Human Rights Law Commons^™

Letter From The Editor, Adrienne M. De La Rosa

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

A letter from the editor

A New American Dilemma?: U.S. Constitutionalism Vs. International Human Rights, Stanley N. Katz

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Extraterritorial Application Of Human Rights Treaties: Al-Skeini Et Al. V. United Kingdom (2011), Joseph Sinchak

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

The decade proceeding the 9/11 tragedy has been very unkind to the human rights regime, as many western nations have committed human rights abuses in their mission to combat terrorism. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have been engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they perpetrated terrible crimes and violated important tenants of international law. These violations, ranging from allegations of torture to wrongful deaths, are prohibited by human rights law. In fact, human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were …

The European Union And The Abolition Of The Death Penalty, Christian Behrmann, Jon Yorke

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

The European Union has become a leading regional force in the progress towards a world free of state sanctioned judicial killing in the form of the death penalty. This article investigates how the EU has evolved its abolitionist position. It analyzes the development of the region’s internal policy beginning in the European Parliament, to the rejection of the punishment being mandated as a Treaty provision, which evolves into an integral component of the external human rights project. The EU has now formulated technical bilateral and multilateral initiatives to promote abolition worldwide. This is most clearly evidenced in the EU playing …

Conscientious Objection Of Health Care Providers: Lessons From The Experience Of The United States, Soledad Bertelsen

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In recent years, legislation and regulations in different countries of the world have raised questions about the conscientious objection of health care providers. In Spain, the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Act of 2010 (Sexual and Reproductive Health Act) recognizes the right to conscientious objection of professionals directly involved in the termination of pregnancy but also expands the possibility to perform abortions in relation to previous legislation. The application of the conscientious objection clause, however, leaves multiple questions open, and both the administration and the judiciary have reached different conclusions in its interpretation. The discussion about …

Ecowas's Right To Intervene In Côte D'Ivoire To Install Alassane Ouattara As President-Elect, Julie Dubé Gagnon

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

On January 6, 2011, President-elect Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire requested the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene in order to remove incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to leave power following the democratic presidential elections of November 2010. In December 2010, ECOWAS gave a final ultimatum to Laurent Gbagbo to comply with its request on ceding his throne. Otherwise, ECOWAS warned, it would be compelled to use legitimate force to serve the demands of the Ivorian people. This Article ascertains the illegality of a military intervention for pro-democratic motives in light of the current postelection crisis in …

The Law And Financial Transparency In Churches: Reconsidering The Form 990 Exemption, John Montague

Cardozo Law Review

Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file the IRS Form 990, an information return that is open to the public. The Form 990 is used by watchdogs and donors to learn detailed financial information about charities. However, churches are exempt from filing the Form 990 and need not disclose any financial information to the IRS, the public, or their donors. In December 2012, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability recommended to Senator Charles Grassley that Congress should preserve the exemption, despite recent financial scandals at churches.

Examining the legislative history, this Article argues that the primary function of the information …

Targeting And The Concept Of Intent, Jens David Ohlin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

International law generally prohibits military forces from intentionally targeting civilians; this is the principle of distinction. In contrast, unintended collateral damage is permissible unless the anticipated civilian deaths outweigh the expected military advantage of the strike; this is the principle of proportionality. These cardinal targeting rules of international humanitarian law are generally assumed by military lawyers to be relatively well settled. However, recent international tribunals applying this law in a string of little-noticed decisions have completely upended this understanding. Armed with criminal law principles from their own domestic systems, often civil law jurisdictions, prosecutors, judges and even scholars have progressively …

Caressing The Big Fish? A Critique Of Icc Trial Chamber V(A)'S Decision To Grant Ruto's Request For Excusal From Continuous Presence At Trial, Thomas Obel Hansen

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article critiques the ICC Trial Chamber V(a)'s decision to excuse William Ruto from continuous presence at his trial, arguing that this decision misinterprets Articles 63 and 27 of the Rome Statute. The Chamber's reliance on "exceptional circumstances" and Ruto's official status as Vice President of Kenya undermines the principle of equality before the law and sets a problematic precedent for future cases involving high-ranking officials.

Do No Harm: The Dispute Over Access To Health Care Between Israel And The Palestinian Territories, Emma Glazer

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the legal dispute over access to healthcare between Israel and the Palestinian Territories under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). It argues that while IHL obligates Israel to provide medical services to Palestinians injured in conflict, it does not require unrestricted access for routine healthcare. The analysis highlights the need for Israel to balance its security interests with humanitarian obligations, ensuring access to healthcare while maintaining necessary restrictions. The note also suggests that as the Palestinian Territories pursue statehood, they should develop their own advanced healthcare facilities to reduce reliance on Israeli institutions.

Now Playing At A Youtube Near You: "Innocence Of [Internet Service Providers]", Brian A. Oliver

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Towards A Framework Convention On Global Health, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman, Kent Buse, Attiya Waris, Moses Mulumba, Mayowa Joel, Lola Dare, Ames Dhai, Devi Sridhar

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A global health treaty, a Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH)–grounded in the right to health, with the central goal of reducing immense domestic and global health inequities–could serve as a robust global governance instrument to underpin the United Nations post-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It would ensure for all people the three essential conditions for a healthy life–public health, health care, and the positive social determinants of health–while advancing good governance, responding to drivers of health disadvantages for marginalized populations, elevating health in other legal regimes, and enhancing people's ability to claim their rights.

The legally binding nature of …

Inter-Country Adoption And The Special Rights Fallacy, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Responses To Lgbti Violence, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Concerning The Use Of Solitary Confinement In Immigrant Detention Facilities In The United States Of America, John Marshall Law School International Human Rights Clinic, Sarah Dávila-Ruhaak, Steven D. Schwinn

Faculty White Papers

This report relates to the situation of immigrant detainees who are held in solitary confinement in detention facilities in the United States. It is submitted in response to the United States’ fourth periodic report and specifically addresses the widespread use of solitary confinement in immigrant detention as it violates immigrant detainees’ rights to due process and judicial remedies, violations of minimum standards of the right to humane treatment, and the right to personal liberty. The report discusses the policies and practices of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that support the use of …

Punitive Military Strikes On Syria Risk An Inhumane Intervention, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Scholarship

The 1949 Geneva Conventions do not justify US missile strikes in Syria in response to chemical weapons attacks on the civilian population.

Resisting The Grand Coalition In Favor Of The Status Quo By Giving Full Scope To The Libertas Ecclesiae, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

This paper argues that questions about "religious freedom" must be subordinated to the fundamental principle of the liberty of the Church, libertas Ecclesiae. The First Amendment's agnosticism with respect to the liberty of the Church is not ultimately normative. Catholics and others who merely seek religious "accommodation," as with the HHS mandate, for example, are agents of a status quo that illegitimately has comfortable self-preservation as its highest value. It is Catholic doctrine that "creation was for the sake of the Church," not for the sake of, say, religious freedom. The paper argues that the contingent constitution of …

The Abu Ghraib Convictions: A Miscarriage Of Justice, Robert Bejesky

Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Gauging The Gender Divide In The Middle East’S Educational System: Causes, Concerns, And The Impetus For Change, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is Brown The New Black?: American Muslims, Inherent Propensity For Violence, And America’S Racial History, Amara S. Chaudhry-Kravitz

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.