Columbia Journal of Transnational Law

04/04/2023

https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/forum-non-conveniens-and-corruption-a-lofty-hurdle-or-a-solid-barrier-to-justice
In opposing a forum non conveniens motion to dismiss, a plaintiff can argue that their claim should be heard in the United States because the alternative country is too corrupt to hear the case. However, that argument is rarely successful. Staffer Joseph Sotile argues that U.S. courts should lower the bar to finding corruption in an alternative forum in this latest post from the Bulletin

By: By: Joseph N. Sotile; Staff Editor

03/30/2023

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) deals with a unique issue when applying statutorily-authorized sources of law to decisions about its jurisdiction and the admissibility of claims before it. Staffer Allyson Ping argues that there is a jurisprudential lacuna that can be filled with the court's own judgments in this latest post from the CJTL Bulletin https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/a-common-law-of-procedural-adjudication-working-towards-precedential-effect-in-icj-preliminary-objections-judgments

By: Allyson Ping; Staff Member

03/27/2023

As the effects of climate change continue to displace people within nations and across national borders, it grows increasingly more important to create legal protections–in refugee law and/or human rights law–to safeguard the rights of climate migrants. Staffer Sarika Bhattacharjee examines these issues in the latest post for the CJTL Bulletin. https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/climate-migration-legal-protections-for-those-who-flee-environmental-disaster

Climate Migration: Legal Protections for Those Who Flee Environmental Disaster Satellite images of Pakistan taken one year apart. By: Sarika Bhattacharjee; Staff Editor   On September 3, 2022, Fatima Bhutto, a Pakistani writer, authored an opinion piece in the New York Times about the climate catas...

03/27/2023

In April 2022, the SEC brought a landmark suit against Vale SA, a publicly traded mining company for making false or misleading statements about its climate impact and climate-related business risks. In this latest post from the Bulletin, Staffer Lydia Wang analyzes the impact of the SEC's evolving climate-related disclosure requirements and explores whether such rules can mitigate greenwashing.

 By: Lydia Wang. Staff Member

03/07/2023

CJTL cordially invites you to our Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award Banquet on March 28, 2023, at The University Club of New York. We will be honoring the prominent work of Navi Pillay for her work defending the rule of law. Learn more here: https://jtl.columbia.edu/friedmann-banquet

02/27/2023

Provisional Measures are vital to bringing a successful arbitration claim. Professor Ronald Brand lays out these rules, and how to best avail yourself of these rules in this excellent Volume 61 Article. https://jtl.columbia.edu/volume-61/provisional-measures-in-aid-of-arbitration

RONALD A. BRAND* The success of the New York Convention has made arbitration a preferred means of dispute resolution for international commercial transactions.  Success in arbitration often depends on the extent to which a party may secure assets, evidence, or the status quo between part

02/24/2023

Is it time for the International Court of Justice to begin issuing advisory opinions? Scholar Massimo Lando reexamines the ICJ's Eastern Carelia doctrine, and how this change would affect international disputes in this article from Volume 61 of the CJTL. https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/volume-61/advisory-opinions-of-the-international-court-of-justice-in-respect-of-disputes

MASSIMO LANDO * This Article reimagines advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice as a means for the settlement of international disputes. It is established that the Court must decline to render an advisory opinion which relates to the main point of a pending bilateral dispute between

02/23/2023

The problem of non-US class members in class actions has dogged the court for years. Joshua H. Plastrik examines this history, and how these doctrines might be changing in this excellent note for the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/volume-61/who-bears-the-burden-assessing-the-likelihood-of-foreign-recognition-of-a-us-class-action-judgment

Joshua H. Plastrik* Ever since the Second Circuit’s 1975 decision in Bersch v. Drexel Firestone , U.S. courts have grappled with whether to include foreign plaintiffs in U.S. opt-out class action lawsuits.  The notion of an opt-out class action runs contrary to many countries’ conception

02/20/2023

As a rising power, scholars tend to give short shrift to the influence that PRC law has beyond its jurisdiction. However, in this excellent article for the CJTL, Scholar Mathew S. Erie argues that the PRC has managed to build a robust, if unsteady, set of soft power institutions to influence the legal direction of countries that it trades with.

Matthew S. Erie* Previous major capital-exporting nations have attained hegemony through a combination of coercion, currency, and contracts.  In particular, the United Kingdom and the United States developed globe-spanning navies and modern militaries, and their denominations are amongst

02/16/2023

On January 5th President Biden signed the Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, arguably the most important piece of war crimes legislation passed in nearly 30 years. In this latest post from the CJTL Bulletin Staffer Grace Lin breaks down what this law does, and doesn't, fix about US War Crimes jurisdiction and why this law is vital to holding international war criminals accountable.
https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/expanding-us-prosecutorial-power-over-international-war-crimes

By: Grace Lin, Staff Editor

02/13/2023

Volume 61 is up and running on the CJTL website. Feel free to grab a taste of the stellar scholarship, with this excellent article from Maximilian Y Frank on the role the World Bank plays in ending Gender Based violence.
https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-notes/3uhscm8u35djae0y1vrt7b215gful5

Maximilian Yuri Markus Frank* The World Bank recently increased its efforts to prevent gender-based violence (GBV), a human rights issue estimated to affect one in three women globally. As of January 1, 2021, contractors in new World Bank development projects deemed to be at high risk for GBV must

01/16/2023

The Energy Charter Treaty currently operates as a massive limitation on ambitious Climate Change reform. Staffer Brian Japari examines this state of affairs and how to move forward in this latest blog post for the Bulletin.

https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/the-energy-charter-treaty-reform-or-retreat

By: Brian Japari, Staff Editor