MJIL Blog

Jay Kim Soon after the COVID-19 outbreak, the world was under lockdown, but in 2022, the frontline and borderline areas of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”) remain closed.[1] Moreover, the North Korean government continues to enforce the “shoot to kill” order.[2] Under this order, people are shot unconditionally for entering into the…

By Jasmin Hernandez Du Bois In 2022, record heat waves caused by climate change are being set across the globe.[1] One country particularly impacted is Pakistan, a South Asian country bridging India and the Middle East. While monsoons are typical for the region, this year’s torrential downpours smashed centuries of weather records.[2] The floods, which…

By Grant Newman In September, President Biden reiterated he would send U.S. forces to Taiwan if there was an unprecedented attack, calling into question the United States’ “strategic ambiguity” policy after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was met with a display of Chinese military exercises. [1] Fear of a potential clash between the world’s two…

By Samantha Brunn On Friday, March 25, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced at a news conference in Brussels that the U.S. reached an “agreement in principle” with European Union leaders to create a new Privacy Shield law that would replace a previous agreement that was struck down in 2021.[1] The previous EU-U.S. Privacy Shield[2]…

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…