Minnesota Journal of International Law

The Minnesota Journal of International Law is a student-led publication at the University of Minnesota Law School. We aspire to be a leader in the multidisciplinary study of international and comparative law. The Journal annually publishes two print volumes and one online edition.

Current Issue

MJIL Blog

The GDPR: An Influencer in the Data Privacy Field

April 23, 2020

By Elysia Lampert British Airways, Marriott, Google. What do these entities have in common? Each organization has been fined under the GDPR[1], or General Data Protection Regulation. It has been nearly two years since the GDPR came into effect,[2] and though enforcement has been relatively gradual[3], the regulation has proved that it has teeth. A […]

USMCA and its Potential Impact on U.S. Dairy Farmers

February 10, 2020

By Tim Will The U.S. dairy industry is going through many changes and facing many challenges. Domestic milk consumption per capita continues a decline that has now lasted decades, and alternative milk products are crowding supermarket shelves.[1] Additionally, as domestic demand has slowed, milk production has, and continues to, increase per cow as a result […]

Migrant Control Technologies Threaten Free Movement

February 10, 2020

By Caleb Harrison As the climate deteriorates and people around the world increasingly need to migrate, the United States (“US”) seeks to develop and implement migration control technologies like migrant databases and facial recognition technologies (“FRTs”) that threaten free movement.[1] For example, the US has recently begun implementing its “Extreme Vetting Initiative” (“EVI”)—an effort to […]

Is the Trump Administrations Seizure of Syrian Oil a War Crime?

February 10, 2020

By Mike Franken In the past weeks, there have been numerous articles condemning President Trump’s securing of oil fields in southeastern Syria amidst the United States withdrawal from the conflict.[1] Further, there has been discussion on whether or not these acts are war crimes under the United States War Crimes Act and international law.[2] There […]

The Tentative Resolution of the “Ayodhya Dispute” Signals More Turmoil in India’s Future

February 10, 2020

By Amanda Tesarek On November 9, 2019, a group of lawyers huddled outside the Indian Supreme Court began to cheer, “Jai Shri Ram”[1] ; after a long legal battle, a unanimous verdict now declared a perennially-disputed 2.77-acre parcel of land in Ayodhya as the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama and ordered that a Hindu […]

Brazil’s Major Constitutional Questions Remain in Flux Following Lula’s Release from Prison

November 18, 2019

By Ryan Rainey On Nov. 8, a Brazilian judge ordered the release of former President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva from a federal prison.[1] The order followed a decision from Brazil’s highest court to allow criminal defendants to avoid imprisonment while they await the outcome of their appeals.[2] Lula’s criminal case is still pending, and […]

Will We Always Have Paris? President Trump Begins Formal Process of U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

November 10, 2019

By Jenna Jonjua On Monday, November 4, 2019, the Trump administration served notice of U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement to the United Nation.[1] In doing so, the U.S., only second in greenhouse gas emissions[2], begins the process of breaking from nearly every other country on the planet, a group accounting for 97 percent of […]

The US Sanctions Regime and Human Rights in Iran

November 3, 2019

By Elizabeth Frazier The Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, reimposing a sanctions regime on Iran in the months that followed.[1] In contrast to economic sanctions authorized by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, unilateral sanctions are implemented by a single state […]

Trump is not the first to offer to purchase Greenland, but territorial acquisition in the modern day has changed

October 27, 2019

By: Jacky Arness In August of this year, President Donald Trump made an offer to purchase Greenland from Denmark.[1] Though the ensuing conduct of the President was, arguably, absurd,[2] this is not the first time that the United States has attempted to acquire the world’s largest island.[3] In fact, such offers have been made by […]

Canadian Federal Election Could Close “Legal Loophole” in Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement

October 19, 2019

By Scott May On September 11, 2019, Governor General Julie Payette dissolved the Canadian Parliament on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, initiating a six-week political sprint to the federal election on October 21, when Canadians from Québec to British Columbia will cast their ballots to decide which party – or coalition of parties […]