International Law Commons^™

Industry Lobbying And "Interest Blind" Access Norms At International Organizations, Melissa J. Durkee

Scholarly Works

The standard approach of many international organizations (IOs) to non-governmental associations makes no formal distinctions between nonprofit private sector groups, known as trade or industry associations, and public interest groups. Thus, most IOs offer accreditation and access to both kinds of group on equal terms, without differentiating between them. I call this approach “interest blind” and use this short essay to examine its origins and consequences. Specifically, the approach has resulted in robust participation in international governance by industry and trade lobbying groups, which can affect the quality of deliberation at IOs and of the information that international officials and …

Astroturf Activism, Melissa J. Durkee

Scholarly Works

Corporate influence in government is more than a national issue; it is an international phenomenon. For years, businesses have been infiltrating international legal processes. They secretly lobby lawmakers through front groups: “astroturf” imitations of grassroots organizations. But because this business lobbying is covert, it has been underappreciated in both the literature and the law. This Article unearths the “astroturf activism” phenomenon. It offers an original descriptive account that classifies modes of business access to international officials and identifies harms, then develops a critical analysis of the laws that regulate this access. I show that the perplexing set of access rules …

Chemical Weapons And Other Atrocities: Contrasting Responses To The Syrian Crisis, Tim Mccormack

International Law Studies

Why has the use of chemical weapons in Syria engendered such a substantive multilateral response in stark contrast to almost every other egregious international law violation perpetrated against the civilian population? Various theories have been offered but the explanation has little to do with humanitarian concerns for Syrian victims and is more readily explicable by unusual (in the Syrian context) alignment of U.S. and Russian national interests. Bashar al-Assad was convinced to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention, to surrender his stockpiles of chemical weapons and to co-operate with international investigators deployed under UN Security Council auspices amid a cacophony …

The Modern Treaty-Executing Power: Constitutional Complexities In Contemporary Global Governance, Carlo Felizardo

Northwestern University Law Review

Treaties have evolved significantly since the ratification of the United States Constitution, leading to uncertainty as to the constitutional limits on their domestic execution. This Note adapts existing constitutional doctrine on treaty execution to two distinct complications arising in the contemporary treaty regime. First, voluntary treaties imposing aspirational obligations on signatories raise the issue of the extent of obligations that Congress may domestically enforce by federal statute. Second, originating treaties which create international organizations and authorize them to adopt rule- and adjudication-type post-treaty pronouncements bring up a question of when, if ever, to incorporate those pronouncements into U.S. law, and …

The Failure Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Jacob Dolinger

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The UN Human Rights Commission dedicated over two years to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved by the General Assembly in 1948.

The underlying reason for the Declaration was the genocide executed by Hitler’s Nazi Germany against the Jewish people throughout Europe during the Second World War. The fundamental mistake of the Commission was that the persecution by the Nazis was not directed against individual persons, but against an entire people, whereas the Declaration deals exclusively with the rights of the individual human being, no reference whatsoever made in the document to collectivities.

Moreover, …

Book Review: The Birth Of Nations. By Phillip C. Jessup. New York And London: Columbia University Press, 1974., Sandy Mccormack

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The International Court And South West Africa: Latest Phase, Antony J.M. Zuijdwijk

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Indigenous Water Justice Symposium, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Indigenous peoples throughout the world face diverse and often formidable challenges of what might be termed “water justice.” On one hand, these challenges involve issues of distributional justice that concern Indigenous communities’ relative abilities to access and use water for self-determined purposes. On the other hand, issues of procedural justice are frequently associated with water allocation and management, encompassing fundamental matters like representation within governance entities and participation in decision-making processes. Yet another realm of water justice in which disputes are commonplace relates to the persistence of, and respect afforded to, Indigenous communities’ cultural traditions and values surrounding water—more specifically, …

The Function Of The International Court Of Justice In The World Community, Ernest A. Gross

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Function Of The International Court Of Justice In The World Community, James Fawcett

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Discussion On Ideology And The Use Of Force, Larman C. Wilson, John Howell, Leslie Road

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Legal Control Of The Use Of Force And The Definition Of Aggression, Donald C. Piper

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Humanitarian Intervention: Determining The Effectiveness Of Outsourcing Humanitarian Intervention During Humanitarian Crises, Clarissa Caola

Political Science Theses and Capstones

At the end of the Cold War we witnessed a growing reluctance on part of many national powers to intervene in international crises. This unwillingness allowed for the development of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). PMSCs have been deployed to provide a wide variety of security-related functions including combat, logistics, training programs, and armed guarding of personnel and infrastructures. Exploring the concept of outsourcing these military functions, others have applied the idea towards addressing humanitarian crises. PMSCs may face fewer geopolitical impediments that can hinder the efforts of many state actors. In certain humanitarian crises PMSCs may better address …

The Impact Of The United Nations On National Abortion Laws, Kelsey Zorzi

Catholic University Law Review

Reviewing UN initiatives in concert with changes in State abortion laws, this Essay argues that through consensus resolutions that emerge from UN conferences, the recommendations of the Treaty Monitoring Bodies, and the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, the UN has influenced State to adopt permissive domestic abortion laws. The essay discusses and provides examples of how the UN does this. The Essay also discusses the impact of pro-abortion interpretations of international treaties and the actions taken by signatory nations to require legalized abortions in their wake.

Sustainable Development Goals: How Can The Mining Sector Contribute?, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In September 2015, the heads of 193 United Nations (UN) Member States adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The agenda provides a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals, which were adopted in 2000, with a view to ending poverty in all forms and dimensions, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all.

Recommending Transparency In Land-Based Investment: A Summary Of Relevant Guidelines And Principles, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

An emerging consensus on the need for greater transparency in land-based investment is increasingly evident across various forums. This document consolidates recommendations regarding transparency featured in guidelines and principles published by international organizations, government agencies, and multilateral or multi-stakeholder groups. Viewed together, these recommendations offer insight on the evolving narrative on transparency in land-based investment, assist stakeholders in addressing the issue of transparency, and provide an informed starting point for further analysis.

Loss And Damage And The 21st Conference Of The Parties To The United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change, Dr. Wil Burns

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The early fouc of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ("UNFCCC") was on programs and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and emissions from land-use and forestry, commonly referred to as mitigation.

The United Nations: The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Zahra R. Syed

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The main objective of this research paper is to analyze the international effects the Syrian Conflict has had to the global community. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has declared this conflict to be the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Millions of Syrians have fled their home country to avoid unjust persecution and are looking to not only neighboring countries, but the European Union for assistance in resettlement.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, more than 220,000 people have been massacred, leaving fifty percent of the population in unrest due to home displacement. According …

The Human Rights Of Sea Pirates: Will The European Court Of Human Rights Decisions Get More Killed?, Barry Hart Dubner, Brian Othero

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"Cerd-Ain" Reform: Dismantling The School-To-Prison Pipeline Through More Thorough Coordination Of The Departments Of Justice And Education, Lisa A. Rich

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

In the last year of his presidency, President Barack Obama and his administration have undertaken many initiatives to ensure that formerly incarcerated individuals have more opportunities to successfully reenter society. At the same time, the administration has been working on education policy that closes the achievement gap and slows the endless flow of juveniles into the school-to-prison pipeline. While certainly laudable, there is much more that can be undertaken collaboratively among executive branch agencies to end the school-to-prison pipeline and the endless cycle of people re-entering the criminal justice system.

This paper examines the rise of the school-to-prison pipeline through …

Children, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

This chapter, which appears in The Cambridge Companion to International Criminal Law (William A. Schabas ed. 2016), discusses how international criminal law instruments and institutions address crimes against and affecting children. It contrasts the absence of express attention in the post-World War II era with the multiple provisions pertaining to children in the 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court. The chapter examines key judgments in that court and in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, as well as the ICC’s current, comprehensive approach to the effects that crimes within its jurisdiction have on children. The chapter concludes with a …

Securing Child Rights In Time Of Conflict, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

Each term in the title of this essay seems simple, yet provides much food for analytical thought. The essay thus explores: what is “conflict,” and whether there is a “time” when it is not present; who is a “child”; whether and to what extent children enjoy “rights”; and, finally, how local, national, and international regimes go about “securing” those rights. The essay – based on a talk given at the 2015 International Law Weekend in New York – concludes with a glance at a new potential avenue for child security: the Sustainable Development Goals which the U.N. General Assembly adopted …

President Obama's Legacy: The Iran Nuclear Agreement?, Milena Sterio

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Iran, the United States, and several world super-powers signed a historic nuclear agreement over the summer of 2015. The Agreement is a comprehensive plan of action, with an unprecedented level of minutia and detail regarding Iran's commitment to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of United Nations-imposed sanctions against Iran. This Agreement, if it is successfully implemented, may represent President Obama's most significant foreign policy achievement and may become the most important element of President Obama's legacy. This Article will examine the Iran Nuclear Agreement by focusing on the events which led to the imposition of sanctions …

Closing The Gap: Daca, Dapa, And U.S. Compliance With International Human Rights Law, David B. Thronson

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Political rhetoric and ongoing litigation that challenge the use of prosecutorial discretion and deferred action in immigration law often prominently feature claims that these initiatives demonstrate a lack of respect for the rule of law. This short essay seeks to highlight gaps between U.S. immigration law and its international human rights obligations and identify ways in which the use of discretion can advance rather than undermine the rule of law. In reconciling the ability of States to control matters of immigration with protections of family integrity, the touchstone in international law is balance. A State's right to expel a non-citizen …

Decentering Human Rights From The International Order Of States: The Alignment And Interaction Of Transnational Policy Channels, Radu G. Mares

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article accounts for recent developments in corporate social responsibility, international trade and investment law, international human rights law, development aid, and the laws of home states reaching extraterritorially in order to advance a regulatory perspective on commerce and human rights. While these developments are remarkable, the analysis documents the prevalence of softer strategies and a corresponding scarcity of coercive legalization strategies. The question, then, is how to reason about these recent developments and their genuine potential for human rights protection. The article proposes two elements-a root-cause orientation and the interaction of policy channels-as indispensable for a regulatory and systemic …

Kill-Switches In The U.S. Model Tax Treaty, Allison Christians, Alexander Ezenagu

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The new U.S. Model income tax treaty contains an unusual addition: mechanisms for the parties to unilaterally override the negotiated treaty rates in specified circumstances. Previewed last year in proposed form—a first for the Treasury—these new mechanisms work as kill-switches, partially terminating the treaty as to one or both treaty partners. The idea is to forestall a more problematic outcome, such as an enduring breach of one of the parties’ expectations, or the opposite, a complete termination of all the treaty terms in the face of such a breach. Yet embedding a kill-switch in a treaty creates distinct legal, procedural, …

Location Savings And Segmented Factor Input Markets: In Search Of A Tax Treaty Solution, Mitchell A. Kane

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This article analyzes the proper bounds of source-based taxation of profits generated when firms outsource factor inputs, such as labor, to achieve cost savings. The article advances arguments grounded in efficiency, treaty text, and international distribution to justify greater source-based taxation than has historically been the case. To implement such expanded taxation, the article proposes a modification to transfer-pricing rules in instances where factor inputs are acquired from affiliates and a modification to the tax treaty rules regarding permanent establishments where factor inputs are acquired from unrelated parties. Finally, the article deals with a range of complications, particularly relating to …

Cutting The Wire: A Comprehensive Eu-Wide Approach To Refugee Crises, Kelsey Leigh Binder

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This Note examines the current refugee crisis occurring in the European Union, where over a million refugees have entered the region since the beginning of 2015, and proposes that the EU implement a two-step permanent emergency framework for dealing with mass migration crises. It first looks at the major bodies of international refugee law, including a historical overview of its foundations, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Next, it will explore the legal mechanisms that are in force throughout the EU, including the EU’s asylum laws and …

Introductory Note To United Nations Security Council Resolution 2298, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

On July 22, 2016, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2298 supporting efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove chemical weapons from Libya and facilitate their destruction in another country. This resolution was critical to the international effort to prevent chemical weapons in Libya from being at risk of acquisition by members of the so-called Islamic State operating in Libya.

False Rubicons, Moral Panic & Conceptual Cul-De-Sacs: Critiquing & Reframing The Call To Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Casting into the indeterminate future and projecting visions of so-called killer robots, The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots (The Campaign) has incited moral panic in an attempt to stimulate a discussion and ultimately a ban on lethal autonomous weapons (LAWS). Their efforts have been superficially successful but come at a self-defeating substantive cost. In the hope of shifting the dialogue from the hyperbolic to a constructive dialogue on the interaction between human and machine abilities in both current and future weapon systems, this article explores the conceptual paradox implicit in The Campaign and proposes an alternative.

Having provoked the international …