International Law Commons^™

Prosecuting Starvation Crimes In Yemen's Civil War, Laura Graham

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"This article will discuss whether the responsible parties for starvation in Yemen can be prosecuted under international criminal law (ICL) or international humanitarian law (IHL) for war crimes or crimes against humanity (CAH)."

Attacks Against Cultural Heritage As A Crime Against Humanity, Yaron Gottlieb

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"The article begins with a brief overview of the contemporary international criminal law regime governing attacks against cultural heritage. It continues by identifying the main legal gaps as well as additional considerations that support the introduction of a distinct crime against humanity in the Draft Convention’s list of crime. The article then defines the proposed new crime and analyzes the crime’s elements including a definition of cultural heritage for the purpose of the Draft Convention."

The International Law Commission's First Draft Convention On Crimes Against Humanity: Codification, Progressive Development, Or Both?, Charles C. Jalloh

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"It is submitted that, if the General Assembly takes forward the ILC’s draft text to conclude a new crimes against humanity treaty after the second reading, this will make a significant contribution to the development of modern international criminal law."

Too Few Trials, Too Many Tribulations: The Icc's Terrible Year And Where To Go From Here, Elizabeth Evenson

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"In June 2018, the International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals chamber reversed what had been the court’s most significant verdict: a 2016 conviction of a former Congolese vice-president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, for crimes committed in the Central African Republic.1 This was significant because it was the court’s first conviction for crimes of sexual and gender-based violence and on the basis of command responsibility, and because Bemba was among the most senior-ranking officials to appear for trial at the court.

An acquittal needs to be understood as a legitimate outcome to any justice process, but, in context, the decision touched off alarm bells …

Documentation For Accountability, Jessica C. Levy, Paul R. Williams

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

" In armed conflicts across the globe, it is imperative that war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and other violations of international humanitarian law are effectively documented. Providing such documentation to judicial mechanisms can be critical for efforts to hold those who commit atrocities accountable. 72 Given the delays that routinely plague efforts to secure justice, it is important that the crimes are documented and that the evidence is ready for use in prosecutions when they emerge. Fortunately, the number of civil society actors engaged in documentation projects is growing rapidly, and technological innovations are beginning to emerge to assist …

The International Criminal Court: Current Challenges And Prospect Of Future Success, Milena Sterio

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"The ICC has served as an agent of impunity since its inception in 1998, and its fundamental role in the field of international criminal justice as a permanent accountability mechanism remains undisputed. The court is, however, facing significant challenges which may threaten its legitimacy. These challenges can be surmounted if the court is willing to take a hard look at its own procedures, prosecutorial practices, and judicial attitudes. The ICC’s future may be bright if the court makes significant changes in the present." (Conclusion, p. 478)

A Program For The Next Icc Prosecutor, Alex Whiting

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"As the International Criminal Court (ICC) begins the process of selecting the next Prosecutor, it finds itself at a critical moment. Few people believe that the institution has lived up to expectations. The court has brought relatively few cases, and many have not succeeded.2 While convictions were achieved in the Lubanga, Ntaganda, Katanga, and Al Mahdi cases, as well as in the obstruction of justice cases arising out of the Bemba prosecution, many other cases failed at the confirmation stage, during or after trial, or on appeal.3 he future looks grim. Presently, there is just one case at trial (Ongwen) …

Talking Foreign Policy: April 24, 2019 Broadcast: "Untangling The Yemen Crisis", Tfp Panel

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"According to a recent UN report, the war in Yemen has become the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. Welcome to Talking Foreign Policy. I’m your host Michael Scharf, [co-]Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In this broadcast our expert panelists will be discussing the history of the Yemen conflict, the challenges to resolving it, and the prospects for achieving accountability for the war crimes that have been committed there. Joining us for the second segment today, as soon as his cab arrives, is Dr. Paul Williams,3 the President of the Public International Law and Policy Group, …

Talking Foreign Policy: October 1, 2019 Broadcast: "The Rohingya Genocide", Tfp Panel

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

"According to a recent UN report, Facebook bears responsibility for the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet – the mass attacks against the Rohingya people of Burma. Welcome to “Talking Foreign Policy.” I’m your host, Michael Scharf, [co-]Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In this broadcast, our expert panelists will help us understand the Rohingya crisis, the role of Facebook, and the prospects for achieving accountability for the international crimes that have been committed against the Rohingya people in Burma."

Social Media: A Good Alternative, For Alternative Service Of Process, Emily Davis

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

A cost efficient and effective means of alternative service of process in civil and commercial cases upon both domestic and international defendants lies in social media. Traditional methods of service of process are preferred, but are not always practicable. When a defendant cannot be reached through traditional methods, judges should use their discretion and allow alternative service by social media in appropriate cases. Current methods of alternative service, such as publication, are not efficient or effective. By allowing alternative service of process via social media in certain cases, the defendant is much more likely to receive actual notice in a …

Abuse Of Power: Immigration Courts And The Attorney General's Referral Power, Julie Menke

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

In June 2018, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued Matter of A-B-. This decision vacated the holding of the 2014 Board of Immigration Appeals decision, Matter of A-R-C-G-. In A-R-C-G-, the adjudicator held that, depending on the specific facts of the case, “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship” constitutes a particular social group. Membership in a particular social group is one of five ways to qualify for asylum in the United States. Membership is based on a fact specific analysis conducted by an immigration adjudicator. Sessions’s decision to vacate Matter of A-R-C-G- had a devastating …

Introducing Private-Property Rights To Cuba: How Cuba's New Constitution Paves The Way For Economic Growth, Renee Monzon

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

On February 24, 2019, Cuba adopted a new Constitution.1 The new Constitution formally recognizes private-property ownership. From the beginning of Socialism’s impact on Cuba, private-property ownership had been legally abolished until Fidel Castro stepped down from power in 2008.2 This new Constitution shows a departure from the socialist grasp on the economy. Cuba likely recognizes that private-property ownership is fundamental to economic growth in capitalist countries and now seeks to benefit from the growth that accompanies a system of private-property rights. Cuba is not the first socialist country to embark on a process of property privatization. This paper will look …

The Time For Judgment Has Arrived: The Zivotofsky V. Clinton Effect On The Political Question Doctrine's Application To The War Powers Resolution, Shannon M. Doughty

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The War Powers Resolution was enacted to serve as a congressional restraint on the President’s power to engage in Military Action. Since then, Congress and the President have disagreed over the enforcement and constitutionality of the statute. Nonetheless, courts have dismissed cases regarding the War Powers Resolution claiming it is of a solely political nature i.e. a political question. The Judiciary traditionally apply the political question doctrine to issues regarding foreign affairs and, in effect, avoided hearing cases regarding the specifics of the war powers pertaining to Executive and Congress. This lack of judicial determination has resulted in the and …

"Balancing" Free Expression And Religious Feelings In E.S. V. Austria: Blasphemy By Any Other Name?, John G. Wrench

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

The European Court of Human Rights’ 2018 decision in E.S. v. Austria upheld an Austrian court’s conviction based on “disparaging religious doctrine.” The Court took this opportunity to reaffirm problematic, decades-old precedent, while creating new contradictions in its analysis of free expression claims. Despite the EU’s modern opposition to the criminalization of blasphemy, E.S. v. Austria in effect sends a contradictory message. This Comment explores the roots of the Court’s struggle to find an appropriate balance between the values of religious tolerance and freedom of expression, analyzes the Court’s recent decision, and suggests future paths to recalibrate the Court’s approach …

Third World Approaches To International Law Review: A Journal For A Community, Usha Natarajan, Laura Betancur-Restrepo, Amar Bhatia, John Reynolds, Ntina Tzouvala, Sujith Xavier

Articles & Book Chapters

Our purpose in creating the TWAIL Review is to provide a space for critical scholars, mainly from the global South and their allies oriented to the South, to participate in the project of international law, to produce knowledge creatively through interdisciplinarity, and to push our discipline towards becoming more just, more radical, and more responsive to the collective challenges we face.

Academic And Practitioner Perspectives On The Ilc Draft Articles On Prevention And Punishment Of Crimes Against Humanity As Adopted On Second Reading, Charles C. Jalloh, Leila N. Sadat

Articles

No abstract provided.

Book Review, Terje Einarsen & Joseph Rikhof, A Theory Of Punishable Participation In Universal Crimes (2018), Mark A. Drumbl, Lauren Hancock

Scholarly Articles

In A Theory of Punishable Participation in Universal Crimes, Terje Einarsen and Joseph Rikhof unpack concepts of liability for individual contributions to universal crimes. Universal crimes – namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of aggression – tend to occur when a state or another powerful organization (a non-state actor, for example) collectivizes and channels the involvement of many people to commit the crime. The people who execute the acts are rarely ever the people who coordinate them. This disjuncture renders participation difficult to define and punish – individual acts may elide conventional legal intelligibility. Consequently, only …

Development Disasters: Accountability And Remedy In International Development Projects, Kate E. Morrow

American University Law Review

International development projects have a history of creating problems on the ground. Debates about the benefits of top-down development, the need for community buy-in, and the importance of community participation in development have been ongoing and have focused on how to prevent environmental and social harms to local communities. More recently, the conversation has shifted to focus more on the importance of providing remedy for harms, with a focus on development finance institutions (DFIs). DFIs have embraced internal, independent mechanisms to provide a process for accountability when a community suffers harms, but those mechanisms are not externally enforceable. They rely …

The Survival Of Critical Infrastructure: How Do We Stop Ransomware Attacks On Hospitals?, Helena Roland

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Our nation’s infrastructure is under an emerging new threat: ransomware attacks. These attacks can cause anything from individual laptops, to entire cities to shut down for a period of time until the victim pays a ransom to the attacker. Unfortunately, these attacks are on the rise and the attackers have a new target: hospitals. Ransomware attacks on hospitals can temporarily shut down operating room technology and limit physician access to patient files, ultimately threatening the safety of hospital patients and the surrounding community. This paper examines how the threat of ransomware attacks on hospitals is on the rise and what …

Global Energy Poverty: The Relevance Of Faith And Reason, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

The challenge of energy poverty (EP) primarily confronts the least developed countries (LDCs) of the world, located in Africa and Asia, but is also prevalent within segments of more advanced developing countries in Asia. This article will first delineate the nature of global energy poverty that results in the premature deaths of millions of people and leads to pervasive sickness among many more millions. The article will next sketch the legal and political responses to this problem that have generally applied principles of sustainable development (SD) and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015 adopted by the General Assembly …