POLS 369: International Human Rights Law Final

Genocide Convention

"Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide (1948/1951)" -FIRST BINDING INTERNATIONAL HR TREATY -Defines genocide as certain acts that are intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group through mass killings, causing bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting poor life conditions, imposing measures to prevent births within group, forcibly transferring children of the group to another, wtc. -This convention imposed obligations on the international community and the states to punish genocide PROBLEMS NOT SOLVED: Political genocide, difficulty in proving the intent of these actions, no clarifying law, overusing genocide word can undermine its meaning

CAT Broad Definition of Torture

"For such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions"

Torture definition by Bush Admin

"serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death"; that prolonged mental harm is harm that must last for months or even years"

Naming and Shaming

(Enforcing mechanism) Giving shout-outs to countries that are violating HR → countries do not like this, and it is effective because everyone is concerned with protecting their reputations and their relationships with other countries

International Criminal Court (ICC)

(Location: the Hague, Netherlands) -states sign and ratify the Rome Statute to join. Purpose: to end impunity and holding people accountable for HR violations Prosecutes individuals for the following: -Crimes against humanity, genocide, serious war crime -Crimes that occurred within the territory of a State Party -Crimes that were committed by a national of a State Party, where-ever the crime took place -ICC is a court of last resort (only willing to take up cases when national criminal justice systems are unable or unwilling to) Based on principle of complementarity Challenges: evidence, lack of existing jurisprudence, lack of impartial enforcement, the fact that countries are threatened to leave

Principle of Proportionality

(threat has to be proportional to the crime). Where a State makes any restrictions on the Covenant rights, it must demonstrate their necessity and only take such measures as are proportionate to the pursuance of legitimate aims in order to ensure effective protection of Covenant rights. In no case may the restrictions be applied or invoked in a manner that would impair the essence of a Covenant right.

Military Commissions Act (2006)

(undoing Hamdan) -No int. law allowed -only president can interpret Geneva Conventions -Only president can determine enemy combatant status -No habeus corpus for E.C.s -hearsay and coercive statements allowed -applied to all pending and future cases

Geneva Conventions

**Everyone gets the rights provided by Geneva Conventions until a court/commission proves them guilty** I (1864): Wounded and sick in the field II (1868) Wounded and sick shipwrecked at sea III (1929) Prisoners of War IV (1949) Civilian Protection in time of War Need to understand that there are rules of war and this is one of the oldest recognized international treaties Rules of reciprocity Protection of citizens in warfare

Ex Parte Quirin

*Terror Courts -one of the cases that lawyers from the Bush administration used to argue that military tribunals were legal -case where nazi spies were caught off the coast of ____. They wanted to try them quickly and quietly because they didn't want the U.S. population to panic that there were Nazi spies found. -Argument in the book was that this was a very bad precedent to cite because it had never been tried again following this case

Filaritga v. Peña-Irala

-17 year old Filártiga was kidnapped and tortured to death by officials in Paraguay -2nd Circuit court ruled that ATCA does confer subject matter jurisdiction on U.S. Courts for violation of law of nations -set precedent for U.S. federal courts to punish non-American citizens for torturous acts committed outside of U.S. that were in violation of the law of nations. Paraguay didn't do anything to hold Pena Irla accountable, but when he fled to U.S. he was arrested and deported for staying past his visa

Jurisdiction

-Ability to make laws, enforce laws, adjudicate laws -Sovereignty entitles a state to exclusive jurisdiction within its borders

American Exceptionalism

-Concept that American culture and policy is superior to other nations (this is why the U.S. rarely ratifies international documents, and often makes reservations when it does) -We see ourselves as being more advanced and as being champions of human rights, but this is not the case.

FISA (Foreign Intelligence Security Act)

-Created in response to Watergate -Secret courts that the gov't has to go to ignored to wire-tap someone in the U.S. (must have warrant in order to wire-tap)

Post 9/11 changes

-Creation of homeland security -Patriot Act -War on terror -Extraordinary rendition -Guantanamo Bay -Political will to make changes was very high

Responsibility to Protect

-Doctrine that people argue exist in int. law (but there is no treaty protecting it) -the world must intervene to stop atrocities (this is an evolving norm) -Developing norm in international relations that the international community has an obligation to intervene in times of great humanitarian crises. -Humanitarian intervention should always be multinational → other countries should agree that intervention is needed (CRITERIA OF HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION -> must not make situation worse, must not have ulterior motives, must make country more stable, etc) -Roots in Apartheid -Reasonable person has obligation to help

Sovereignty

-Established by treaty of Westphalia -When a state/nation has supreme governance over itself. Sovereignty is very important in human rights (can be problematic in intervention because intervention challenges state's control and authority, and effectiveness in governance

Yerodia Ndombasi

-Foreign Minister of DRC in late 90s, VP in 2000s -Encouraged population to kill members of the rebellion against the government (ethnic Tutsis) -2000 Belgium attempted to prosecute under its own Universal Jurisdiction Law -2000 DRC counters by bringing a case to the ICJ claiming the Belgium has no jurisdiction due to sovereign immunity "Warrant Case": ICJ decides in DRC's favor arguing that sovereign immunity constitutes customary international law Belgium had violated international law and must "respect the immunity from criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability which the incumbent..."

Extradition

-Handing over a person to a foreign country -No duty to surrender an individual to another nation (although states can obviously choose it) -Requires bi-lateral or multi-lateral treaties or "irregular alternatives"

COURSE THEMES

-How international law changes and impacts sovereignty -Norms versus traditional international law

Belgium v. Spain ICJ Case (1970)

-ICJ case -Belgium sued Spanish company Determined that corporations are people separate from shareholders and have the right to be represented in int'l law as members of native state. *Legal personality*

ICTY

-International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Did not go smoothly-- many horrible acts were committed, particularly by the Serbians who wanted to keep large parts of the countries that were seceding -Infamous for ethnic cleansing, mass killings, rape -Limited double jeopardy, once tried by ICTY, defendant could not be tried by national court -Serbs saw this court as biased

Rasul v. Bush (2004)

-Involved individuals who had been picked up during extraordinary rendition program (most citizens were from UK, AUS, Kuwait, Pakistan, and others) -People were hooded, brought to black sires and interrogated -$$ was offered to people in foreign/suspect areas to turn in potential suspects -Supreme Ct. ruled that U.S. Courts have jurisdiction to hear herbs corpus petitions filed on the behalf of foreigners imprisoned at Guantanamo because this location was technically U.S. territory

Clean Power Plan

-Obama admin put inlace to try to bring us into line with the Paris Agreement, but Trump admin canceled it

Bybee/torture memos

-Outlined the Bush Administration policy on the treatment of detainees -Defines torture as "serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death"; that prolonged mental harm is harm that must last for months of even years" -This definition is incredibly narrow and allows for the US to get away with torturing other human beings (detainees) -Used language in the US War Crimes Act to argue that interrogators could only be convicted if their intent to cause severe pain was evident -This is absurd. -GENEVA CONVENTIONS DO NOT APPLY TO ENEMY COMBATANTS (this is what admin. argued) -Dramatic expansion of executive power

Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

-Shut down Guantanamo's exception to Habeus Corpus -detainees have a right to have H C petitions reviewed by federal courts b/c U.S. holds de facto sovereignty over Guantanamo --> MUST offer due process -Military Commission act = unconstitutional -many detainees were released on these grounds

Human Rights Council

-Treaty monitoring committee, Replaces HR commission, meets 3 times annually, monitors HR through ECOSOC resolutions. -Countries and individuals bring HR complaints to the council. Special procedures include: *Fact-finding missions: independent experts; gather info for 1503 or 1235 procedures *Thematic mechanisms: investigate problems caused by HR violations on a global scale (i.e., in more than one state) by "Working Groups" or "Special Rapporteurs" *Advisory services: offer education, information and institutional strengthening

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)

-Supreme Court held that Bush's Military Commissions violated the uniform code of military justice and the four Geneva Conventions -Issue: whether Congress can pass legislation preventing Supreme Ct from hearing the case of an accused combatant before his military commission - Facts: Hamdi (Bin Laden's driver), an American citizen, was arrested in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo and then to prison in South Carolina. He was held as an enemy combatant, and was not charged with any crime. -His right to speedy trial was violated (article 3 Geneva), Military commission violated equal protection clause of 5th Amendment **Determined that his detention DID violate geneva conventions ***SUPREME CT. SAYS THAT GENEVA CON. DO PROTECT ENEMY COMBATANTS

Political Question Doctrine

-Terror Courts - Bush Admin made the argument that courts couldn't hear some cases bc of this * The idea that a case should not be tried because it could negatively influence the foreign relations of the U.S. with other countries (this is a legal principle that goes way back, but this is an illustrative example from recent times)

The office of the Prosecutor

-The main decision maker in the ICC -the philosophy of this person is very influential in the way the iCC is run

Caroline case and significance in IHRL

-U.S. helped Canadian separatists in goal of fighting for independence --> Great Britain got mad and burnt the Caroline and sent it over the Niagara Falls -Caroline test: for self-defense to be justified, the threat must be instant, overwhelming, and there must be no choice of means and no moment for deliberation -response must be necessary and proportional -Article 51 of UN Charter says that self-defense is only satisfied when the test is met (it is customary int. law)

International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg

-WWII and the Holocaust spurred greater action in the international community to advocate for human rights -1946: First time that people were charged for war crimes and genocide -24 Nazi officials were charged with crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, war crimes, and genocide. At the end of the Tribunal, there was no mention of genocide in the final decision

Surveillance (Pres)

-Wang-Xiaoning v. Yahoo -Surveillance state -Norm Development -International comity -Naming and shaming -Domestic enforcement

Corporate Accountability

-corporations are most powerful non-state actors and have an enormous influence over countries (they need to be held accountable in order to achieve a fuller and broader HR enforcement mechanism) -influence over poor countries *ATS is used as a tool to hold non-state actors accountable*

Alien Tort Statute (ATS)

-holding private actors accountable in international law -permits alien plaintiff to file a tort claim against anyone U.S. has personal jurisdiction over *Doe v. Unocal*

London Charter

1945 -defined crimes against humanity -created Nuremberg Trials

Torture Victim Protections Act

1991 a statute that allows for the filing of civil suits in the United States against individuals who, acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation, committed torture and/or extrajudicial killing. The statute requires a plaintiff to show exhaustion of local remedies in the location of the crime, to the extent that such remedies are "adequate and available." Plaintiffs may be U.S. citizens or non-U.S. citizens.

Patriot Act

2001 law that increased the power of U.S. law enforcement agencies fighting terrorism. It increased the ability of the governments to search people without warrants. [law, enforcement, increased, 2001, around 9/11, search, privacy, rule, let the government search people whenever they want to]

Abu Ghraib (2004)

A detention facility near Baghdad, Iraq. The prison was the site of infamous torturing and execution of political dissidents. In 2004, during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the prison became the focal point of a prisoner-abuse and torture scandal after photographs surfaced of American soldiers, mistreating, torturing, and degrading Iraqi war prisoners and suspecting terrorists. The scandal was one of several dark spots on the public image of the Iraq War and led to increased criticism of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. -sexual assault, physical abuse, psychological torture -Institutional culture allowed for this mistreatment to happen --> higher ups were blamed for this practice but this just turned into everyone denying accountability

Universal Jurisdiction

APPLIES TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE -purely subject matter jurisdiction -crimes so heinous they violate the laws of all states: *piracy *slavery *war crimes *crimes against peace *crimes against humanity *genocide *torture

Jus Cogens

Acts made illegal because they violate the conscience of humankind (ex. Genocide, torture and slavery), Jus Cogens always trumps other things *Limited sovereignty (no one can violate jus cogens)

ICTY + ICTR

All judges are international Type of Ad Hoc Court

UN Charter Article 2:4

All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. -Syria connection potentially--> discussion of chemical weapons

Social Mobilization

An important ay that domestic enforcement can occur. When countries sign and ratify treaties they rarely live up to them 100% of the time (this is why we have monitoring agencies). -International treaties create a space for social mobilization around change (domestic courts incorporating international principles --> makes it possible for domestic policies to change)

International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD):

Article 1: -defines discrimination -Prohibits state parties from being directly discriminatory -States abandon discriminatory policies from their laws -Structural discrimination is a difficulty of ICERD RESTRICTIONS: -many countries don't recognize ICJ's authority to deal w/ interpretation of treaty or competency of ICERD to render decisions on complaints -Western liberal democracies have reservations against provisions in the treaty that restrict free speech and expression

Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet (Chilé dictator in 80s) was arrested in UK in 1998 under an international arrest warrant issued by Spain -went to U.K. for medical treatment, operating on behalf of Chilean gov't to buy weapons --> Chilé said he had sovereign immunity for acting under the state -it was determined that he had violated UN CAT so he could be prosecuted --> deemed too ill to stand trial, sent back to Chilé, received immunity then died

Doe v. Unocal (2002)

Burmese villagers filed suit under Alien tort claims act for being forced to relocate without compensation because California company wanted to build a pipeline *First American corporation sued for human rights abuses under that ATCA for violating the rights of workers in Burma* -Corporate was creating condition for rights to be violated -Ninth circuit (LA federal district court) determined corporations could be held accountable if they engaged in "practical assistance or encouragement." *Unocal settled (Speculated Big $$) which increased the incentive to take MNCs to court* --> incentivized taking MNCs to court *Corporate Complicity*

Unitary Executive Theory

Claimed that the President has the sole authority over the Executive branch and sole authority over Executive functions (allowed white house to do lots of things without supervision) --> this is what has led to the continuation of oppressive executive powers

Common Law versus Civil Law

Common law (our system) → judges rely on precedent and on other judges interpretations of rules (reliance on precedent). As law gets tested in the court, it gets crystallized into what the law actually means. ^ U.S. and U.K. system, precedent matters a lot (statutes are viewed as being vague) --> this is related to international law where practices and behaviors matter more. Became an issue in Nuremberg trials where Germany used civil law system and U.S. used common law (German officials were not as familiar with common law) Civil Law system: Very statutory based, judges will generally try to only read the law as it is written and determine on a case by case basis (not focusing on precedent) ^ European, judges interpret

Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petrolium

Context/Definition: Brought by the late wife of a member of the "Ogoni Nine" who were hanged by the Nigerian military junta in November 1995, shell was complicit according to allegations, second circuit ruled in 2010 that corporations could not be held liable due to complicit actions because no clear obligations exist under international law, tough and concern, sufficient force Significance: Because of this decision, Chiquita was dismissed for complicity. *Corporate Complicity*

ICRC

Created as part of Geneva conventions, and actually monitors it (monitoring agency is crucial) Provides services to the sick and wounded Tension between the act of going to world, but there still need to be monitors ICRC makes it known if countries are violating geneva conventions (gateway t naming and shaming) Peer pressure to follow the rules of war and the International community

Lord's resistance Army

Definition - rebel group operating in northern Uganda,; five leaders indicted by Office of the Prosecutor - Joseph Kony, Lukwiya, Odhiambo, Ongwen and Otti Significance: Group said they would only go forward with peace talks with Ugandan government if ICC indictments against leaders were revoked; tensions between peace and justice -Problem that ICC tends to focus on African countries Context: Conflict in Northern Uganda, referral request from Ugandan government

Big Sovereignty Question

Does the decline in sovereignty make humanitarian intervention more likely? Should it? is the responsibility to protect stronger or weaker?

Eichmann/Banality of Evil

Eichmann (1961) - Prosecuted by Israel under the their Nazi Collaboration Punishment Law Israel invoked Universal Jurisdiction because: Not in territory Not a national Victims not nationals Hannah Arendt's theory that anyone can perpetuate mass injustices-- it does not take an evil person to be able to do evil things. Eichmann in Jerusalem in an example of this. Eichmann played a role in the extermination of the Jewish population in Germany during the Holocaust and defended his actions as just a result of following orders. This man was not inherently evil, he did not have great hatred for the Jews, or for any group of people for that matter. Genocide in this period was normalized, which made it possible for Eichmann to be able to justify his actions without feeling guilt. This is very dangerous because it proves the injustices that we are ALL capable of being a part of.

Accountability

Ending impunity, making it so that everyone in the international community knows that they won't get away with abuses and that there will be consequences for their actions

Article 12 ICCPR

Freedom of movement -these protections are important because the most likely violators of HR are governments, themselves -Restrictive measures must conform to the principle of proportionality and be appropriate to achieve their protective function -They must be the least intrusive instruments among those that would achieve the desired result -Appropriateness and necessity imply that the action need not necessarily work, but MUST be undertaken in a way where a "reasonable person" would think it could have been appropriate and necessary

Hybrid Courts

Enforce a mix of international and domestic law, also to have international and local judges Examples: Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia Problems: can prolong conflict, legitimacy, transaction costs: take a long time to set up Significance: domestic courts in post-conflict states often suffer from systemic problems including inadequate laws, corruption, incompetence, impunity etc., international intervention and creation of hybrid courts try to remedy these problems; because they are situated in the country itself, hybrid courts can have more potential for a lasting impact on bolstering the rule of law and domestic judicial capacity in a particular state, than purely international justice processes

Rodriguez v. Drummond (

First case brought under ATS against an MNC to go to trial to be decided on its merits Case Facts: Union organizers in Colombia killed by paramilitary groups. Argued that Drummond was complicit in this. Importance: -First case brought under the Alien Tort Statute against a multinational corporation to go to trial to be decided on its merits. Outcome: Drummond Co. found not guilty, largely due to lack of evidence. *ATS*

Cognitive Dissonance

Humans are very good at justifying their own existences

ICTR

ICTR -International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda -Important because there was much less focus on crimes that were committed in Africa because people tend to think about Europe first -Created by Security Council -Shared resources with ICTY

Schengen Area

Idea of open borders between countries in the EU. The U.k. was never a member of this. This complicates the refugee problem because countries feel like they can't control who comes in and out of their country because of these agreements

Right to Development

Idea that countries pollute some in order to develop (U.S. developed before other countries so it's not fair to have an expectation that currently developing countries will change their development plans / be totally green in their development)

Criteria for Humanitarian intervention

If it can't be done multinationally, it shouldn't be done. It has to be clear that intervention will not cause more harm in the outcome. There has to be a clear ending. It must be unequivocally clear that there are NO ulterior motives beyond protecting Human rights.

Transpacific Partnership (TPP)

Importance: Trade can very much influence Human Rights Issues -first multilateral trade agreement with a large emphasis on HR issues -can create problems with globalization -Canada & Mexico arguing TPP without US

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

International Treaty Signed and Ratified by ALL 197 UN member states Not a treaty that governs and enforces emissions, but a framework for negotiating agreements that will achieve these goals.

Paris Agreement

International Treaty with "bottom up" goals Only part of treaty that is required and enforceable is monitoring and reporting under the UNFCCC The preamble to the Paris Agreement includes "that climate change is a common concern of humankind" "Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights"

International Comity

International courtesy that states follow protocols and respect each other. This is not international law in itself, but it makes international law stronger (important to law that states respect each other's sovereignty)

Jus ad bellum

The right to war

Humanitarian Law

Law that governs rules of war and state practices during conflict -International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a monitoring body of HL

Prisons (pres)

Mass incarceration

Restorative justice

More abstract- addresses the needs of victims AND offenders. Kind of a "let's talk it out approach" (remember from New Beginnings discussion and the importance of creating closure for the victim and the offender-- can be viewed as an alternative to other forms of punishment/ a way to end the long sentencing practices in the industrial prison complex in the U.S.)

Norm Development

Norms and international law are intrinsically related. Norms are one of the ways that international law gets enforced outside of traditional mechanisms (countries see each other doing something and adopt this behavior. Just know that norms are important concepts in International Law)

Article 51 of UN Charter

Nothing shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self defense if an armed attack occurs against a UN member until the SC has taken necessary measures

Article 4 ICCPR

Part II, article 4 states that some of these rights can be suspended under public emergency conditions, but there are some that can NEVER be suspended Principle of proportionality Threat must be extreme to life of many citizens or survival of the state itself Non-discrimination

Enemy Combatants

People the United States labeled as unlawful combatants. This is significant because the U.S. declared that these individuals were exempt from the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions (meaning they do not qualify as prisoners of war)

Cancer Alleys

Pockets of extraordinarily high rates of cancer (near water often times) Toxins and chemical waste permeate water → leads to increase in environmentally induced cancer Environmental injustice

Third Geneva Convention

Prisoners of War (and the treatment of them) - Treated humanely with respect for their persons and their honor. - Enabled to inform their next of kin and the Central Prisoners of War Agency (ICRC, the International Red Cross) of their capture. - Allowed to correspond regularly with relatives and to receive relief parcels. - Allowed to keep their clothes, feeding utensils and personal effects. - Supplied with adequate food and clothing. - Provided with quarters not inferior to those of their captor's troops. - Given the medical care their state of health demands. - Paid for any work they do. - Repatriated if certified seriously ill or wounded, (but they must not resume active military duties afterwards) . - Quickly released and repatriated when hostilities cease.

Retributive Justice

Punishment of offenders

Kyoto Protocol

Recognized there is a problem - "it bound member states to act in the interests of human safety even in the face of scientific uncertainty." Goals -The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system." -Responsibility - Developed Countries Reduce Carbon Emissions by 2000 to 1990 levels. -Money for Developing Countries -Monitoring -Bound states to act in interest of human society -stabilize greenhouse emissions -Responsibility on developed countries

Immigration (pres)

Schengen Area

Security Council Referral

Security Council can refer members to ICC even if they have not signed the rome statute (only way state can be referred to ICC w/o consent) **ICC only has jurisdiction in countries that have signed Rome Statute

Emergent Rights

Some rights, even though they aren't specifically spelled out in the international bill of rights, are required for human dignity. For example, there is no explicit right to a clean environment, but as industrialization progresses, pollution becomes a threat to our human dignity (clean environment seen as a potential emergent right) -internet access could also be an emergent right -The idea that the list can change -rights emerge when there is a threat to human dignity and threats change -rights that are responses to emergent threats

Omar Al-Bashir

South Sudan, one of the reasons South Africa might leave ICC -sitting head of state w/ international arrest warrant for him -Icc claiming jurisdiction over him even though Sudan has not signed Rome Statute (ICC pursuing someone from country that hasn't consented to principles of Rome Statute)

Sosa v. Alvarez Machain (2004)

Supreme Court Case * US agent in Mexico got killed by drug cartel (Alvarez) --> Mexico wouldn't extradite Alvarez --> US hired Mexicans to capture Alvarez Upheld core of Filartiga: that foreigners could sue for violations of an international law norm under the ACTA. Reinforced that the ACTA needs no legislative cause of action. Limits: Established 3 part test for satisfaction under the ACTA. Three part test The plaintiff must (1) be an alien, (2) allege a tort, and (3) demonstrate that the defendant committed the tort in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.

Drones

Surveillance state

Types of criminal Jurisdiction

Territorial - D's crime occurs within P state territory and violates P state's law. Subjective vs. Objective (Depends on starting location of crime) Nationality - D is a citizen (national) of P state. Passive Personality - V is a citizen (national) of P state. Protective - D's act has a potentially harmful effects within P state.

CAT

The Convention Against Torture Defines torture, outlines domestic enforcement, bans refoulement, jurisdiction regarding torture, prevention of torture, committee against torture Definition: Intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering (physical and psychological) on another person.

Mass incarceration

The United States incarcerated more human beings than any other country in the world. The industrial prison complex is oppressive in practice and violates many human rights for many individuals. Structural racism is embedded in this system. Black men are more likely to be imprisoned, and they are also more likely to have longer sentences. Important note: Geneva conventions only protect prisoners of war, not all prisoners Major issues within the prison system: Detainees/War on terror Sexual Abuse of women Death row/death penalty

International Law

The body of rules and norms that governs the interaction between states as well as between other international persons (covers status, property, obligation and tort). Most is enforced domestically

Intergenerational rights

The concept that we need to think ahead of the rights of future generations (this related to clean environment rights and rights that require resources)

Jus in bello

The laws of war

Extraordinary Rendition

The practice of sending a foreign criminal or terrorist suspect covertly to be interrogated in a country with less rigorous regulations for the humane treatment of prisoners. Example: Bringing people to undisclosed locations where they would be interrogated (stopping point before Guantanamo) Seriously frowned upon not just the U.S., but many countries Significance: This illustrates the challenge between security and human rights

Habeus Corpus

The right to petition for a trial (suspected terrorists were deprived of this)

Rome Statute

The treaty that established the ICC. This statute came up with the four core international crimes that the ICC prosecutes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression) Key Provisions: -What states sign and ratify to join ICC—100 members -Nature of jurisdiction -The structure of the court -Rules of evidence -Legal doctrine

Domestic Enforcement

There isn't a supreme international court or single government so it is up to the states to adopt international norms most int. Hr law is enforced domestically (significant because there are a lot of differences in domestic interpretation) Treaty = countries are supposed to enforce international laws themselves.

Ticking Time Bomb

There's a time bomb hidden somewhere and only one person knows where, but won't tell. Can the president authorize torture to be used on this individual to find the location of the bomb in order to save thousands of lives? Can torture be justified for providing for the greater good? Concept of protecting thousands in order to justify the practice of torture Critique: When people are tortured, they will say anything in order to stop the pain. This process can cause people to try to force out information that the torture victim does not even have. This method doesn't really work in reality-- it is rather counterproductive for intelligence gathering (false information)

Reparative Justice

Transfers of resources to victims from either offenders or the state to help "repair" damage. Concept is to repair the side that was harmed so that they do not feel victimized/frustrated their whole lives

Truth Commissions

Truth commissions are non-judicial inquiries established to determine the facts, root causes, and societal consequences of past human rights violations. Through their focus on the testimony of victims of atrocity, truth commissions provide acknowledgement and recognition of suffering and survival to those most affected. The findings and recommendations of commissions can contribute to criminal justice, reparations, and institutional reform processes to redress past abuses and prevent new ones from occurring. In doing so, they provide an opportunity for divided societies to begin the process of rebuilding civic trust among citizens and in the institutions in place to serve them. Truth commissions are evolving institutions: their focus is expanding to cover more types of violations, going beyond crimes against physical integrity to examine violations of economic, social, and cultural rights. They are also becoming more adept at capturing and addressing the experiences of different sectors of the population, including those of women, children, and indigenous peoples.Functions: offer forum for telling the truth, opportunities for apologies, decisions on reparations -Viable alternative to trials -Famous example: Truth and Reconciliation Commission for South Africa (TRC) Advantages:- -No prosecutions leads to greater participation -Not restricted by rules of evidence gives a fuller picture of what happened -Based on forgiveness heps population to move on (cathartic for victims) Not as large an obstacle for peace Disadvantages: -No punishment so many see no justice for victims -No 3rd party to determine what is the real truth -Not a deterrent for future atrocities Significance: can be seen as a lack of justice because of a lack of punishment, no third party judges to determine the real truth, and not a deterrent to future atrocities

Guantanamo

U.S. detention camp/military prison in Cuba. Anyone the U.S. suspected of being a terrorist or a potential threat was brought here. Many were tortured and interrogated in unjust ways.

Opinio Juris

What states expect to happen (this is strengthened when states go through the motions/recognize the principles of international law) -the way you break the rules shows that you acknowledge them and this strengthens international law

Corporate Complicity

When a corporate does not act effectively to provide for the rights of workers Formally prohibits rights violations, but widely tolerates it

Wang Xiaoning v. Yahoo

Yahoo turned over info about people suspected to be HR activists and these people were imprisoned --> sued Yahoo under a tort claim (Yahoo then settled). Corporations have to think about this now when they set up camp in China (they want access to the Chinese market, but they don't want to look back by promoting/taking part in extreme surveillance/violation of privacy rights)

Environmental Kuznet Curve

You only start caring about the environment after you've gotten rich and it's too late. Related to the Right to Development *This highlights the tension around the right to a clean environment and the right to development

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. Significance: initially considered as a big success, but subsequently has not been considered adequate to give people justice; exposes strengthens and weakness with truth commissions

Surveillance State

a country where the government engages in pervasive surveillance of large numbers of its citizens and visitors.

Complimentary Jurisdiction

court of last resort (ICC, European court of HR, Inter-american court of HR) - Significant component of ICC

impunity

exemption from punishment Significance: goal of the ICC to help end impunity, ending impunity also part of the transition from authoritarianism to democracy; reason to end impunity to create deterrents Context: ICC, hybrid courts, naming and shaming: ways to try to end impunity

Environmental Justice Movement

idea that some level of pollution is inevitable, but the cost of environmental pollution should be born evenly + the biggest polluters should pay the most

Traditional Criteria for Determining Jurisdiction

territory and subject matter

Kadic v. Karadzic

the Second Circuit faced a novel issue involving the scope of subject matter jurisdiction under the ATCA. The defendant in Kadic allegedly committed numerous violations of international law, but was not acting on behalf of any recognized government when these violations occurred. The Second Circuit was forced to decide whether the defendant's egregious conduct violated international law. More specifically, the court had to determine whether international law can even apply to conduct that is neither purely statist nor purely private, but is something in between. 2nd circuit court ruled that it did have jurisdiction especially when violations of customary international law are massive and that ACTA confers federal subject matter jurisdiction even on private actors

Subject Matter jurisdiction

the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. (For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases.) *Article 5 Rome Statute*

Transitional Justice

umbrella category for all the mechanisms that states can take to try to get past human rights violations; the pursuit of accountability for mass atrocities or former human rights abuses; linked to quest for institutional reform to address injustices of the past - and prevent future abuses; goal is to avoid another round of human rights abuses committed by those that were victims before Significance: integral to the transition from authoritarianism to democracy; related to the three types of justice and ideally would figure out a balance between all three

Preemptive War

war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war shortly before that attack materializes. -Invasion of Iraq is an example

Tragedy of the commons

when acting in groups with a public good, people will have a tendency to abuse that public good and to "free ride" The tragedy of the commons is an economic problem in which every individual tries to reap the greatest benefit from a given resource. As the demand for the resource overwhelms the supply, every individual who consumes an additional unit directly harms others who can no longer enjoy the benefits.