GlobaLex March/April 2024 Issue is Live

By Lucie Olejnikova

GlobaLex March/April 2024 issue is live featuring seven article updates: Vatican, Trinidad & Tobago, Researching Customary International Law, Researching Third-Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Researching the Systems of the United Nations Criminal Tribunals, MERCOSUR, and Researching the League of Nations Documents. Webmasters and content managers, please update your pages. We thank all our wonderful authors, new and established, for their excellent contributions and commitment to open access authorship!

Photo by Polina Zimmerman

UPDATE: Researching the Law of the Vatican City State by Angelo Coccìa at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Vatican1.html.

Angelo Coccìa is an Italian lawyer, cassationist, and rotal. He graduated in Law from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” with a Thesis in Ecclesiastical Law. Graduated in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University. He also holds a diploma as a Rotale Lawyer at the Rotale Studies of the Chancellery Palace in Rome. He is a member of the Archsodalizio of the Roman Curia and adviser of the Coetus Advocatorum Association. He is registered in the Register of the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota, at the Register of Lawyers and Prosecutors of the Tribunals of the Vicarage of Rome, at the tribunals of the Vatican City, all courts in which he permanently works.

UPDATE: Trinidad & Tobago Law and Legal Research by C. Deane at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Trinidad_Tobago1.html.

C. Deane is the Foreign. Comparative and International Law Librarian for University of California Law, San Francisco. They received their primary and secondary education in Trinidad. They have a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology with a Certificate in Latin American Studies from Princeton University, an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and a J.D. with a Certificate in International and Comparative Law from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, and an M.L.I.S. degree from San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science.

UPDATE: Researching Customary International Law, State Practice, and the Pronouncements of States Regarding International Law by Renu Urvashi Sagreiya at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Customary_International_Law1.html.

Renu Urvashi Sagreiya is the Reference & Digital Collections Librarian at the Jerene Appleby Harnish Law Library at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law. She has a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology with a Minor in Spanish from Agnes Scott College, a J.D. from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and is an M.S.L.S. Candidate at Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion.

UPDATE: Researching Third-Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement by Xin (Sherry) Chen at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Third-Party_Funding_Investor-State_Dispute_Settlement1.html.

Xin (Sherry) Chen is the Associate Director of Collection Strategy at the Biddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She teaches both U.S. and international legal research courses and is active in AALL’s Foreign, Comparative & International Law section, currently chairing the Asian Law Interest Group. She holds a B.A. from Shanghai International Studies University, China, and both a J.D. and a M.S. in Library Information Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York. The author would like to thank Alex Bado, Graduate Fellow, Law & Justice Program, Boston College Law School, for his editorial support and contributions.

UPDATE: Searching through Systems of the UN Criminal Tribunals by Devan Orr at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/UN_Criminal_Tribunals_Research_Guide1.html.

Devan Orr is the Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian at William & Mary Law School. She teaches several legal research classes including Foreign and International Research, and L.L.M. Legal Writing and Research. She has a J.D. from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and an M.L.I.S. degree from the University of Arizona. She is the co-chair of the Publicity Committee of FCIL-SIS for AALL and an actively licensed attorney with the Arizona State Bar.

UPDATE: MERCOSUR Legal Research – Sources and Documents by Gloria Orrego Hoyos and Mariel Romani at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Mercosur1.html.

Gloria Orrego Hoyos has a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. She has a Masters in Constitutional Law and Human Rights from the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires and a postgraduate degree in Library and Information Management from the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales (UCES) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is currently a professor in the Legal Research Methods course in the Law Department of the University of San Andrés and, in the same course at the Universidad Torcuato DiTella (UTDT). For 10 years she worked at the Max von Buch Library of the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires as head of the reference services. She currently serves as a legal reference at the General Secretariat of Training and Jurisprudence of the Public Defender’s Office.

Mariel Romani is an Argentine librarian in charge of the Serials library at the Max von Buch Library at the Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She assists faculty in their research and oversees legal reference and information literacy at the institution.

UPDATE: Researching League of Nations Documents by Gabriela Femenia at https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/League_Nations_Guide1.html.

Gabriela Femenia is the Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.L.I.S. from the University of Washington. In addition, she holds degrees in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University. For more articles, visit https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/index.html.

Through the FCIL Lens: Haiti, Ecuador, Niger, Georgia, Kuwait and Myanmar

By Marcelo Rodríguez

There is no doubt that a couple of current events outside of the United States, namely the Israel-Hamas War and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine are dominating the news cycle in this country. I just finished teaching my course at the University of Arizona College of Law called, Foreign, Comparative and International Legal Research and the students are also incredibly interested in these conflicts. Personally, I think current events do offer an important opportunity to bring attention to this area of legal research which sometimes falls off people’s radars. I tend to joke with my colleagues that people don’t need foreign, comparative and international legal research until they desperately need it. Unfortunately, at that last minute, researchers realize that there is not much they can do. Unequivocally, this type of legal research requires a robust and flexible research strategy, an effective plan and time management. 

At the same time, I can’t help but notice that some current events, especially those who dominate the news cycle tend to obscure other conflicts, flashpoints and important developments in other countries and regions throughout the world. This is exactly when Foreign, Comparative and International Law (FCIL) librarians, researchers and anyone interested in this type of work do have an opportunity to refocus the attention and to shed some light on these lesser known events and how to anticipate and contribute to future analyses on their importance and connections with other topics, trends and scholarship.

Keeping track of current events in foreign countries is a difficult and massive undertaking, similar to a scavenger hunt. There are innumerable challenges and pitfalls when pursuing (FCIL) research on current events taking place in other countries. Some of the obvious challenges include evaluating sources, translation, mis- and disinformation, fast sequence of events, contradictory information, etc. From a research standpoint, I believe the major challenge is how to connect the current event with the research that you’re pursuing. There is no simply not enough information or analysis to help you connect the dots. Therefore, this translates into yet another step in your research strategy which you simply can’t ignore.

That’s why I created this series, Through the FCIL Lens. Per usual, I aim to shed some light on rapidly (d)evolving events which can potentially become of interest to Foreign, Comparative and International Law (FCIL) librarians or any researcher interested in this type of work. Furthermore in this post, I’m selecting “lesser-known” events outside North America and Western Europe which have not been covered extensively in major media outlets and also events which can be “representative” of what’s happening in neighboring countries and regional trends. 

For this post I have chosen events that took place over this past month of April 2024 in the following countries: Haiti, Ecuador, Niger, Georgia, Kuwait and Myanmar. As in previous posts, these summaries aim to be descriptive, introductory, and to provide a stepping stone for further comprehensive research. Each summary also includes at least five authoritative secondary sources written in recently.

Haiti Moves Forward with a New Acting Prime Minister, Boisvert

The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, formally signed his resignation letter on April 24, paving the way for a new government and bringing a measure of political stability to a nation mired in gang violence and an unfolding humanitarian crisis.Henry, who has been unable to return to the country because of security concerns, had said in March that he would step down once the transitional council was established. The Presidential Transition Council is tasked with restoring law and order through the appointment of an acting prime minister to head a new government as well as to pave the way for the election of a new president. The establishment of the council was hashed out in Jamaica in March by a regional Caribbean Community bloc, CARICOM, along with the United States, France and Canada after it became clear that Mr. Henry would no longer be able to govern Haiti. Michel Patrick Boisvert, a former Haitian minister of economy and finance who stepped in for Mr. Henry in his absence, was named as acting prime minister. He and the new governing council now face the challenge of restoring order in Haiti, reforming the constitution and organizing a presidential election. Under the council’s mandate, a new president is to take office and all elected authorities are to be sworn in by February 2026, but it is not yet known when those elections will be held. The seating of the council is expected to clear the way for the arrival of a multinational police force led by Kenya that will be tasked with stabilizing the violence-plagued nation. In March, Kenyan officials had said that they were pausing their plans to deploy the force of 1,000 police officers until the new government was formed. In the meantime, a coalition of armed gangs has had control of most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, since it launched an offensive in late February, destroying police stations and government offices, looting banks and hospitals and killing and kidnapping hundreds of people. And the gang leaders have said they intend to do what they can to disrupt the current political process. It is unclear how strong the alliance is or whether it will last. The United Nations human rights office reported in March that more than 1,500 people had died in gang violence in Haiti so far this year and described the country as being in a “cataclysmic situation.” Haiti has had no president since its last one, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in 2021. All the local authorities’ terms — from senators to elected mayors — expired years ago. More broadly, the country is on the verge of collapse. Most basic services are not functioning, under pressure from gang violence and a succession of natural disasters.

• Beckett, G. (2020). Unlivable life: Ordinary disaster and the atmosphere of crisis in Haiti. Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 24(2), 78-95.
• Charles, J. M. (2021). The cost of regime survival: Political instability, underdevelopment, and (un) natural disasters in Haiti before the 2010 earthquake. Journal of black studies, 52(5), 465-481.
• Kolbe, A. R. (2020). Prospects for Post-Minustah Security in Haiti. International Peacekeeping, 27(1), 44-57.
• Noel, G., & Pierre-Louis, E. (2021). Understanding Haiti’s Current Phenomenon of Gang Violence and Illicit Arms Trafficking: A View from the Lens of Vertical-Horizontal Violence. In Guns, Gun Violence and Gun Homicides: Perspectives from the Caribbean, Global South and Beyond (pp. 161-187). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Pellegrini, S., Raleigh, C., Fuller, B., Kamal, D., Bozhinova, K., & Holcomb, F. (2021). Haiti: High risk of increased gang violence amid rising authoritarianism. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, 14-17.

Noboa’s Security Strategy Wins Big in Ecuador’s Constitutional Referendum

In a referendum on April 21, Ecuadoreans voted to enshrine the increased military presence into law and to lengthen prison sentences for certain offenses linked to organized crime, among other security measures. Voter turnout was 72 percent, according to the country’s electoral authority. Analysts considered that low, in a country where voting is mandatory and turnout usually exceeds 80 percent. The results of the referendum are binding, and the national assembly has 60 days to pass them into law. President Daniel Noboa took office in November after an election season focused on the violence, which has surged to levels not seen in decades. In January 2024, he declared an “internal armed conflict” and ordered the military to “neutralize” the country’s gangs. The move allowed soldiers to patrol the streets and Ecuador’s prisons, many of which have come under gang control. Noboa, who is expected to seek a second term in February 2025, has high approval ratings, though they have slipped lately. He became president after his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, facing impeachment proceedings over embezzlement accusations, called for early elections. Noboa is in office until May 2025, the remainder of Lasso’s term. A flood of violence from international criminal groups and local gangs has turned Ecuador, a country of 17 million, into a key player in the global drug trade. Tens of thousands of Ecuadoreans have fled to the U.S.-Mexico border. Furthermore, on April 6, Noboa took the extraordinary step of arresting an Ecuadorian politician who had taken refuge at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, in what experts called a violation of an international treaty on the sanctity of diplomatic posts. Noboa said he had sent police officers into the embassy to arrest Jorge Glas, a former vice president who had been convicted of corruption, because Mexico had abused the immunities and privileges granted to the diplomatic mission. Taken together, the raid and the deployment of the military were meant to show that Noboa is tough on crime and impunity, political analysts say. Some human rights groups have criticized Noboa’s anti-crime tactics as going too far, saying they have led to abuses in prisons and in the streets. Voting also included some proposals from Noboa’s government that were unrelated to security  and were voted down in the public consultation. Ecuadorians voted against one that would have legalized hourly employment contracts, which are currently prohibited. A proposal that would have allowed international arbitration of commercial disputes was also voted down.

• Carrión-Yaguana, V. D., & Carroll, R. (2023). The effects of candidate appearance on electoral success: Evidence from Ecuador. Political Research Quarterly, 76(3), 1168-1179.
• Freeman, W. (2024). Can Ecuador Avoid Becoming a Narco-State?. Current History, 123(850), 56-62.
• Mantilla, J., Andrade, C., & Vallejo, M. F. (2023). Why Cities Fail: The Urban Security Crisis in Ecuador. Journal of Strategic Security, 16(3), 10.
• Palacios Jaramillo, Z. A. (2023). Brutality Behind Bars: A Look at Prison Violence in Ecuador.
• Velasco, S. Á. (2020). From Ecuador to elsewhere: the (re) configuration of a transit country. Migration and Society, 3(1), 34-49.
• Ximena, I. Q. J., Javier, M. A. V., Janeila, Q. B. B., & Milton, J. M. J. (2024). Violence and Conflicts in the Prisons of Ecuador: Legal Approach and Prevention Measures. Kurdish Studies, 12(1), 4439-4449.

Russian Forces Arrive in Niger as Moscow Expands its Grip in the Sahel

In April, dozens of Russian military instructors arrived in Niger as part of a new agreement with the country’s junta, which has cut links with the West. The Russians deployed to Airbase 101 at Niger’s international airport in Niamey are said to be military trainers. State media reported that they arrived along with a state-of-the-art air defense system. The West African country is one of several in the Sahel region ruled by military authorities to have recently strengthened ties with Russia. Countries across the Sahel, a region stretching from Senegal to the Red Sea, have turned toward Russia for security assistance in recent years in the face of growing regional instability. Niger has been facing increased violence by the Islamic State group, as well as the continuing threat of Boko Haram militants along its border with Nigeria. Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a friendly country with no colonial baggage in the continent. Mali, for example, has in recent years become one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight jihadist insurgents. Other observers have noted that the military government was still concerned about some form of physical interference in Niger by the political and economic alliance of West African states, known as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and this is probably the reason for the supply of a Russian air defense system, rather than to help suppress Islamist fighters. Niger had already been suspended from ECOWAS – which has been urging the country to return to democratic rule along with Burkina Faso and Mali – but in January 2024, the junta-led countries announced they would quit the bloc. Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown last year by the junta, which has since cut military and diplomatic ties with France – the former colonial power – and revoked an agreement with the US. The European Union suspended its security cooperation with the country in the wake of the coup. The U.S. and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups eager to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the impending departure from Niger, U.S. troops have also left Chad, while French forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso.

• Adefisoye, T. O., & BRAIMAH, F. I. (2023). Restoring civilian government with military might: The ECOWAS dilemma.
• Mensah, A. N. A., & Aning, K. (2022). Russia resurgent? Untangling the role and meaning of Moscow’s proxies in West Africa and the Sahel. The Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 44(1).
• Surazu, M. M., & Stefanović-štambuk, J. (2023). The Cause of Diplomatic Failure in the Sahel Region and the Rising Coups. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(12), 1005-1012.
• Suzuki, S. (2020). Exploring the roles of the AU and ECOWAS in West African conflicts. South African Journal of International Affairs, 27(2), 173-191.
• Taruvinga, G. R. (2023). The Resurgence of Military Coups in Africa: The Case of West Africa and the Sahel. In Contemporary Issues on Governance, Conflict and Security in Africa (pp. 147-157). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Turmoil and Unrest in Georgia as the “Foreign Agents” Bill Reappears

For the past month of April 2024, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi has been engulfed in turmoil and unrest. Thousands of Georgians have been demonstrating each night since 17 April, when the country’s parliament approved a first reading of the controversial “foreign agents” bill. The draft law would require nongovernmental groups and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to register as organizations “carrying the interests of a foreign power” and provide annual financial statements about their activities. Violations would incur fines equivalent to more than $9,000. The government — which has been controlled by Georgian Dream since 2012 — says the bill is simply a measure aimed at making foreign funding more transparent. Georgian Dream wants to push the bill through Parliament. However, the pro-Western opposition believes it could be used to crack down on dissent and hamper the country’s efforts to join the European Union. The measure, which protesters say is authoritarian in nature, was introduced despite a pledge by the government last year to “unconditionally withdraw” such legislation. The first draft of the new bill was approved by lawmakers on April 17. The bill is unlikely to be signed into law before the end of May because legislators will probably have to override an expected veto by the country’s president, Salome Zourabichvili. Ms. Zourabichvili, whose duties are largely ceremonial in Georgia’s parliamentary system, was endorsed by Georgian Dream when she was elected in 2018 but she later became a fierce critic of the ruling party. The political crisis comes at a time when many Georgians fear their country is moving away from the west. The legislation resembles a similar measure that Moscow implemented in 2012 that has been used as a heavy-handed tool to stifle and stigmatize anti-Kremlin advocacy groups and media organizations. The draft legislation has also drawn sharp criticism from E.U. and U.S. officials, who said it renewed questions about democracy in Georgia and the country’s commitment to join the European Union. In December 2023, the European Union granted Georgia candidate status, a move widely seen as an effort to prevent the country from sliding into the Kremlin’s orbit. Georgian Dream says it wants Georgia to be in the European Union and NATO, but has argued for a more neutral approach to Russia and has accused the opposition of playing a dangerous game of provoking Moscow that risks having the war in Ukraine spread to Georgia. Critics say that one of the aims of the bill, which they call “the Russian law,” is to align Georgia, a former Soviet country of 3.6 million, more closely with Moscow. Similar legislation targeting foreign influences has been introduced by the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, two other post-Soviet countries, in the past two years, raising concerns about the region drifting toward Moscow. A law curbing foreign influence has also been passed in Hungary, and proposed by Slovakia and the predominantly Serb area of Bosnia, the Republika Srpska.

• Goncharenko, G., & Khadaroo, I. (2020). Disciplining human rights organisations through an accounting regulation: A case of the ‘foreign agents’ law in Russia. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 72, 102129.
• Kikalishvili, S. (2023). Russian intervention in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict: A history of tensions and turmoil. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(1), 2220216.
• Lomia, E. (2020). The Evaluation of Russia’s foreign policy towards Georgia following the ‘Rose Revolution’. Journal of Liberty and International affairs, 6(1), 112-128.
• Natalia, B. (2023). EU-Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Their Power Relations in the Contemporary History. L’Europe Unie, 19(19), 47-54.
• Nodia, G. (2022). The Georgian perception of the West. In Commonwealth and independence in post-Soviet Eurasia (pp. 12-43). Routledge.

Kuwaiti Parliamentary Elections Offer Hope and a Repeat

Kuwait held national elections on April 4 as the oil-rich country seeks to break out of its longstanding political gridlock. The vote was the third since 2022 and the fourth in five years. The authorities said that turnout was 62 percent — higher than many had expected for an election held during the holy month of Ramadan. The official KUNA news agency said on April 5 that opposition candidates had won 29 seats in the 50-member assembly, matching the outcome of last year’s election. Results also showed a single female candidate was elected, the same as in the previous parliament, while Shia Muslim legislators secured eight seats in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country, one more than last year. Seats for the Islamic Constitutional Movement, which represents the Kuwaiti branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, fell to one from the previous three. These are the first elections since Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, 83, assumed power after the death of his half brother in December 2023. The Persian Gulf country’s elected assembly has more power than most in the Arab world, but has long been at loggerheads with the government, which is appointed by the royal family. Kuwait’s Parliament is significantly more powerful than the largely symbolic “consultative councils” in neighboring monarchies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and its members are often more boisterous than those in many other Arab countries. They have the right to publicly grill cabinet ministers, wield influence over the state’s budget and must approve the ruler’s appointment of a new crown prince, the heir to the throne. Kuwait is far from a full democracy: Its ruler is a hereditary monarch, political parties are illegal, and the emir has the power to dissolve Parliament. The new emir dissolved parliament in February 2024 after a lawmaker reportedly insulted him. Frequent deadlocks between Parliament and the executive branch have led to political turmoil — including over changes to the welfare system — which prevented the sheikhdom from taking on debt. Parliament has been repeatedly dissolved after failing to move forward. Pro-authoritarian elites across the Gulf, as well as some ordinary citizens, have long argued that Kuwait’s economic stagnation presents a cautionary tale about democracy’s pitfalls, while the glimmering skyscrapers and bustling ports in the Gulf metropolis of Dubai display the benefits of an iron fist. But many Kuwaits insist that reducing political rights would not solve their problems, arguing that their system needs space to evolve. But across a Middle East where many states are becoming more repressive, Kuwait represents a rare alternative, scholars say, nurturing elements of democracy even after Arab Spring uprisings across the region were crushed more than a decade ago and countries including Tunisia and Egypt began to march back toward authoritarianism.

• Cavatorta, F., & Resta, V. (2023). Elections in the Middle East and North Africa. In Routledge Handbook on Elections in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 1-10). Routledge.
• Freer, C., & Leber, A. (2021). Defining the “Tribal Advantage” in Kuwaiti Politics. Middle East Law and Governance, 14(2), 205-234.
• Gavrielides, N. (2021). Tribal democracy: the anatomy of parliamentary elections in Kuwait. In Elections in the Middle East (pp. 153-191). Routledge.
• Kraetzschmar, H. (2020). Political intermediation in the Arabian Peninsula: Partisan organisations, elections, and parliamentary representation in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen. In Routledge Handbook on Political Parties in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 114-124). Routledge.
• Zweiri, M., & Suleiman, M. H. (2022). Arab Uprisings and the GCC Countries: Opportunities and Risks. Global Disruptions, 160.

Myanmar’s War Rages On While It Falls Off Everyone’s Radars

In the last weeks of April 2024, rebels from the Karen ethnic group captured a trading town that lies east of Yangon along the Thai border — a once-unthinkable target. Neighboring Karenni State could be the first to entirely free itself of junta control. The town, Myawaddy, which was held by rebels belonging to the Karen ethnic group, is a hub for imports and exports, with $1 billion in trade last year. Its fall  and eventual recapture by the Military Junta come as resistance forces have seized dozens of towns and military outposts in recent months in border regions near China and Bangladesh. Rebels have seized large chunks of territory since October 2023, the month an alliance of ethnic groups near the China border, in Shan State, captured several towns. Some have attacked the capital, Naypyidaw, with drones and made swift advances in several border regions. Over the past six months, resistance fighters in Myanmar’s hinterlands have been defeating the ruling military junta in battle after battle, stunning analysts. That raises the possibility that the junta could be at risk of collapsing. Furthermore in mid April, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, the country’s former president, were relocated “to a safe place because of the high temperatures in the prison,” Zaw Min Tun, the military spokesman, without disclosing their location. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed in the coup and is still widely revered in the country, is serving a 27-year sentence on corruption and other charges. Rights groups and supporters say the charges were trumped up and meant to keep the Nobel Peace laureate from elected office. Kim Aris, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s younger son, said he believes the junta could use his mother as a potential “bargaining chip.” “As the fighting is getting closer and closer” to the capital, he said, “they are getting more desperate and trying to put things in place that might protect them a little bit.” The war is already a human rights catastrophe. Myanmar’s implosion since a 2021 military coup has wrecked its economy, throwing millions of people into extreme poverty. Its reputation as a hub for drugs, online scam centers and money laundering is growing. Three years after the coup, the center of Myanmar remains mostly under junta control, but the rest of the country is a kaleidoscopic array of competing influences, fiefs, democratic havens and drug-lord hideouts. Ethnic armed groups govern some areas. Administrators aligned with the National Unity Government have set up schools and clinics in others. No one is in charge in still other parts of the country, leaving residents lacking basic services and vulnerable to life in the margins. The war has regional and international consequences. Russia and other countries have sold the Myanmar army at least a billion dollars’ worth of weapons since the 2021 coup, according to the United Nations. China sees threats to the infrastructure projects it has funded across the country. And India, which has long feared chaos in its borderlands, is deporting Myanmar refugees. Thailand, Myanmar’s eastern neighbor, is similarly concerned about the estimated 40,000 or more refugees that the United Nations predicts will cross the border this year. Bangladesh sees obstacles to its efforts to repatriate the Rohingya. And the United States has started to provide nonlethal aid to armed resistance groups.

• Kapur, R. (2022). The Myanmar coup: Evolving ethnic rebel politics and civil resistance. Strategic Analysis, 46(2), 201-210.
• Maizland, L. (2022). Myanmar’s troubled history: Coups, military rule, and ethnic conflict. Council on Foreign Relations, 31, 1-9.
• Ong, A. (2021). Ethnic armed organisations in post-coup Myanmar: New conversations needed. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
• South, A. (2021). Towards “Emergent Federalism” in Post-coup Myanmar. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 43(3), 439-460.
• Wicaksono, H., & Lutfi, K. R. (2022). Examining the Legitimacy of the Myanmar Military Coup in the Eye of International Law: After the 2020 Elections. Budapest International Research And Critics Institute-Journal, 5(1).

ASIL 2024 Recap: Resource Extraction in Outer Space—Current State of Play and Pathways for the Future

By Julie Woolridge

At the ASIL Annual Meeting, a panel of experts discussed the topic of mineral extraction in outer space. The panel included diverse viewpoints from the U.S. Department of State, Navajo Nation, academia, and international judiciary.

Speakers:

• Justin Ahasteen, Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office
• Monika Ehrman, SMU Dedman School of Law
• Greg O’Brien, Office of the Ocean and Polar Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Emily Pierce, Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of State
• LCDR Tracy Reynolds, U.S. Navy JAG (Moderator)
• Charlotte Verdon, Judicial Fellow, International Court of Justice

Building on the IALL theme, “International Law in an Interdependent World,” the panel highlighted the interdependency by talking about outer space within the context of other areas outside the jurisdiction of any one nation, specifically the maritime environment.  Greg O’Brien of the U.S. Department of State set the stage by discussing the experiences/lessons from the development of the Law of the Sea to provide some examples and models that could be informative or provide a basis for debate, departure or comparison.  His discussion highlighted the royalty processes for minerals extracted, jurisdiction identification, and the concept of the common heritage of humankind, and possible applications in outer space. 

Prof. Monika Ehrmar from SMU Dedman School of Law discussed the legal implications of a potential modern-day gold rush in outer space, emphasizing the current barriers to such resource extraction. As Prof. Ehrmar discussed, even if fully formed gold bars existed in space, and all we had to do was get the gold and bring it back, it would still not be profitable to do so.  Despite the technological hurdles that make space mining currently unprofitable, she pointed out the opportunity for legal frameworks to evolve in anticipation of future advancements.

Charlotte Verdon of the International Court of Justice continued the discussion by elaborating on the nascent, not yet enforce, BBNJ Agreement, which pertains to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, drawing parallels to potential regulations in outer space resource usage.

Emily Pierce of the U.S. Department of State continued the conversation by discussing the current treaties and soft-law applicable in outer space, such as the Outer Space Treaty and the Artemis Accords. While not binding, the Artemis Accords, currently with 38 signatories, allows for the benefit of extracted materials in outer space, but specifies that current outer-space treaties much be followed, and that extraction of those minerals does not necessarily equate to appropriation.  

Justin Ahasteen from the Navajo Nation brought a critical perspective to the panel, noting the lack of consultation with Indigenous Peoples in the treaty negotiations about outer space, highlighting the broader issues of engagement and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in global policy development.  One of the most memorable parts of the panel was after Justin concluded his comments, and Emily Pierce took a moment to speak directly to Justin and extended an offer to conduct a listening session to the Navajo Nation. 

The panel concluded with a forward-looking statement from the moderator LCDR Tracy Reynolds, who encouraged embracing the spirit of innovation with her remark, “Let’s make new mistakes.” This statement captures the essence of the pioneering journey into outer space mineral extraction—acknowledging that while the path may be fraught with errors, each mistake is a step towards learning and improvement in this uncharted territory. This sentiment should guide our approach as we navigate the complexities of international law and intercultural respect in the pursuit of outer space resources.

The session was recorded and is available online here: https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-ybRhROHnwmoYU68A-8AwnYQ-tiny.jpg

Introducing…Dean Deane as the May 2024 FCIL-SIS Member of the Month

 

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up on the edge of a rainforest, in a 4-bedroom split level house with my nuclear family. Every day brought warm weather, even when it rained and I had a big backyard, my playground, full of tropical plants, birds, snakes (including coral snakes), and adorable tree frogs, as well as giant poisonous cane toads and the occasional iguana. From birth until age eighteen, I lived in an island paradise, Trinidad. I was surrounded by racially diverse people, and I was taught by and had caregivers, doctors, and dentists, of every race, but mostly people of African and/or Indian descent. I ate food that was influenced by all the ethnic groups that have lived together in my country for centuries. We ate the same ground provision (taro root, eddoes and cassava), eaten by my indigenous ancestors, West African influenced stewed meats and pelau (our national dish), as well as Indian and Chinese dishes that originated here.

Most of the people I knew belonged to some religion, mostly Catholic, various types of Christian, Hindu, and Muslim. I codeswitched seamlessly, speaking one dialect of Trinidadian English with my grandparents, another with my parents and others with my friends at school and at church, depending on their social class and the context. My Dad was a nation-builder, working first in the insurance industry, starting at age sixteen, only a few years after Trinidad became independent from the United Kingdom and a few years before Trinidad would become a Republic, with its own President. Inevitably, he moved into the oil and gas sector that dominates the country’s economy.

What I miss most about my home, is the feeling of being in community when we celebrated Divali, Christmas, and Carnival.

2. Why did you select law librarianship as a career? & 3. When did you develop an interest in foreign, comparative, and/or international law? 

For me, questions 2 and 3 are the same question. In 2007, my closest friend, also a law librarian, suggested I consider being a foreign and international law librarian, and she sent me an article by legendary FCIL Librarian Mary Rumsey.  Foreign & International Law Librarianship – it was a revelation.

I had always wanted to be an academic and I was excited to use my background in Foreign and International Law, and my linguistic skills to teach, research, and contribute to the scholarly community in a meaningful way. I began library school that same year, enrolling in my fourth (and so far, final) graduate program. The following year, 2008, I began interning with FCIL librarian, Vince Moyer at UC Hastings College of Law (now UC Law San Francisco).

Looking back on my journey, I am grateful to my younger self for making this choice because the time I’ve spent in this role has been professionally rewarding.

4. Who is your current employer? How long have you worked there? 

In 2023, Vince contacted me to tell me that he would be retiring and that his position would soon be coming open. Having had fond memories of working with Vince, I applied for the position and began working here at UC Law SF in December of 2023.

5. Do you speak any foreign languages? 

My foreign language skills are all quite rusty, but at some point in time I was fluent in Spanish, and I could understand and speak a fair amount of French as well. Although I am far from fluent, I have a working knowledge of Portuguese and Dutch and I’ve devoted considerable time to learning German, Polish, Swedish, and Maya, although I would not claim any kind of proficiency in these last four languages. You could say that I enjoy the process of learning languages, even when fluency (or even basic competency) remains elusive.

6. What is your most significant professional achievement? 

Being the Chair of the FCIL-SIS is the professional achievement that I am most proud of because I have such a great admiration for the FCIL-SIS community. It was an honor to serve in that role. That said, I am a big believer in the concept that the personal is political. I think that living my life loudly, as a disabled, neurodivergent, gender non-conforming, queer, Black, mixed-race Trinidadian immigrant and speaking truth to power in my blog posts and professional speaking engagements is an ongoing way in which I significantly contribute to the profession of law librarianship, in a way that only I can do. I say only I can do because my persistent drive for autonomy and the need to pursue freedom, equity and dignity for everyone, impels me to highlight uncomfortable truths about our profession, regardless of the consequences to me and my career. None of us is free, until all of us are free.

7. What is your favorite food? 

I love eating Trinidadian food and my favourite food to eat whenever I go back to Trinidad is the Indo-Trinidadian street food, doubles, but bus’ up shut and curry pumpkin is a close second.

8. What song makes you want to get up and sing/dance? 

I love music in general and I’m not very picky. I’m easily the first one on the dance floor anywhere I go. I could easily dance for hours to a good playlist of Trinidadian Soca music. One of my favourites is Hello, by Kes the Band but I also love 3 Canal, Patrice Roberts and the Queen of Bacchanal, Destra Garcia. I grew up listening to Mr. Fete, Machel Montano, singing professionally since he was a child, he is in a class by himself, and reflects the True Trini vibe, he has shared our love of music, dancing and celebrating all over the world and when I feel alone, I can listen to his music and remember where I came from.

9. What ability or skill do you most wish you had (that you don’t have already)?

I wish I had entrepreneurial skills so I could have a lucrative side hustle.

10. Aside from the basic necessities, what is one thing you can’t go a day without? 

A disabled friend once told me that every disabled person has a part-time job caring for a disabled person. Knowing this helps me to forgive myself for all the things I should and want to do daily but can’t. When you have ADHD, there’s no such thing as a routine. You might be able to start a new habit for a few days, sometimes even months but usually this is either because you’re depending on an externally imposed structure, or because you have a system in place that you actively and intentionally use to keep that habit going with tremendous, sustained effort. This is because the prefrontal cortex of people with ADHD is different. This is the part of the brain that affects executive functioning skills (eg. self-restraint and self-motivation).

There’s very little that isn’t a “basic necessity” that I do consistently every day, and to be honest, I frequently go without the necessities because of executive dysfunction, and my variable energy levels. The only thing I do every day is breathe, but I do have some things that I try to do as often as possible. Since my sympathetic nervous system is easily activated, I practically live in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode. I have found that if I can meditate, exercise, write, speak my truth to an actively listening friendly audience, be creative, and immerse myself in a hot bath (not all at the same time, although I do often meditate in the bathtub), then I can complete the stress response cycle and keep burnout at bay.  

11. Anything else you would like to share with us?

I’m a different person than the one who joined this profession in 2010. In some ways, I’m less ebullient and more realistic. I’m more aware of the way that social systems impact our lives and I’m more committed to decolonizing my own mind. I spend more time focused on my own healing journey and how to share my insights with people who are hungry for the wisdom I have earned. I’ve experienced extreme racism in the South. I’ve worked in law firms as well as academic law libraries. I’ve lost one of my parents to brain cancer at a relatively young age (his, not mine). I’ve been more insistent that people address me by my chosen name of Dean, a homonym for my last name, as I lean further into my non-binary, gender chaotic identity. I have my dream job and I live in a city where I feel a strong sense of community and belonging. I’m currently recovering from knee surgery after more than half a decade of operating with a torn meniscus. This has given me a lot of down time to think, alone in my apartment, with my plants for company.

My heart is tender for the youth of today, what they are facing with the economy and the climate crisis and especially, the BIPOC* and LGBTQIA community, who are faced daily with reminders in the news of how little their lives are valued. How little their education and experience are valued, given that the wage gap still exists between them and White men doing the same jobs, with the same credentials and experience. Many are struggling in the current economy, but we don’t have to struggle alone.

I want to share a message of hope. There are things that we can’t change, but what we can change is the way we respond to the challenges of this time. I think the answer to most of our problems lies in remaining focused on what we can do in the present, and on community building. I’ve relied on a lot of people these last six weeks as I’ve been recovering from surgery and unable to walk. This time of vulnerability and not being able to be my usual hyper independent self, I’ve been humbled by the way that my community showed up for me. Ultimately, if we live long enough, we’ll all need help. You may have specific family members who you’re intending to rely on, but no one knows what the future holds – I thought I would have my Dad for another 20 years as both of his parents lived into their 90s. My call is to all of us to spend more time connecting with each other, being vulnerable and supportive. Let’s be kind to each other and build resilient communities so that when the hard times come, we have a whole community of beloved people to lean on.

That said, I am a huge extrovert, so if you see me around at a conference, please feel free to connect with me, I’d love to meet you and hear all about you, your career, and your library. If you are interested in a career in FCIL librarianship, and you want to get my perspective, you can also just reach out to me at deane@uclawsf.edu.

* BIPOC: Black, indigenous, and other people of color.

Webinar Announcement – Roman Statutes: Renewing Roman Law

Register now and join the Roman Law Interest Group for a webinar on Roman Statutes: Renewing Roman Law!

AALL FCIL-SIS Roman Law Interest Group is pleased to offer an online presentation on May 22, 2024, 1pm- 2pm US/Central, by Clifford Ando, a renowned scholar in the fields of religion, law, and government in the ancient world from the University of Chicago. This presentation will discuss Professor Ando’s ambitious “Roman Statutes: Renewing Roman Law” project, which aims to produce the first comprehensive, accurate, and freely available repository of all surviving inscribed legislation from classical Rome. Funded by prestigious grants from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Neubauer Collegium, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, this project is not just a scholarly endeavor but a milestone in legal and historical research. You can read more about the project at: https://neubauercollegium.uchicago.edu/research/roman-statutes-renewing-roman-law.  Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about this important project and its potential impact.

We encourage you to register now!

Webinar Recap: “What in the World is Happening… in the Russian War against Ukraine and Global Accountability”

By Francesco Fasano

On March 12^th, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the FCIL-SIS hosted a webinar titled “What in the World is Happening… in the Russian War against Ukraine and Global Accountability,” as part of its What in the World webinar series highlighting current global events.  Paul Moorman from USC Gould School of Law hosted the webinar. The featured speaker was Iryna Zaverukha, a legal scholar from L’viv, Ukraine, currently at USC Gould School of Law.  This was an update to last year’s webinar on the crisis in Ukraine, coming at an important and harrowing milestone in the ongoing aggression. February 24, 2022, marked the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and March 18th, 2024, marked a decade passed since the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Iryna began the webinar by contextualizing the Russian invasion against global political shifts, framing it as a fundamental clash between authoritarianism and democracy. She introduced jus ad bellum and discussed Russia’s hybrid war strategy, which includes information warfare, economic coercion, and military aggression. For example, the 2014 annexation of Crimea, which was internationally criticized, was portrayed by Russia as reunification, indicative of their strategic information manipulation and the lack of global response which later influenced the conflict in Eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.

The discussion then shifted into the legal sparring following Crimea’s annexation. The UN Security Council was stalled by Russia’s veto, but the General Assembly passed a resolution affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Iryna detailed Ukraine’s legal challenges against Russia’s actions, including lawsuits at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), despite Russia’s denial of involvement. On January 31, 2024, the ICJ issued a judgment addressing the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, finding Russia violated international law by banning the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Iryna mentioned that the ICJ also found Russia had not breached its obligation to freeze funds meant for terrorism financing but had violated the convention by failing to investigate such financing. On racial discrimination, the ICJ recognized violations against Crimean Tatars but ultimately did not provide remedies. In response to Russia’s 2022 invasion, the ICJ ordered Russia to halt its military operations in Ukraine.

Iryna Zaverukha 2024

Responding to the 2022 invasion, the UN Security Council under Russia’s presidency could not progress due to the veto, and on February 27, 2022, the Security Council adopted resolutions that called for an emergency special session of the General Assembly to address the Ukraine crisis under the Uniting for Peace Resolution. The General Assembly during this time adopted six resolutions condemning Russia’s actions. Iryna highlighted the legal complexities in prosecuting the crime of aggression, making note of the the limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as neither Russia nor Ukraine are Rome Statute parties. This led to proposals for a special tribunal and the creation of the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in The Hague.

Iryna Zaverukha 2024

Iryna also discussed global efforts to address war crimes and potential ecocide in Ukraine, emphasizing the use of AI in documentation. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for high-ranking Russians for crimes like the unlawful deportation of children, indicating the ongoing pursuit of justice. Last, Iryna noted U.S. support, including legislative actions extending jurisdiction over war crimes and fostering international cooperation to hold perpetrators accountable.

Iryna Zaverukha 2024

A View from the Periphery: “Analyzing the Updated Policy on Major Disruptive Events of a Popular Platform. Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change”

By Juan-Andrés Fuentes

A few days ago, a well-known and user-friendly online platform that enables people to book accommodations, including houses and rooms, around the world, updated its policy on major disruptive events.[1]

Photo by Markus Spiske

You might be asking, “What is a major disruptive events policy?” This type of policy regulates how this platform handles cancellations when unforeseen circumstances prevent guests from using the service/space in the manner and time outlined by the booked reservation. This policy update will only apply to events or situations in the place where the reservation is located (and within the duration of time covered by that reservation). In short, “events that impact a guest’s ability to travel to the reservation are no longer covered,” informed the company.

When I read it, I paid special attention to the part related to natural disasters that would be covered by the company. After speculating on some very extraordinary events, I asked myself:

• Is it not contradictory to severely restrict this policy’s coverage when this policy, in its early form, made this company’s service attractive to users, in the first place?
• Do future guests not deserve protection when an unforeseen event prevents them from even reaching their booked space/service?  
• Given that climate change is widely accepted as fact and no longer believed to be merely a myth, is it not contradictory to offer fewer resources and alternatives for events that we acknowledge are only increasing in severity and occurrence rate?

What is the reason for updating the major disruptive events policy regarding natural disasters? This is my hypothesis: Taking into account that the business model has proven to be successful (the brand is worth millions now), and drastic signs of climate change are on the rise, which would be reflected in the number of last-minute cancellations/refund requests made by guests due to weather problems at their home locations, the popular platform is adapting to a new reality, one where people must deal with climate change in their daily lives. As part of dealing with this new reality, guests must acknowledge the potential risk of losing part/all of the money they have paid to make a reservation through the platform due to increasingly common, yet unpredictable natural events. [2]

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[1] To form your own opinion on the subject, take a look at this link https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320?c=.pi80.pkb21uaS8xLzMwODA3NTk4MjI2MTkz&euid=0d0991f7-be49-9c20-1f3d-7e3c17e90446.

[2] Thanks to Sean Bustard Berthold for his ideas to improve the content of this post.

Webinar Recap: International Law Scholarship

By Elaine Tornés Blanco

• Are most of the international law journals in the region available for open access, and are they published online, in print, or a combination of both?
• Tell us about the influence of U.S. and European scholars on the proliferation of international journals in Latin America and whether there were transnational or continental influences in your research.
• Were the journals copying each other in terms of themes and methodological approaches?
• How does the Latin American Network of International Law Journals (RELAREDI) plan to address the challenges of standardization and indexation of legal scholarship in Latin America, considering the dominance of foreign academic cultures in these processes?
• Tell us about the Seminario en Latinoamérica de Teoría Constitucional y Política—the Seminar in Latin America on Constitutional and Political Theory, or SELA, and SELA Librarians and their role connecting languages, methodologies, and substantive interests among researchers.

These were some of the questions from the webinar I had the pleasure of moderating about the fascinating world of international law scholarship in Latin America. The online webinar, hosted by the AALL Latinx Caucus, featured two distinguished speakers: Professor Jorge Contesse, and Professor Teresa Miguel-Stearns. Their insights were not only enlightening but also underscored the critical role of law librarians in the evolving landscape of legal scholarship.

Professor Contesse, a scholar of international human rights and comparative constitutional law and Director of the Rutgers Center for Transnational Law, shared his research on the judicialization of international law and its interaction with domestic constitutional actors. His work (available here) which will soon be published in the Virginia Journal of International Law, is part of a consortium for the study and analysis of international law scholarship. He emphasized the importance of international law journals in Latin America and the challenges they face, such as standardization and indexation.

During the webinar, Professor Contesse highlighted the role of law librarians in his research, noting the difficulty of accessing information transnationally and the crucial role that law librarians play in this regard, especially when researchers are trying to find what they are looking for at a domestic level. He recounted how, at a meeting in Bogota, he was introduced to SELA Librarians, organized by Professor Miguel-Stearns. This encounter proved to be pivotal, as the librarians’ vast knowledge and experience significantly contributed to his research. SELA Librarians acted as shepherds, guiding him through the landscape of international law journals in the region. This anecdote resonated with me, as it exemplified the indispensable support that law librarians provide to researchers.

I agreed with Professor Jorge Contesse’s characterization of law librarians as “brokers of knowledge,” a term that aptly captures our role in guiding scholars through the complex terrain of legal research, emphasizing the importance of our work in making scholarship more accessible across different regions.

Professor Teresa Miguel-Stearns, Associate Dean of Legal Information Innovation and Director of the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, shared her experiences with the SELA Librarians. She discussed the creation of this network of law librarians across Latin America, sharing best practices and supporting faculty research. SELA’s goals are (1) to elevate the profession of law librarianship, (2) to share best practices, and (3) to create networks aiming to communicate value to their respective institutions. Her work with the SELA Librarians during the annual conference of the Seminario in Latinoamérica de Teoría Constitucional y Política (SELA) has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and enhancing the dissemination of legal scholarship.

The webinar also touched upon the accessibility of legal scholarship. Professor Contesse noted that many international law journals in Latin America are available online, making them easily accessible. This is particularly important for librarians, as we strive to connect users with relevant information. The discussion also highlighted the potential for projects that aggregate these resources, such as a research guide or contributing to existing databases.

As law librarians, we are uniquely positioned to bridge gaps in access to information and to support the scholarly endeavors of our faculty and students. The webinar was a testament to the dynamic and collaborative nature of legal scholarship and librarianship. It underscored the importance of law librarians as knowledge brokers and the need for continued engagement with international law scholarship in Latin America. I agree with Professor Jorge Contesse about the need for librarians’ involvement in fostering connections and easing access to scholarship for both the South and the North, because we can play a significant role in overcoming these challenges. This webinar was a reminder of the vital role we play in the legal academic community and the opportunities that lie ahead for further collaboration and innovation.

It was an honor to moderate such an insightful event along with Mariangelí-Lugo Zayas, Law Librarian at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing conversation about the impact and evolution of legal scholarship in Latin America and look forward to more alliances and projects derived from this experience.

Please find the International Law Scholarship webinar’s recording here, available on the Latinx Caucus website. Contesse, Jorge, International Law Scholarship in Latin America (February 12, 2024). Virginia Journal of International Law, Vol. 64, No. 2, 2024, Rutgers Law School Research Paper No. Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4722854

Designed by Mariangelí Lugo-Zayas

From the Reference Desk: International Legal Documents in the News

By Jonathan Pratter

When scanning the news I like to keep an eye out for stories that refer to international legal documents of note, and then see if I can find the full text of the document. I have three examples of international legal documents in the news.

Photo by brotiN biswaS on Pexels.com

Readers of this blog will be tuned into the fact that plastic pollution is a serious issue of international concern. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced per year, much of it single-use plastic. Also according to UNEP it is estimated that 75 to 199 million tons of plastic is currently found in our oceans. Unless we change how we produce, use and dispose of plastic, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from 9-14 million tons per year in 2016 to a projected 23-37 million tons per year by 2040.

In March 2022 the UN Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, and to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to draft the instrument. The INC has met several times. Its fourth session will be in April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. The INC will have before it a revised draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The revised draft text is dated 28 December 2023, but it counts as an international legal document in the news because it will be considered by the INC at the April 2024 session. The revised draft text carries the document symbol UNEP/PP/INC.4/3.

The European Union enacted the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in September 2022 and the DMA went into effect in May 2023. The full title is Regulation 2022/1925 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector. The DMA enacts rules of conduct for so-called gatekeepers in the digital economy. Examples of what gatekeeper platforms may not do include:

• Treat services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself more favorably than similar services or products offered by third parties on the gatekeeper’s platform;
• Prevent consumers from linking up to businesses outside the gatekeeper’s platform;
• Prevent users from un-installing any pre-installed software or app if they wish;
• Track end users for the purpose of targeted advertising without effective consent having been granted.

The DMA qualifies as an international legal document in the news because in March 2024 the European Commission opened investigations against Alphabet, Apple and Meta (all gatekeepers) for non-compliance with the DMA. Regarding Apple and Alphabet, the Commission is assessing whether measures they implemented in connection with app stores are in breach of the DMA, which requires gatekeepers to allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside the gatekeepers’ app stores, free of charge. Regarding Meta, the Commission is investigating whether the “pay or consent” model for users in the EU complies with the DMA, which requires gatekeepers to obtain consent from users when they intend to combine or cross-use their personal data.

Twenty five years ago states participating in the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets adopted the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. To give an idea of the flavor of the Washington Conference Principles, I quote Principle 8: “If the pre-War owners of art that is found to have been confiscated by the Nazis and not subsequently restituted, or their heirs, can be identified, steps should be taken expeditiously to achieve a just and fair solution, recognizing this may vary according to the facts and circumstances surrounding a specific case.” The Washington Conference Principles have been cited in various U.S. cases about Nazi-looted art.

Now, as of March 2024, we have a new document, Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, which are intended to “clarify and improve the practical implementation of the Principles. Point D. of the Best Practices says that “’just and fair solutions’ means just and fair solutions first and foremost for the victims of the Holocaust (Shoah) and other victims of Nazi persecution and for their heirs. In principle, as set out in the Terezin Declaration, the primary just and fair solution is restitution ….” I should point out that the 2009 Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets dealt with a variety of issues in addition to Nazi-looted art. Readers of this blog can no doubt point to other international legal documents in the news.

Introducing…Yasmin Morais as the April 2024 FCIL-SIS Member of the Month

 

1. Where did you grow up?

Kingston, Jamaica

2. Why did you select law librarianship as a career? 

Law librarianship is a second career for me and I was drawn to it because of my love of law, research, and information organization.

3. When did you develop an interest in foreign, comparative, and/or international law? 

I think I can trace the interest to two periods in my life: the first is when I took a course called Law of the Sea as a part of my master’s in international relations/government, and the second is when I started working at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) country office in Jamaica. My job at the time as a Program Officer involved collaborating with other UN agencies operating in Jamaica, as well as a lot of travel. 

4. Who is your current employer? How long have you worked there? 

I am a brand-new staff member at the Harvard Law School Library, and I started there on January 29th.

5. Do you speak or read any foreign languages? 

Yes, my undergraduate degree was in Spanish, so I have near-native fluency. I also have a basic knowledge of French and Portuguese.

6. What is your most significant professional achievement? 

I think this would be the recent completion of the book, Legal Research Methods for the English-Speaking Caribbean (thanks to the collaboration of my amazing co-author, Yemisi Dina, Chief Librarian of the Osgoode Hall Law School Library at York University in Toronto, Canada). We both recognized that there was a need for this resource for researchers of Caribbean laws.

7. What is your biggest food weakness? 

I have many but here are the top three:  jerk chicken, oxtail and curried goat.

8. What song makes you want to get up and sing/dance? 

Annie’s Song by John Denver

9. What ability or skill do you most wish you had (that you don’t have already)?

I wish I could play the guitar. However, I have started lessons, so one day… 

10. Aside from the basic necessities, what is one thing you can’t go a day without? 

Prayer.

11. Anything else you would like to share with us?

I love Turkish films