International Law Commons^™

Can Investment Dispute Settlement Ever Be Depoliticized?, Fernando Dias Simões

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Investor-state arbitration was created with the hope of depoliticizing investment disputes. However, the adoption of the traditional party-appointment system, in which disputing parties play a direct role in the composition of the tribunal, is increasingly criticized. Many believe that party appointment is a tool ofpolitical influence over the arbitrators' interpretative space. Suggestions for reform of the system have proliferated. The most radical proposal currently on the table-the creation of a permanent investment court-would cause a paradigm shift in the selection of adjudicators, moving from a disputing party framework, to a treaty party context. This article analyzes different options to reduce …

Nigeria’S Petroleum Industry Bill: A Missed Opportunity To Prepare For The Zero-Carbon Future, Solina Kennedy, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Perrine Toledano, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With Nigeria’s National Assembly debating the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the first quarter of 2021 – after nearly two decades of attempted reform of the country’s petroleum sector – Nigeria has a unique opportunity to rethink the role of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria’s economy and build out the country’s energy sector and economic capacity for the long term. CCSI’s report Equipping the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the Low-Carbon Transition, released before the PIB was publicized, advances suggestions on how to do so. The PIB takes notable steps toward much-needed reform of NNPC’s …

Is Climate Change A Threat To International Peace And Security?, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

This article argues that climate change’s destabilizing impacts require us to look at existing international governance tools at our disposal with fresh eyes. As such, Council climate action cannot and should not be dismissed out-of-hand. As conflicts rise, migration explodes, and nations are extinguished, how long can the Council remain on the climate sidelines? Hence, my call for a re-conceptualized “Council 3.0” to meet the climate security challenges this century.

This article proceeds as follows. In Part II, I describe and analyze the current state of climate science and the climate-security threats facing the world. This includes an analysis of …

International Commercial Courts In The United States And Australia: Possible, Probable, Preferable?, S. I. Strong

Faculty Articles

As worldwide interest in international commercial courts grows, questions arise as to whether individual nations can or should seek to compete in the “litigation market” by developing their own cross-border business courts. This essay compares the prospects of the United States and Australia in this regard, focusing on whether it is possible (Section II), probable (Section III), and preferable (Section IV) for one or both of these two federalized, common law nations to develop an international commercial court as part of their national judicial systems. The inquiry is particularly intriguing given that one country (the United States) has had a …

Promoting Gender Equity And Foreign Policy Goals Through Ratifying The Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, Raj Telwala

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Emerging Shape Of Global Justice: Retrogression Or Course Correction?, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Grounding Suicide Terrorism In Death Anxiety And Consumer Capitalism, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article examines an influential theory on suicide attacker motivations, the Significance Quest Theory, and suggests that this death anxiety approach can be improved by shifting its focus toward the related, but more comprehensive, Terror Management Theory. The theoretical productivity of this realignment is tested by examining the relationship between suicide attacks and one of the variables thought to trigger the underlying anxieties: the local pressures from global consumer capitalism. After describing the relationship between death anxiety and suicide terrorism generally, this article concludes by applying these insights to the ethnographic context of Egypt.

Asylum Seekers: The Search For Basic Human Right To Healthcare In Industrial Countries, Marlaina Wright

Emory International Law Review

An important right afforded to all persons as part of their international human rights includes the right to access healthcare. Asylum seekers, however, are a population that struggles to enjoy a designated right due to countries having varying interpretations of what it means to provide healthcare services. When seeking asylum, many asylees believe that going to developed, industrial countries is the best route for achieving safety, educational opportunities, and a higher standard of living. However, when it comes to providing access to healthcare for asylum seekers specifically, countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland do not fully …

Demystifying The Legitimacy Of International Tribunals: Case Study Of The International Court Of Justice And Its Decisions On Armed Activities In The Congo, Roger-Claude Liwanga, Casondra Turner

Emory International Law Review

Over the last seven decades, there has been a proliferation of international tribunals. Yet, they have not received unanimous approval, raising questions about their legitimacy. A legitimate international tribunal is one whose authority to adjudicate international disputes is perceived as justified. Using the case study of the International Court of Justice (I.C.J.), this Article highlights the three criteria that should be considered in assessing the legitimacy of an international tribunal, which include legal, sociological, and moral elements. It also contends that the I.C.J. cannot claim “full” legitimacy if any of these components are missing in its decisions. The Article further …

How South Korea Can Improve Its Carbon Market: The Importance Of Economic Incentives And International Cooperation In The Fight Against Climate Change, Seo Jung Park

Emory International Law Review

It is well-recognized that global warming is indeed a problem. Hence, in order to address the problem, many countries in the world have implemented market-based approaches, one such approach being the cap-and-trade program. This Comment discusses cap-and-trade programs from several different countries – the United States, the European Union, China, India, and South Korea. In particular, this Comment analyzes how each country implements their cap-and-trade program. Furthermore, this Comment focuses on three major international agreements that have been created in recognition of the importance of international collaboration to fight against global warming. These agreements are the United Nations Framework Convention …

Should We Be Merciful To The Merciless—Mercy In Sentencing, Doron Menashe

Emory International Law Review

The aim of this Article is to present a normative argument for mercy as a legitimate consideration in judicial proceedings, defining it as a distinct and independent element not encompassed by normal concerns of justice, retribution and individuation of sentencing. The Article addresses two meanings of mercy in the judicial context, both of which have—in the view of the author—a rightful part in the process of judgment and sentencing. These are “mercy” in the weak sense, i.e., a deliberative state of mind which accompanies the judicial proceedings (“Lesser Mercy”), and “mercy” in the strong sense, i.e., the judicial prerogative of …

Why The United Kingdom Should Look To Switzerland's Immigration System To Protect The English Premier League After Brexit, Fraser Goodlad

Emory International Law Review

Global talent is crucial to the economic behemoth that is the English Premier League (EPL). Having left the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and the EPL are at a crossroads. The UK could implement immigration laws that represent “openness,” or a more insular path to protect English soccer players. Switzerland provides an example of a state outside the EU that maintains an immigration system similar to that of the UK prior to Brexit. Russia provides an example of a state that has wholly different and far more distant relationship with the EU. To safeguard the EPL’s position as …

Hate Speech Laws And Blasphemy Laws: Parallels Show Problems With The U.N. Strategy And Plan Of Action On Hate Speech, Meghan Fischer

Emory International Law Review

In May 2019, the United Nations Secretary-General introduced the U.N. Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, an influential campaign that poses serious risks to religious and political minorities because its definition of hate speech parallels elements common to blasphemy laws. U.N. human rights entities have denounced blasphemy laws because they are vague, broad, and prone to arbitrary enforcement, enabling the authorities to use them to attack religious minorities, political opponents, and people who have minority viewpoints. Likewise, the Strategy and Plan of Action’s definition of hate speech is ambiguous and relies entirely on subjective interpretation, opening the door …

Climate Lawyers As Movement Lawyers (And Vice Versa), Carmen G. Gonzalez

Faculty Publications & Other Works

In April 2020, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) launched an initiative to foster conversations within and beyond ASIL on the connections between climate change and virtually all other areas of international law. This essay for the ASIL Proceedings is based on a presentation delivered at the April 2021 ASIL Annual Meeting.

The essay examines the link between climate change and racial subordination from the dawn of the fossil fuel-based world economy to the present and the complicity of international law in these converging injustices. It discusses the counterhegemonic uses of international law by environmental justice movements in the …

The Promise Of International Law: A Third World View, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Judicialization Of Election Disputes In Africa’S International Courts, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

When elections are judicialized in Africa, national courts overwhelmingly legitimize incumbent electoral victories. When opposition candidates lose in high stakes presidential and gubernatorial elections, they seldom concede defeat with- out legal challenges. Claims of electoral irregularities, fraud, incompetence of electoral bodies, violence, and an unequal playing field, among other factors, transform these cases into highly contested mega-political disputes when they are judicialized.

Rather than creating new political equilibria, judicialization in national courts often results in the hegemonic preservation of incumbents. Though opposition politicians and political parties know this, they nonetheless resort to international courts in Africa, in part, because they …

Writing Race And Identity In A Global Context: What Crt And Twail Can Learn From Each Other, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article argues that issues of race and identity have so far been underemphasized, understudied, and undertheorized in mainstream international law. To address this major gap, this Article argues that there is an opportunity for learning, sharing, and collaboration between Critical Race Theorists (CRT) and scholars of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Such a collaboration, this Article argues, would produce a very sharp lens of tracing issues of race and identity in the imperial, transnational, and global histories of international law and their contemporary continuities. By adopting a framework of studying race and identity in a global context, …

Studying Race In International Law Scholarship Using A Social Science Approach, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Essay takes up Abebe, Chilton, and Ginsburg's invitation to use a social science approach to establish or ascertain some facts about international law scholarship in the United States. The specific research question that this Essay seeks to answer is to what extent scholarship has addressed international law's historical and continuing complicity in producing racial inequality and hierarchy, including slavery, as well as the subjugation and domination of the peoples of the First Nations. To answer this question, this Essay uses the content published in the American Journal of International Law (AJIL) from when it was first published in 1907 …

The Carbon Price Equivalent: A Metric For Comparing Climate Change Mitigation Efforts Across Jurisdictions, Gabriel Weil

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Climate change presents a global commons problem: Emissions reductions on the scale needed to meet global targets do not pass a domestic cost-benefit test in most countries. To give national governments ample incentive to pursue deep decarbonization, mutual interstate coercion will be necessary. Many proposed tools of coercive climate diplomacy would require a onedimensional metric for comparing the stringency of climate change mitigation policy packages across jurisdictions. This article proposes and defends such a metric: the carbon price equivalent. There is substantial variation in the set of climate change mitigation policy instruments implemented by different countries. Nonetheless, the consequences of …

Integrating Environmental Protection Into Asean Trading System, Kittinut Supsoontornkul

Dissertations & Theses

Integrating environmental protection into ASEAN trading system is pivotal for ensuring long-term economic development and environmental sustainability. Due to its resource-based economy, ASEAN's economic performance highly depends on the sustainable condition of the environment. The ASEAN approach prioritizing economic growth without environmental consideration leads to environmental degradation and economic loss. Many transboundary environmental problems in ASEAN result from unsustainable production methods aiming to maximize advantages in trade competition. There are growing international efforts in addressing production and process methods as a part of the sustainable development goal. Major trading partners of ASEAN increasingly employ unilateral environmental trade measures and environmental …

International Law Association's Guidelines On Intellectual Property And Private International Law ("Kyoto Guidelines"): Recognition And Enforcement, Pedro De Miguel Asensio, Marketa Trimble

Scholarly Works

This section of the the chapter "Recognition and Enforcement" of the International Law Association's Guidelines on Intellectual Property and Private International Law ("Kyoto Guidelines") establishes the conditions under which the effects of judgments rendered in a country may be extended to foreign jurisdictions. It seeks to favor international coordination and legal certainty by facilitating the cross-border recognition and enforcement of judgments relating to IP disputes. The Guidelines are based on a broad concept of judgment with restrictions concerning judgments not considered final under the law of the State of origin as well as certain provisional measures. The main provision of …

Climate Change's Free Rider Problem: Why We Must Relinquish Freedom To Become Free, Natalie M. Roy

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Despite the increasing urgency of climate change, countries continue to struggle to cooperate on even modest solutions. Of international accords that are successfully ratified, agreed-upon commitments are mostly hortatory and vague, succeeding only in engendering a fragmented, voluntary compliance scheme. Unsurprisingly, decades of tepid climate action and procrastination have begotten a staggering emissions gap for the world to close by 2030—requiring a collective greenhouse gas reduction of about fifty percent to limit global warming to the 1.5°C benchmark. Yet, global greenhouse emissions have generally risen, not fallen in the last decade, with 2018 marking a record high despite pledges made …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Bargaining Justice: Negotiating Law In An Indian Bazaar, Andy Rotman

Seattle University Law Review

This Symposium Article details the bazaars in the city of Banaras and explains why it is an especially good test case for considering the topic at hand: Corporate Capitalism and the City of God. The article explores how Banaras challenges normative views of “corporate capitalism,” both in terms of how it is practiced in the city and the rules that govern it. It further focuses on the legal system that is mobilized to guide commercial exchange and daily life in the bazaars of Banaras, this legal system’s relationship to the city’s courts and police, and the relationship between these two …

2020 International Trade Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Kevin J. Fandl

American University Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) hears appeals from the U.S. District Courts as well as the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) about trade-related matters. The 2020 term of the CAFC with respect to appeals from the CIT included fewer precedential decisions and a move to telephonic hearings in light of Covid-19. The resulting decisions included, as usual, mostly antidumping appeals, but also a handful of classification and countervailing duty cases. In the following pages, this Article provides a selection of those decisions that may have a bearing on similar cases moving through the system. These …

Building A Better Future In International Development: Why The Dfc Should Be Considered An Agency To Comply With Development Finance Standards And Maintain Influence Abroad, Rebecca M. Dresner

American University Law Review

The world is facing increasingly global challenges like climate change, growing income inequality, financial crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges disproportionately impact economically developing countries. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and International Finance Institutions (IFIs) are tools that the international community deploys to mobilize private capital to support development projects around the world. The International Development Finance Corporation is a newly formed U.S. DFI that consolidated the United States’ development finance initiatives into one government entity.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is a bilateral entity that receives funding from the U.S. government to further economic advancement in developing …

A Philosophical Inquiry Into The Concept Of Territorial Sovereignty: A New Analytical Framework Of The Territorial Disputes In The China Seas, Henan Hu

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Existing normative legal efforts that focus on territorial acquisition, appear inadequate in providing a uniform and final answer to the issue of territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. China's historical claims are a unique and difficult issue therein. This article returns legal attention to the central concept of territorial sovereignty within territorial disputes by engaging in a philosophical inquiry to examine if the concept could be more fully understood and to ask to what extent do historical claims relate to the concept of territorial sovereignty and international law. This article argues that a definite answer to these …

Masthead - Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review, Vol. 5 (2021-22)

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

2020 International Advocate For Peace Award, Melanie Leslie, Lela P. Love, Zachary Kriesberg, Prabha Sankaranarayan, Ken Cloke, Dave Joseph, Gwendolyn Meyers, Mary Montague, Shadia Marhaban

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

On September 23, 2020, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution presented its annual International Advocate for Peace Award to Mediators Beyond Borders International. What follows is a transcript of the event.

Taking Exception To Assessments Of American Exceptionalism: Why The United States Isn't Such An Outlier On Free Speech, Evelyn Aswad

Faculty Articles

One of the most significant challenges to human freedom in the digital age involves the sheer power of private companies over speech and the fact that power is untethered to existing free speech principles. Heated debates are ongoing about what standards social media companies should adopt to regulate speech on their platforms. Some have argued that global social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, should align their speech codes with the international human rights law standards of the United Nations (“U.N.”). Others have countered that U.S.-based companies should apply First Amendment standards. Much of this debate is premised on …