article 60, Allen J. Dickerson

ExpressO

Although the American military is effectively one of the most potent of international institutions, discussions of its regulation have been oddly domestic. The court-martial – the single most important institution for disciplining military forces, preventing atrocities and punishing offenders – has seen its jurisdiction and procedures hotly debated, but most often by those in uniform or individuals interested in domestic military policy. This paper aims to internationalize the discussion, recognizing that the discipline of American military forces is of major concern to both international law and U.S. foreign policy. By exploring the interaction between a major innovation in international law …

Thinking Outside The Border: Homeland Security And The Forward Deployment Of The U.S. Border, Gregory W. Bowman

ExpressO

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government implemented a number of inbound cargo security programs it described as “pushing the border outward” or “expanding [the U.S.] perimeter of security.” Are these statements rhetorical flourish, or do these programs materially affect international cargo trade? This article argues that far from being mundane or rhetorical, these cargo security programs are transforming how U.S. borders operate from both a conceptual and practical perspective. Specifically, by moving certain aspects of border functionality to locations well-removed from the physical U.S. border, these programs make U.S. regulation of inbound trade significantly more extraterritorial. …

“Thinking Globally, Acting Locally”: Recent Trends In The Recognition And Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments In Canada, Antonin I. Pribetic

ExpressO

The continuing evolution of the “real and substantial connection” test for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments remains a topic of immediate interest. Since the landmark decision in Morguard Investments Ltd. v. De Savoye, and more recently in Beals v. Saldanha, Canadian jurisprudence for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments has been dominated by judicial and legislative unilateralism: the establishment of a domestically imposed standard (the lex fori) striving towards national uniformity informed by private international law (or conflict of laws) principles. While the “real and substantial connection” test for jurisdiction simpliciter provides a flexible analytical framework for …

Tough Love: The Dramatic Birth And Looming Demise Of Unclos Property Law (And What Is To Be Done About It), Peter S. Prows

ExpressO

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”) represents the culmination of thousands of years of international relations, conflict, and now nearly universal adherence to an enduring order for ocean space that is the most significant achievement for international law since the UN Charter. UNCLOS establishes international property law erga omnes that, by legal and political necessity, required a bargained consensus to be effective. This bargain, in essence, provided coastal States with extended but limited jurisdictions, while ensuring that the seabed and its mineral resources beyond were the “common heritage of mankind” that would peaceably and …

Establishing A Precedent In Uganda: The Legitimacy Of National Amnesties Under The Icc, Robin B. Murphy

ExpressO

After 14 years of unconscionable wrath against local civilians, including enforced recruitment of thousands of child soldiers, the rebel group The Lord’s Resistance Army (“LRA”) was offered amnesty by the Ugandan government in 2000. However, as the conflict continued unabated, the Ugandan government, for the first time in the history of the Court, referred its case to the International Criminal Court (“ICC”). The ICC Prosecutor announced the beginning of an investigation and issued warrants for seven top LRA officers in October of 2005. The potential ICC prosecution raises many questions about the jurisdiction of the new court, including whether the …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act And Its Implications For Private Military Companies, Dustin M. Tipling

ExpressO

Private Military Companies (PMCs) are civilian staffed corporations that provide military (and law enforcement) services, logistics, and support under contract to a government both inside and outside the country’s borders. Prior to Congress passing the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction to prosecute civilians accompanying United States’ Armed Forces overseas. This article will specifically address how the United States exercises jurisdiction and prosecutes the civilian employees of PMCs in United States courts for crimes they have committed in foreign countries while working under contract to the United States government.

Saddam Hussein's Trial In Iraq: Fairness, Legitimacy & Alternatives, A Legal Analysis, Christian Eckart

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

The paper focuses on Saddam Hussein’s trial in front of the Iraqi High Criminal Court in Baghdad. After providing an overview of the facts surrounding the court’s installation, the applicable international law is identified and the fairness and legitimacy of the current proceedings are analyzed. The paper finishes by considering whether the trial should be relocated and addresses alternative venues that could have been chosen to prosecute Iraq’s ex-dictator.

The Sosa Decision, Jeffrey P. Saxon

ExpressO

The manner in which international law is applied by the domestic courts of the United States has been an issue without any definitive boundaries since 1789. It is unclear as to the type and extent of international law that could be brought as a cause of action inside the United States for events that occurred outside its borders. The landmark case of Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, decided by the Supreme Court in 2004, has changed the landscape in this area. This decision will alter the field of domestic enforcement of international law by making it exceedingly difficult for an non-citizen to …

The Role Of International Arbitrators, Susan Franck

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

With the advent of the global economy, arbitration has become the preferred mechanism for resolving international disputes. Today international arbitrators resolve billions of dollars worth of disputes.' Arbitration has taken on such prominence in the international context that commentators express "little doubt that arbitration is now the first-choice method of binding dispute resolution" and has "largely taken over litigation."'

Multi-Tiered Marriage: Ideas And Influences From New York And Louisiana To The International Community, Joel A. Nichols

ExpressO

This Article contends that American society needs to hold a genuine discussion about alternatives to current conceptions of marriage and family law jurisdiction. Specifically, the Article suggests that the civil government should consider ceding some of its jurisdictional authority over marriage and divorce law to religious communities that are competent and capable of adjudicating the marital rites and rights of their respective adherents. There is historical precedent and preliminary movement toward this end -- both within and without the United States -- which might serve as the framework for further discussions.

Within the United States, the relatively new covenant marriage …

An Emerging Uniformity For International Law, David H. Moore

ExpressO

The status of international law in the U.S. legal system has been hotly contested. Most international law scholars maintain that customary international law (CIL) is federal common law immediately applicable in federal courts. A minority of scholars has responded that CIL may be applied by federal courts only when authorized by the political branches. The Supreme Court’s decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 124 S. Ct. 2739 (2004), stoked the debate. In Sosa’s wake, scholars have overwhelmingly concluded that the Supreme Court endorsed the majority view that CIL is federal common law.

This Article asserts that Sosa has been both misperceived …

The Republic Of Acastus V. The State Of Rubia: The Case Concerning The Elysian Fields, Zabrina Lau, Timothy Parker, Kay Seto, Yvonne Shi, Megan Yeung

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Republic of Acastus and the State of Rubria have agreed to submit the present controversy for final resolution by the International Court of Justice ("ICJ") by Special Agreement pursuant to Article 40, Paragraph 1 of the Statute of this Court

The Republic Of Acastus V. The State Of Rubia: The Case Concerning The Elysian Fields, Cora Charly Von Der Heide, Jessica Henopp, Sore Jotten, Felix Machts, Torben Spliedt

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The differences between the Republic of Acastus and the State of Rubria concerning the Elysian Fields have been brought before the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article 40(1) of its statute by notification of the Compromis for Submission to the International Court of Justice of the Differences between the Republic of Acastus (Applicant) and the State of Rubria (Respondent) Concerning the Elysian Fields.

The Legal Limits Of Universal Jurisdiction, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Despite all the attention it receives from both its supporters and critics, universal jurisdiction remains one of the more confused doctrines of international law. Indeed, while commentary has focused largely and unevenly on policy and normative arguments either favoring or undercutting the desirability of its exercise, a straightforward legal analysis breaking down critical aspects of this extraordinary form of jurisdiction remains conspicuously missing. Yet universal jurisdiction's increased practice by states calls out for such a clear descriptive understanding. This Essay engages this under-treated area. It offers to explicate a basic, but overlooked, feature of the law of universal jurisdiction: If …

“The (Cisg) Road Less Travelled”: Case Comment On Grecon Dimter Inc. V. J.R. Normand Inc., Antonin I. Pribetic

ExpressO

At first glance, the Supreme Court of Canada's recent decision in GreCon Dimter Inc. v. J.R. Normand Inc. appears to be a case upholding the primacy of international commercial arbitration, choice of forum and choice of law clauses. Upon closer scrutiny, however, the Supreme Court of Canada failed to consider the application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) to the overall dispute. Interestingly, the same choice of forum and choice of law clauses were considered by the United States Court of Appeals a year earlier in GreCon Dimter, Incorporated v. Horner Flooring Company, …

The Iraqi Special Tribunal: A Human Rights Perspective, Michael A. Newton

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The creation of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in December 2003 by Iraqi authorities who were at the time under the legal occupation of the Coalition Provisional Authority marked the emergence of a new form of internationalized domestic tribunals. The Iraqis succeeded in incorporating the full range of modern crimes into their domestic codes alongside some carefully selected domestic offenses, while amending domestic procedural law in some key ways to align the process with established international law related to the provision of full and fair trials. The subsequent investigations and the beginning of trial proceedings generated major debates about the legitimacy …

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Finding The Contract In Contracts For Law, Forum, And Arbitration, William John Woodward

ExpressO

Contract provisions specifying the law or forum (either judicial or arbitration) have begun appearing in litigated cases, as businesses have pressed many courts for their enforcement against consumers. In at least some of the cases, enforcement of a choice of law provision results in the displacement of the consumer’s home state protection by the lesser consumer protection of the State of the form drafter’s choosing. This phenomenon raises serious problems of federalism and local control of consumer protection. But while considerable scholarly attention has been lavished on so-called “mandatory arbitration” in this context, much less has attempted to improve our …

From International Law To Law And Globalization, Paul Schiff Berman

ExpressO

International law’s traditional emphasis on state practice has long been questioned, as scholars have paid increasing attention to other important – though sometimes inchoate – processes of international norm development. Yet, the more recent focus on transnational law, governmental and non-governmental networks, and judicial influence and cooperation across borders, while a step in the right direction, still seems insufficient to describe the complexities of law in an era of globalization. Accordingly, it is becoming clear that “international law” is itself an overly constraining rubric and that we need an expanded framework, one that situates cross-border norm development at the intersection …

International Antisuit Injunctions: Enjoining Foreign Litigations And Arbitrations - Beholding The System From Outside, Marco Stacher

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

Antisuit injunctions are issued by a court to prevent a party from bringing suit in another forum. They are a powerful tool available to American courts to implement their decision on jurisdiction. It goes without saying that granting such an injunction de facto affects the capability of the other forum to hear the dispute, which conflicts with the principle of comity. American courts therefore only enjoin a party from proceeding in another forum if certain criteria are satisfied. This paper discusses these criteria in the context of international litigations and arbitrations. It analyzes the case law on this issue and …

Countering Terrorism: From Wigged Judges To Helmeted Soldiers - Legal Perspectives On America's Counter-Terrorism Responses, Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article aims to evaluate the international legal perspectives attendant to U.S. counter-terrorism measures and policy and the attendant strictures an implications. Part II commences by grappling with the uneasy relationship that legal and political complexities have foisted on the UN's ability to address terrorism and the difficult issue of the definition of terrorism. Within the context of this part, the Article also addresses the two dominant counter-terrorism paradigms-law enforcement and conflict management. Part III oves on to evaluate the law enforcement paradigm which treats terrorism as a crime engaging domestic law enforcement. This part offers a discussion of the …

Lagrand And Avena Establish A Right, But Is There A Remedy? Brief Comments On The Legal Effect Of Lagrand And Avena In The U.S, Malvina Halberstam

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The United States is obligated under international law to review and reconsider the conviction and sentence of persons who were not informed of their right to request that their Consul be notified of their arrest and to meet with him, as provided for by Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The 2005 Philip C. Jessup International Lawmoot Court Competition. The Case Concerning The Vessel The Mairi Maru, Isla Journal Of International & Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

In April of 2001, an agreement was entered into between Appollonia (Applicant) and Maguffin (not party to this case) for the exportation of MOX, produced by an Appollonian State-owned power plant. Since then, Appollonia has exported MOX to Maguffin via shipments traveling through the waters of Raglan (Respondent), located halfway between Appollonia and Maguffin.