Exporting Mercenaries as Foreign Policy: Russia’s Use of Wagner Group in Africa
Introduction Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of the United States of America as the sole remaining superpower, Russia under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin has aggressively sought to reassert Russian influence on the...
Accountability for Russia’s Detention and Deportation Program
On March 17, 2023 the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) issued arrest warrants for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, as well as Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President. The ICC issued the arrest...
The Future of Foreign Sovereign Immunity: Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States
Introduction On January 17, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a highly anticipated case, Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S., aka Halkbank v. United States, that may have a profound impact on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). In 1976, the FSIA codified...
Croatia’s Constitutional Approach to Human Rights of Minorities
Introduction and Historical Background Processing genocide is difficult enough, establishing legal protections that reconcile with a prior warring adversary is another. Croatia serves as a distinct example of a country that has used constitutional legislation to...
Time to START Over
After decades of United States-Russia relations operating under the umbrella of nuclear arms reduction treaties, the world now faces a much more uncertain future. On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was unilaterally...
Unity and Division in the Pursuit of Happiness: A Comparison of Marriage and Divorce Laws in India and the United States
Introduction This article focuses on an overview of the marriage and divorce laws in the United States and India. Marriage and divorce laws are important because they implicate strongly-held values regarding familial relationships, impact children and custody, and...
Afghanistan Assets and Adoption Litigation: The Underlying Problem
On August 31st, 2021, President Biden announced the end of the United States’ twenty-year war in Afghanistan. The chaotic withdrawal and subsequent Taliban takeover of the country triggered a flood of litigation in U.S. courts. Two cases, in particular, have attracted...
Genetic Evidence in Criminal Cases
Introduction The use of neuroscientific and genetic evidence in criminal cases has been called a double-edged sword. On one hand, it may reduce the apparent culpability of defendants and mitigate their perceived responsibility for their crimes, leading to more lenient...
An Ongoing Crisis in Egypt: Human Rights Abuses
For years, Egypt’s human rights abuses have been known and reported on by journalists in the country hoping to bring the tragedies to light. Only recently, however, has the Egyptian government publicly addressed the issue and set forth initiatives to tackle the problem. Despite the outward perception that change in the country is taking place, the realities seem to remain the same.
Privacy vs Free Speech: Challenges with Adopting the European Union’s Right to be Forgotten in the United States
Introduction In 2019, Jane Slater found out that her (now-ex) boyfriend was cheating, after noticing repeated spikes in his Fitbit heart rate data at 4 a.m. whenever he was not home. In 2020, a civilian employee at Fort Bragg used the Army Installation’s official...