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The Power of Regulatory Takings Claims: A Note of Caution on the Pack the ISDS Tribunal Debate

By Danielle Hoffman In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries party to international investment agreements (IIAs) imposed reactive measures restricting the export of masks and other medical equipment.[1] As a result of these measures, masks and other medical equipment contractually arranged to be exported, were not.[2] Accordingly, disgruntled

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TikTok, WeChat, and IEEPA

By Jiaying Zhang On February 10th, 2021, the Biden Administration decided to halt two executive orders, which were signed by his predecessor, which banned social media platforms Tiktok and Wechat from the U.S. market.[1] This move will allow American users to continue their enjoyment of these communications applications, but it

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Recent Debates on International Digital Taxation

By Sicheng Shen The digitalization of the economy has been a key focus of tax debates in recent years.[1] Political debates have focused on the differences between taxing physical business operations and virtual operations.[2] Changing international rules on digital taxation will impact both where and how much tax the impacted

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Cyclists’ Uphill Battle for Space on Berlin’s Streets

By Andrea Rosato Berlin’s city planning exists between two identities. The city is simultaneously known for its outstanding transportation system,[1] while also being the capital of the “country of cars.”[2] Now, there is a third player seeking space on Berlin’s roads: cyclists.[3] In 2018, cyclists achieved a major win with

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Why Can’t the UN Protect Human Rights in Yemen and Syria?

By John Weber Arguably the two worst humanitarian crises in the world, Yemen and Syria, are a result of civil wars fueled by foreign intervention and replete with international law violations. You’d think these are exactly the type of conflicts the UN was designed to solve. After all, the UN’s

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The Future of Autonomous Weapons: The Need for A Strict Liability Stopgap

By Matt Nelson A recent recommendation made by the U.S. National Security Commission for AI, led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, has urged the Biden Administration to reject any calls toward a ban on autonomous weapon systems.[1] Primarily, the panel asserts that the U.S. could use these robotic weapons

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Russia’s Twitter Slowdown

By Erik Allerson On March 10th, 2021, Russia’s federal agency in charge of communications and information technology, Roskomnadzor, announced via the Russian social media website VKontakte that it had deliberately slowed down internet service speed for users in the country attempting to access Twitter.[1] It claimed to have decelerated the

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