Volume 65 ♦ 2024
International Relations ♦ Online
Growing Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the USMCA
Mexico is home to fifty-nine native corn varieties, which Indigenous Peoples have cultivated for thousands of years. Indigenous Peoples’ control of their native corn production is an issue of food sovereignty and biodiversity—they should be empowered to use traditional methods that are culturally and environmentally appropriate. Genetically modified or biotech corn imports threaten the food sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples, as the imports displace traditional farming practices and erode the biodiversity in the region. Recently, the Mexican government passed a Decree banning the import of biotech corn in favor of protecting culturally significant native corn and biodiversity.
ELIZA FAYE LAFFERTY
Statutory International Law ♦ Online
The International Law of Geoengineering: Case Study in Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement
The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea recently held that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea includes an obligation on state parties to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but it did not specify how they can or should do so. While ocean geoengineering may be necessary for meeting global climate goals, the international law governing ocean-based methods for “geoengineering” is underdeveloped. This Essay uses the case study of ocean alkalinity enhancement to demonstrate the shortfalls of existing international law in both managing ocean geoengineering and facilitating its research.
AARON BAUM
International Arbitration ♦ Online
The Bear in the Room: Addressing the Challenges that Sanctions Impose on Russian Parties in International Arbitration
International arbitration aims to embody flexibility, neutrality, and a consensual approach for expedited dispute resolution between parties. However, in the wake of extensive international sanctions imposed on Russia following the events in Ukraine beginning in February 2022, sanctioned Russian parties have faced a myriad of procedural difficulties during arbitration affecting their ability to retain their counsel of choice, make financial payments, travel to in-person arbitration proceedings, and even find an impartial arbitrator.
KAYLA AUZA
International Conflict and War ♦ Online
Serving Sovereigns: In Republic of Sudan v. Harrison, the Supreme Court Maintained the Inviolability of Foreign Embassies Against Service of Process Despite the FSIA Anti-Terrorism Exception’s Remedial Goals
What has Congress done—and not done—to assist the victims of state-sponsored terrorism in winning and collecting damages judgments against sponsors of international terrorism?
JEFFREY A. VAN DETTA
International Conflict and War ♦ Online
Law Breaking, Law Making, and International Law: Palestine, Israel, and the Foundations of International Law
This Essay argues that the Israel-Palestine conflict’s prominent place in global consciousness reflects deep disagreement on the nature of post-World War II international law and the relationship between power, sovereignty, and legitimacy in that order.
MOHAMMAD FADEL
International Relations ♦ Online
Delimiting “Agreements” for International Law
Agreements are central to many international law projects, including both treaty-making and the (rising) use of non-binding agreements. Yet, for all the attention states and scholars currently direct to differentiating between binding and non-binding agreements, there has been relatively little discussion of the antecedent inquiry—what constitutes an agreement in the first place?
DUNCAN B. HOLLIS