International Law Commons^™

In Memoriam: Professor Harold G. Maier, Journal Editor

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Harold Maier founded the student-edited Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law in 1967 and served as its faculty adviser until his retirement in 2005. He was appointed the David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor of Law in 1988. He was a co-author of Public International Law in a Nutshell (with Thomas Buergenthal, West Publishing) and dozens of journal articles and book chapters, some written in German, which he spoke fluently. Hired in 1965 to develop Vanderbilt's international law program, Maier sought to establish a program to train students interested in an international legal practice and to enable scholarship in international legal …

Judging Leaders Who Facilitate Crimes By A Foreign Army: International Courts Differ On A Novel Legal Issue, Mugambi Jouet

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In one of the most significant cases in the history of international criminal law, Prosecutor v. Perisic, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) effectively addressed an issue of first impression: may a military or political leader be convicted for knowingly facilitating crimes by another state's army? The influential tribunal answered this question in the negative--knowledge that the recipients of military assistance are perpetrating crimes is essentially irrelevant absent evidence that the facilitator specifically intended that crimes occur. The ICTY Appeals Chamber thus acquitted Serbian General Momilo Peridid, who had been convicted at trial of knowingly aiding and …

Gimme Shelter: International Political Asylum In The Information Age, Jacob Stafford

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On June 5, 2013, an article in the Guardian revealed highly classified information about surveillance operations being performed by the United States National Security Administration (NSA). The source of this information was a former NSA contractor named Edward Snowden. After arriving in Moscow on June 23, Snowden spent the next forty days in the transit area of Sheremetyevo International Airport in a bizarre state of geopolitical purgatory. Eventually, Russia granted Snowden temporary asylum for one year, followed by a three-year residency permit. This Note uses Snowden's circumstance to consider the current state of international political asylum within the context of …

The United Nations Water Courses Convention On The Dawn Of Entry Into Force, Ryan B. Stoa

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Watercourses Convention) entered into force in August 2014. Despite overwhelming support when signed in 1997, the ratification process has been slow. As a binding treaty, the Watercourses Convention provides hope that its provisions will articulate legal principles of transboundary water management capable of promoting cooperation and regional agreements. Despite entry into force, however, global support for the Watercourses Convention is weak, concurrent efforts to develop treaty regimes governing water resources create competition for resources and may obscure understandings of international water law, and the foundational principles …

Does Political Pressure Necessarily Amount To Political Interference. Specifically Addressing What Can Be Done To Alleviate Worries That Political Pressure Amounts To Political Interference Within The International Courts, Alexis Lee Krivoshik

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Us-Visit System, Malea R. Hetrick

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Categorization Of Detainees And Standards Of Detention, Ellen Van Cleave

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Whether The Special Tribunal For Lebanon Is Properly Considered To Be More A Civil Law Institution Or A Common Law Institution., Estefanía Sixto Seijas

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Under Domestic And International Law, When Does Non-International Armed Conflict Begin, And When Does It End?, Katherine A. Mozynski

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

The Right To Appeal, Julia Liston

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

The Marrakesh Puzzle, Marketa Trimble

Scholarly Works

This article analyzes the puzzle created by the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty in its provisions concerning the cross-border exchange of copies of copyrighted works made for use by persons who are “blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled” (copies known as “accessible format copies”). The analysis should assist executive and legislative experts as they seek optimal methods for implementing the Treaty. The article provides an overview of the Treaty, notes its unique features, and examines in detail its provisions on the cross-border exchange of accessible format copies. The article discusses three possible sources for implementation tools – choice of law rules, …

Extraterritorial Financial Regulation: Why E.T. Can't Come Home, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay begins with a deliberately off-putting title: extraterritorial financial regulation. Old-time "conflict of laws" scholars would call this an oxymoron, pointing to recent Supreme Court decisions – most notably, Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. and Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. – that have applied a strong presumption against extraterritoriality to curb the reach of U.S. law. Even those international law scholars who are sympathetic to the regulation of multinational financial institutions might prefer to avoid this term and talk instead of "global financial regulation" because they conceptualize international financial regulation as implemented through networks of cooperating multinational …

The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Farley

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The international community is currently deeply divided over the appropriate level of protection for Geographical Indications (“GIs”). This conflict has recently come to a head in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP). GIs receive extensive protections within the European Union (EU) that go beyond international standards, while the United States is generally opposed to strengthening existing international GI protections. Given its current stance, it is remarkable that the US has since 1929 been bound by a little known international convention that ensures strong protection of GIs. Since that date, the US has been a member …

Adapting The Law Of Armed Conflict To Autonomous Weapon Systems, Kenneth Anderson, Daniel Reisner, Matthew Waxman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

As increasingly automated – and in some cases fully autonomous – weapon systems enter the battlefield or become possible, it is important that international norms to regulate them head down a path that is coherent and practical. Contrary to the claims of some advocates, autonomous weapon systems are not inherently illegal or unethical. The technologies involved potentially hold promise for making armed conflict more discriminating and causing less harm on the battlefield. They do pose important challenges, however, with regard to law of armed conflict rules regulating the use of weapons. Those challenges demand international attention and special processes for …

Transforming Family Law Through Same-Sex Marriage: Lessons From (And To) The Western World, Macarena Saez

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Same-sex marriage is a 21st century phenomenon. In less than 13 years more than 15 countries have amended their marriage laws to include same-sex couples. Some countries have made the change through political decisions but others have reached the change through adjudicative processes. A comparative analysis of decisions from the highest courts of countries or states granting marriage to same-sex couples demonstrates: 1. similar arguments are presented to these courts when making the case for and against same-sex marriage; 2. courts are using comparative law to justify their decisions on same-sex marriage; 3. the majority of courts in these countries …

Regulation 55 And The Rights Of The Accused At The International Criminal Courts, Susana Sacouto, Katherine Cleary Thompson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Restoration Of Historical Memory And Dignity For Victims Of The Armenian Genocide: A Human Rights Law Approach To Effective Reparations, Richard Wilson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article argues that United Nations human rights principles and new developments in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights suggest a route to provide effective reparation through restoration of historical memory and dignity for victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Foreword, The Future Of International Criminal Justice, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

International criminal law attempts to sanction crimes that have a global nature and impact. After World War II, the international community came together to begin addressing important international issues, including preventing future war and non-war related atrocities and crimes. From the International Military Tribunals established in the wake of World War II to the world's first permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), a number of international bodies, treaties, and statutes have been formed in an effort to effectively administer criminal justice on an international level. Yet the administration and application of international criminal justice has faced significant hurdles and there are …

Civil Consequences Of Corruption In International Commercial Contracts, Padideh Ala'i

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The United States legal system seeks to prevent and prohibit bribery and corruption through a myriad of laws, regulations and policies. Anti-corruption jurisprudence is more developed in the context of public sector contracts where the United States criminalizes bribery of public officials through 18 U.S.C. §201 (Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses). In addition, the United States was the first country to criminalize bribery of foreign government officials in 1977 with the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The FCPA has since been amended to comply with the adoption of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign …

The Most Important Cases Of The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights, Richard Wilson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), together with its companion body, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), are autonomous organs of the Organization of American States (OAS). The IACHR promotes and protects human rights in the Western Hemisphere. Created by the OAS in 1959, the Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Together with the Court, established in 1979 in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Commission has emerged as a model of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as of individual rights.Since its inception, the Commission has made extraordinary progress. Through its 55-year history, it has …

The Protection Of Geographical Indications In The Inter-American Convention, Christine Haight Farley

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The international community is currently deeply divided over the appropriate level of protection for Geographical Indications (“GIs”). This conflict has recently come to a head in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP). GIs receive extensive protections within the European Union (EU) that go beyond international standards, while the United States is generally opposed to strengthening existing international GI protections.

Given its current stance, it is remarkable that the US has since 1929 been bound by a little known international convention that ensures strong protection of GIs. Since that date, the US has been a member …

The G20 And Africa: A Critical Assessment, Daniel D. Bradlow

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The increased globalisation over the last 20 years has made effective global economic governance more important than ever. This period has witnessed the rise of a number of new international governance actors, such as the Group of Twenty (G-20) and the Financial Stability Board. The paper proposes a five-part test to evaluate how the existing global governance actors serve the interests of all stakeholders in the global economy.

The test is based on five factors indicating good global governance. These are the goals relating to global economic governance being followed by the governance entity, respect for applicable international legal principles, …

Remarks: The Tension Between Law And Politics: Can The Icc Navigate A Multi-Polar World?, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Implementing Human Rights In Closed Environments Through The United Nations Convention Against Torture, Claudio Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Closed environments pose a major challenge to the full and effective implementation of human rights norms and conventions. However, many conventions contain mechanisms that can be used to further advance implementation of human rights in those closed environments. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention) has several mechanisms in place that play an important role in enforcing and implementing human rights obligations. Along with the creation of a supervisory organ, the Committee against Torture (the Committee), the Convention provides a framework for: State Party reporting and concluding observations (COBs) under …

Dialogues Of Transitional Justice: Keynote Speech, Ruti Teitel

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Why The United States Cannot Agree To Disagree On Blasphemy Laws, Evelyn Aswad, Rashad Hussain, M. Suleman

Faculty Articles

At the Boston University International Law Journal's symposium "Realigning Western Policy and International Law after the Arab Spring," held on March 25, 2013, Professor Aswad gave the keynote address, where she described the extensive U.S. diplomatic efforts to promote the broadest possible protections for freedoms of expression and religion, even when it comes to speech that is considered blasphemous. A symposium participant asked why the United States cannot just agree to disagree with Muslim-majority countries on the treatment of blasphemy given the religious sensibilities in those countries and the number of other pressing equities the United States has pending with …

The Limits Of Legality: Assessing Recent International Interventions In Civil Conflicts In The Middle-East, Feisal Amin Istrabadi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Turnaround: Reflections On The Present Day Influence Of Negotiations On International Bankruptcy At The Fifth Session Of The Hague Conference On Private International Law In 1925, Susan Block-Lieb

Faculty Scholarship

In 1925, the British government sent a delegation to the Fifth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The Hague Conference had met sporadically since 1893,1 but this was the first time the British government sent a delegation to The Hague to discuss the possibility of a diplomatic convention to reach international agreement on uniform rules on what continental Europeans called “private international law” — matters of jurisdiction, applicable law and procedure. The British delegation held limited authority from the Home Office: it could participate only in deliberations on a possible convention on bankruptcy law, and then only …

Moral Touchstone, Not General Deterrence: The Role Of International Criminal Justice In Fostering Compliance With International Humanitarian Law, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article contends that international criminal justice provides minimal general deterrence of future violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). Arguments that international courts and tribunals deter future violations – and that such deterrence is a primary objective – assume an internally inconsistent burden that the processes cannot bear, in essence setting international criminal justice up for failure. Moreover, the inherently limited number of proceedings, the length of time required, the dense opinions generated, the relatively light sentences and the robust confinement conditions all erode whatever limited general deterrence international criminal justice might otherwise provide. Bluntly stated, thousands of pages of …

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 …