International Law Commons^™

Letter From The Editor

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Shanghai In The 1930s, The German Civil Code And The Tragic Story Of A Brilliant Legal Mind, Lutz-Christian Wolff

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Volume 16 Issue 2 Masthead

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Stopping Child Pornography And Csam Online: Act Local, Unite Global, Hon. Anne-Christine Massullo, Frederick W. Mostert, Lea Leisure

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Intertemporal Law Doctrine's Application To The Acquisition Of Colonies In The Americas, Kent Mcneil

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Art Of Misuse: Could The European Union Benefit From The U.S. Copyright Doctrine?, Isabella Fazio

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

From Vulnerability To Justice: Reframing Indigenous Disaster Recovery Through A Human Rights-Based Lens, Portia Ozioma Chigbu

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Indigenous populations regard their cultural identity as central to their way of life, and their traditional lifestyles often place them in remote areas, isolating them from mainstream society. This isolation creates a unique set of human rights challenges, such as limited access to healthcare, restricted political representation, housing insecurity, and poor living conditions, making them especially vulnerable compared to other groups. In the context of climate change and the rising frequency of natural disasters worldwide, these vulnerabilities become more protracted and intensified. Since Indigenous populations already face structural disadvantages before disasters strike, such events deepen their vulnerabilities, increase their risk …

Reimagining International Investment Law For The Age Of Minerals, Taylor Nchako

Washington and Lee Law Review

New technologies––from artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles to medical devices and consumer electronics––demand an ever-increasing amount of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper. The United States requires these aptly named “critical” minerals to develop AI infrastructure, advance the clean energy transition, and remain economically competitive. As technology continues to advance at an astonishing pace, the U.S. has grown increasingly interested in securing critical minerals from sources in Africa. To obtain critical minerals, the U.S. must utilize investment treaties in its business dealings with African countries. At the same time, international investment law has garnered increased attention due to a …

Insurgent Until Proven Innocent: Land, Power, And The Right To Defend Rights, Kelsey Jost-Creegan

Michigan Journal of International Law

As the climate crisis intensifies, advocates worldwide have stood up to defend their communities, territories, and environment. In response, they have faced violent retaliation. This repression persists despite evolving international, regional, and national-level legal frameworks around the “right to defend rights” and the “right to protection.” This article begins by providing a comprehensive overview of this evolving legal landscape. Against this backdrop, the article examines the tactics and architectures of violence used to repress land and environmental defenders through the lens of counterinsurgency theory.

The article proposes a typology of counterinsurgent violence including: surveillance; stigmatization; criminalization; arbitrary detention; infiltration; cooptation; …

Counterclaims In Investor-State Arbitration: A Call For Clear Thinking, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

As exemplified by the agenda of UNCITRAL Working Group III, the focus of ongoing debates over reform of the current investor-State dispute resolution (ISDS) system has been on procedural reform, broadly understood. The debates thus sideline the substantive aspects of ISDS, i.e. the rights and obligations of investors and States.  Within this structure, the place of counterclaims by States in investor-State arbitration is uncertain. To be sure, the question of counterclaims is basically a procedural one, for, by definition, counterclaims represent a vehicle by which a respondent State may assert a claim against an investor in a proceeding initiated by …

Women’S Participation In Middle Eastern Politics: Between Cultural Norms And Democratic Aspirations, Siham Abidi, Thomas Sheku Marah

Journal of Middle East and Islamic Studies

Women’s political participation in the Middle East remains shaped by the complex interaction of cultural norms, religious interpretations, and democratic reform processes. While existing scholarship has examined these factors extensively, limited attention has been devoted to explaining why women’s political participation varies across states with broadly similar socio-cultural and religious contexts. This study addresses this gap through a qualitative comparative analysis of Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Guided by Feminist Institutionalism and Political Opportunity Structure theory, the study draws on secondary data from peer-reviewed literature, legal documents, and policy reports. The findings demonstrate that women’s political participation is not determined …

Periodic Adjustments — Treaties And Other Issues, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Jeffery M. Kadet

Articles

In his May article, Michael McDonald, a former managing director at Ernst & Young and current adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, criticized the IRS’s recently announced method for applying the commensurate with income (CWI) requirement that addresses the widespread underpricing of intangibles.1 His analysis questioned the IRS’s interpretation of section 482. McDonald argues that, until 2025, Treasury and the IRS applied CWI in a manner consistent with the arm’s-length principle despite congressional misgivings about the arm’s-length principle that were not only expressed in the legislative history of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 but were …

The Rise Of Options Contracts In Sports, The Post-Murphy Regulatory Conundrum, And Implications On Federalism, Scott Barboza

UNH Sports Law Review

The Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. N.C.A.A. dismantled the federal prohibition on state-authorized sports betting and returned its primary regulatory authority over to the states. Following Murphy, states adopted widely varying sports-betting regimes. At the same time, advances in financial technology and the growing popularity of prediction markets created a new form of event-based speculation operating outside the traditional sportsbook model. Platforms such as Kalshi began offering “yes-no” contracts tied to sporting outcomes through federally regulated exchanges overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, framing such products not as wagers, but as financial derivatives governed by the Commodity Exchange …

Gender Perspective(S): Lessons From International Human Rights Law To Defend Against Pregnancy Related Prosecutions, Megan Osadzinski

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The criminalization of pregnancy outcomes—such as miscarriages, abortion, obstetric emergencies, and stillbirth—is a violation of fundamental human rights guarantees; including the right to a fair trial when read in conjunction with the right to equality and the right to health. This article outlines state obligations under international human rights law toward women charged in pregnancy prosecutions, translating them into national criminal defense strategies using a gender perspective. Using intersectional theory, this article calls for the use of a gender perspective to challenge such prosecutions as unlawful gender-based discrimination and a gendered violation of due process, using the case study of …

Comparative Analysis Of Freedom Of Thought, Conscience, And Religion In India, Pakistan, And Bangladesh, Abhishek Chakrabarti

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a fundamental human right enshrined in Article 18 of The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR). However, religious minorities in South Asia are often deprived of this fundamental right. Muslims in India, Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, and Christians in Pakistan, and Hindus in Bangladesh face challenges including educational marginalization, economic and political marginalization, and social stigma in the society. The Note presents a comparative analysis of the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion across the three most populous countries in South Asia–India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh–that also share a long cultural, linguistic, and religious history. …

From The Common Heritage Of Mankind To The Artemis Accords: The Perspective Of Developing Countries In Southeast Asia, Ridha Aditya Nugraha, Lalin Kovudhikulrungsri, Runggu Prilia Ardes, Rio Christiawan

Indonesian Journal of International Law

The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1979 enshrines that the moon as a Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM), which highlights equitable sharing. This is considered a reason why the Agreement only attracted 17 member States. In order to return to the moon by 2028, the United States arranged the Artemis Accords. This non-binding arrangement discusses the utilization of space resources and the non-appropriation principle under international space law. The Artemis Accords can be interpreted as a subsequent practice related to space law treaties. However, the accord excludes the Moon Agreement, which …

Decolonizing International Law, Modirzadeh’S Critique, And Homework For Islamic International Law Scholarship: An Attasian Approach, Fajri Matahati Muhammadin, Rafsi Azzam Hibatullah Albar

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Naz Khatoon Modirzadeh published an article criticizing the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) movement for its purported inability to achieve its purpose as a response to one of the major international law decolonization projects. One of her criticisms is that TWAIL lacks a cohesive counter-vision of international law, actual representation of third-world views, and organized political movements. Within the heavily diverse (which is one of the problems) TWAIL camp, among others, is the voice of Islamic law. Most Muslim nations have been at the receiving end of the brute force of colonialism. Colonialism is, in fact, responsible for …

After Ratification: How Will Indonesia Navigate The Bbnj Agreement?, Febryani Sabatira, Ria Wierma Putri, Orima Melati Davey

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Indonesia’s ratification of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) signals its entry into a new phase of ocean governance. Translating this commitment into practice requires understanding the Agreement’s scope, assessing its institutional design, and evaluating its implications for Indonesia’s marine legal framework. This paper applies a normative legal analysis and draws on international treaties, domestic laws, and policy instruments to examine the BBNJ’s four substantive pillars—marine genetic resources, area-based management tools, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building and technology transfer—and their relevance to global and national biodiversity …

Crisis Aporias In Questioning International Law’S Efficacy And Legitimacy, Swati Singh Parmar

Indonesian Journal of International Law

International law events have been sites of contestation among teachers and scholars of international law and beyond. With each unsettling international event, the international law academe faces new wine in the old bottle questions on international law efficacy based on managerial expectations of international law. Though mostly unfair and disproportionate, these questions–diffused and embodied in teaching and otherwise–weigh heavily on international law’s efficacy and legitimacy during and even beyond the temporality of such events. Before any objective and horizontal assessment of IL through crises, as international law scholars, we must try to ask ourselves a few questions. What makes a …

The Impact Of International Trade Liberalization On Oil And Gas Management Policies In Developing Countries: A Case Study Of Indonesia, Bagus Satrio Utomo, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Suyono Thamrin, Donny Yusgiantoro

Indonesian Journal of International Law

This study aims to analyze the impact of international trade liberalization on oil and gas management policies in developing countries, with a focus on Indonesia as a case study. As a country rich in natural resources, Indonesia faces challenges in maintaining sovereignty over the management of its national oil and gas industry amidst commitments to international trade agreements such as the GATT/WTO. Through a qualitative approach and analysis of international agreement documents, national regulations, and oil and gas industry data, this study finds a significant influence of trade liberalization principles on oil and gas management policies in Indonesia. The results …