Posts by MJIL

By Matti Mortimore Courts apply a presumption against extraterritoriality when assessing the geographic scope of federal statutes. Unless Congress has clearly indicated a statute regulates conduct abroad, courts will assume it applies only within the United States. The Supreme Court has vigorously enforced the presumption over the last three decades,[1] stating that it should apply…

By Elisabeth Bernabe International conflict manifests in different forms. When one thinks of war, naturally they think of armed assaults conducted through the deployment of destructive weapons. Additionally, conflict can be unleashed online vis-à-vis harmful cyberattacks and foreign vigilante hackers. However, conflict largely manifests through the chess game of international trade. Countries can sanction rivalrous…

By Paige Clark The world is watching in horror as Ukrainians face a Russian invasion and unfathomable violence. Many people have fled from Ukraine in the past week; most have gone to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and Slovakia. [1]  Time will tell if the fighting resolves quickly enough to avoid a permanent refugee crisis. If…

By Michael Duchesne On May 19, 1988, Guatemala signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (“the Covenant”)[1] and thereby undertook the duty to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights guaranteed by the treaty.[2] Article 11 of the Covenant recognizes the right of all citizens to “adequate food” and to be “free from…

By Ryan Miao Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) has always been a controversial issue in international law discussions. This is partially due to a fundamental feature of ISDS is that it only applies to foreign entities and not domestic investors. ISDS represents a notion of “foreign privilege” – the essential characteristic and premise of the law…

These are terrifying times for the people of Ukraine and horrifying for the rest of the world, witnessing a superpower invade its European neighbor for the first time since World War Two. On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, claiming there was a constant threat to Russia and announcing his…

By Joo Hee Park Several reports have shown polar bears ending up in towns in Russia seeking food. In June 2019, Officials in Norilsk have alerted its residents of a polar bear that appeared in the city center, digging through trash and lying down on the ground.[1] Just a few months back, local reports located…

By Maria Saracino-Lowe The world as we know it is, basically, ending. And it’s our fault. Anthropogenic climate change is triggering weather extremes throughout the world, with increasingly frequent “hot extremes, marine heatwaves, heavy precipitation, and, in some regions, agricultural and ecological droughts.”[1] Many of these changes cannot be reversed in our lifetime.[2] While there…

By Olivia Dai Among the world’s top ten economies (2018), only China mainland, Brazil, and China’s Macao region used to not have personal bankruptcy systems.[1] But Shenzhen, a Special Economic Zone of China mainland first provides legal rescue for honest but unfortunate individual bankrupts by enacting the Personal Bankruptcy Regulation of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone…

By Maleah L. Riley-Brown After nearly 8 years of conflict, it has been alleged by American forces that Vladimir Putin has mounted troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border and is preparing to invade Ukraine at a moment’s notice.[1] The potential issues that would result should Russia make good on the globe’s fear will not only trigger…