International Law Commons^™

The Governing Law Of Unlawfully Issued Sovereign Debt, Kei Nakajima, Shiho Kato

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In October 2019, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), a Venezuelan state owned oil and natural gas company, filed a complaint against the trustee and the collateral agent of PDVSA’s bondholders, alleging that certain bonds due in 2020 issued in exchange for the defaulted bonds due in 2017 are null and void ab initio. The main cause of action was that the 2020 bonds had been issued in violation of the provisions of the Venezuelan Constitution. This contention was advanced notwithstanding that the 2020 bonds provide that “all matters arising out of or relating in any whatsoever” to the instruments shall …

The Analytical Routes Of Aiding And Abetting Under The Alien Tort Statute, Amelia Cochran

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper examines whether aiding and abetting liability for corporate involvement in human rights abuses is a cognizable claim under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). Though the ATS has potential to serve as a powerful mechanism of civil redress for violations of international law, the Supreme Court has increasingly narrowed its scope in recent decades. As a result, critical questions remain unresolved regarding the cognizability of certain claims under the statute. This paper focuses primarily on Doe I et al. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. et al.,, a case emerging from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In January 2026, following …

Still Uncertain After All Of These Years: Constitutional Rights Of Guantanamo Detainees Tried By Military Commission, Michael D. Ross

Mercer Law Review

This article explores whether Guantanamo detainees are entitled to constitutional protections at military commission trials. In 2006, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act (“MCA”). Its goal was to establish a fair system to try foreign detainees accused of war crimes. The ensuing nineteen years have revealed that the system needs reform. The most important cases, such as the 9/11 and U.S.S. Cole prosecutions, are still bogged down in pre-trial litigation that has lasted over a decade. But before policy makers consider reforms, they should know what constitutional protections apply at a military commission. Federal courts have not answered that question. …

Gender-Based Violence And Botswana's Constitutional Failure To Protect Women's Rights, Cameron Mcdonald

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

Gender-based violence (“GBV”) remains a pervasive human rights issue throughout Botswana. When it comes to gender equality, Botswana’s dual constitutional and customary legal system is a paradox. Despite its commitment to equality and nondiscrimination, Botswana’s Constitution allows customary courts to discriminate freely to preserve traditional practices that disadvantage women. These traditional practices affect women’s right to property, inheritance, marriage, legal representation, and personal safety. Customary law continues to constrain women’s right to economic autonomy and access to justice, leaving many women dependent on the men who abuse them. As a result, many Batswana women experience structural discrimination in both their …

The International And Comparative Aspects Of United States V. Skrmetti: The Detrimental Rise Of Anti-Trans Sentiment In The United States, Julia Parrey

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

In recent years, anti-trans sentiment has significantly increased in the United States. This Article examines the legal advocacy by the LGBTQ+ community that laid key legal groundwork for basic protections through landmark US Supreme Court decisions like Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges and analyzes how recent judicial and legislative actions signal a dangerous reversal of that progress.

The central analysis focuses on the consequences of United States v. Skrmetti, where the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors by applying rational-basis review, concluding that the law classified based on age or medical diagnosis, rather …

Masthead

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Human Rights Approach To International Criminal Liability: From The Promises Of The 1990s Criminal Tribunals To Selective Impunity, Ilias Bantekas

UC Law SF International Law Review

Since the adoption of the UDHR in 1948, it has become clear that state responsibility for human rights violations ought to be complemented by perpetrators’ individual responsibility under criminal and civil law. The concept of individual responsibility suggests that criminal liability is the “natural” corollary of conduct considered to be a violation of human rights. Even if such criminal liability does not, for whatever reason, arise under national law, this is certainly the outcome under international law. The extent to which this concept is applicable to all violations of human rights involves an examination of the legal basis of human …

Sovereignty As A Shield? The Icc’S Role In Addressing War Crimes In Nagorno- Karabakh, Grigori Sahakyan

UC Law SF International Law Review

This Note argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should assert jurisdiction over atrocities from the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh offensive and pursue prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Proper International Humanitarian Law (IHL) classification places the situation in an international armed conflict—via direct interstate action and/or occupation—triggering the full Article 8 framework. Jurisdiction is grounded in Armenia’s ratification and retroactive Article 12(3) acceptance; admissibility is satisfied because Azerbaijan is unwilling to conduct genuine proceedings. While cooperation obstacles remain, targeted enforcement measures can strengthen execution of warrants. The bottom line is doctrinal, not diplomatic: sovereignty cannot shield atrocity crimes; the …

The Legal Framework For Direct Ocean Carbon Capture And Storage (Volume 1: International Law), Romany M. Webb, Korey Silverman-Roati

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper focuses on the marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approach of direct ocean carbon capture and storage (DOCCS), which aims to remove some of the carbon currently stored in the ocean and thereby enable it to uptake additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. DOCCS is still undergoing research, but early studies suggest it could have significant carbon dioxide removal potential. However, DOCCS could also present environmental and other risks, including from the construction of new facilities, the intake and processing of water, and the handling and storage of carbon dioxide. Careful siting, design, and operation of DOCCS systems is …

Piercing The Algorithmic Fog Of War: Ai-Enabled Decision-Support Systems And The Responsibility Gap For War Crimes Under The Rome Statute, Karen H. Cho

UC Law SF International Law Review

This article examines how the integration of artificial intelligence-enabled decision-support systems (AI-DSS) into military conflict complicates the attribution of individual criminal responsibility for war crimes under the Rome Statute. Unlike lethal autonomous weapons systems which are intended to supplant human agency, AI-DSS augments human decision-making across the targeting cycle while simultaneously introducing opacity and bias. These characteristics risk facilitating indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, undermining t4he principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law. Through a case study of Israel’s deployment of systems such as “the Gospel,” “Lavender,” and “Where’s Daddy?” in Gaza, this article illustrates how algorithmic mediation obscures …

“Opening Up The Flood Gates:” A Review Of The International Response To The Hungarian Refugee Crisis 1956-57., Jacob N. Anderson

Tenor of Our Times

Following the suppressed Hungarian Revolution in 1956, there was a massive emigration from Hungary to surrounding European nations and the United States to escape oppression under the new Soviet regime. As a result, many of those nations faced large humanitarian debates about accepting refugees from Soviet tyranny and were forced to alter their refugee and immigration policy. Some of these alterations appear to be sincere and reflect popular sentiment, but some appear to be simply a false act of solidarity amidst the international stage, reflecting very conservative ethnic and religious reservations.

Now You Sea Me, Now You Don't: A "Climate Displacement Equity" Framework For Sinking Nations, Meera S. Aiyer

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a unique set of states that are disproportionately impacted by climate change impacts and are highly vulnerable to economic, cultural, and environmental harms. While many are islands, SIDS also include non-island states populated with predominately coastal communities. The United Nations recognizes 39 sovereign states and 18 associate members as SIDS. SIDS account for over 1,000 islands across the globe, but the total population across them amounts to 65 million people, less than one percent of the global population. SIDS contribute less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of modern-day …

Climate Justice For Puerto Rico: The Right To Stay And Energy Sovereignty, Camila Bustos, Mercè Martí Exposito

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Following Hurricane María and subsequent disasters, Puerto Rico has experienced displacement, infrastructure collapse, and intensified economic exploitation through austerity policies championed as part of a disaster capitalist agenda. Climate change threatens self-determination globally, but its impacts are amplified by asymmetrical power relations. For Puerto Rico, climate vulnerability cannot be separated from colonial subordination. The Trump administration’s contemptuous response to María, PROMESA’s imposition of austerity, and the redirection of renewable energy funding toward fossil fuel infrastructure—each reveals how climate injustice compounds colonial injustice.

Drawing on international human rights law—particularly the rights to self-determination and to stay—we examine how Puerto Ricans assert …

Of Mangroves And Men: Mobilizing Legal Innovations To Protect Coastal Communities From Climate Displacement, Sarah Dorman, Monica Iyer, Kelsey Jost-Creegan

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Around the world, there is growing concern that phenomena related to climate change may render coastal areas unlivable in the coming years and decades. Scientific projections indicate that with high greenhouse gas emissions, sea levels may rise upwards of 6 feet by 2100. Studies repeatedly warn that—absent steep and urgent global emissions reductions— places where hundreds of millions of people currently live will be below projected high tide lines for 2100.

In many coastal areas, climate change often impacts historically marginalized, racialized, and low-income communities first and worst. Such communities are often located in more vulnerable areas like flood plains. …

Cyclones Of Crime: How Environmental Degradation In Haiti Strengthens Gangs In Governmental Power Vacuums And How The International Community Can Respond Beyond Military Intervention, Stephanie Minor

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

In Haiti, the ground beneath people’s feet, both politically and literally, has never stopped shifting, as cycles of gang violence and environmental disasters feed each other in a relentless spiral of instability. This Note intends to be an analysis of the cycle of gang violence and environmental disasters, along with possible legal and organizational solutions. It begins with a very brief historical analysis of how the situation has progressed from state creation to present day and how Haiti’s colonial past shaped its current governance problems. At its creation in 1804, Haiti became the first state founded by enslaved persons through …

Law Over Water: Piracy And The Yemen Civil War, Case Western Reserve University School Of Law

Yemen Accountability Project (YAP)

"The Yemen Accountability Project (YAP) is proud to announce the publication of its seventh white paper, Piracy and the Yemen Civil War. Piracy is a crime of such gravity that it has been recognized as jus cogens—a peremptory norm of customary international law subject to universal jurisdiction, with states holding both the right and the obligation to prosecute pirates wherever they are found. Despite this universal prohibition, YAP has documented instances of piracy and associated violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by parties to the Yemen Civil War, including hostage taking, torture, arbitrary detention, and the potential …

Resolving Cross-Border Nft Disputes: Jurisdictional Approaches, Smart Contracts, And Proposed Solutions, Aparna Vaitla

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The emergence of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has significantly impacted the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights, particularly in the digital environment. NFTs enable the creation, transfer, and monetization of unique digital assets such as artwork, music, and virtual goods, raising new legal challenges for IP protection. Among various IP concerns, copyright law is the most directly implicated in NFT-related disputes. While existing copyright frameworks remain broadly applicable, they require refined interpretation and targeted regulatory adaptation to address blockchain-specific issues such as pseudonymity, decentralized ownership, and cross-border enforcement. This Article focuses exclusively on copyright law, examining its applicability to NFT transactions …

Thinking Constructively About International Law, Monica Hakimi

Faculty Scholarship

The international order that has defined the post-World War II period is being radically transformed, presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reconstitute its basic foundations. The pressing questions for international lawyers are about the roles their enterprise can and should play going forward. I argue in this Article that most lack the analytic framework they need even to begin tackling these questions. Worse, most seem mired in an old theory about law that corrupts how they approach their enterprise. My goals in the Article are to expose the prevalence of this bad theory and to present the grounds for discarding it, …

The Human Right To A Healthy Environment: Corporate Responsibility In Critical Mineral Extraction, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

This paper argues that the emerging human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment should guide the governance of critical minerals by incorporating the corporate responsibility to respect human rights throughout supply chains to ensure a racially just energy transition. It frames the climate crisis within the history and political economy of racial capitalism, contending that without rights-based guardrails, mineral supply chains risk reproducing the extractive harms and racialized disparities of the fossil fuel era, including labor abuses, displacement, water depletion, and violence disproportionately borne by racialized and Indigenous communities. Methodologically, the paper combines doctrinal analysis of international norms …

Lessons Learned From Global Responses To Criminal Abortion Laws, Cynthia Soohoo

Fordham Law Review Online

No abstract provided.