Human Rights Law Commons^™

Reparations For The Uyghur Refugees Illegally Detained At Guantánamo Bay, Robin A. Lukes

Robin A. Lukes

The United States wrongfully captured a group of Uyghur refugees near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and detained them at Guantánamo Bay. These detentions violated customary international law, conventions and treaties. The International Law Commission’s Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts outline reparations required for a violation of State obligations. In order to fully repair the grave damage inflicted on the Uyghur refugees by their illegal detention, the United States must provide restitution, compensation and satisfaction, including a resettlement option in the United States for the Uyghur refugees who were held or who currently are held at Guantánamo.

Draconian Discrimination: One Man's Battle With U.S. Immigration Law For Fairness, Justice, And American Citizenship, Rachel C. Zoghlin

Rachel Claire Zoghlin

“I was born into my father’s arms,” David responded emphatically when I asked him about his relationship with his mother. David’s father, Ronald, has been his teacher, his guardian, his provider, and his support for his entire life. He taught David to be strong and gentle, proud and humble. David inherited Ronald’s kind eyes, his honest nature, his palpable presence, and his immovable strength. The first, last, and only time David met his mother was on January 23, 1965 – the day he was born. Ronald raised two children, David and his sister Roxanne, as a single parent.

When David …

Landlocked States And The Law Of The Sea: Economic And Human Development Concerns, Benjamin R. Hutchinson

Benjamin R Hutchinson

No abstract provided.

Gross Violations Of Human Rights And Restitution: Learning From Holocaust Claims, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

In its 2012 Jurisdictional Immunities of the State decision, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that State practice over the preceding century had negated a finding that a rule existed in customary international law which required ‘the payment of full compensation to each and every individual victim as a rule accepted by the international community of States as a whole…’. Yet, examples of peace agreements and post-war settlements covering reparations for gross violations of human rights exist, with the Allied governments’ response to crimes arising from the Shoah and during the Second World War being a leading instance.

This …

Rebalancing Trips, Molly K. Land

Molly K. Land

In recent years, global intellectual property scholarship has been preoccupied with “rehabilitating” the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). With some distance from the polarizing rhetoric that accompanied the early years of TRIPS, contemporary accounts laud the treaty as far more flexible and sensitive to the needs of developing countries than had previously been believed. This article argues that, contrary to these accounts, the fears of developing countries concerning TRIPS have indeed been realized—just not in the manner they imagined at the time of its conclusion. Although TRIPS does contain significant flexibilities, states have largely failed to take …

Governing Planetary Nanomedicine: Environmental Sustainability And A Unesco Universal Declaration On The Bioethics And Human Rights Of Natural And Artificial Photosynthesis (Global Solar Fuels And Foods)., Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Environmental and public health-focused sciences are increasingly characterised as constituting an emerging discipline—planetary medicine. From a governance perspective, the ethical components of that discipline may usefully be viewed as bestowing upon our ailing natural environment the symbolic moral status of a patient. Such components emphasise, for example, the origins and content of professional and social virtues and related ethical principles needed to promote global governance systems and policies that reduce ecological stresses and pathologies derived from human overpopulation, selfishness and greed— such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as provide necessary energy, water and …

A Bad Trip For Health-Related Human Rights: Implications Of Momcilovic V The Queen (2011) 85 Aljr 957, Tim Vines, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Momcilovic v The Queen (2011) 85 ALJR 957 [PDF] ; [2011] HCA 34 arose from a prosecution for drug trafficking brought under the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) . The Australian High Court held that the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (the Charter) validly conferred a power on the Victorian Supreme Court and Court of Appeal to interpret legislation in a manner consistent with a defined list of human rights. By a slim majority it also held that the Charter validly created a judicial power to "declare" a law inconsistent with one or …

Challenges To Australia’S National Health Policy From Trade And Investment Agreements, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Recent federal trade policy commitments concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations (against changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and against inclusion of an investor state provision) could protect Australia’s tobacco control legislation and Australia's sovereign capacity to regulate public health and environmental policy

The Proposed Ban On Certain Nanomaterials For Electrical And Electronic Equipment In Europe: Global Security Implications, Thomas A. Faunce, Hitoshi Nasu

Thomas A Faunce

International collaboration on nanotechnology governance has so far paid little attention to security implications of regulating the use of nanotechnology. For example, the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations (initiated by the International Centre for Technological Assessment) developed 'Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials' to provide a set of ethical standards for nanotechnology research and development (Kimbrell, 2009). Similar initiatives are observed at the national level, as has been seen in the Swiss Retailers Association Code of Conduct and the UK's Responsible NanoCode (Bowman and Hodge, 2009, pp.149-152). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also been active …

The Targeted Killing Judgment Of The Israeli Supreme Court And The Critique Of Legal Violence, Markus Gunneflo

Markus Gunneflo

The targeted killing judgment of the Israeli Supreme Court has, since it was handed down in December 2006, received a significant amount of attention: praise as well as criticism. Offering neither praise nor criticism, the present article is instead an attempt at a ‘critique’ of the judgment drawing on the German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin’s famous essay from 1921, ‘Critique of Violence’. The article focuses on a key aspect of Benjamin’s critique: the distinction between the two modalities of ‘legal violence’ – lawmaking or foundational violence and law-preserving or administrative violence. Analysing the fact that the Court exercises jurisdiction over these …

Attaining Academic Excellence In The Nigerian Law School: A Mirage Or Reality, Ibrahim Sule

Ibrahim Sule

No abstract provided.

The Global Food System, Environmental Protection, And Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The global food system is exceeding ecological limits while failing to meet the nutritional needs of a large segment of the world’s population. While law could play an important role in facilitating the transition to a more just and ecologically sustainable food system, the current legal framework fails to regulate food and agriculture in an integrated manner. The international legal framework governing food and agriculture is fragmented into three self-contained regimes that have historically operated in isolation from one another: international human rights law, international environmental law, and international trade law. International trade law has taken precedence over human rights …

The Right To Life: Infringement On The Children’S Rights Through The Weakness Of The Colombian Penal System, Alejandra C. Rosero

Alejandra Rosero

This article discusses violations of children’s right to life in Colombia. In part I of this comment, I delineate the problem of violations of the right to life of the children in Colombia. I begin by introducing the international perspective on the right to life and its nexus with the nation state’s obligation in protecting children. I also discuss the criminal and psychological aspects of pedophilia, child abuse, and murder in Colombia. I finalize by exploring the reasons why the Colombian government penalizes these crimes the way it does and how this contributes to an increase of recidivist conduct by …

Repensar A Teoria Do Estado Entre Pluralismo Ético E Globalização, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Não pode deixar de haver uma relação entre Estado e valores. Sem alguns valores partilhados, o Estado tem dificuldades. Há sempre, de um modo ou de outro, uma Ética no Estado. Ou várias. Como lidar com as éticas e as morais em sociedades pluralista como as nossas? Esta dificuldade obriga-nos também a repensar o próprio Estado, também desafiado por tempos de globalização. Foram estas algumas das interrogações que desejamos colocar neste estudo, elaborado para corresponder ao honroso convite para colaborar no portentoso volume que homenageia o grande constitucionalista brasileiro, e Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil, Prof. Michel Temer.

Investing In The Future Of Pakistan: Understanding Why It Is Important To Ensure Protection Of The Rights Of Children Affected By Armed Conflicts, Nida Mahmood

Nida Mahmood Ms

This paper looks into the de facto compliance of Pakistani Laws with the optional protocol to the convention on rights of children on the involvement of children in armed conflicts and suggests why Pakistan should ratify this protocol as soon as possible.

Equal Protection, Workers Compensation And Offset Of Benefits (Again) – Caldwell V Maco Workers Compensation And Caputo V Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania)

Mel Cousins

As noted in an earlier article, one issue which has received considerable attention in terms of equal protection challenges in US courts is that concerning the offset of one type of social security benefits with worker’s compensation payments. The Supreme Court in Richardson v Belcher upheld the reduction in social security disability insurance because of receipt of a state worker’s compensation payment as rationally based and free from invidious discrimination. The Court and various federal courts of appeals have subsequently shown little interest in subjecting such offset provisions to more than a minimal level of scrutiny. State courts have also …

Екологізація Міжнародного Права Крізь Призму Екологічних Прав Людини | Ecologisation Of International Law Through The Prism Of Environmental Human Rights, Timur R. Korotkiy

Timur R. Korotkiy

Короткий Т. Р. Екологізація міжнародного права крізь призму екологічних прав людини / Т. Р. Короткий // Актуальні проблеми політики : зб. наук. пр. / редкол.: С. В. Ківалов (голов. ред.), Л. І. Кормич (заст. голов. ред.), М. А. Польовий (відп. секр.) [та ін.] ; НУ «ОЮА», Південноукр. центр гендер. проблем. – Одеса, 2012. – Вип. 44. – С. 130-143. In the article analyzed the tendencies the ecologisation of international law through the prism of environmental human rights. Characterized the content of environmental-legal norms of international law and relationships of environmental human rights and international environmental law. В статті проаналізовані тенденції …

Organismos Genéticamente Modificados (Ogm) Y Justicia: Implicaciones De La Biotecnología Para La Justicia Ambiental Internacional, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

En septiembre del 2006, un panel de resolución de controversias de la Organizacón Mundial del Comercio (OMC) emitió su fallo a favor de los Estados Unidos en la disputa entre EE.UU y la Unión Europea sobre los organismos genéticamente modificados (OGM). El fallo se basó en limitadas determinaciones procedimentales, y no abordó el tema de la seguridad de los OGM, el derecho de los países de reglamentar los productos genéticamente modificados más rigurosamente que sus equivalentes convencionales, ni la coherencia de la legislacion europea con las obligaciones del OMC. El continuo conflicto entre los Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea …

Quem Defende A Constituição?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A fase actual de ataque à Constituição parece ser a de legislar sem lhe prestar atenção, esperando que ninguém se lembre que existe, e ninguém levante questões de inconstitucionalidade. 2012 vai ser um ano em que se vão tirar as teimas sobre quem defende e quem não defende a Constituição. Feliz Ano Novo, com controlo da Constitucionalidade!

A Constituição Laboral Em Alto Risco, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A Constituição labora está a ser vítima de graves ataques. Já quase se pode ler o texto da nossa Constituição como se fora uma utopia de um país distante. Arriscamo-nos, por este caminho, a ter uma constituição nominal ou semântica, não normativa, não efectiva. E contudo ainda existe o texto, ainda existe o princípio da proibição do retrocesso, ainda existe um Tribunal Constitucional.