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The Kosovo Crisis: A Dostoievskian Dialogue On International Law, Statecraft, And Soulcraft, Antonio F. Perez, Robert J. Delahunty

Scholarly Articles

The secession of Kosovo from Serbia in February 2008 represents a stage in the unfolding of a revolution of "constitutional" dimensions in International Law that began with NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo against Serbia. NATO's intervention called into question the authority and viability of U.N. Charter system for maintaining international peace. Likewise, the West's decision in 2008 to support Kosovo's secession from Serbia dealt a further blow to the central post-War legal rules and institutions for controlling and mitigating Great power rivalry. Russia's later support for South Ossetia's secession from Georgia demonstrated the potential that the Kosovo precedent has for …

Guantánamo, Habeas Corpus, And Standards Of Proof: Viewing The Law Through Multiple Lenses, Matthew C. Waxman

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court held in Boumediene v. Bush that Guantánamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus review of their detention, but it left to district courts in the first instance responsibility for working through the appropriate standard of proof and related evidentiary principles imposed on the government to justify continued detention. This article argues that embedded in seemingly straightforward judicial standard-setting with respect to proof and evidence are significant policy questions about competing risks and their distribution. How one approaches these questions depends on the lens through which one views the problem: through that of a courtroom concerned …

The Women's Protocol To The African Charter And Sexual Violence In The Context Of Armed Conflict Or Other Mass Atrocity, Susana Sacouto, Katherine A. Cleary

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Internal Displacement, The Guiding Principles On Internal Displacement, The Principles Normative Status, And The Need For Their Effective Domestic Implementation In Colombia, Robert K. Goldman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Or Inhuman Wrongs, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The project of promoting universally recognized human rights, that is, the commitments of the U.N. General Assembly-ratified Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), is in danger. Military and political intervention, including economic sanctions, to stop genocide and ethnic and other political mass murder is under attack. Apparently the lessons of Hitler’s holocaust, the Turkish genocide of Armenians, Pol Pot’s slaughter of innocents, and the loss of life in Rwanda are being rethought and un-taught. So-called peace is now preferred over prevention. The dead may have died in vain.

Challenging The International Criminal Court Over Al-Bashir, Emma Gilligan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As of late November 2008, we are still awaiting the decision of the U.N. Security Council with regard to the request for the arrest of Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide put forward by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July. With former Presidents Charles Taylor of Liberia and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia as the only two heads of state formally indicted by the ICC since its inception in 2002, the question remains whether the U.N. Security Council will allow this controversial indictment of al-Bashir by Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo or invoke Article 16 …

Alex De Waal's Shuttle Diplomacy, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This month’s discussion piece, “The Activist,” is a critical look at one of the most renowned scholars of the turmoil in Sudan. Alex de Waal, a man with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the different factions, aspects, and issues surrounding the conflicts in Sudan, is profiled under a careful eye. De Waal, a competent critic—as McDonell notes who “takes pride in his competence, and he does not hesitate to criticize activists he deems inexpert”— has built a career on a meticulously researched understanding of the conflict. He honed that reputation through careful action, critical thinking, and a critical voice for …

Peace Without Justice, Or Justice Without Peace?, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Peace without justice is an illusion. The use of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute human rights violations not only provides restorative justice for those harmed by the wrongdoing but also retributive justice towards the perpetrators. Restorative justice seeks to help heal the wounds of the victims and community by acknowledging and witnessing the pain and suffering of the victim. Retributive justice seeks to punish the offenders. The hope is that retribution will deter or prevent future acts of violence by holding perpetrators accountable for the violations of human rights, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. …

December Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Activist.” Harper's Magazine. November 2008.

Global Ethics And The Role Of Academics, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Academics have a social and professional responsibility that stems from their individual duties as global citizens. With their privileged position as lifelong learners they need to assess carefully where they direct their attention for research, their teaching and their exchange of knowledge with the wider public. This means that academic freedom does not only bring a range of rights, it also involves duties to develop and advocate ethical positions on real-life dilemmas and to engage in self-reflection on being in the role of contributing to oppression.

International Decision: Munaf V. Geren, Harlan G. Cohen

Scholarly Works

This International Decision case comment, the final version of which will be published in Volume 102, No. 4, of the American Journal of International Law (forthcoming), examines the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Munaf v. Geren, a case arising out of U.S. operations in Iraq and allegations of potential torture in Iraqi custody. In that decision, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the federal courts have jurisdiction under the habeas corpus statute to hear claims brought by American citizens held overseas by American forces "operating subject to an American chain of command, even when those forces are acting as a …

The Constitutionality Of Court-Martialing Civilian Contractors In Iraq, Margaret Prystowsky

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the legal implications of outsourcing military functions to private contractors, focusing on the accountability gap under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It argues that recent amendments to the UCMJ, particularly the expansion of court-martial jurisdiction over civilian contractors during declared wars and contingency operations, address this gap. The analysis concludes that these changes are constitutionally sound, given Congress's authority under Article I, Section 8, and align with legal precedent. However, the article also highlights practical challenges, such as prosecutorial discretion and limited penalties, which may undermine the effectiveness of these reforms.

Punishing Aggressors In U.S. Courts: Will The Act Of State Doctrine Bar National Prosecution Of The Crime Of Aggression?, Gergana Halpern

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines the intersection of the Act of State Doctrine and the prosecution of the crime of aggression in U.S. courts, arguing that while the doctrine does not legally preclude such prosecutions, practical considerations such as political sensitivity and the need for international legitimacy suggest that U.S. courts should await international consensus before proceeding. The analysis highlights the complexities of balancing legal principles with diplomatic realities.

The Clear And Present Internet: Terrorism, Cyberspace, And The First Amendment, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Introductory Note To The Agreement Between The Republic Of Poland And The United States Of America Concerning The Deployment Of Ground-Based Ballistic Missile Defense Interceptors In The Territory Of The Republic Of Poland, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Who Counts? Refugees And The Politics Of Indifference, Sonia Cardenas

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The contemporary plight of refugees, asylum seekers, and other marginalized groups reveals the limits of international human rights norms. Numerous internationally recognized standards and laws exist for the humane treatment of people. Yet despite enormous progress, the reality is that some people are simply deemed to be less fully human than others. Nationalism and racism underlie popular indifference to today’s unwanted refugees. This is the unspoken truth that lies at the heart of the global refugee problem.

Reconstructing Sovereignty: From Control To Responsibility, Eric K. Leonard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As I stood with a standing-room only crowd last fall at a United Nations University of New York (UNU-ONY) event entitled, "Prevention of Mass Atrocities: From Mandate to Realization," I began to wonder how far the responsibility to protect (R2P) could be stretched. As defined by the UNU-ONY organizers, the purpose of the event was " to explore the work of mass atrocity prevention across the UN system, with a focus on the role of the new Office of the Special Representative for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (SRPGMA)." As I currently look at the international community's response …

July Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

"Armed and Humanitarian" by Bruce Falconer. Mother Jones. May 19, 2008.

Mission Creep: De-Militarizing Humanitarian Protection, Sonia Cardenas

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Over a decade ago, the U.S. military was warning liberal internationalists about the dangers of "mission creep." Today it is doing the opposite, incorporating relief and development work into its operations. In the devastating aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma , the U.S. military's newfound mission may seem compelling. Unfortunately, expanding the military's role into humanitarian work reflects a flawed logic that should be resisted. There are more promising ways to protect victims of humanitarian disaster.

When Steel And Guns Meets Bread And Butter, Daniel J. Graeber

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Speaking before the 191-member United Nations in 2005, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that "For the first time . we are agreed that states do not have the right to do what they will within their own borders but that we in the name of humanity have a common duty to protect people where their own governments will not." This notion, that of responsible sovereignty , says that nation states forfeit the right to uninterrupted internal freedoms when they no longer uphold the responsibilities associated with sovereignty.

Reining In Rambo: Prosecuting Crimes Committed By American Military Contractors In Iraq, Christopher D. Belen

Penn State International Law Review (1982 - 2011)

No abstract provided.

Peace Through Law? The Failure Of A Noble Experiment, Robert J. Delahunty, John C. Yoo

Michigan Law Review

Ever since its publication in 1929, Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front has been regarded as a landmark of antiwar literature. Appearing a decade after the end of the First World War, the novel became a literary sensation almost overnight. Within a year of publication, it had been translated into twenty languages, including Chinese, and by April 1930, sales for twelve of the twenty editions stood at 2.5 million. Remarque was reputed to have the largest readership in the world. Hollywood took note, and an equally successful film appeared in 1930. The success of the novel was …

Book Review Of A Jurisprudence Of Power: Victorian Empire And The Rule Of Law, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Baghdad, Tokyo, Kabul….Constitution Making In Occupied States, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, James Melton

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name? Reflections On Timing, Naming, And Constitution-Making, Vicki C. Jackson

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conciliatory Institutions And Constitutional Processes In Post-Conflict States, Donald L. Horowitz

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Invoking The Rule Of Law In Post-Conflict Rebuilding: A Critical Examination, Balakrishnan Rajagopal

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Expanding Participation In Constitution Making: Challenges And Opportunities, Angela M. Banks

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Quintessential Elements Of Meaningful Constitutions In Post-Conflict States, William W. Van Alstyne

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Heather Heckel On Child Soldiers: From Violence To Protection By Michael Wessells. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006. 284 Pp., Heather Heckel

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection by Michael Wessells. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006. 284 pp.