Author name: MJIL

Something’s in the Air: ‘Spy Balloons,’ High-Altitude Objects, and Vertical Sovereignty

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 […]

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It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No, It’s a Spy Balloon! The International Law Implications of China’s Actions and the United States’ Response

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?

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Broadening the Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to Better Prosecute Twenty-First Century Harms

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

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Electric Protectionism: New Clean Vehicle Tax Credit Limitations Make EVs Less Accessible for American Consumers in the Name of “America First” Trade Policy

Dominic Detwiler In August of 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, which the administration claims was part of “the most aggressive climate action in U.S. history”[1] and would move the country forward in the President’s “goal that at least 50 percent of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold

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The New International Agreement to Address Biodiversity Loss

Maria Pfister What is the agreement? Last month, over 190 countries signed a new agreement to protect global biodiversity.[1] The agreement, titled the “Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” was the end result of a nearly two-week conference, the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (“COP15”), held in Montreal and co-hosted by Canada and

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A Few More Steps in the Right Direction?: COP15 and the Fight for Biodiversity

Harrison LeFrois After widespread coverage of the 27th United Nations’ (“UN”) Climate Conference of the Parties (“COP27”) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November, 2022,[1] there is more hopeful environmental news to share. The 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (“COP15”) was held in Montreal, Canada from December 7 through December 19, 2022.[2] The Biodiversity Conferences were

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The Consequences and Future of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Failed “China Initiative”

Connor Smith In  February 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) ended the “China Initiative,”  an effort launched in November 2018 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to identify and prosecute Chinese spies who had purportedly infiltrated American research institutions—both public and private.[1] The China Initiative sought to combat industrial espionage and theft of intellectual property, though

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It’s Not as “Vanilla” as You Think: The Child Labor Problem in Madagascar’s Vanilla Industry

Ali Casey Vanilla is a spice that is enjoyed across the globe. Madagascar, an island country located off the southeastern coast of Africa, produces around 75 to 80 percent of the world’s natural vanilla.[1] Moreover, vanilla is Madagascar’s leading agricultural export.[2] Madagascar vanilla beans are considered the “gold standard” of quality vanilla beans because of

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Prison Law Libraries, or Paralegal Prison Officers? Why Not Both: Using Ghana as a Model for U.S. Correctional Officer Education Reform

Jasmin Hernandez Du Bois Despite holding less than five percent of the world’s population, the United States has nearly twenty-five percent of the world’s total prison population.[1] Using Ghana’s paralegal training program as a guidepost, this article seeks to encourage the United States to take a progressive approach to prison reform, including the implementation of

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