National Security Law Commons^™

Nestlé V. Doe: A Death Knell To Corporate Human Rights Accountability?, Phillip Ayers

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court in Nestlé v. Doe held that foreign plaintiffs who claimed to be victims of overseas tortious conduct by corporate defendants had no jurisdiction to sue in federal courts using the Alien Tort Statute. This Comment looks at the history of the Alien Tort Statute, from its inspiration, long dormancy, and recent reinvigoration beginning in the 1980s. The Comment then explores the background of Nestlé and its issues with child slavery in its cocoa supply chain. From there, the Comment analyzes the Nestlé v. Doe decision, and posits an alternative outcome. Finally, this Comment looks for a new …

Corporate Governance And Gender Equality: A Study Of Comply-Or-Explain Disclosure Regulation, Aaron A. Dhir, Sarah Kaplan, Maria Arabella Robles

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking permission to adopt a board diversity-related disclosure requirement for its listed companies. In 2021, the SEC approved the proposal, thus entrenching Nasdaq’s position as the most significant stock exchange to date to mandate listing rules that reflect the intention of diversifying corporate boardrooms. Nasdaq’s movement into the diversity space is not the first attempt to address homogeneous boards in the U.S. In 2009, the SEC adopted a rule requiring publicly traded firms to report on whether they consider diversity in identifying director nominees. …

Judicial Ethics And The Eradication Of Racism, Dontay Proctor-Mills

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Washington Supreme Court entrusted the legal community with working to eradicate racism from its legal system. Soon after, Washington’s Commission on Judicial Conduct (hereinafter the Commission) received a complaint about a bus ad for North Seattle College featuring King County Superior Court Judge David Keenan. Along with a photo of Judge Keenan’s face, the ad included the following language: “A Superior Court Judge, David Keenan got into law in part to advocate for marginalized communities. David’s changing the world. He started at North.” The Commission admonished Judge Keenan for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, in part …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Why Corporate Boards Should Include Lgbtq+ People, Jeremy Mcclane, Darren Rosenblum

Seattle University Law Review

Corporate boardrooms sit at the heart of most of society’s most consequential decisions but fall far short of the diversity of our society. The current movement toward board diversification aims to remedy the underrepresentation of marginalized groups on corporate boards. More recently, some efforts have included LGBTQ+ people, even though the basis for their inclusion on corporate boards remains largely unstated. This Article examines both the normative and instrumental bases for LGBTQ+ inclusion in board diversity initiatives, articulating unspoken assumptions and linking LGBTQ+ people to the broader inclusion effort. In so doing, it begins to surface the unique issues LGBTQ+ …

Domestic Terrorism Classification In The United States V. Canada And The United Kingdom, Michelle Hayek

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

For the past two decades, discourse on terrorism (both global and domestic) has been commonplace throughout the international sphere. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, many nations have followed suit in launching counterterrorism operations to identify and prevent attacks by both radical groups and lone actors. While the common narrative has focused on “why” terrorist actors commit heinous acts and “how” to best prevent future incidents from emerging, it is important to analyze the legal nuances between prosecuting domestic versus international terrorists. With the rise on “homegrown” domestic lone actors, nations have had to reevaluate and adapt counterterrorism statutes …

Anonymous Hacktivism: Flying The Flag Of Feminist Ethics For The Ukraine It Army, Ellen Cornelius

Homeland Security Publications

No abstract provided.

A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing: Assessing The Dangerous, Hidden, And Increasing Defects Of The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, David S. Jonas, Erielle Davidson

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The article critically examines the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA) of 2015, arguing that while it was intended to enhance congressional oversight of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and other agreements with Iran, INARA falls short of its goals. The analysis reveals that INARA is poorly drafted, lacks teeth, and fails to provide meaningful transparency or checks on executive power, ultimately undermining Congress's role in national security matters.

Enforcing Interstate Compacts In Federal Systems, Michael Osborn

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

The central goal of a federal system is for local government units to retain degrees of independence, specifically over matters of importance to that local unit. A logical corollary to that independence is the ability for local units to negotiate and contract with other local units on matters of importance. Therefore, it is not surprising that almost every federal system allows, either implicitly or explicitly, member states to form binding compacts with other states, the union government, or municipalities.1 Some federal democracies even allow member states to compact with foreign governments. Furthermore, almost every federal constitution includes a provision outlining …

Tech And Authoritarianism: How The People’S Republic Of China Is Using Data To Control Hong Kong And Why The U.S. Is Vulnerable, Bryce Neary

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

The aim of this article is to analyze and compare current events in the People's Republic of China and the United States to discuss the moral dilemmas that arise when establishing the boundary between national security interests and individual privacy rights. As we continue to intertwine our lives with technology, it has become increasingly important to establish clear privacy rights. The question then becomes: at what point should individuals sacrifice their rights for what the government considers the "greater good" of the country?

Further, this article analyzes the development of U.S. privacy law and its relationship to national security, technology, …

The United States Is Enabling An Outer Space Arms Race: An Overview Of The Current Framework And Recommendations For Abating An Outer Space Arms Race, Valerie Shmigol

Seattle University Law Review

This Note explores the possibility of future armed outer space conflict as global powers create and test counterspace weapons. Part I of this Note overviews current space security threats, focusing on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea’s capabilities. Part II provides a primer on international agreements governing outer space. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty serves as the legal framework for outer space activities; however, it is woefully inadequate in addressing escalating tensions. Finally, Part III provides recommendations and advocates for the United States to revise its position, which seeks voluntary “transparency and confidence building measures.”

Law And Liberty On The Moon, Frans Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

As on Earth, so in outer space . .

Most of those participating in humankind’s venturing into outer space, in particular to the extent of establishing settlements there and thereby providing for a second home for humanity, would hope or even assume that humankind in so doing might be able to avoid the sometimes rather bloody developments that accompanied settlement in far-away territories on Earth. However, at least in the legal area, with a view to its role as providing not only justice and fairness but also predictability and foreseeability, logic dictates that terrestrial laws and experiences of these laws …

Tightwire Of National Interests And Publicity In The Evolved Process Of Democratization And Constitutional Transformation: Lessons From Taiwan, Hsin-Hsuan Lin

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Achieving an optimal balance between government secrecy and democratic accountability has led to long-standing questions in the discussion of contemporary constitutionalism. To address the complex contemporary phenomenon of government secrecy within a democratic society, a more in-depth understanding of its tension with democratic accountability and transparency is essential. This article provides a descriptive overview of Taiwan's legal system, its legal implications in relation to government secrecy, and its normative implications. The article begins with a historical background of Taiwan's legal system, focusing on legal reform as it relates to government secrecy. The article investigates the complex interactions between the administrative, …

A Bull In A China Shop: How Cfius Made Tiktok A National Security Problem, Adina Feder

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note critiques the expansion of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) mandate under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), particularly its inclusion of "sensitive personal data" as a factor in national security reviews. This expansion has led to overly broad and vague definitions, resulting in unnecessary restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) without adequately addressing legitimate national security concerns. The note argues that data privacy issues should be addressed through separate federal privacy legislation rather than CFIUS, which is ill-suited to handle such matters. It calls for clearer definitions and a …

The “Law Of The Horse” For Outer Space? What “Space Law” Is, And Why It Is Important To Educate Space Lawyers, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

When I tell someone that I make a professional living with teaching, researching, and advising on space law, the first reaction all too often is laughter, followed by an only half-joking “So tell me, who owns the Moon then?” Which, by the way, nowadays is an important legal issue indeed. Such a lack of automatic recognition that something like “space law” makes sense ever since humankind entered outer space, however, usually is part of a more fundamental lack of understanding of the importance of space activities for our daily lives, which does not stop growing day by day.

It is …

Italy And The Implementation Of International Space Law, Frans Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

1. Introduction
2. Italy in Space
3. International Space Law and the Main Parameters for Private Space Activities
4. National Space Law in Italy as Addressing Private Space Activities
5. Concluding Remarks

Writing a contribution to the Liber Amicorum for someone who counts among the greatest space lawyers of Italy and indeed of the world, as well as being a long-time friend, is obviously a pleasure and an honour—and what other subject would be more suitable than the particular country that has been his birth ground, home, and point of departure for traveling the world to help the cause of …

Securing The Precipitous Heights: U.S. Lawfare As A Means To Confront China At Sea, In Space, And Cyberspace, Garret S. Bowman

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Undersea Cables: The Ultimate Geopolitical Chokepoint, Bert Chapman

FORCES Initiative: Strategy, Security, and Social Systems

This work provides historical and contemporary overviews of this critical geopolitical problem, describes the policy actors addressing this in the U.S. and selected other countries, and provides maps and information on many undersea cable work routes. These cables are chokepoints with one dictionary defining chokepoints as “a strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region."

Autonomous Weapons Systems And The Procedural Accounta- Bility Gap, Afonso Seixas-Nunes

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The development and well-established principles of Internationla Humanitarian Law have been progressively establishing limits to the means and methods of warfare. Those principles and rules are necessarily applicable to future autonomous weapon systems (AWS), but questions regarding liability for violations of IHL caused by AWS have been looming the international debate. This article has two parts. The first part aims to identify a technical dimension of AWS that has been neglected by international lawyers: States responsibility for IHL violations caused by errors in AWS’ software. This article argues that “errors” can neither be identified with “malfunctions” nor attributed to human …

Digital Privacy Rights And Cloud Act Agreements, Tim Cochrane

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) will soon bring into force a new international law enforcement data sharing ‘CLOUD Act agreement’ (US-UK Agreement), the first of its kind under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act 2018 (CLOUD Act). These agreements enable law enforcement in one state to directly request data from service providers based in the other state. They respond to long-standing concerns with the main mechanism for obtaining overseas data, mutual legal assistance (MLA). The US and UK claim the US-UK Agreement will significantly speed up data access relative to MLA while “respecting privacy and …

Innovation Meets Regulation: Firrma’S Significance, The Treasury’S Dilemma, And The New Normal For Foreign Investment In The U.S. Venture Capital Ecosystem, Jonathan Aaron Horn

Pepperdine Law Review

One of the most powerful entities in the federal government is the little-known Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is responsible for reviewing foreign investment transactions with U.S. businesses for potential national security threats. Originally, CFIUS was only able to review foreign investments that resulted in control of the U.S. company at issue, but the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) has significantly enhanced CFIUS’s scope to include review of minority investments. This Comment explores FIRRMA’s impact on foreign investment into the U.S. venture capital (VC) ecosystem and evaluates the uncertainty created for startups and …

The Environmental Impact Of Technological Innovation: How U.S. Legislation Fails To Handle Electronic Waste's Rapid Growth, Marisa D. Pescatore

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Duress In Immigration Law, Elizabeth A. Keyes

Seattle University Law Review

The doctrine of duress is common to other bodies of law, but the application of the duress doctrine is both unclear and highly unstable in immigration law. Outside of immigration law, a person who commits a criminal act out of well-placed fear of terrible consequences is different than a person who willingly commits a crime, but American immigration law does not recognize this difference. The lack of clarity leads to certain absurd results and demands reimagining, redefinition, and an unequivocal statement of the significance of duress in ascertaining culpability. While there are inevitably some difficult lines to be drawn in …

Innovative Thinking: Modernizing Outer Space Governance, Diane M. Janosek

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Space security is essential to global safety and prosperity. International treaties should modernize and reflect the world’s innovation in space and governance needs. One must look back to 1967 for the inaugural “Outer Space Treaty,” the first and only binding multilateral agreement for peaceful space use and exploration. In 50 years, technologies and space capabilities have evolved; an updated global treaty and agreement should be developed and evaluated. Both China and Russia have demonstrated their capability to degrade and/or destroy adversaries’ satellites in space. Space wars are no longer a hypothetical. The future once discussed and anxiously anticipated after Sputnik …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights And Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism: Re-Education Camps, Sumaya S. Bamakhrama

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Armed Conflicts In Outer Space: Which Law Applies?, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

I. Introduction

II. Space Law versus the Law of Armed Conflict ... A. The Essentials of Space Law … B. Space Law and the Threat or Use of Force in Outer Space … C. The Essentials of the Law of Armed Conflict ... D. The Law of Armed Conflict and the Threat or Use of Force in Outer Space

III. Conflicts of Application: A Few Key Examples ... A. Unraveling the Prioritization Issue: The Lex Specialis and Lex Posterior Principles ... B. Unraveling the Prioritization Issue: The U.N. Charter and Treaty Interpretation ... C. Unraveling the Prioritization Issue: Pacta Sunt …

Satellite Communications Law: The Nexus Of Space And Telecom Law, Frans Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

Given the complexity of satellite communications as a global business sector involving many private as well as public operators, many national and international regulators and a constantly evolving suite of services offered to an ever-increasing number of users and consumers, it should not come as a surprise that the legal environment—the sets of rules, rights, and obligations applicable to anyone operating in the field—is highly complex as well. This is already true even if merely focusing at the international level, where the myriad domestic regimes play varying roles—largely neglected in this particular article—in implementing, interpreting, refining, enforcing, or even changing …

Functional Statehood In Contemporary International Law, William Thomas Worster

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The international community lacks a form of territorial-based, international legal personality distinct from statehood, and yet, non-state, territorial entities of varying degrees of autonomy or independence need to function within the international community in some form. Some of these entities cannot be recognized as states because their creation violates jus cogens norms, though others are not recognized based on an assessment that they may not fully qualify as a state or that there are political reasons to refuse recognition. However, existing states still need to engage with these territorial quasi-states through the only paradigm the international community has—statehood. For example, …

Will Cyber Autonomy Undercut Democratic Accountability?, Ashley Deeks

International Law Studies

In recent years, legislative bodies such as the U.S. Congress and the U.K. Parliament have struggled to maintain a role for themselves in government decisions to conduct military operations against foreign adversaries. Some of these challenges arise from constitutional structures, but they are also due to the changing nature of conflict: a shift away from large-scale kinetic operations and toward smaller-scale operations—including cyber operations—that are less visible and that do not require robust legislative support. These modern operations leave legislatures to engage in ex post and sometimes ineffective efforts to hold their executive branches accountable for international uses of force …