International Law Commons^™

The Language Of Law And The Practice Of Politics: Great Powers And The Rhetoric Of Self-Determination In The Cases Of Kosovo And South Ossetia, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

If international law is all but irrelevant to international relations why do states spend so much time and effort justifying their actions under international law? The immediate reaction by many is to dismiss this as "cheap talk," a rhetorical fig leaf or simple bluster of little consequence. This Article aims to debunk the notion that the rhetoric surrounding international law is of little consequence. Rather than mere cheap talk, the rhetoric of international law is at times used by great powers (and other states) in an attempt to gain tactical, if not strategic, advantages.

This Article seeks to elucidate what …

Hearts And Minds And Laws: Legal Compliance And Diplomatic Persuasion, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

This Essay considers the role of international legal argument in the war on terror and, in particular, in the attempts to justify the use of military force. Part I looks at challenges posed by the evolution of military conflict and how this affects diplomacy. In particular, I argue that a reputation for honoring one's treaty commitments and for legality, more generally, is an important part of fostering cooperation and undercutting the support of our adversaries. Part II focuses on how the Bush Administration moved between hostility to international law and attempts to rewrite the rules of international law concerning the …

Liberia's Gemap: A New Wave In Development Intervention?, Edefe Ojomo

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Heather Heckel On Child Soldiers: From Violence To Protection By Michael Wessells. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006. 284 Pp., Heather Heckel

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection by Michael Wessells. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006. 284 pp.

Introductory Note: A Perspective On Pakistan's Chief Justice, Judicial Independence, And The Rule Of Law, Joel A. Mintz

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

On May 10, 2008, at our law school's graduation ceremony, Nova Southeastern University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary.

Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law, Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Japanese Dolphin Hunts: In Quest Of International Legal Protection For Small Cetaceans, Rachelle Adam

Animal Law Review

This article sets out to explore the international legal status of those dolphins targeted by the Japanese drive hunts. It is estimated that over two thousand five hundred small cetaceans—dolphins, porpoises and small whales—will be killed as a result, out of a total of over twenty thousand killed annually in Japan by direct catch. It is argued that since we have literally pushed them to the brink of extinction, we have an ethical duty towards dolphins, to stop the cruelty perpetrated against them by man and to ensure the survival of their species. And our ethical duty towards them should …

Tyranny Of The Available: Under-Represented Topics, Approaches, And Viewpoints, Katherine Topulos, Marci Hoffman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dog Meat In Korea: A Socio-Legal Challenge, Rakhyun E. Kim

Animal Law Review

This article explores the dog meat debate in Korea from a socio-legal perspective. It first examines the legal status of dogs and dog meat, and the legal protection for dogs under the old and new legislative frameworks. It then discusses socio-legal challenges to banning dog meat in the Korean context, employing examples of both legal approaches taken by other countries and the politics of dog meat in Korea, specifically. The article argues that the controversy over dog meat must be reframed and dog meat be socially redefined in order to protect dogs, which are currently caught in the conflict over …

International Commercial Arbitration And International Courts, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

The editors of this symposium have asked us to address an interesting question. Why hasn't international commercial arbitration’s (ICA's) success been repeated in the context of international courts? In the last few decades, states have created scores of permanent tribunals with jurisdiction to resolve disputes about international law. By and large, though, states have not been as receptive to the rulings of these tribunals. What accounts for this comparative lack of hospitality? Why do states treat ICA and international adjudication so differently?

In this essay, I offer an explanation. States treat ICA and international adjudication differently because they are categorically …

A Tale Of Two Networks: Terrorism, Transnational Law, And Network Theory, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

Talk of networks and "network theory" has become almost ubiquitous in the field of counterterrorism. Terrorist organizations are networks. Terrorists have been empowered by the Internet, ethnic diasporas, and cell phones—networks all. Many of the putative targets of terrorists—electrical grids, oil pipelines, and transportation systems, to name a few—are themselves networks. And, perhaps less often mentioned, terrorists are increasingly hampered by national and international laws that foster cooperation and coordination among states—a network of laws.

From "smart mobs" to "net wars," from narco-trafficking to the Internet, network theory has provided insights into decentralized social organizations and their coordinated action. Both …

Aziza Khatoon On Human Rights In Turkey Edited By Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. 349 Pp., Aziza Khatoon

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights in Turkey edited by Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. 349 pp.

"They Say I Am Not An American…": The Noncitizen National And The Law Of American Empire, Christina Duffy Ponsa-Kraus

Faculty Scholarship

The American papers sometimes contain tales about persons who have forgotten who they are, what are their names, and where they live. The Porto [sic] Ricans find themselves in the same predicament as those absent-minded people. To what nationality do they belong? What is the character of their citizenship? ... [l]f since they ceased to be Spanish citizens they have not been Americans [sic] citizens, what in the name ·of heaven have they been?

Mexico's Implementation Of The Biodiversity Convention And The Catagena Protocol In The Gmo Era: Challenges In Principles, Policies, And Practices, Juan Antonio Herrera

PhD Dissertations

Recent developments in genetic modification and the use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) in agriculture have ignited a debate over the potential effects of these organisms on biological diversity. This controversy materializes in the clash between the international environmental and trade regimes. Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), such as the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) focus on the preservation of biological diversity and, in the case of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Cartagena Protocol), the safe transfer of LMOs. These Agreements encourage States to base national decisions to allow LMO imports on environmental and risk assessments using the precautionary principle. …

Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law, Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Teaching Or Get Off The Lectern: Impediments To Improving International Law Teaching, John Gamble

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

International law teaching combines the worst aspects of sex and the weather. Everyone thinks they are an expert; they complain about problems but do nothing to improve the situation.

Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law, Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Empiricism And International Law: Insights For Investment Treaty Dispute Resolution, Susan Franck

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

While scholars in the United States increasingly focus on the empirical dimension of legal scholarship, there have been challenges in using empiricism to explore international legal issues. Rather than relying on logic or instinct alone, empirical methodologies can provide scholars with tools to gain new facts, see existing ideas through a different lens, and engage in a more nuanced analysis of international law phenomena. There appears to be a natural synergy between empiricism and international investment treaty dispute resolution. With calls for trade time outs by U.S. presidential candidates, there is interest in how investment treaties function, whether they achieve …

Imagining Sovereignty, Managing Secession: The Legal Geography Of Eurasia's "Frozen Conflicts", Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

The interrelated concepts of sovereignty, self-determination, and the territorial integrity of states form a Gordian knot at the core of public international law. These concepts encompass not only how we define the classic actors of the international system—states—but also how seriously international law takes claims of civil and political rights. This Article considers how geographic concepts can be used to try to untangle—or slice through this knot of issues.

The frozen conflicts of Eurasia are a series of ongoing secessionist crises in the post-Soviet states of Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. I will use the example of the so-called "frozen conflict" …

Judging International Judgments, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

What effect should rulings of international courts have in domestic courts? In the U.S., debate has centered on a series of rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the application of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). The VCCR, a multilateral treaty that the United States ratified in 1969, grants foreign nationals the right to seek the assistance of their consulates in the event that local authorities arrest them. An Optional Protocol to the VCCR gives the ICJ jurisdiction over disputes relating to the interpretation and application of the treaty. Since the late 1990s, the ICJ repeatedly …

Whose Public, Whose Order? Imperium, Region, And Normative Friction, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

Theories of international law and politics are a product of their times. They focus on the issues of the day (or of the immediate past) and their assumptions are often the assumptions of the society in which they were born. Perhaps that it is why so many international relations scholars were surprised by the end of the Cold War: Their theories were so informed by bipolarity that they were unable to see the actual changes that would transform the state system. As international relations scholars are re-assessing their theories in a post-Cold War world, lawyers may do the same concerning …

The Relative Universality Of Human Rights (Revised), Jack Donnelly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© Jack Donnelly. All rights reserved.

This article is forthcoming in Human Rights Quarterly.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website …

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 …

Labor’S Human Rights: A Review Of The Nature And Status Of Core Labor Rights As Human Rights, Roy J. Adams

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© Roy J. Adams. All rights reserved.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website without express permission of the author.

International Law And The 2003 Campaign Against Iraq, Nicholas Rostow

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Is Humanity Enough? The Secular Theology Of Human Rights, Peter Fitzpatrick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© Peter Fitzpatrick. All rights reserved.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website without express permission of the author.

Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law, Isla Journal Of International And Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

September 1 1th ushered in a period of existential doubt for many Americans, raising questions about why we are hated, what are our values, and what, if anything, should change.

On The Uneasy Relation Between International Law And Democracy, Carol C. Gould

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The question we are asked to address is as follows: "Is international law a threat to democracy?" As a political philosopher, my inclination is to suggest that the answer requires clarifying at the outset the sense in which we are using each of the main terms here.

Isla Journal Of International & Comparative Law, Isla Journal Of International & Comparative Law

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

I joined Christie's a little over a year ago as Director of Restitution, coordinating Christie's restitution issues globally.

War By Proxy: Legal And Moral Duties Of Other Actors Derived From Government Affiliation, Michael A. Newton

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.