Posts by MJIL

Joanna Curry Following the lead of U.S. foreign policy and consistently with over 30 other states, in 2017 Minnesota passed a law that prohibits the state government from contracting with any entity that participates in an anti-Israeli movement known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions).[1] The Minnesota bill passed with bipartisan support, but over the…

Funsho Delé Nwabuzor The recent international incident regarding the purported Chinese spy balloon that flew over United States territory has been closely watched and commented on by international news media organizations and even other authors in this journal. There remain debates, however, regarding the height to which airspace remains sovereign over the land or sea…

Josh Mone Background In 2010, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, the then-Prime Minister of Qatar, traveled to France to pitch the almost fantastical idea of hosting the world’s largest sporting event.[1] A few months later, despite lacking any meaningful soccer tradition or even basic soccer infrastructure such as stadiums, the international governing body of soccer…

Andrew Y. Kim It is perhaps widely recognized and supported by international law and humanitarian principles that individuals forced to flee their homeland due to armed conflict or war should be granted refugee status. It is difficult to dispute that these individuals have often endured unimaginable hardships and atrocities in their home countries, and it…

Emma Wittmer At the core of the global economy is a public trust in central banks to execute monetary policy fairly and without bias. In turn, public trust allows central banks to execute effective monetary and fiscal policy. Today, as central banks raise interest rates to dampen rising inflation, central banks are drawing more attention…

Olivia Gulley On January 31, 2020, The United Kingdom officially left the European Union.[1] During Withdrawal Agreement negotiations between the UK and the EU, the Northern Ireland Protocol—a trade agreement involving the goods crossing the board between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland—was created.[2] The Northern Ireland Protocol has been a source of tension…

Ian Johnson On January 28th, 2023, the United States identified an object entering United States’ airspace near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.[1] By Tuesday, January 31st, the object had drifted through western Canada and re-entered US territory near Idaho.[2] By the next day, February 1st, the object had made it further east, above Montana.[3]  This grabbed the…

Hannah Grayson All the news has been talking about in the past couple of weeks has been the Chinese spy balloon flying over the length of the continental United States.[1] Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls the balloon a “clear violation” of international law.[2] But, in what way is it a violation of international law?…

Matthew Cline Trade and human rights have an intertwined relationship, as human rights often influence the prevalence, scope, or availability of an international trade agreement. Most of the world’s economically dominant countries use human rights language in their trade agreements. Human rights have permeated so much into trade that over 75% of the world’s governments…

Elena Macomber In 2002, the Rome Statute came into force and operations at the International Criminal Court (ICC) commenced.[1] With the twentieth-century backdrop of two world wars and massive ethnic violence, both individuals and states were motivated to create a permanent and universal body to prosecute systemically violent crimes against human beings.[2] While the Court…