International Law Commons^™

How International Copyright Approaches To Generative Ai May Influence The Development Of U.S. Copyright Laws For Ai, Tessa Chew

San Diego International Law Journal

Since late 2022, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has emerged as a vital technological tool in many industries by producing human-like content based on its trained datasets. This advancement has sparked an international debate over the ethical and legal implications of using copyrighted works for Artificial Intelligence (AI) training. Countries have taken differing legislative approaches to this issue. Japan aims to promote innovation with minimal restrictions; the United Kingdom aims to protect copyright holders by implementing strict AI copyright protections; and the European Union focuses on the transparency of the AI’s copyright use. The United States is currently at a regulatory …

Only Americans Left Behind: Iran’S Illegal Use Of Hostages As Political Pawns To Advance Their Foreign Policy, Ava Namazi

San Diego International Law Journal

The Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged as one of the most prominent contemporary practitioners of hostage diplomacy—a strategy rooted in the 1979 Hostage Crisis and sustained through recurring detentions of foreign nationals on fabricated security charges. The government uses innocent foreign nationals as political pawns to coerce Western states, including the United States, to release frozen Iranian assets held abroad. This Comment situates Iran’s use of hostage diplomacy within its post-revolutionary foreign policy, examining how the collapse of the Pahlavi dynasty contributed to this tactic. Additionally, this Comment will analyze the current international legal frameworks governing hostage diplomacy and …

Seamless Security: Reforming Export Controls For A Stronger Allied Defense Industrial Base, Justin Belcher

San Diego International Law Journal

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s accelerating military modernization underscore the need for the United States and its allies to reinforce their defense industrial bases to deter and prevail in future conflicts. This paper examines the historical and strategic foundations driving the need for export control reform, identifies key U.S. export control laws governing defense coproduction and co-development, and analyzes how current regulations constrain allied industrial integration. It concludes by proposing solutions to streamline export control regulations to improve the strength and resilience of the modern defense industrial base.

Confinement And Consent: A Comparative Analysis Of Sexual Abuse In Finnish And U.S. Prisons, Madison A. Greico

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

The Bangkok Rules and The Basic Principles for The Treatment of Prisoners are a specific outline of protections and rights for individuals( Bangkok specifically about women) within prisons adopted by the United Nations compromising states. While The United States is a leader in the United Nations and adopted this set of rules, their failures of commitment are extremely apparent. Every year, thousands of prison rapes occur behind bars in New York alone by the very guards meant to protect them. In Finland, another United Nations member, however, has virtually no record of sexual abuse within their prisons. In investigation of …

The Extradition Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Republic Of Colombia: Public International Law And The Judicial Substitution Paradox, Andrés Téllez-Núñez

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Question Of “Territory” In The Wto Jurisprudence: A Critique Of Panel's Decision On Us-Origin Marking Requirement Dispute, Yuanyuan Ren

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

This article draws on the US—Origin Marking Requirement case study to critically examine the concept of “territory” under the World Trade Organization (WTO) law, particularly in relation to trade with contested territories among WTO members. It argues that while trade with contentious territories is not explicitly covered in current WTO rules, WTO law does provide a regulatory framework for tackling such issues. Nevertheless, resolving trade disputes involving contested territories at the WTO remains challenging, particularly due to the limited discussion on the notion of “territory” and the national security exceptions in WTO jurisprudence. The US—Origin Marking Requirement case marks the …

Federalism, Treaty Norms, And The U.N. Report On American Education, Jorge Barrera-Rojas

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

United Nations Special Rapporteurs assess national compliance with international human rights obligations, including educational rights articulated in treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ("ICESCR"). These evaluations typically involve treaty-bound states with explicit international commitments. However, the applicability of such assessments is less straightforward in non-ratifying federal states, such as the US, which rely on diverse state-level constitutional provisions rather than federal treaty obligations.

This Article critically examines the 2025 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, following the Rapporteur's first official visit specifically addressing U.S. K-12 education policy. The analysis identifies …

How The Sui Generis Principle Has Been Historically Abused In International Law: From The British To The Israelis, Ahmad Hamdan

Human Rights Brief

I. Introduction

For over a century, powerful actors have used a single Latin phrase, sui generis, as a shield to evade accountability under international law. Meaning “of its own kind,” this theory dictates that a situation is so unique that ordinary rules should not apply. In international law, sui generis typically refers to situations or entities that cannot easily be categorized under existing legal frameworks or conventions. Its use indicates that there is no directly applicable precedent and that, as a result, no legal principles apply; instead, the situation itself will set the precedent. While some researchers argue that …

Can – And Should – The Un Charter Be Saved?, Steven Ratner

Articles

World leaders from Canada’s Mark Carney to Germany’s Friedrich Merz have announced the demise of the international rules that provided some degree of order to international relations since the Second World War.2 The immediate cause is clear to them and others – a seeming abandonment of international law, and the UN Charter in particular, by the United States government, its chief architect and advocate. The U.S. actions and rhetoric over Venezuela and Iran – wars the United States has started – as well as Greenland and Ukraine seem to have confirmed the worst about the future of international law.

A Tragedy Of Incommensurability: Indigenous Rights And The Limits Of Human Rights Law, Zeina Ali

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the tragedy of incommensurability between indigenous rights and international human rights law. Despite the emergence of frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous calls for sovereignty remain fundamentally unintelligible within a liberal order structured to preserve settler-state legitimacy. Tracing the historical and theoretical evolution of indigenous advocacy, this study critiques the strategic shift from demands for self-determination to claims of cultural rights. It argues that this shift offers no real alternative: self-determination and cultural rights are functionally equivalent, as both are ultimately filtered through legal and political frameworks that cannot …

Whither Leviathan? The Seepage Of Constitutional Law Into Public-Private Arbitration In The United States, Peter B. Rutledge

Scholarly Works

The chapter analyses how constitutional law influences private-public arbitration in the United States. Its central thesis is that constitutional law exerts a powerful indirect influence on arbitration law. While the US Constitution does not directly regulate arbitration, its underlying norms—such as separation of powers, federalism, and individual rights—impact arbitration law indirectly. The chapter explores the ways in which these constitutional principles influence public-private arbitration through statutory interpretation, treaty design, and private protocols reflecting constitutional norms. This pattern of influence manifests itself in public arbitration (i.e. arbitration involving states or state-owned entities) just as it does in private arbitration. Highlighting how …

The Legality Of Nuclear-Weapons Sharing Arrangements Under International Law: United States-Nato And Russia-Belarus, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Essay argues that certain nuclear sharing agreements between nuclear and non-nuclear powers are legal under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This topic is highly important as Russia has announced its stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus and Belarus has signaled its intent to use them.

The Price Of Consent, Zohra Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

This Article demonstrates how hierarchies in the international economy and in international financial institutions have facilitated the U.S.-led Global War on Terror (GWOT). Using U.S.-Pakistan relations as a case study, it shows how the United States has deployed its powerful position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to claim Pakistan's consent for its military activities in the region. In the GWOT's first decade, beginning in 2001, the United States openly sought forcible regime change, as in Afghanistan and Iraq; in its second and (now) third decades, the United States has waged covert counterinsurgency campaigns allegedly against militant groups in Muslim-majority …

Help The People Help The Governments Help The Planet: Using Markets To Meet The Goals Of The Paris Agreement, Rachel Braby

San Diego International Law Journal

The urgency of the climate challenge requires that we address it in every way we can. Yet, current domestic regulations are insufficient to rise to the occasion, and there appears to be no plan geared toward harnessing the power of collective consumer action to supplement government efforts and push industries in the private sector to engage in greener practices. A majority of developed nations have mixed market-driven economies, and in such economies, consumers have immense power to drive change. Paris Agreement nations with mixed market-driven economies should incorporate a strategic plan in their next NDCs that “represent[s] a progression” beyond …

What Figures Lurk On Madame Elysé’S Path? Reflections On Philippe Sands’ The Last Colony, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

One person’s life forms the core around which Philippe Sands’ The Last Colony explores the events leading up to the advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. That person is Liseby Bertrand Elysé, who was born in 1953 in Chagos, then forcibly removed to Mauritius in 1973. Her efforts to return home eventually brought her to a 2018 hearing at The Hague, where she spoke to the International Court of Justice bench by means of a subtitled video. This essay, which appears in a symposium issue on Sands’ book, investigates the ethics, the effectiveness, …

Multinational Asset Management Firms & Esg Disclosure Management, Maggie Pahl, Michael Hamersky, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In recent years, the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom have introduced “Environmental, Social, and Governance” disclosure regulations. Multinational Asset Management Firms must now navigate the evolving and varied disclosure and labeling requirements they are subjected to across multiple jurisdictions. This Article provides a brief history of ESG disclosure regulation and provides a summary of the enacted and proposed regulations and identifies the biggest points of contention between the regulations and provides suggestions for a more comprehensive standardized regulatory framework.

Is The Women's Treaty A Paper Tiger? Indian Courts' Application Of The United Nations Treaty, Amanda L. Stephens

Faculty Articles

This Article examines whether the United Nations ("U.N.") Treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW'), is a "paper tiger"-a law that seems powerful but is in fact weak and ineffectual. While some scholars question the Treaty's effectiveness based on statistical studies, others point to legal reforms in state parties as evidence of its success. Neither provides a nuanced middle ground by examining the CEDAW at a micro rather than a macro level. This Article fills this gap by conducting a qualitative analysis of 10 Indian judicial opinions. Specifically, the Article explores how the …

Unleashing The Beast: Confronting Animal Trafficking As Organized Crime In The Americas, Erick J. Wilson

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Wildlife trafficking is a serious yet often overlooked issue across the Americas. This Note examines wildlife trafficking across the Americas, analyzing the legal frameworks and challenges facing countries like the United States, Guatemala, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. Three key obstacles emerge: the lack of recognition of trafficking as organized crime, limited resources for enforcement, and deficient penalties. Though the United States has laws like the Lacey Act to address importation of illegally traded wildlife, weak foreign laws constrain efficacy. Many Latin American nations do not categorize wildlife trafficking as organized crime, despite its intricate parallels with activities like drug …

Haitian Climate Migrants: Heralds Of The United States’ Unprepared Immigration System, Noah Rust

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This note explores the complex relationship between climate change and Human migration, and the ensuing complications for the United States immigration scheme. Climate change can both directly and indirectly contribute to human migration, yet the United States’ regulatory scheme is unprepared for this reality and its consequences. Through analyzing several separate migratory events in Haiti, the specific failures of the United States status quo immigration systems become clearer. Further, the note will identify frameworks that could offer relief to climate-related migrants.

Attaining The Right To Environment Through Environmental Impact Assessment, Umair Saleem

Dissertations & Theses

The thesis discusses the interconnection between the right to environment and environmental impact assessment (EIA), elaborating their depth and collective potential to effectively address most – if not all – of the complex and interconnected environmental challenges.

Firstly, the thesis explores the evolution of the environmental laws from the year 1900 and provides a unifying synthesis of the diverse environmental components, obligations, rights, and principles within international, regional, and national environmental laws. Secondly, it identifies the right to environment as a unifying and holistic right that integrates these environmental concepts and encapsulates comprehensive environmental protection. Thirdly, it provides a comparison …

Proving Intra-Racial Discrimination In The U.S. And Canada: The Room For Making The Artificial Distinction Between Genealogical Relatedness And Race, Martin Kwan

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article takes the role of the Devil’s advocate in order to question the judicial willingness to distinguish “race” from comparable notions. It suggests that, depending on the exact circumstances, a defendant can make an arguable case that the alleged intra–racial discrimination is motivated by perceived genealogical relatedness, but not because of belonging to the same “race.” Factually, the defendant claims to believe in being remotely genealogically related to the plaintiff. This is not unworthy of credence, because it is academically recognized that modern genealogy and root tracing can be an imaginative, forged exercise. Legally, this argument is supportable because …

The Law Of The Territories Of The United States In Puerto Rico, The Oldest Colony In The World, Carlos Iván Gorrín Peralta

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

The territorial law and policy of the United States changed towards the turn of the 20th century, as territorial expansion was no longer motivated by the extension of national borders, but by geopolitical, strategic and economic objectives. The new territories acquired in the Spanish American war were different from those previously annexed. The resulting constitutional doctrine of the Insular Cases differentiated the previous incorporated territories from the new unincorporated territories, which were not destined to be part of the U.S. nor to be admitted as new states. Despite purported changes in the relation with the United States in 1950-1952, Puerto …

Consumers' Perceptions Of Digital Privacy In The United States And Japan, Destiny Randle

Whittier Scholars Program

The purpose of my study is to explore the contours of contemporary consumer privacy protections derived from legislation, regulations and publicly available company policies as a way to get a better understanding of how consumer data is protected. A few examples ranging from company-based consumer protection in the United States to data breaches in Japan will be explored and examined. Finally, this paper includes a comparative survey of consumer perceptions and concerns related to personal data privacy in the U.S. and Japan. As a way to assess the degree to which digital privacy and personal data breaches have adversely influenced …

A Fake Future: The Threat Of Foreign Disinformation On The U.S. And Its Allies, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the threat that foreign disinformation poses for the United States Intelligence Community and its allies. The paper examines Russian disinformation from both a historical and contemporary context and how its effect on Western democracies may only be exacerbated in light of Chinese involvement and evolving technologies. Fortunately, the paper also studies practices and strategies that the United States Intelligence Community and its allied foreign counterparts may use to respond. It is hoped that this study will help shed further light on Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns and explain how the Intelligence Community can efficiently react.

La Relación Entre El Derecho Internacional Y El Derecho Interno En El Sistema Constitucional De Los Estados Unidos, Robert S. Barker

Barker Papers

A pesar de las amplias palabras de la Corte, la aplicaci6n de Derecho Internacional por los tribunales de los Estados Unidos es un tema complicado. Su propósito es el de identificar los principios mas importantes de la integracion y la separacion de Derecho Internacional y derecho interno en los Estados Unidos.

The United States’ Stringent Sovereignty: How Foreign Policy Framing Prioritizes Security Over Human Rights, Kathryn Parker

Scripps Senior Theses

American policymakers utilize valence framing, purposeful descriptions of outcomes as positive or negative, to influence the opinions of voters while maintaining the moral superiority felt by many citizens in the liberal Western hegemon. This study intended to combine the political theories of Constructivism and Realism to form Constructive Realism, a theory that emphasizes the significance of state power and norms as joint influences on constituents. Constructive realism was then applied to four case studies – the UN Security Council, International Criminal Court, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. This study …

K-Pop’S Secret Weapon: South Korea’S Criminal Defamation Laws, Rebecca Xu

San Diego International Law Journal

South Korea’s criminal defamation laws have long been considered an intrusion on the free speech rights of citizens, especially in regard to the usage by politicians against their opponents and journalists to suppress criticisms. This Comment considers the history and effects of these controversial defamation laws through the lens of recent scandals within the Korean entertainment industry, where regular citizens accusing Korean celebrities of past school violence are confronted with threats of defamation charges. To highlight the controversial nature of such laws, comparisons will be drawn between South Korea and other countries to highlight the restrictive nature of Korea’s laws.

Deportations For Drug Convictions In The United States And The European Union: Creating A More Compassionate Approach Toward Drug Convictions In The Immigration Law, Megan Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment begins by examining and comparing the legal framework for deportation and other immigration consequences for convictions of drug offenses in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. This Comment then looks at the harsh effects of current immigration policy on individuals and marginalized communities. Finally, this Comment argues that immigration law should be reformed to adopt a more humanitarian approach toward non-citizens convicted of drug offenses. Deportation and other harsh immigration consequences for drug offenses levy disproportionately severe punishments toward vulnerable minority immigrant communities, exposing them to consequences much harsher than non-immigrants would face for …

Men's Rights, Gun Ownership, Racism, And The Assault On Women's Reproductive Health Rights: Hidden Connections, Walter S. Dekeseredy

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In this current era characterized by much fear of, and anxiety about, the political influence and actions of the U.S. alternative right (alt-right), only a small number of men’s rights organizations receive attention from the media, the Democratic Party, or a large cadre of progressives. This article demonstrates that ignoring all-male anti-feminist organizations is a flawed strategy for challenging the recent rise of the alt-right because these misogynistic groups are heavily involved in the gun rights movement, major contributors to racist practices and discourses, and active participants in efforts to criminalize and curtail women’s access to abortion. Another, but equally …

Where The Rainbow Ends: The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis For Members Of The Lgbtqia+ Community In International Business, John R. Krendel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Before pursuing an international career, members of the LGBTQIA+ community must be aware of the hardship that may be exacerbated by living and working abroad. This study addresses the trends in laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws, that provide and restrict certain rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community in eight countries. These nations, both progressive and discriminatory, include the United States, England, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Eight LGBTQIA+ business professionals spoke on their experiences living and working in each of these countries and provided advice to members of the community wishing to pursue an international …