International Law Commons^™

The Institutions Of Exceptions: Justification In Trade And Investment Treaties, Julian Arato

Michigan Journal of International Law

International economic law binds states in the interest of liberalizing markets, including in cross-border trade in goods and services (trade) and capital (investment). The treaty regimes for both trade and investment do this by disciplining states through legal rules, while preserving a modicum of governmental authority over domestic policy. The preservation of policy space in these regimes usually involves a process of exceptions-based justification – through formal exceptions clauses in most trade treaties and some investment agreements, and also through informal exceptions-style reasoning by adjudicators in the investment treaty regime more generally. This “exceptions paradigm” of justification has worked well …

Participation Of Non-State Actors In International Climate Change Advisory Opinions, Matei Alexianu, Hannah Sweeney

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

This Article offers an analysis of the unprecedented participation of non-state actors (“NSAs”), including nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, grassroots movements, and individuals, in the three recent landmark international climate change advisory proceedings. After mapping the distinct procedural regimes of the three international fora involved, the Article catalogues the diverse avenues through which NSAs have shaped these proceedings: initiating and coordinating advisory requests, submitting written and oral arguments, supplying scientific and legal expertise, orchestrating advocacy campaigns, and mobilizing post-decision implementation. The Article then identifies the principal benefits of expanded NSA engagement—enhanced representativeness, richer technical inputs, and accelerated norm diffusion—before highlighting the …

Settlers In Syria: Turkey’S Population Transfers And The Geneva Conventions, Eugene Kontorovich, Erielle Azerrad

Emory International Law Review

This Article is the first work of legal scholarship to examine Turkish population transfers in northern Syria, which constitute perhaps the most aggressive movement of settler populations into occupied territory in current times. In particular, it examines the lawfulness of such movements under Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from “deport[ing] or transfer[ring] parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”  In a series of major military operations beginning in 2018, Turkey has seized nearly 3,000 square miles of territory in two sectors in northern Syria and established control. While it …

Corporate Culpability And The Tragedy Of The Commons: Extraction And Enforcement Schemes In Brazil And Nigeria, Jane Ijeoma Onuoha

Emory International Law Review

Natural resources that were abundant decades ago are now at an all-time low. Meanwhile, corporations continue to benefit from using the Earth and its resources for their profit. Rather than enforcing established legal frameworks designed to protect the environment and human rights, governments often allow corruption, control, and competition to create opportunities for gain through complicity. In countries like the Federative Republic of Brazil and in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the effects of inaction are taking a toll on the natural resources that each country relies on. Multinational corporations are not held accountable for their corrupt and illegal extractive …

The Criminalization Of Black Friendship, Kinship And Belonging, Reakash Walters

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper posits that the Canadian state's attempt to target organized crime through the Criminal Code's criminal organization provisions has led to the criminalization of everyday expressions of Black life, including the criminalization of Black friendship. The statutory architecture of the regime incentivizes criminal legal actors with limited contiguity to Black culture to conflate bids for connection, association, and friendship within Black communities as gang activity.

Before the criminal organization provisions were enacted, Canada had no legacy of directly criminalizing organized crime. Localized violence in Quebec during the mid-1990s led to rushed amendments to the Criminal Code to target biker …

Reforma Alutsista Dan Sumber Daya Alam: Menjawab Tantangan Hukum Internasional Dan Perdamaian Dunia, Wildan Azkal Fikri, Rohadhatul Aisy

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

This study departs from the paradox of the failure to achieve world peace despite the existence of an established international legal regime. It addresses three main objectives: (1) identifying the key factors that undermine world peace; (2) analyzing the failure factors of international law to realize global peace; and (3) formulating a responsive international legal architecture to future peace agendas. The study employs a critical descriptive method with a socio-legal (non-doctrinal) approach, drawing on the analytical frameworks of neorealism, great powers oligarchy, and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). The qualitative analysis is conducted by examining power relations, the …

The Law And Ai As An “Apex Collaborator”: Legal Frameworks For Optimized Cooperation, David S. Filippi, Bill Tomlinson, Andrew W. Torrance

FIU Law Review

Law fundamentally exists to enable human cooperation, providing frameworks for everything from basic contracts to complex international agreements. As artificial intelligence systems grow more sophisticated, they may enable new ways that collaborative activity can occur. We posit the possibility of a new kind of AI entity: the “Apex Collaborator,” a computational system with capabilities for cooperation and partnership that are superior, in at least some ways, to those of humans. Just as apex predators shape the ecosystems in which they live through predation, Apex Collaborators would shape human-AI networks through their ability to enhance peaceful coexistence, collective problem-solving, and shared …

Race, Reparative Justice, And Climate Change-Related Migration, Monica Visalam Iyer

FIU Law Review

The question of how to appropriately respond to migration linked to climate change is increasingly being debated in academia, in government and policy circles, and, crucially, in international legal and climate policy forums. These debates often center on data and on understanding the true numbers of people who might migrate in the context of climate change, and how much of this migration can accurately be linked to climate change, or on the security and logistical concerns associated with responding to this “challenge,” or on the appropriate legal box into which people migrating in this context can be shoved. Too often, …

The Making Of Egyptian Cotton: An Alternative Narrative Between Empire And Global Capital, Dina I. Waked

FIU Law Review

Egyptian cotton has become a celebrated brand. Referring to cotton as “Egyptian” signals a certain quality, luxury, and durability. Egyptian cotton has, thus, become its own trademark, a signifier of value, and a symbol of national heritage. This image is carefully curated. It is now protected under a licensing scheme of branding and marketing that assures that fraudulently claimed “Egyptian cotton” does not benefit from the added value this geographic location ascribes to it. The Egyptian Cotton Association was thus created 2005 to license and accredit the brand. Part of the curation of the brand image is a historical narrative …

Voyage Of Injustice: The Socioeconomic Exploitation In The Cruise Industry, Tarissa L. Peterson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Crypto-Asset Regulation Under Wto Law, Ines Willemyns

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

A Dose Of Accountability: Fixing Treaty Enforcement To Combat State Complicity In Transnational Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking, Caitlin Sharma

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The international fentanyl crisis underscores significant gaps in treaty enforcement, particularly with state accountability for drug manufacturing and export practices leading to illicit fentanyl trafficking. Despite preventive measures established by United Nations drug conventions, legal loopholes in these provisions impede meaningful cooperation between state parties. This Note uses key countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, and India, as case studies in both producing and receiving fentanyl and its precursors. It evaluates current proposals to mitigate the crisis, such as enhanced international cooperation and the potential expansion of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction. However, these solutions remain insufficient due …

Uncharted Waters: Barriers To Ocean Carbon Removal In The High Seas Under Unclos And The Bbnj, Connor Stevens

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

‘Salami Slicing’ And Issue Estoppel: Foreign Decisions On The Governing Law, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Whether an issue estoppel arises over foreign decisions on the governing law of the claim has not been directly considered by an English court, but decisions in other jurisdictions show that this question is increasingly being raised in litigation. Is there identity of issue if the two courts apply different choice of law rules? The answer turns on whether a broad or narrow framing of the issue is adopted. It is suggested that, absent an issue which is subject to forum international public policy, forum overriding mandatory rules or which is one that the forum court retains the prerogative to …

Rethinking Legal Models For Aligning U.S.-African Trade And The Afcfta, Katrin Kuhlmann

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The U.S.-African trade relationship has become increasingly volatile and conditional, with significant implications for supply chains, trade corridors, and regional and global markets. This relationship has historically been based on a unilateral, preferential legal approach through a trade preference programme – the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – under which individual countries petition for eligibility to receive duty-free treatment. AGOA expired in September 2025 in the midst of U.S. tariffs, but in early 2026 the programme was retroactively reauthorised through December 2026, with further application subject to “modernisation” and alignment with the “America First” policy. While many see reauthorisation …

Outbound Investment Restrictions And International Law’S Challenge, Harlan G. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

The Outbound Investment Rule, restricting U.S. investment in certain Chinese advanced technology sectors, has largely been portrayed as an incremental measure, a modest extension to fill loopholes in the existing investment screening regime. But while perhaps the logical next step in the securitization of the economy, the Outbound Investment Rule actually reflects a momentous shift in the relationship between governments and business, one playing out in the United States and around the world and worth attention. Unlike traditional investment screening, the Outbound Investment Rule operates like a sanctions regime, designed not to protect the U.S. economy, but to hamper the …

Distillation Laundering: Regulatory Arbitrage And A Potential Beijing Effect In Ai, Laura Edelson, Filippo Lancieri

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay introduces distillation laundering, a new form of regulatory arbitrage. Distillation, a technique for training large language models based on the outputs of other models instead of from scratch, is generally prohibited by the terms of service of closed-weight frontier models. However, it is economically efficient and has been key to the success of the cheap, distilled (largely Chinese) open-weight models, which have reshaped the global political economy of AI regulation. US companies have now begun to re-import the effects of distillation through various means—a process we call distillation laundering. We also discuss how attempts to lobby these models …

International Law Duties Not To Recognize, Not To Assist, And To Cooperate Against Peremptory Norms (Jus Cogens) Violations,, Diane A. Desierto

Journal Articles

Peremptory norms (jus cogens) are the highest norms of international law. When these norms are violated, all States and international organizations have, at a minimum, three international legal duties to discharge while the violation is occurring: (1) the duty of non-recognition, where no State or international organization should recognize the situation caused by the violation; (2) the duty of non-assistance, where no State or international organization should render any aid or assistance to maintain this situation caused by the violation; and (3) the duty of cooperation, where all States and international organizations should cooperate to bring the violation to an …

The Internet And The Lost Law Of Transit, Vivek Krishnamurthy

Publications

For centuries, the law of transit has specified when states must permit foreign persons and goods to traverse their territory on journeys beginning and ending beyond their borders. Transit is a right — not a privilege — that tempers territorial sovereignty. Though largely forgotten today, the right to transit springs from states’ responsibilities to the international community when their territory hosts infrastructure of global utility.

Yet the internet stands as a striking exception to this tradition. Despite its importance, no doctrine of transit constrains states’ power to block or disrupt internet traffic that merely passes through their territory. This is …

To The Hague And Beyond: The Shifting Terrain Of International Criminal Justice, Leila Nadya Sadat, Valerie Oosterveld, Sharon Weil, Nancy Combs, David Crane

Faculty Publications

Panel of international criminal law experts speak about the areas in which they work.

International Law, The Courts, And The Political Branches Of Singapore: Painting A Complete Picture, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In line with Singapore's vision of the separation of powers, the courts' duty is primarily to give effect to domestic law; the political branches take the lead in engaging with international law. A study of Singapore's interface with international law would therefore be incomplete were it to consider only the courts' role and not the political branches' model of international law as primarily a guarantor of Singapore's sovereignty and standing as a participant on the international stage. The political branches have been circumspect in engaging with international law in other areas, such as human rights, preferring a specifically Singaporean vision …

The Implementation Of An International Treaty Across A Small Island Developing State: The United Nations Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) In Cabo Verde, Lydia Landim

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. To date, it is the most comprehensive international treaty for women’s rights. Cabo Verde, a small island developing state located off the west coast of Africa, ratified CEDAW in 1980. As an archipelago, Cabo Verde serves as a unique case study for treaty implementation, particularly, as literature on small island developing states has established that these states face unique challenges when it comes to implementation of laws, policy, and to governance overall, all of which heavily intersect …

Reassessing Indonesia's In-Kind Benefit Tax Regulation: Insights From Australia, Florencia Irena Gunawan, Maria Na Uli Salsabilah Sabililah

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

This research critically assesses Indonesia's in-kind benefit tax regulatory framework based on the principles of equity, certainty, and neutrality, drawing comparative insights from Australia's fringe benefits tax system. Utilizing a normative juridical method, this study finds that integrating in-kind benefits into Indonesia's income tax framework poses several challenges. First, under the equity principle, current valuation methods do not accurately reflect employees' ability to pay, potentially resulting in inequitable tax burdens. Second, under the certainty principle, ambiguities in the exemption rules may create risks of differing interpretations between taxpayers and tax authorities. Third, under the neutrality principle, differential treatment across industries …

Achieving Judicial Consistency Through The Establishment Of Civil And Criminal Chambers In Indonesia's District And High Courts, Dwi Bintang Satrio, Efa Laela Fakhriah, Artaji Artaji

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia has implemented the chamber system to achieve judicial consistency and fulfil the fundamental objectives of law, namely legal certainty, justice, and expediency. However, despite this effort, inconsistencies in judicial decisions remain prevalent, particularly in civil and criminal cases at the district and high court levels. This study employed a normative juridical approach supported by case analysis to examine the effectiveness of the current chamber system in achieving judicial consistency and to identify structural weaknesses that hinder its optimal implementation. The results reveal that judicial inconsistencies are found in several court decisions, such …

The Death Penalty For Bribery-Related Corruption In Social Assistance During Non-Natural Disasters: A Legal Certainty Perspective, Elly Sudarti, Sahuri Lasmadi, Andi Agus Salim, Riana Devi Lestari, Mohammad Thoriq Bahrie

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

This article analyzes the judge's verdict regarding the bribery corruption of social assistance during a non-natural disaster committed by Juliari Batubara. It questions whether such bribery corruption can be punishable by the death penalty. Juliari was not sentenced to death because the law only threatens the death penalty under natural disaster conditions, and COVID-19 is not considered a natural disaster. The death penalty is only threatened for corruption under Article 2, paragraph 2, not for bribery corruption. The judge's decision followed conventional legal norms, resulting in a verdict that was overly normative and failed to address the issue. This article …

Reapproaching International Law Through Twail: Reclaiming Marine Sovereignty And Rights Of The Global South Within Law Of The Sea, Ria Wierma Putri, Febryani Sabatira, Orima Melati Davey, Afandi Sitamala

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), also understood as a theory of decolonizing international law, offers a critical framework for analyzing the historical evolution of international law and its continuing impact on Global South nations. This article examines TWAIL's perspective within the Law of the Sea, with particular attention to the ways in which the dominance of marine resource use by industrialized states perpetuates structural inequities over less powerful states. Since the 1950s, TWAIL scholars have emphasized the importance of amplifying Global South voices to challenge entrenched colonial legacies and reshape the future of international law. The purpose of …

Debating Expert Authority In Corruption Cases: The Challenge Of Interpreting State Financial Losses Under The 2023 Indonesian Criminal Code, Wendy Kenafiana Assanti, Hendry Julian Noor

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

The 2023 Indonesian Criminal Code revises the formulation of corruption offenses, including rules on proving state financial losses; however, the elucidation of Article 603 raises questions regarding the competent institution and the evidentiary weight of audit results. This study examines how the provision may perpetuate ongoing debates over experts’ authority to determine state financial losses, which are often perceived as affecting legal certainty, and proposes a reformulation to provide clearer legal guidance. This doctrinal study employs statutory and case law approaches, utilizes qualitative methods, and applies Gustav Radbruch’s perspective as an analytical lens. It finds that Article 603’s elucidation uses …

Legal Implication And Solution: The Exemption For Apartment And Flat Developer's Bankruptcy Request As Insufficient To Meet Simple Proof Requirements, Veri Antoni, Azka Farrell Razaga

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

Supreme Court Circular (SEMA) 3/2023 states that apartment and/or flat developers do not meet the simple proof requirements referred to in Article 8 paragraph (4) of Law 37/2004. This paper aims to answer what is the legal implication of the exception to the bankruptcy request against apartment and/or flat developers that were considered insufficient to meet the simple proof requirement in SEMA 3/2023? and what the solutions as a recommendation that can be provided? This research is normative legal research that employs legislative, conceptual, and comparative approaches through document studies to obtain secondary data. Simple proof in bankruptcy law refers …

Antitrust In Practice: Case-Based Comparative Analysis Of Predatory Pricing Enforcement In Indonesia And The United States, Anna Maria Tri Anggraini, Ahmad Sabirin, Farhandi Himawan

Padjadjaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum (Journal of Law)

Business entities employ predatory pricing as a strategy primarily aimed at eliminating competitors. The regulation and detection of predatory pricing are complex processes, and each country adopts distinct mechanisms to address the issue. The scientific contribution of this study lies in its comparative analysis of two different legal systems—Indonesia’s civil law and the United States’ common law—in addressing predatory pricing practices under competition law. It examines how differing legal frameworks influence the methods of proof, the application of the rule of reason principle, and the pattern of sanctions imposed on business actors. In addition, this study adopts an interdisciplinary approach …

Book Review: The Role Of Civil Society In Transitional Justice: The Case Of Russia, Myra Dahgaypaw

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This book review evaluates Selbi Durdiyeva's The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice: The Case of Russia as a vital contribution to genocide prevention scholarship, which is particularly timely given Russia's mass atrocity crimes in Ukraine and their connection to domestic repression. The book's theoretical innovation in challenging state-centric transitional justice paradigms through rigorous analysis of Memorial NGO, Orthodox Church activities, and revisionist groups across three decades of post-Soviet Russia is critical for the transitional justice field. It is worth highlighting Durdiyeva's unique postcolonial perspective as someone from a former Soviet territory studying the metropole, and her demonstration that …