International Law Commons^™

What We Can Learn From The Notorious P&Id V. Nigeria, Emily Granja

Arbitration Brief

On October 23, 2023, England’s High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Nigeria v. Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. (P&ID). Reviewing the case, the High Court vacated P&ID’s $10 billion arbitral award after finding significant evidence of fraud and bribery. While the High Court’s decision marked a victory for Nigeria, it also shook the international arbitration system. This case exposed some of international arbitration’s flaws and generated new concerns regarding the confidentiality inherent in the arbitration process.

Cultural Conquest: Russia's Strategic Assault On Ukrainian Heritage As Both A Catalyst For And A Casualty Of Conflict, Brittan Harrell

American University International Law Review

Vladimir Putin and his government have disseminated fabricated claims about Ukraine’s history, language, and sovereignty as a rationalization for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Not only has the war resulted in grave human loss, but it has also caused widespread destruction throughout Ukraine. Nongovernmental organizations, foreign governments, academics, and Ukrainian citizens have collected robust evidence that Russian forces are purposefully targeting repositories of Ukrainian identity. The intentional destruction of this protected property is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute. Following the International Criminal Court’s (“ICC”) first successful prosecution for the destruction of protected property in 2016, there has …

In Violation Of Diplomatic Treaties: A Look Into Ecuador's Forced Extraction, Josie C. Tarin

American University International Law Review

In December 2023, former Vice-President of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, sought political asylum in the Mexican Embassy located in Quito, Ecuador. On April 5, 2024, following a week of political discourse between the Ecuadorian and Mexican governments, the Mexican government granted Glas political asylum. In their announcement, Mexico reminded Ecuador that the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protected both Glas and the employees within the Mexican embassy. On the evening of Mexico’s announcement, Ecuadorian agents operating under executive authority entered the Mexican embassy without consent, injured an employee of the Mexican embassy …

Improper Use Of Tax Treaties And Source Taxation: Policy, Practice And Beyond, Eivind Furuseth, Jinyan Li

Conference Papers

The question of improper use of tax treaties (or treaty shopping) defies a simple or straightforward answer. The line between “proper use” and “improper use” a tax treaty depends on the determination of the intended use of a treaty provision by Contracting States (i.e. the common intention as well as the object and purpose of the treaty provision). As a treaty interpretation issue, that determination varies from country to country. Furthermore, the extent of taxpayers’ right to tax planning and expectation of tax certainty also varies across countries. Finally, the effect of domestic general-anti-avoidance rules (GAARs) and the new principal …

Applicability Of Multilateral Environmental Agreements During International Armed Conflicts, Beatrice L. Hamilton

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Armed conflicts increasingly contribute to environmental damage and climate change, yet, as proven by recent and ongoing conflicts, the legal framework for the protection of the environment under the law of armed conflict (LOAC) fails to effectively mitigate these damages. With rising temperatures, already diminishing resources, the counter-acting of mitigation and adaptation efforts due to warfare and geo-political tensions on the rise, there is a strong case for considering the potential for enhancing the protection of the environment during armed conflicts.

This Article examines the terms of applicability of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) during international armed conflicts. The article draws …

Fairness Writ Large Or Writ Small In International Criminal Justice, Nancy Combs

FIU Law Review

This article highlights the various, sometimes competing conceptions of fairness in international criminal law.

Harvesting Humans, Joanmarie Ilaria Davoli

Belmont Law Review

This Article examines allegations of systematic forced organ harvesting by the People’s Republic of China and argues that existing U.S. federal criminal law provides an underutilized mechanism to deter American participation in that industry. Tracing the historical development of China’s transplant system—from the use of executed prisoners to the alleged targeting of prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs—the Article situates organ procurement practices within broader human rights and genocide concerns. It contends that despite congressional hearings, resolutions, and proposed sanctions, meaningful deterrence has been limited. The Article advances a novel enforcement theory: prosecution of U.S. persons under …

Table Of Contents, Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Almighty Influence: Catholicism's Hand In Divergent Abortion Protection Outcomes From The Philippine And Mexican Judicial Systems, Maris Medina

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Since Spain introduced Catholicism in Mexico and the Philippines by way of violent colonization, the religious institution has fulfilled an enormous role in the two countries' governance. When considering reproductive justice, it is evident that the Mexican and Philippine governments' relationships with Catholicism have shaped the way political and judicial structures grant access to, interpret, and govern the right to abortion. With Catholicism's influence in government, how has one country decriminalized abortion and the other continues to levy criminal prosecution against it?

The 2023 decision from Mexico's Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación decriminalizing abortion nationwide tracks a greater …

Standing Up To China: How The Exclusive Economic Zone Of The Philippines And A Looming Alliance Will Challenge Relations With China In The South China Sea, Graham Colombo

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

China has consistently asserted its jurisdiction throughout the South China Sea for approximately 40 years, but recent events illustrate a critical juncture in the area's longstanding conflicts. On August 5, 2023, a Chinese coast guard vessel deployed a water cannon against a Philippine boat in Philippine territory in the South China Sea. Following the incident, multiple countries in close proximity to the South China Sea have questioned their threshold for tolerance for China's aggressive actions. If these countries do not halt China's assertion of jurisdiction, China will keep advancing and claiming territory as their own.

The nine-dash line ruling, the …

Agoa In The New Context Of The Affcfta: The Need For Renewal And Reform, Melissa Zindel

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) ("Act") (19 U.S.C. § 3701) was signed into law on May 18, 2000, to promote "stable and sustainable economic growth and development" in sub-Saharan African countries through a system of enhanced trade preferences. Congress extended the Act in 2015, and it is currently set to expire in September 2025. The economic climate on the African Continent has changed substantially since AGOA's 2015 renewal, in large part due to the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which went into effect on May 30, 2019. Nearly every African nation has now signed …

"Not A Victimless Crime": A Comparison Of Global Regulatory Frameworks And The Future Of The International Community's Response To Artificial Intelligence Crime, Blake Morrow

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

The international community continues to implement regulations on artificial intelligence (Al). Fueled by AI's burgeoning generative ability, the technology's growth presents a heightened risk that bad actors will use Al systems to facilitate crimes or produce harmful content, including the production of child sex abuse materials (CSAM).

Despite this heightened risk, countries and other regulatory bodies struggle to balance the benefits of Al innovation against limiting any potential dangers. Moreover, with no uniform international regulations on Al and very little guidance from international leaders, the global Al regulatory landscape remains a fragmented patchwork of domestic approaches that limit international cooperation. …

Fair Play Or Fraud: The Disparity Of Wada's Enforcement Of International Anti-Doping Laws In Russia And China, Ashleigh Kaosombat

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

This note examines the World Anti-Doping Agency's ("WADA") disparate enforcement of its Code in doping cases involving Russian and Chinese athletes, highlighting inconsistencies in sanctioning and examining the consequences of these deviations. This disparate application of WADA's Code provisions frustrates the agency's mission to promote fair competition in international sport by diluting the legitimacy and authority of its enforcement. In both WADA v. RUSADA (2020) and WADA v. RUSADA (2024), WADA launched full investigations into Russian athlete doping in international sporting competition.

WADA v. RUSADA (2020) demonstrates WADA's condemnation of Russian state-sponsored doping practices, while WADA v. RUSADA (2024), Kamila …

Who Do We Think We Are? Human Rights In A Time Of Ecological Change, Usha Natarajan

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

This article explores the relationship between international human rights law and the environment. It begins with asking “who do we think we are” to understand the forms of subjecthood and subjectivity produced by human rights. It argues that human rights normalize a series of false conceptions about our collective self that have detrimental social and ecological consequences. The article next examines the question of “where we think we are”, probing the ontological rift between humans as subjects of rights and “the environment” as the repository of resources with which to satisfy human entitlements. The article challenges human rights as a …

Between Penal Code And Mob Justice: Pakistan's Violations Of The Iccpr Through Blasphemy-Driven Violence, Natasha Ali

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Blasphemy in Pakistan is not merely a legal offense—it is an allegation that can ignite a mob. For decades, the country’s blasphemy laws have been the subject of international scrutiny, particularly as they intersect with civil society and fuel the rise of extrajudicial violence perpetrated under a collective mob-justice mentality. The killing of Tahir Ahmed Naseem, a fifty-seven-year-old American citizen, shot in a courtroom while awaiting trial on blasphemy charges, is not an anomaly but a chilling illustration of a system where an accusation alone can become a death sentence.

The continued existence of these blasphemy laws has entrenched a …

The Emerging Framework For The Recognition & Enforcement Of Annulled Arbitral Awards In U.S. Jurisprudence, Sarah Klim

Articles

The recognition and enforcement of foreign awards are governed almost universally by the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "New York Convention"). However, this recognition and enforcement necessarily invokes national judicial power. The New York Convention does not devise a harmonized set of rules for courts to follow when faced with a request to recognize and enforce an annulled award. This has resulted in divergent approaches by national courts, which derive "not from any perversity of judges but from good faith variants in perspectives on how to construe the treaty."  This paper seeks …

A Faster Way To Yes: Re-Balancing American Asylum Procedures, Michael Kagan

Scholarly Works

The United States asylum system, like many other asylum systems, is under immense pressure to process asylum applications faster. The primary response to this pressure is negative, namely to deny asylum claims quickly by categorizing them as manifestly unfounded. In the United States, this is done through the “credible fear” process. This negative orientation leads to a structural imbalance in which denials can be fast and easy for the system, but approvals take time and extensive effort. Using domestic and international comparative examples, this Article proposes re-balancing the asylum system by establishing a process for expedited approvals of clearly eligible …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Voting Matters: Materiality Considerations And The Shareholder Vote, Renee M. Jones

Seattle University Law Review

For the shareholder franchise to have meaning, shareholders must have access to relevant information to inform their voting decisions. The securities laws’ disclosure requirements play an essential role in informing the shareholder vote.

This Essay focuses on the question of the materiality of information in the context of shareholder voting. It addresses the question of whether ESG-related information is material, positioning the materiality inquiry within the context of shareholders’ voting decisions. It explores the definition of materiality with a focus on the “reasonable investor” concept embedded within the definition. The Essay argues that the implicit expectations of many commentators that …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead