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.
This blog contains opinion pieces by members of the Journal’s editorial staff, academics and practitioners on issues germane to the Journal’s area of focus. The views expressed in an individual post represent the views of the post’s author only.
Mar 2021
Daniel Liberman
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
The International Criminal Court (the “ICC” or the “Court”) was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998 as a court of last resort.[1] At the time of its inception, the Court was widely applauded as the beginning of an era where
Bridget Grier
Vol. 42 Executive Editor
Introduction
International law, specifically the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, prohibits discrimination by law enforcement officials and constrains their use of force.[1] Around the world, there are many examples of police brutality that violates the Code of Conduct; this post focuses on the widespread use
Cira Danda
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
In 2016, Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia’s national anti-doping laboratory, exposed an extensive and systematic state-sponsored doping program.[1] The revelation and the uncovered extent of the conspiracy, fraud, and cover-up resulted in an international effort to sanction and penalize Russian athletics, spearheaded by the
Feb 2021
Daniel Toubman
Vol. 42 Executive Editor
I. Introduction and Background
The American withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 raised numerous questions of international law, and a potential reentry into the accord by the Biden administration will implicate various new international law obligations and responsibilities. Two of the most
Gregory Momjian
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
On November 9, 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement, brokered by Russia, ceasing all hostilities in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.[1] The terms of the ceasefire ceded areas of Nagorno-Karabakh—controlled by Armenian forces since the mid-1990s—to Azerbaijan after a bloody, 44-day conflict.[2] The
Michelle Mealer
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Examples abound of US companies either directly or indirectly abetting human rights violations within their products' supply chains.[1] Despite these violations, regulating multinational corporations and their supply chains is challenging to the international legal frameworkbecause international law is premised on states' centrality. While international legal frameworks
Abby Rose
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Sitting on top of the Acropolis, the highest point in Athens, the Parthenon is a fixture of the Athenian skyline. Yet this icon of Greek history is incomplete. One of its most significant parts, the Elgin marbles, sits in a museum in Britain. Removed by a
Camelia Metwally
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
As businesses around the world contribute to human rights abuses and the environmental degradation in countless communities, local community members have few options for redress. Because judicial remedies are rarely available to impacted groups, non-judicial grievance mechanisms (NJGMs) are often the channel through which those subject
Nadia Jeiroudi
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
As the Covid-19 virus has made its presence known with over two million deaths worldwide[1]and the surfacing of multiple new variants,[2] it has become evident that the pandemic will continue to reign over society in the coming months. Accordingly, insular and haphazard action by states has
Dec 2020
Grace Brody
Vol. 42 Executive Editor
Much has been made of the recent rise of Islamophobia in Europe, and rightly so.[1] In February of this year, nine people were killed in Hanau, Germany, in what has widely been described as an Islamophobic attack.[2] According to a study conducted by Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Religion
Michael Williams
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Space and the sea have long been paralleled, each seen as a type of res communis. There has been a push to try to understand the former through a similar lens as the latter. Space, however, provides new and complex issues that do not lend themselves
Zoe Goldstein
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Although a number of tools exist to hold individuals criminally accountable for human rights violations under international law, they do not extend to corporations. To address this enforcement gap, this post argues that states should extend the principle of universal jurisdiction to corporations for directly aiding
Nov 2020
Allison Fleming
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
As the number of transnational-corporations (TNCs) climbs, legal recourse for wrongs committed by corporations is increasingly limited by the narrow focus of domestic courts, representing a slap on the hand for multi-billion-dollar entities. This brief blog post examines the possibility of holding TNCs criminally liable on
Nathanael Ham
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Over the last eleven years Ørsted has executed perhaps the most dramatic transition towards social responsibility of any company during the same period. The Danish oil and gas company has increased its green energy production from fifteen percent of its total production volume in 2009 to
Kunal Jhaveri
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
As the global population continues to rise and our planet consequently faces increasing resource scarcity, a potential solution can be found in the last frontier – outer space.[i] Metals, minerals, water, and energy sources have been found to exist in substantial and in even unlimited quantities
Tyler VanderMolen
Vol. 42 Online Content Editor
In 2010 a malicious computer worm, now known as Stuxnet, infiltrated the supervisory control and data acquisition systems of Iran’s nuclear program, inflicting significant damage to its uranium enriching centrifuges.[1] In 2015, Russian hackers compromised the information systems of several Ukrainian energy companies and shut
Lauren Taiclet
Vol. 42 Executive Editor
The notorious al-Hol camp, located in northeastern Syria, has a fraught role as a hybrid space that offers residents none of the legal rights of a wartime detention facility, nor the services or protection of a displaced persons camp.[1] Built for 10,000 people but now housing
Emilia Truluck
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Since the classification of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Assembly have called for “equitable access to and fair distribution” of all health technologies required to combat the virus.[1] The World Health Organization (WHO) has been leading the
Emeline Kong
Vol. 42 Executive Editor
As COVID-19 continues to be a global threat, each country has taken unique measures to protect the health of its citizens. This variance in response is reflected in international trade policies. Notably, China has implemented testing requirements of meat and seafood imports and suspended trade from
Julian McIntosh
Vol. 42 Associate Editor
Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proliferated at a breakneck pace, with the United States and China at the vanguard.[i] AI is often thought of in the context of massive supercomputers.[ii] However, advancement has grown so widely that AI is seeping down to the personal level.[iii] With any