Behind The Flag Of Dunant: Secrecy And The Compliance Mission Of The International Committee Of The Red Cross,
2013
University of Michigan Law School
Behind The Flag Of Dunant: Secrecy And The Compliance Mission Of The International Committee Of The Red Cross, Steven Ratner
Book Chapters
In the world where most NGOs see their role in the international legal process as public advocacy, often through naming and shaming, the International Committee of the Red Cross stands apart. Much of its work consists of confidential visits and secret communications to warring parties. It rarely identifies violators publicly; it leaves its legal position on many issues ambiguous; and at times it avoids legal discourse entirely. This aversion to transparency is not only at odds with the assumptions of the naming and shaming strategy regarding the most effective means to induce compliance. It also makes it almost impossible for …
Review Of The Verdict Of Battle: The Law Of Victory And The Making Of Modern War,
2013
Boston University School of Law
Review Of The Verdict Of Battle: The Law Of Victory And The Making Of Modern War, Robert D. Sloane
Faculty Scholarship
This is a brief review of The Verdict of Battle: The Law of Victory and the Making of Modern War (2012), by James Q. Whitman, a remarkably erudite and original contribution to scholarship on military history and the law of war. It sketches the work’s compelling historical arguments and then critiques its (comparatively modest) polemical dimensions and normative conclusions.
Correspondents' Reports United States Of America,
2013
Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
Correspondents' Reports United States Of America, Chris Jenks
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
This correspondent report compiles examples of where and how in 2013 the United States demonstrated its compliance with international humanitarian law by prosecuting its service members in military courts-martial and captured enemy belligerents in military commissions and by US federal courts hearing detainee habeas challenges.
Belligerent Targeting And The Invalidity Of A Least Harmful Means Rule,
2013
South Texas College of Law
Belligerent Targeting And The Invalidity Of A Least Harmful Means Rule, Geoffrey S. Corn, Laurie R. Blank, Chris Jenks, Eric Talbot Jensen
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
The law of armed conflict provides the authority to use lethal force as a first resort against identified enemy belligerent operatives. There is virtually no disagreement with the rule that once an enemy belligerent becomes hors de combat — what a soldier would recognizes as “combat ineffective” — this authority to employ deadly force terminates. Recently, however, some have forcefully asserted that the LOAC includes an obligation to capture in lieu of employing deadly force whenever doing so presents no meaningful risk to attacking forces, even when the enemy belligerent is neither physically disabled or manifesting surrender. Proponents of this …
After Assad: Syria’S Post-Conflict Reconstruction,
2013
University of Denver
After Assad: Syria’S Post-Conflict Reconstruction, H. M. Roff
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Simon Adams and Condoleezza Rice warn us that with the portended fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, the country could witness even more heinous crimes and, potentially, regional political fallout. These worries are not unfounded. However, what seems to be truly missing in their discussions is any mention of post-conflict reconstruction planning. This is unfortunate, as much handwringing is still occurring over "what to do" in Syria, and it will continue until there is a clear vision of what to do after this civil war. Syria's post-conflict reconstruction plan is—or should be—inherently tied to its current operational agenda.
Myths About Syria,
2013
University of Manchester
Myths About Syria, James Pattison
Human Rights & Human Welfare
In my contribution, I want to focus on five fallacious claims and arguments that have been presented about the conflict in Syria. (Please note that this piece was written in Dec 2012).
All Other Breaches: State Practice And The Geneva Conventions’ Nebulous Class Of Less Discussed Prohibitions,
2013
University of Michigan Law School
All Other Breaches: State Practice And The Geneva Conventions’ Nebulous Class Of Less Discussed Prohibitions, Jesse Medlong
Michigan Journal of International Law
With respect to the protections afforded by the Geneva Conventions, a great deal of ink has been spilled in recent years over the two-tiered system of tribunals employed by the United States in its prosecution of enemy combatants in the “war on terror.” Less discussed, though, is the wholly separate two-tiered system for sorting violators of the Geneva Conventions that emerges from the very text of those agreements. This stratification is a function of the Conventions’ distinction between those who commit “grave breaches” and those who merely commit “acts contrary to the provisions of the present convention” or “all other …
Comments: At The Intersection Of National Interests And International Law: Why American Interests Should Assume The Right Of Way,
2013
University of Baltimore School of Law
Comments: At The Intersection Of National Interests And International Law: Why American Interests Should Assume The Right Of Way, Clark Smith
University of Baltimore Journal of International Law
Following the interwar period and disastrous results of an isolationist foreign policy, the United States changed course coming out of the Second World War. Assuming the global leadership role, the U.S. led the international effort to design and build the international institutions and organizations that would ensure and manage the global recovery from the war that ravaged the world’s economy, deter future wars by providing checks on and a balance of power, and that would ensure, to some degree, international systems based on rule of law. Pursuit of U.S. interests should, when possible, be carried out within that international legal …
Comments: Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place: Does Lebanon Have A Responsibility To Respect Syrian Refugees?,
2013
University of Baltimore School of Law
Comments: Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place: Does Lebanon Have A Responsibility To Respect Syrian Refugees?, Robert Demirji
University of Baltimore Journal of International Law
This comment looks at the current crisis in Syria and its effect on Lebanon. This comment first looks at the recent history of Lebanon stemming from the entrance of Palestinians into Lebanon after their deportation of Israel to Lebanon today. Thereafter, this comment looks at the evolution of the responsibility to protect doctrine from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the 2005 World Summit Outcome Report to the 2009 Secretary General Report on Responsibility to Protect. This comment addresses the role of both Lebanon and the international community in its responsibility to protect Syrian refugees. This comment concludes with …
Migrant Smuggling: Canada's Response To A Global Criminal Enterprise,
2013
Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia
Migrant Smuggling: Canada's Response To A Global Criminal Enterprise, Benjamin Perrin
All Faculty Publications
Migrant smuggling is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, criminal activity. Failing to respond effectively to migrant smuggling and deter it will risk emboldening those who engage in this illicit enterprise, which generates proceeds for organized crime and criminal networks, funds terrorism and facilitates clandestine terrorist travel, endangers the lives and safety of smuggled migrants, undermines border security, and undermines the integrity and fairness of immigration systems. Introduced in the Canadian House of Commons in June 2011, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) includes proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would enhance …
Bordering On Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy And The Politics Of Refugee Exclusion,
2013
Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia
Bordering On Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy And The Politics Of Refugee Exclusion, Efrat Arbel, Alletta Brenner
All Faculty Publications
In June 2012, the Canadian government ushered in sweeping reforms to Canada’s refugee system. These reforms brought debates about Canadian refugee protection to the forefront of legal and political discourse. In advancing these reforms, the Canadian government has asserted that Canada’s refugee system is among the most generous and compassionate in the world. Canada’s doors, the Canadian government has stated, remain open to legitimate refugees. This report evaluates these claims by examining the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement and border measures implemented under the rubric of the Multiple Borders Strategy, and analyzing their effects on asylum seekers. A detailed examination …
Shifting Borders And The Boundaries Of Rights: Examining The Safe Third Country Agreement Between Canada And The United States,
2013
Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia
Shifting Borders And The Boundaries Of Rights: Examining The Safe Third Country Agreement Between Canada And The United States, Efrat Arbel
All Faculty Publications
This article analyzes the Canadian Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal decisions assessing the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States (STCA). It examines how each court’s treatment of the location and operation of the Canada-US border influences the results obtained. The article suggests that both in its treatment of the STCA and in its constitutional analysis, the Federal Court decision conceives of the border as a moving barrier capable of shifting outside Canada’s formal territorial boundaries. The effect of this decision is to bring refugee claimants outside state soil within the fold of Canadian constitutional …
An Analysis Of The Legal Status Of Cia Officers Involved In Drone Strikes,
2013
University of San Diego
An Analysis Of The Legal Status Of Cia Officers Involved In Drone Strikes, Donna R. Cline
San Diego International Law Journal
This Article introduces international humanitarian law as the applicable legal standard, and develops the distinction between international and non-international armed conflict. Section II will define the key elements used to determine whether a situation of hostilities rises to the level of an armed conflict: the intensity of the conflict and the organization of the parties. Furthermore, this section will analyze the idea of internationalized armed conflict and examine the standard for determining when an attack by an armed group may be attributed to a State. Section III of this article describes the different categories of actors found in situations of …
Organizing For Cyberspace Operations: Selected Issues,
2013
U.S. Naval War College
Organizing For Cyberspace Operations: Selected Issues, Paul Walker
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Hate Speech And Persecution: A Contextual Approach,
2013
Vanderbilt University Law School
Hate Speech And Persecution: A Contextual Approach, Gregory S. Gordon
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Scholarly work on atrocity-speech law has focused almost exclusively on incitement to genocide. But case law has established liability for a different speech offense: persecution as a crime against humanity (CAH). The lack of scholarship regarding this crime is puzzling given a split between the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the issue of whether hate speech alone can serve as an actus reus for CAH-persecution. This Article fills the gap in the literature by analyzing the split between the two tribunals and concluding that hate speech alone may be the …
Optimal Asylum,
2013
Vanderbilt University Law School
Optimal Asylum, Shalini B. Ray
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The U.S. asylum system is noble but flawed. Scholars have long recognized that asylum is a "scarce" political resource, but U.S. law persists in distributing access to asylum based on an asylum seeker's ability to circumvent migration controls rather than the strength of the asylum seeker's claim for protection. To apply for asylum, an asylum seeker must either arrange to be smuggled into the United States or lie to the consulate while abroad to obtain a nonimmigrant visa. Nonimmigrant visa requirements effectively filter the pool of asylum applicants according to wealth, educational attainment, and intent not to remain in the …
Returning Sovereignty To The People,
2013
Vanderbilt University Law School
Returning Sovereignty To The People, Hallie Ludsin
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Governments across the world regularly invoke sovereignty to demand that the international community "mind its own business" while they commit human rights abuses. They proclaim that the sovereign right to be free from international intervention in domestic affairs permits them unfettered discretion within their territory. This Article seeks to challenge those proclamations by resort to sovereignty in the people, a time-honored principle that is typically more rhetorical than substantive. Relying on classical interpretations of sovereignty, this Article infuses substance into the concept of sovereignty in the people to recognize that a government is entitled to sovereign rights only as the …
The Invention Of A Human Right: Conscientious Objection At The United Nations, 1947-2011,
2013
Columbia Law School
The Invention Of A Human Right: Conscientious Objection At The United Nations, 1947-2011, Jeremy Kessler
Faculty Scholarship
The right of conscientious objection to military service is the most startling of human rights. While human rights generally seek to protect individuals from state power, the right of conscientious objection radically alters the citizen-state relationship, subordinating a state's decisions about national security to the beliefs of the individual citizen. In a world of nation-states jealous of their sovereignty, how did the human right of conscientious objection become an international legal doctrine? By answering that question, this Article both clarifies the legal pedigree of the human right of conscientious objection and sheds new light on the relationship between international human …
Panel Iv: Challenges To Proving Cases Of Torture Before The Committee Against Torture,
2013
American University Washington College of Law
Panel Iv: Challenges To Proving Cases Of Torture Before The Committee Against Torture, Juan E. Mendez
Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals
No abstract provided.
Perspectives On Crimes Of Sexual Violence In International Law,
2013
American University Washington College of Law
Perspectives On Crimes Of Sexual Violence In International Law, Susana Sacouto
Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals
INTRODUCTION: Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during conflict and periods of repression has been a problem in every region of the globe.' Historically, these crimes were rarely prosecuted, particularly when government leaders were responsible for tolerating, encouraging, or orchestrating these crimes. However, the last two decades have seen an incredible transformation in the treatment of SGBV under international law. Great strides have been made in the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes, particular by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone This essay examines the way …
