International Human Rights Litigation in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 168-200
Author(s):  
Paul Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Common Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Sovereign Immunity ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Forum Non Conveniens ◽  
International Human

Paul Hoffman reviews the position in the United States regarding the imposition of liability on multinationals for human rights abuses occurring overseas. He focuses on corporate complicity cases brought under the Alien Tort Statute over the past 25 years. By reference to key decisions, he charts the development of the law which had had initially held out considerable promise for human rights victims but which has been gradually whittled away by decisions such as Kiobel in 2012 and Jesner in 2018. The scope of the statute and the concepts of aiding and abetting liability, the presumption against extraterritoriality, ‘touch and concern test’ and ‘foreign sovereign immunity’ are explained. The decision in Doe v. Nestle has resolved many of the uncertainties. Potential liability under various statutes to protect victims of torture, trafficking, terrorism, and corruption are outlined as is the experience of common law tort claims and forum non conveniens.

Liability of Multinational Corporations in Canada for International Human Rights Violations

2021 ◽  
pp. 113-139
Author(s):  
Bruce W. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Class Actions ◽  
Forum Non Conveniens ◽  
International Human

Bruce W. Johnston reviews the current state of play in Canada regarding the imposition of civil liability on multinationals for human rights abuses occurring overseas. He explains the bijural nature of the legal system and the consequential developments of civil law in Quebec and common law elsewhere. He outlines, by reference to case law, the relevant law on jurisdiction, including in class actions, and application of forum non conveniens, forum necessitatis, and choice of law, under common and civil law. Regarding causes of action, he considers the corporate veil hurdle and important judgments on direct liability of the parent company, in Choc v. Hudbay Minerals and most strikingly, the direct application of customary international human rights law by the Supreme Court in Nevsun. Equally important in terms of practical access to justice, the chapter outlines the rules on procedures relating to opt-out class actions, legal costs, including litigation funding.

scholarly journals Party positions over international human rights treaties in the United States in the Post-Cold War

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-50
Author(s):  
Flávio Contrera ◽  
Matheus Lucas Hebling
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human

This article aimed to verify the occurrence of convergence and congruence in the positions that the Democratic and Republican parties express about human rights treaties in the Electoral, in the Executive, and the Legislative arenas, in the Post-Cold War (1992-2016). The use of the comparative method guided the study of six specific cases, analyzed using qualitative techniques. The results point to two trends. The first is that the possibility of convergence between the Democratic and Republican parties tends to diminish when their positions on human rights treaties are anchored by ideological perspectives, and the second is that a party’s position on a treaty tends to be congruent among political arenas. Moreover, the divergence of positions between the parties clarifies the liberal internationalist character of the Democratic positions and the conservative isolationist approach of the Republican positions.

scholarly journals George Floyd’s Murder

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66
Author(s):  
Farnaz Raees Kazemi ◽  
Moosa Akefi Ghaziani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Political Agitation ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Government

George Floyd’s murder by the police in Minneapolis provoked widespread political agitation across the country. It once again highlighted the problematic racial dimension of policing and eggregious violation of human rights commitments on the part of the government. In this article we explore how the human rights law and racism in the United States interact with each other? We employ qualitative research based on descriptive-analytical method and divide the article in four parts: a brief introduction, a historical background of racism, a conceptual comprehension of racial discrimination and a brief survey of the international human rights instruments against racism, and the onground situation of racial discrimination in the country. We conclude that the process of negotiation between human rights law and racism in the United States is far from settled yet.

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