International Law Commons^™

Comparative Analysis Of Legal Systems: Unraveling The Key Distinctions Between The United States And Spain, Lucy Vanover

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper explores the key differences between self-defense laws in the United States and Spain, two countries with distinct legal frameworks. In the U.S., self-defense is governed by a variety of laws that discuss the scope of reasonable force and apply this framework on the basis of precedent. In contrast, Spain, under the Civil Code, applies a more unified approach to self- defense.

Second Report On Immunity Of State Officials From Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction By Claudio Grossman Guiloff, Special Rapporteur, Claudio Grossman

Research Reports & White Papers

In keeping with the approach adopted by the Special Rapporteur in his first report, the purpose of the present report is to make proposals for the modification of the draft articles and commentaries, where necessary, on the basis of the comments made by States. It is also intended to complement the draft articles and commentaries with references to new developments in international law that have taken place since the draft articles were adopted on first reading. The scope of the present report will be limited to the text of draft articles 7 to 18 and the draft annex, as well …

Overharvesting: The Why Of Biodiversity Loss, Andrew W. Torrance, Bill Tomlinson

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article examines the consequences of overharvesting biodiversity, focusing on its detrimental effects on biodiversity—on the biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, and individual organisms. It evaluates legal mechanisms designed to protect biodiversity from overharvesting and also considers legal mechanisms that lead to overharvesting to the detriment of biodiversity. The Article compares regulations and laws from multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, Oceania, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and analyzes how these regulations and laws seek to curb overharvesting. Examples include the United States’s Endangered Species Act, Canada’s Wild Animal and Plant Protection Act, and the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive. International conventions …

Pollution: The What Of Biodiversity Loss, Andrew W. Torrance, Bill Tomlinson

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article examines the damage to biodiversity caused by anthropogenic pollution at all levels—to the biosphere, to ecosystems, to communities, to populations, and to individual organisms. It also analyzes pollution control laws across the globe and their efficacy in mitigating or preventing harm to biodiversity. The analysis covers all forms of pollution—air, water, and land—that threaten biodiversity, noting both improvements and ongoing challenges in different regions. The Article provides a comparative study of diverse jurisdictions, including North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. It scrutinizes pivotal legislation such as the United States’ Clean Air Act, the UK’s Environment Act, and the …

Breaking The Black Box: The Impact Of The 2023 Changes To The Japanese Penal Code On Rape, Lee Smith

Washington International Law Journal

In 2017, the Japanese penal code was amended to broaden protections for victims of sexual assault. However, pressure mounted for further protections after several decisions on cases involving rape shocked the nation in 2019. In 2023, the penal code was amended again including to raise the age of consent to 16 and broaden the definition of rape to include nonconsensual sexual acts. This comment examines the history of rape law in Japan, introduces challenges that victims of sexual assault face when trying to seek justice, and analyzes the first cases determined under the amended code. Finally, it looks to the …

Reframing Genocide, Anjali Mohan

Utah Law Review

Genocide has recently taken center stage in international affairs. Both Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of committing genocide or having genocidal aims, and each side has denounced allegations against themselves. The legal accuracy of these accusations depends, inter alia, upon whether the allegedly genocidal acts were committed with “intent to destroy,” as required by the Genocide Convention. Courts and commentators nearly all assume that the “intent to destroy” describes an individual’s internal mental state and the mens rea of the crime of genocide.

In this Article, I argue that this individualistic interpretation of genocide …

An International Prosecutor As U.S. Special Counsel, Cody Corliss

Utah Law Review

The appointment of Jack Smith to investigate then-former President Donald Trump brought to the fore the essential qualities for special counsels who act when a conflict of interest precludes investigation by the Department of Justice. Most attention on Smith centered on his domestic work and its correlation with a special counsel’s responsibilities. That emphasis, however, obscured the most salient line on his resume: international investigator and prosecutor. The conclusion of Smith’s tenure as special counsel following the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president provides an opportunity to consider the skills and qualifications that matter most in …

Fragmentation Of International Cybercrime Law, Mailyn Fidler

Utah Law Review

Cybercrime is global. But legal approaches to combating cybercrime have been fragmented. The first such multilateral legal mechanism, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, was launched in 2001 and positioned by its primarily Western drafters as a global instrument. But it has struggled to achieve full international uptake. Instead, many states have used regional organizations to create their own legal mechanisms addressing cybercrime and cybersecurity threats. More recently, the UN Convention on Cybercrime has emerged as an alternative to this fragmented landscape. But the emergence and significance of this “convergent” option cannot be understood without the context of the deep fragmentation …

The World Cup As A Racial Rebuilt Project, Khaled A. Beydoun

Utah Law Review

Scholars, particularly Critical Race Theorists, have written trenchantly about the law’s role in racial formation. Yet, while instrumental in this process, the law does not stand alone as a conduit of making race. Particularly for misrepresented groups, like Arabs, who struggle to find existential self-determination between imperial identity impositions, ethnic cleansing, and clashing racial ascriptions, the law fails to create racial categories that reflect their lived realities.

Beyond the asymmetrical landscape of legal ordering, sport stands as a powerful site of racial formation. Sport is where racialization can unfold indigenously, rebelliously, and “from the bottom.” Particularly soccer, a game of …

The Effectiveness Of International Courts In Contributing To Rebuilding And Resolving Conflicts In Societies Post-Genocide, Garrett Connely

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In the aftermath of mass atrocities, international courts have emerged as key mechanisms for delivering justice and fostering post-conflict reconciliation. Rooted in the precedent set by the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, these institutions aim to prosecute crimes that often go beyond national legal systems. However, their effectiveness remains contested, largely due to their dependence on state cooperation and the complexity of post-conflict environments. This project examines the societal impact of international courts in two significant cases – Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Through a comparative analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal …

Trade Integration, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

Accounts concerning the world trading system usually start the debate from the negotiation of the GATT. Trade integration before the First World War, though, had been quite remarkable, and the study of this era enriches our understanding of modern institutions in at least two ways. First, a number of GATT provisions had already been shaped during discussions following the advent of the League of Nations. Second, trade integration before the First World War did not manage to put a brake on belligerent behaviour, putting to rest the old Montesquieuan idea of doux commerce. Recent developments (like the invasion of …

Koxinga: The Catalyst Of Taiwan's Current Geopolitical Conflict, Lauren Masterson

Honors College Theses

Taiwan, strategically located in the South China Sea, has long faced challenges in asserting its sovereignty. While much of the existing scholarship focuses on the 20th-century conflict between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party, this study turns to the mid-17^th century to trace the roots of the island’s contested status. It centers on Zheng Chenggong (1624–1662), also known as Koxinga, who established the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan (1661–1683) following the fall of the Ming dynasty. By examining Koxinga’s actions and the legacy he left behind, this research draws parallels between his retreat …

Symbiotic International Law: Combatting Uyghur Forced Labor, Preston Jordan Lim

Utah Law Review

Since 2017, the Chinese government has launched a campaign of repression against the Muslim Turkic minorities of Xinjiang, a region located in China’s Northwest. While most scholars have focused on the mass internment of Uyghurs and other minorities, this Article highlights an under-discussed aspect of China’s campaign: the construction of a sophisticated forced labor system. Minority forced labor supplies key sectors of the global economy—from the automotive to the energy sectors—and allows Chinese companies to outcompete foreign firms. The unprecedented scope and sophistication of what I term the “modern Xinjiang forced labor system” imperils the very future of the international …

Butterfly Effects: Women And Criminal Law, Pavithra Rajendran

Washington International Law Journal

Through a comparative analysis of the criminal laws of Sri Lanka and the United States, this paper examines how Sri Lanka’s legal framework on sexual offenses often hinders women’s access to justice and reinforces systemic gender discrimination. Recognizing the structural constraints inherited from older common law traditions, it underscores the potential for reform through targeted, gradual changes, drawing on developments in modern common law in the United States and relevant international legal standards. The discussion unfolds in three parts: first, a feminist critique of exiting criminal laws in postcolonial; common law systems such as Sri Lanka’s; second, a comparative analysis …

Taiwan: Legal Status, Legitimacy, And Lawfare, Monica Glenzer

Washington International Law Journal

This paper seeks to offer a fresh perspective into the Chinese Communist Party’s (“CCP”) implementation of lawfare to assert dominance over Taiwan. Rather than viewing lawfare as one doctrine with one outcome, this paper aims to reorganize lawfare in its many uses, identifying the three primary categories that the CCP uses to extend its sovereignty over Taiwan: (1) using law to legitimize a nation’s own goals, (2) using law to delegitimize an adversary’s actions, and (3) weaponizing an adversary’s laws. This paper seeks to analyze and recharacterize current and historical events in terms of these three lawfare categories, demonstrating how …

China's Experiment Of Dual-Class Equity Structures: Regulatory Frameworks And Investor Protection, Sang Yop Kang, Terry Ling

Washington International Law Journal

Mainland China traditionally upheld the one-share-one-vote (OSOV) principle. Since 2019, however, Chinese authorities have introduced the dual-class equity structure (DCES) for innovative enterprises. Due to investor-protection concerns, China’s DCES operates on a “stringent approval system,” with only eight corporations listed under DCES as of December 31, 2024. This Article provides a comprehensive policy analysis of the Chinese DCES system, including empirical analyses of the eight existing cases. It explores legal and economic aspects of investor protection within China’s DCES, examining “three sets of investor safeguard measures”: (1) “three numerically specified rules” (e.g., 10% equity rule, 10-time voting-right rule, and 2/3 …

Justifying The Law Of Unjust Enrichment: A Confucian Perspective, Siyi Lin

Washington International Law Journal

In a wide range of situations, the law in different jurisdictions requires that a person who has been unjustly enriched at another’s expense make restitution to the other. However, what justifies the liability for unjust enrichment? This fundamental question has perplexed unjust enrichment scholars, especially in the common law world, for decades, with various justificatory ideas being proposed while no consensus has been reached. This article explores the justification of the law of unjust enrichment within the context of China’s historical, legal, and social frameworks for the first time. A historical review reveals that the notion of unjust enrichment has …

The "Not Seen" Effect Of International Financial Centers: Innovation In The Global Financial Ecosystem, Charlotte Ku, Andrew P. Morriss

Faculty Scholarship

International Financial Centers (IFCs) are hubs of legal and financial innovation, developing specialized frameworks that facilitate cross-border investment, enhance global capital mobility, and support economic growth. Through jurisdictional competition, professional clustering, and adaptive regulatory frameworks, IFCs have pioneered legal structures that enable enterprises of all sizes to participate in the global economy. Using case studies of the International Business Company, the Limited Liability Company, the Protected Cell Company, and advances in trust law and applying the theoretical frameworks of social scientist Richard Florida and psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, this Article illustrates how IFCs serve as laboratories for financial experimentation, generating widely …

Dynamics Of The Penitentiary System, Transparent And Accountable Handling Of Criminal Cases In Criminal Execution Law In Southeast Asia: Convergence And Divergence Of International Perspectives, Anis Widyawati, Ade Adhari, Ali Masyhar, Bearlly Deo Syahputra, Didik Purnomo

Indonesia Law Review

This research examines the dynamics of the penitentiary system transparent, and accountable criminal case handling in criminal execution law in Southeast Asia, focusing on the convergence and divergence of international perspectives. These countries have diverse approaches to the penitentiary system and criminal law enforcement, including in terms of the implementation of the death penalty and the treatment of prisoners. Some countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, maintain strict death penalty practices, which often contradict international human rights standards, while others such as the Philippines show inconsistencies in implementing criminal execution laws. This research also examines the three main stages in …

Application Of The New York Convention To International Investment Arbitration Awards: An Analysis From The Perspectives Of Indonesia And China, Luo Yuan Yuan

Indonesia Law Review

Since the 21st century, as countries have increasingly engaged in international economic activities, the economic ties between nations and regions have grown progressively closer, and cross-border investments have surged. Consequently, investment disputes, which often accompany these investments, have emerged as a critical issue that cannot be overlooked by host governments and foreign investors. Currently, the predominant method for resolving investment disputes is through international arbitration. Therefore, the enforcement of investment arbitration awards has become a key indicator of the effectiveness of the dispute resolution mechanism. A significant area of concern and research is whether the New York Convention can be …