International Law Commons^™

The Unlawfulness Of A “Bloody Nose Strike” On North Korea, Kevin Jon Heller

International Law Studies

The United States has reportedly been debating whether to "react to some nuclear or missile test with a targeted strike against a North Korean facility to bloody Pyongyang’s nose and illustrate the high price the regime could pay for its behavior." This article asks a simple question: would such a “bloody nose strike” (BNS) violate the jus ad bellum?

Providing a coherent answer is complicated by the lack of clarity surrounding the United States’ planning. In particular, the U.S. government has not specified what kind of provocation it believes would justify launching a BNS, has not identified precisely what …

Pluralism, Democracy, And The Conflict Within: Challenging The State’S Narrative By Artistic Forms Of Protest, Alexandra V. Orlova

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This article follows the Pussy Riot case from the 2012 trial decision to the 2018 challenge before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The case revolved around the “punk prayer” performed by three women in Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. While the case, which centered on violation of freedom of expression, may be framed as a matter of political speech vs. religious speech, it has broader implications. Pussy Riot’s performance and subsequent legal cases were about the ability of pluralism and dissent to counter the carefully constructed government narrative of “traditional values” and moral sovereignty. For democracy to …

Reforming Expansive Crime Control & Sentencing Legislation In An Era Of Mass Incarceration: A National And Cross-National Study, Rebecca Wasif

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Popular Consultation And Referendum In The Making Of Contemporary Cuban Socialist Democracy Practice And Constitutional Theory, Larry Catá Backer, Flora Sapio

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

The language of democracy and democratic organization is usually spoken only in the vernacular of liberal democracy. Liberal democracy, mostly of western origin centers legitimacy of a political order on open, full, and free election for representatives, as well as a substantially unregulated civic space in which individuals and others can engage in political discourse. This essentially exogenous form of democratic organization has been increasingly challenged in the 21st century by an alternative model of endogenous democracy more compatible with states organized along Marxist Leninist principles. These emerging forms of endogenous democratic practices have been developed along two distinct lines, …

Their Cheese Has Holes But Their Gun Policy Doesn’T: A Review Of The Swiss Gun Policy Compared To The United States, Nikolaos Manuel Hernandez

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

“With the right to bear arms come a great responsibility to use caution and common sense on handgun purchases.” – Ronald Reagan

The left will say we need more gun control, the right will say it is our constitutional right to bear arms. Is one truly better than the other? Does the answer lie simply in gun education? This note will scrutinize the history of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as it relates to gun rights, gun laws, and gun violence. Next, this note will compare those rights, laws, and statistics to that of Switzerland. Switzerland’s gun …

The Shortcomings Of The “Public Charge” Doctrine: Why The Dhs Final Rule Should Be Abandoned And Why The United States Should Look To The Progressive Immigration Policies Of Sweden, Emily Demetree

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

The United States has a longstanding history of denying aliens admission based on a wide range of grounds that we have deemed to demonstrate the alien would be either dangerous to society or a financial burden on the state. “Self-sufficiency” has been a basic principle of US immigration law since the country’s earliest immigration statutes. It is the contention of the Department of Homeland Security that the availability of public benefits can create an incentive for immigration to the United States at a rate that cannot be financially supported by the government. Certain European countries, such as Sweden, see a …

Environmental Racism: How Governments Are Systematically Poisoning Indigenous Communities & The U.N.’S Role, Maia Dombey

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This note examines the practice of toxic waste dumping on indigenous lands and how it fits within the broader concept of environmental racism. It further evaluates the international human rights framework and how the United Nations and other international bodies interact with this concept and provide means for protection against this illicit practice. Further, it examines the role of the Special Rapporteur on the Implications for Human Rights of the Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of Hazardous Substances and Wastes and how he, in his role as Special Rapporteur, can provide relief to indigenous communities suffering the effects of this …

Preparing Legal Frameworks For Environmental Disasters: Practical Considerations For Host States, Brooke Guven, Perrine Toledano, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Projects in the extractives sector carry risks of lasting, and sometimes irreversible, damage to the environment. Nonetheless, these projects are important for accelerating the economic development of host countries. Governments seeking to mitigate the adverse effects of foreign investment often face pushback from investors that are unwilling to change their practices in order to avert environmental disaster. This report sets forth certain steps that host-governments can take during the pre-investment, operation, and enforcement phases of extractives projects to provide financial and other protection in the context of environmental disasters associated with private sector investments.

Upon comparative review of five Case …

Implementing The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples In The United States: A Call To Action For Inspired Advocacy In Indian Country., Kristen Carpenter, Edyael Casaperalta, Danielle Lazore-Thompson

University of Colorado Law Review Forum

No abstract provided.

Safe & Environmentally Sound Recycling Of Ships: A Stocktaking Of The Current State Of International Law, Ishtiaque Ahmed

Fordham Environmental Law Review

Ship-breaking is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world and widely known as a pollution-heavy industry. This industry is currently concentrated primarily in three South Asian developing countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Ensuring the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships remains a global concern. There are many international regulations which apply to the activities of ship-breaking, but none of them address the issue in a comprehensive manner. The most relevant international instrument governing ship recycling, the 2009 Hong Kong Convention remains unenforceable due to non-ratification by the chief ship recycling states. The only enforceable international instrument …

Member States' Due Diligence Obligations To Supervise International Organizations, Kristina Daugirdas

Law & Economics Working Papers

There are two reasons to consider obligations to supervise international organizations as a distinct category of due diligence obligations. First, due diligence obligations typically require states to regulate third parties in some way. But it is harder for states to regulate international organizations unilaterally than to regulate private actors within their own territories because international law protects the autonomy of those organizations. Second, such due diligence obligations merit attention because they may compensate for the dearth of mechanisms to hold international organizations accountable when they cause harm. These accountability concerns are especially acute when it comes to private individuals who …

Breaking The Silence: Why International Organizations Should Acknowledge Customary International Law Obligations To Provide Effective Remedies, Kristina Daugirdas, Sachi Schuricht

Law & Economics Working Papers

To date, international organizations have remained largely silent about their obligations under customary international law. This chapter urges international organizations to change course, and to expressly acknowledge customary international law obligations to provide effective remedies. Notably, international organizations’ obligations to afford effective remedies need not precisely mirror States’ obligations to do so. Instead, international organizations may be governed by particular customary international law rules. By publicly acknowledging obligations to afford effective remedies, international organizations can influence the development of such particular rules. In addition, by acknowledging obligations to afford effective remedies — and by actually providing effective remedies — international …

Electric Utility Alignment With The Sdgs & The Paris Climate Agreement, Perrine Toledano, Aniket Shah, Nicolas Maennling, Ryan J. Lasnick

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda poses a unique and critical challenge to the energy sector: how to scale access to clean energy to power sustainable, economic development for a growing population, while simultaneously decarbonizing global energy supply. Expanding access to clean energy will play a crucial role in achieving nearly every one of the Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to agricultural production, health outcomes, educational performance, water systems, access to infrastructure, and reducing inequalities. However, practices by some actors in the energy sector, and continued over-reliance on greenhouse gas-intensive fossil fuels also undermine global efforts to mitigate climate change …

Can International Patent Law Help Mitigate Cancer Inequity In Lmics?, Srividhya Ragavan, Amaka Vanni

Faculty Scholarship

Although low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear 75% of the cancer burden globally, their available resources to treat cancer constitute less than 5% of global health resources. This inequity makes it imperative to take appropriate measures to treat and prevent cancer in LMICs, which should include consideration of trade and patent policies. This article highlights some impediments to effective use of existing policies to promote access to treatment and prevention measures in LMICs and offers recommendations about next steps.

The Primitive Lawyer Speaks!: Thoughts On The Concepts Of International And Rabbinic Laws, Harlan Grant Cohen

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Brad A. Rocheville

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Attribution And Other Conditions Of Lawful Countermeasures To Cyber Misconduct, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

State cyber misconduct is on the rise, and it can be difficult to differentiate between malicious governmental cyber conduct and active cyber defense. Though some argue that cyberspace is a law-free zone, offensive cyberattacks are almost always unlawful regardless of their purpose. This Article contends that international law can provide for legal boundaries in cyberspace and analogizes cyber misconduct to government actions such as espionage. So long as conditions provided by international law (such as notice, necessity, and proportionality) are met, countermeasures to malicious cyber operations are generally lawful. Cases of urgency may be an exception to this general rule …

Collective Countermeasures In Cyberspace, Jeff Kosseff

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The president of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, has supported the use of collective countermeasures in response to cyberspace crimes. Collective countermeasures would allow an uninjured state to provide guidance or carry out countermeasures on behalf of another state. This Article advocates for collective countermeasures in cyberspace so long as the operations are carefully executed and subject to the same restrictions as individual countermeasures. This Article further finds for the following in favor of limited forms of collective countermeasures: (1) the highly interconnected nature of threats in cyberspace; (2) states with more sophisticated cyber capabilities can leverage for comparative advantages; (3) states …

An Extraterritorial Human Right To Cybersecurity, Ido Kilovaty

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Cybersecurity breaches have affected consumers and the landscape of politics globally. Legal developments have been reactive and incomprehensive. The fatal flaws of international law make it an ill-suited solution to these concerns because international law binds state actors and does not give individuals rights. International human rights law, however, provides the best solution because it does provide harmed individuals with rights and mechanisms to seek recourse. Cybersecurity relates to several key areas of human rights law and, therefore, its regulation is well suited to the existing international human rights regulatory scheme. This Article explores the possibility of using international human …