International Law Commons^™

No Excuse: The Failure Of The Icc’S Article 31 “Duress” Definition, Benjamin J. Risacher

Notre Dame Law Review

This Note proceeds in four Parts. Part I traces the historical development of “duress” through the common and civil law systems, World War II cases, the Model Penal Code (MPC) and, finally, through an in-depth analysis of the Erdemovic case before the ICTY Appeals Chamber discussed in the introduction. Part II then discusses “duress” under Article 31 of the Rome Statute and includes a survey of the Article’s drafting history, a statutory analysis of Article 31, and an application of the ICC definition of “duress” to the Erdemovic set of facts. This Part highlights the unjust result that inevitably occurs …

Cholera As A Grave Violation Of The Right To Water In Haiti, Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak, Steven D. Schwinn, Beatrice Lindstrom

Faculty White Papers

This report is submitted to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation concerning the United Nation’s responsibility in spreading cholera in Haiti as a violation of the right to water and sanitation. The submission discusses violations of the right to water, including the role of United Nations peacekeepers in introducing the virus to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. The report addresses the United Nations’ unwillingness to accept responsibility for its role in the outbreak and its failure to establish redress mechanisms for victims affected by the cholera epidemic. It further discusses the …

Rio + 20: What Difference Has Two Decades Made To State Practice In The Regulation Of Invasive Alien Species?, Sophie Riley

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article collects and analyzes information available from the Convention on Biological Diversity National Reports to consider what members themselves have identified as their regulatory strengths and weaknesses. Against this backdrop, the Article evaluates the effectiveness of international environmental law in guiding domestic regimes, highlighting that where international law is imprecise or inconsistent, it can hinder the development of successful State practice.

Investment Treaties And Industrial Policy: Select Case Studies On State Liability For Efforts To Encourage, Shape And Regulate Economic Activities In Extractive Industries And Infrastructure, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

This paper, prepared in connection with a February 2014 conference organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses some of the implications that investment treaties have for investments in infrastructure and the extractive industries. It focuses on liability for government conduct (1) in connection with tenders and negotiations; (2) when responding to questions regarding the legality of the investment; (3) in using performance requirements to leverage benefits and capture spillovers from the investment; (4) changing the legal framework governing an investment in response to evolving needs, circumstances, and interests; (5) administering the investment; and (6) requesting, and responding to …

Digital Fingerprints: Using Electronic Evidence To Advance Prosecutions At The International Criminal Court, Alexa Koenig, Eric Stover, Camille Crittenden, Stephen Cody

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This report summarizes efforts to improve the collection and use of electronic evidence in atrocity crime prosecutions at the International Criminal Court.

Precluding The Treasure Hunt: How The World Bank Group Can Help Investors Circumnavigate Sovereign Immunity Obstacles To Icsid Award Execution, Joseph M. Cardosi

Pepperdine Law Review

This Comment highlights the frustrating road that investors travel in search of assets when states do not honor arbitration awards and discusses how the World Bank Group can unify investor–state arbitrations to preclude such hollow victories for investors. Part II introduces the contemporary framework of investor–state arbitration, including an overview of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID or the Centre), a summary of the scope of noncompliance with investor–state arbitration awards, and the unique ICSID enforcement mechanism used to address challenges to awards and noncompliance. Part III provides examples of the challenges investors face in award execution …

Mary Ellen O’Connell Delivers The 2014 Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture At The University Of Cambridge’S Lauterpacht Centre For International Law On February 17, 2014, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Faculty Lectures and Presentations

Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell delivers the 2014 Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture at the University of Cambridge’s Lauterpacht Centre for International Law in Cambridge, England. Her three-part lecture on “The Art of Peace” will take place over three days, beginning February 17, 2014.

The Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture series commemorates the contribution to the development of international law of Sir Hersch Lauterpacht. The lecture is given annually by a person of eminence in the field of international law, and a revised and expanded version of the lecture is usually published in the Hersch Lauterpacht Lecture Series by Cambridge University Press.

At …

Global Diversity And The Living International Human Rights Law, Obiora C. Okafor

Conference Papers

Professor Obiora Okafor from Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC will open the third cycle of the Owada Chair with the lecture Global Diversity and the Living International Human Rights Law. Following this, there will be a debate on his lecture. Wednesday 17 January will include a roundtable discussion and a PhD workshop.

Following An International Copyright Regime At A Large National Cost: Is It Worth It?, Vaishali Khatri

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

The main question at issue is which view of copyright law the United States should adhere to. Founders of American copyright law based our Constitution on utilitarian principles that promote the spread of knowledge and information to the general public. It has always been held that innovation and creativity were of core importance in an efficiently functioning democracy. With the passing of Section 514, the United States digressed from its national roots in order to comply with an international regime of copyright law. This decision in Golan takes steps to afford private economic benefit to a few copyright holders at …

Charting The Legal Geography Of Non-International Armed Conflict, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

This article examines the geographical reach of international humanitarian law (law of armed conflict), particularly during armed conflicts between States and non-State organized armed groups. The issue is operationally critical, since to the extent that IHL applies, practices which are lawful during armed conflicts, such as status-based targeting, may be employed. When IHL does not apply, human rights obligations shouldered by the State govern the conduct of its military operations. The article surveys the various approaches to the the legal geography of non-international armed conflict, arguing that an interpretation by which IHL is not geographically restricted is the most supportable.

Transfer Pricing: Un Practical Manual – China, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Andrew Shact

Faculty Scholarship

Any contemporary Chinese transfer pricing assessment needs to consider the United Nation (UN) Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries released in May 2013. In particular, Chapter 10 discusses Country Practices and presents China’s most up to date transfer pricing policy statement.

China is not an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nor has it formally adopted the OECD’s Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations. Chapter 10 makes it very clear that China is charting a different transfer pricing course in at least nine important areas. China believes that: 1. significant comparability adjustments are …

Around The World: The Struggle Between Confidentiality And The Need For Transparency In German Child Abuse Reporting Laws, Jasmine Prokscha

Children's Legal Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Going Overboard: The Criminalization Of Seafarers In Violation Of Their Human Rights, Regional And Domestic Law's Conflict With Unclos And Marpol, And The Need For Reform, Megan K. Reid

Student Works

Following an oil spill, swift and aggressive measures are often taken to ensure that the public demand for justice is fulfilled. Unfortunately, seafarers are often placed in the post-incident spotlight, regardless of whether the incident involved operational error. During the 2002 Prestige accident, an oil spill formed off the coast of Spain in the middle of a raging storm. Spanish authorities denied the ship access to a calm harbor, which would have allowed the captain and crew to mitigate the environmental harm.

Part I of this article will review the Prestige oil spill, where criminal liability was imposed on the …

Unquenched Thirst: The Need For A Constitutionally Recognized Right To Water In Ghana, Tia Crosby

Student Works

The practice of privatizing water is often discussed as the leading method for improving access to adequate water in developing countries. Notably, this method has a cost that frequently impedes access to water in the developing world, while exploiting the profitability of a natural resource that is vital to human life. In Ghana, the failure of water privatization initiatives and the growing scarcity of adequate water have caused a public health crisis that necessitates a quick and efficient solution. As demonstrated in South Africa, the codification of the right to water in its constitution has improved access to adequate water, …

A Redd Solution To A Green Problem: Using Redd Plus To Address Deforestation In Ghana Through Benefit Sharing And Community Self-Empowerment, William Daniel Nartey

Student Works

The process of converting forests into non-forests deforestation claims 17 million hectares of the world’s tropical forests each year. Ghana is no stranger to the problem of deforestation. The developing country’s rainforest has been decreasing rapidly and significantly over time.

Part II of this paper addresses the primary driving factors of deforestation in Ghana, including human activities such as legal and illegal logging and unsustainable agricultural practices, as well as non-human factors such as poverty and population growth, which are inevitably linked. Part III identifies the constitutional land tenure rights and laws of the timber industry, assessing how these have …

State Liability For Regulatory Change: How International Investment Rules Are Overriding Domestic Law, Lise Johnson, Oleksandr Volkov

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With governments around the world pushing efforts to negotiate and approve mega-investment treaties, it is important to be clear on just what these investment treaties do and do not mean. One issue that is increasingly apparent is that investment treaties are not merely tools to provide protections against abusive regimes and egregious conduct, but are mechanisms through which a small and typically powerful set of private actors can change the substantive content of the law outside the normal domestic legislative and judicial frameworks.

Over There: Teaching International And Comparative Law At West Point, Robert J. Goldstein

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The 2013 International Law Weekend panel discussion, "Teaching International Law Outside Law Schools," was considered by many present to be a novel reflection on the challenges of transplanting a law school-level course in international law to non-law students.

Recent Developments In European Union Crisis Management Operations, Gilles Marhic

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The European Union (EU) has the possibility to plan, establish, and launch crisis management operations on the basis of Articles 42(4) and 43(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).'

Settlement Of Maritime Delimitation Disputes Within Complex Geographical Settings, Teoman Uykur

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The topic of this Panel is a relevant issue, which is continually a subject of growing interest in the international community.

Boko Haram Terrorism: Reaching Across International Boundaries To Aid Nigeria In The Humanitarian Crisis, Lynn L. Taylor

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Every day parents around the world send their children to school with the expectation their children's lives will be improved by the education they receive.

Surveillance And Law Enforcement: Tools In The Fight Against Terror In A Comparative Study Of The United States And Pakistan, Waris Husain

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 (9/11), nations around the world began adopting emergency measures that emphasized national security but infringed on the rights guaranteed to citizens through their respective domestic constitutions and international law.

The Rise Of Frankenbeer: A Holistic Analysis On International Labeling And Beverage Laws Through The Lens Of The Ongoing Controversy Of Genetically Modified Organisms, Harrison Joss

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

How come my beer doesn't tell me how many calories are contained within a single can?

Decision-Making Process Of The Inter-American Court: An Analysis Prompted By The "In Vitro Fertilization" Case, Alvaro Paul

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

People have a tendency to act somewhat impulsively when they are exposed to extreme situations.

The 2014 Philip C. Jessup International Law, The State Of Amalea, The Republic Of Ritania

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The State of Amalea ["Amalea"] and the Republic of Ritania ["Ritania"] hereby submit the present dispute to the International Court of Justice ["The Court"] pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Court's Statute, in accordance with Special Agreement for submission to the Court of the differences between the parties concerning certain activities within the Malachi Gap, signed in the Hague, the Netherlands, this 17 th day of September in the year two thousand and thirteen.

Immunity Or Regulation?: Antinomies Of Religious Freedom, Peter G. Danchin, Saba Mahmood

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Mutual Non-Denial Principle, China's Interests, And Taiwan's Expansion Of International Participation, Wei-Chin Lee

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

Interim Measures In Inter-State Proceedings Before The European Court Of Human Rights: Ukraine V. Russia, Stefan Kirchner

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Over the course of the year 2014, the situation in Ukraine has turned from a domestic political issue involving protests, killings, and the ouster of the former president, into a military confrontation with Russia. At the time of writing (August 2014), Russia has annexed Crimea and is supporting separatists, who are in a state of civil war against the Ukrainian state, in Eastern parts of the country. This conflict is ongoing and an unknown number of civilians have been killed, notably the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which is thought to have been shot down over the conflict …

After Partition: The Perils Of South Sudan, Mario Silva

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

The partition of South Sudan from the largest country on the African continent – Sudan, took place on July 9, 2011.1 The northern portion retained the name Sudan while the newly formed southern state would be known as South Sudan. South Sudan became the newest member of the United Nations (UN) with comparatively little infrastructure and limited arrangements for shared sovereignty by the international community. The partition process was undertaken with oversight from the United Nations and the African Union. It was rather idealistically considered a prelude to an enduring peace within this traditionally troubled African region. The former unitary …

Emerging Issues: The Underlying Economics Of The South China Sea Conflict, Christopher Stock

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

The countries of southeastern Asia and China are currently in a territorial dispute over the Spratly and Paracel island chains in the South China Sea. The South China Sea encompasses roughly 1.4 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, spanning throughout most of southeastern Asia. A majority of the islands located within the sea are uninhabited and have never had an indigenous population, which makes it nearly impossible to track the lineage to determine sovereignty over the islands. Because there has never been an indigenous population on a majority of the islands, there are now competing claims for many of …

Game Of Bombs: President Barack Obama’S Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, Jeffrey F. Addicott

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

One of President Barack Obama’s favorite solutions to reducing or halting armed conflict in the world centers around his often-stated desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons. While this simplistic formula for a more peaceful world has certainly been voiced by other occupants of the oval office, the world is, and always has been, an extremely dangerous place, and the machinations of competing spheres of power in a “Game of Thrones” will always exist in human history. Coupled with an aggressive Russia and China, the dangers associated with the new era of radical Islamic extremism rubricate the need to …