Public Interest Commons^™

Brief Of Public Health And Health Law Scholars As Amici Curiae Urging Affirmance In Support Of Plaintiffs-Appellees, Rachel L. Zacharias, Zeinab Bakhet, Kevin Costello, Maya Manian

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

INTRODUCTION: Physicians’ use of their judgment and expertise to prescribe drugs and devices for purposes other than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”)—colloquially known as off-label use—is an indispensable feature of modern medicine. The FDA approves drugs as “safe and effective for specific indications.” Christopher M. Wittich, Christopher M. Burkle & William L. Lanier, Ten Common Questions (and Their Answers) About OffLabel Drug Use, 87 Mayo Clinic Procs. 982, 982 (2012). Federal law then generally leaves prescribing decisions, including off-label use of FDA-approved drugs and devices for a patient’s particular indication, to physicians acting under state law …

El Salvador At The Crossroads: Crimes Against Humanity Under The Public Security Policy, Susana L. Sacouto, Claudia Martin, Gino Costa, Santiago Canton, Jose Antonio Guevara

Research Reports & White Papers

The International Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations under the State of Emergency in El Salvador (GIPES) presents its final report entitled: “El Salvador at the Crossroads: Crimes against Humanity under the Public Security Policy.”

GIPES was formed with the aim of investigating the alleged serious human rights violations taking place in the context of the State of Exception public security policy that has been in place of El Salvador since March 2022 and determining whether they might constitute crimes against humanity. The group is made up of five internationally recognized jurists: Susana SáCouto, …

Poverty & Period Products: Achieving Menstrual And Abortion Justice Through Public Benefit Programs, Allyson Crays

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Low-income people need and deserve access to quality menstrual products through public benefit programs as a public health and reproductive justice issue. Whether someone is managing their monthly period, a medical abortion, or post-pregnancy discharge, menstrual products are essential to ensure that person’s safety and bodily

autonomy. Low-income people on public benefit programs who menstruate face a variety of stigmas and barriers, and these programs are in a unique position to increase access to menstrual products to work toward menstrual and abortion justice. This Article outlines the history of public benefit programs and the stigmas accompanying them. It also details …

Should Decisions Of Independent Accountability Mechanisms Be Binding?, Lalanath De Silva, Giada Giacomini

Perspectives

In this essay, it is argued that IAMs should be empowered with binding decision-making authority to enhance their effectiveness and ensure that justice is served, and remedies delivered. This argument is supported by analyzing the right of access to justice. Further, this essay analyses existing mechanisms with binding decision-making power that have already been created or acknowledged by IFIs; these mechanisms include IFI administrative tribunals for employees, arbitration processes for commercial disputes, integrity related sanctions regimes, and the appeal bodies that hear access to information decisions. The IFIs’ embrace of binding decisions in these contexts demonstrates that nothing prevents IFIs …

Does Mandatory Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence Offer A Path To Resolving Global Food Insecurity Challenges?, Ying Chen, Benedict Sheehy

American University International Law Review

Despite the 2015 implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 (the Zero Hunger Goal), food insecurity remains a persistent global problem. Well past the halfway point to 2030, the world is woefully off track to reach this goal. Current efforts to address global food insecurity are led by the public sector and focused on government interventions, and these are proving to be insufficient on their own. This Article argues that the private sector, and business enterprises and multinational corporations in particular, as important stakeholders in society, can and must …

The United States’ Strengthened National Security Review Of Chinese Investment: Implications From The Tech War, Charles C. Wang, Ulia Liu, Holden H. Dong

American University International Law Review

In recent years, the national security review system of United States (U.S.) foreign investment has entered into a period of intensified scrutiny of Chinese investment. This article analyzes the latest development of the U.S. foreign investment national security review system after the enactment of the 2018 Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act (FIRRMA) and relevant Executive Orders. The U.S. review of Chinese investment has been greatly strengthened in terms of the expanded scope of review in high-tech areas and prolonged and unpredictable review time. China has become the primary target of the U.S. national security review, especially in the …

Mailing It In: Due Process Requires Technology-Driven Safeguards In Public Benefits, Eric Lukoff

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

Due process in safety net public benefit programs requires agencies to employ modern technology in providing notice that is reasonably likely to reach participants. The Supreme Court has held that due process is dependent on the time, place, and circumstances in which it operates. Scholars have further argued that due process is adaptable to changing facts and circumstances over time. Yet, mailed paper notices remain the standard in providing notice to participants in public benefit programs.

Living in poverty today looks significantly different than it did nearly fifty years ago at the time of Mathews v. Eldridge, where the Court …

The Land Of Opportunity Zones: Where Opportunity Goes To Die, Hilana Said

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

What do a superyacht marina in West Palm Beach, Florida; the city in Minnesota that is home to the Mall of America; and a blighted East Harlem, New York, have in common? They are all opportunity zones. This may be a striking fact, considering the first two areas are affluent while the third is home to many low-income families with an average income for elderly citizens below twenty thousand dollars. The problem with the opportunity zones program, as we currently know it, is that it does not serve the right communities, and when it does, it is not always in …

When Thoughts And Prayers Are Not Enough: Why Age-Based Restrictions On Purchasing Firearms Pass Constitutional Muster, Madeline P. Fuller

American University Law Review

After the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that took the lives of seventeen students and staff members and injured countless others, the community debated how this event could have been prevented. There were security failures on the part of the school and police—unlocked doors, passive deputies and a security guard, and a broken PA system—all of which may have lessened the casualties had they been operating properly. However, these security measures might not have been tested and found lacking if another preventative measure had already taken place: prohibiting the young shooter from legally purchasing a weapon.

Florida …