Established in 2015, the MJIL Blog presents writing from MJIL’s Associate Editors, who come to the journal with varied and diverse interests in and experience with International Law. The Blog provides students with a robust platform to express their views on relevant and contemporary topics, with each new associate publishing at least one piece of high-quality short-form scholarship per volume. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors only.
Dec 2018
Thomas Zahrt
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Nearly two years ago, the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).[1] As the prospective trade deal’s largest economy,[2] the departure of the United States led many to speculate that the deal would dissolve,[3] and in many respects it did. Gone is the massive arrangement
Eric Wendorf
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Can public international law do a better job than private domestic law of adjudicating sovereign debt disputes? In Law Debenture PLC v. Ukraine, the English Court of Appeal determined that the English common law of duress could be applied to a bond contract between Ukraine’s government
Nov 2018
Matthew Thornburg
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Notions of fairness and common benefit ring throughout the body of international law governing outer space. Indeed, the very preamble of the Outer Space Treaty (“OST”) declares that: [T]he exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples irrespective
Melissa Danzo
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, power shifts among the most prominent state signatories have left spectators questioning the future of the Agreement.[1] In the midst of these political shake-ups, international attention has turned to non-state actors (NSAs)—a term used herein to mean
Pablo Garrido Estevez
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
In March, the Trump administration announced a 25% tariff on USD $50 billion worth of Chinese imports affecting more than 1,300 products.[1] The Beijing government responded by imposing its own tariffs and stated that it would resort to “measures of equal scale and strength.”[2] Both
Connor Rubin
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
After the election of Carlos Menem as President of Argentina in 1989, the country began a period of rapid economic growth.” This can partially be credited to the government’s policies that increased foreign direct investment (FDI). These included signing Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with nations like the
Alexia Jansen
Vol. 40 Executive Editor
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege, “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”[1] These co-recipients have been recognized internationally for their work as
Christa-Gaye L. Kerr
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Every few years, the call for reparations for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, and post-colonialism enter global discourse. In 2001, leaders from around the world held the World Conference Against Racism (“WCAR”) in Durban, South Africa under authority of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution
Shane Callaghan
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Think only the richest people in the world can buy citizenship? Think again. For an investment of $100,000 plus various fees, you can become a citizen of the Caribbean country of Dominica in a matter of months.[1] Although the practice of buying citizenship is largely confined
Mary Rogers
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Today we rarely think twice about having our personal lives showcased and uploaded online. Quick scrolls reveal pictures from last year’s birthday party, a picture of dinner last night, opinions and views on this candidate or that issue. We choose what to upload and how to
Chris Opila
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Since 2014, more than 17,500 refugees and economic immigrants have drowned or otherwise died of exposure in the Mediterranean Sea, including more than 2,000 this year to date.[1] While actual immigration to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea has decreased by ninety percent since its peak in
Tyler J. Owen
Vol. 40 Executive Editor
“Many people say data is the new oil—the oil of the twenty-first century. . . .
If data is the new oil, then data protection is the new pollution control.”[1]
We live in a data-centric world. From our Cyber Monday purchases to the political pages we follow
Camille Valdes Reyes
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
Since the 1980s, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”) has interpreted the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR” or “the Convention”) expansively so as to include LGBT rights.[1] The Court has gone as far as reading discrimination on the grounds of
Vivian Daniele Rocha Gabriel
Vol. 40 Guest Editor
One of the most considerable challenges for the survival of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the requirement imposed by its charter that it have at least three Appellate Body members to analyze an appeal.[1] The United States has been blocking new nominations to
Jason Raymond
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
A few months ago, in Jesner v. Arab Bank, the United States Supreme Court categorically foreclosed foreign corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). Absent further action from Congress, the Court said, foreign corporations may not be defendants in suits brought under the law.[1]
In past
Annemarie Smith-Morris
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
In the mid-twentieth century, the United States conducted sixty-seven nuclear tests in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.[1] The tests had an immense and lasting impact on the environmental health of the country and the physical health of its people.[2] In 2014, the Marshall Islands sued
Mostafa Al Khonaizi
Vol. 40 Executive Editor
It has been five months since the execution of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR) in May, 2018.[1] It is the most recent technology law regulation worldwide, and it pushes its predecessor aside, EU Data Protection Directive (“DPR”) enacted in 1995 before the
Madison Kavanaugh
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
The United States and Canada endorsed the United Nations Declaration for Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”) in 2010. Yet, by allowing Enbridge to replace the Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac, both states seem to be violating their UNDRIP obligations with regard to tribal
Troy Epstein
Vol. 40 Associate Editor
For decades, the people of Iraq existed under the thumb, gaze, and sword of Saddam Hussein. By the time of his toppling by U.S. forces in 2003, he had amassed a record that included genocide, chemical weapons use, torture, and the assassination of dissidents.[1] (Including, in
Michael Goodyear
Vol. 40 Executive Editor
On August 20, 2018, Greece emerged from its third bailout.[1] The Greek debt crisis created over a decade of austerity measures in Greece and shook the European Union to its core.[2] However, despite having survived the third bailout package without needing a fourth, Greece still owes