and Ramifications
By: Alexandra Stafford.
No Russian flag, no Russian anthem –the decision by IOC to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics shocked the sports community. An interesting legal analysis of the Olympic Charter, WADA, the appeals process of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and Russia’s possible arguments.
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGold_medal_of_the_2018_Winter_Olympics_in_in_Pyeongchang.jpg
Read MoreBy: Sophie Goodman.
On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect in the European Union. This new data security law will greatly impact both anti-doping and sports clubs in how these organizations handle personal data of athletes.
Image credit: blogtrepreneur.com/tech
Read MoreIt’s been 70 years since the last peaceful transition of power in Liberia.[1] On December 28th, 2017, Liberians elected former FIFA star George Weah as their president.[2] Called “King George” by his backers,[3] 51-year-old Weah’s rags-to-riches story draws support from the young and poor, but will Weah have the political prowess necessary to maintain peace in a country marred by back-to-back civil wars and entwined with political corruption?
[1] Laurel Wamsley, Liberia Elects Soccer Star George Weah Its Next President, NPR (Dec. 28, 2017, 2:37 PM), https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/28/574172627/liberia-elects-soccer-star-george-weah-its-next-president.
[2] Id.
[3] Edward McAllister, Ex-soccer Star ‘King George’ Weah Wins Liberia’s Presidency, Reuters (Dec. 28, 2017, 1:19 PM), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-election/ex-soccer-star-king-george-weah-wins-liberias-presidency-idUSKBN1EM1NR.
Read MoreBy: Inessa Wurscher.
Since 1990, women in Saudi Arabia have been prohibited by royal decree from driving. This decree has been a point of contention within Saudi Arabia as well as in the international community. Now, a recent royal decree has overturned this law and will allow Saudi women to drive in June of 2018. While this legal change may be enough to open the way for changes in the male guardianship system, it is not yet enough for Saudi Arabia to be in compliance with their obligations under the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Image credit: New York Times, available at https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/27/world/saudi-drive/saudi-drive-master768.jpg
Read MoreBy: Mollie M. McSweeney.
Sri Lanka’s people have been through a long history of war, causing its people to suffer devastating loss. The Government has promised to make changes, but the people of Sri Lanka are continuing to suffer at the hands of police power and the government. Basic human rights are greatly curtailed by the Country’s laws. The United Nations has decided to step in, and hopefully bring the long-awaited justice Sri Lankan people deserve.
Image credit:
“Not a day goes by without reports of police officers overstepping the
bounds of the Constitution.”Camelia Nathaniel, A Clear Indictment on Sri Lankan Police, A The Sunday Leader, (Jan. 23, 2017), http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2016/01/24/a-clear-indictment-on-sri-lanka-police/.
Joseph Kabila and his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, have been the only presidents of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo since Laurent-Desire Kabila’s overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997. Joseph Kabila was elected for his second, and constitutionally mandated, final term as president in 2011. In the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, the Congolese Congress and President Kabila took steps to block the 2016 election. In response to attempts to push back the 2016 election, and the actual push back of the 2016 election, protests have arisen throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and President Kabila has responded by violently crushing the protests and committing numerous human rights violations. President Kabila should be immediately removed from power for violating the Congolese Constitution and violating international human rights.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congolese_in_Toronto_protest_election_results.jpg
Read MoreBy: Sarah Payne Faris.
Famous for its Internet censorship, the government touts it’s respect for constitutional provisions of speech. Although the government appears to perceive the Internet as a fount of wisdom, it attempts to shield citizens from using it to its full potential. The nation’s recent crackdown on social media site Weibo appears to illustrate what appears to be contradictory, but is supported by the country’s Constitution.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hu%C3%A1ngx%C4%ABng_L%C3%B9_Commercial_Pedestrian_Street_in_Changsha.jpg
Read MoreBy: Alexandra Stafford.
Image credit: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth, Quartz (Oct. 1, 2017) https://qz.com/1090885/austria-just-slapped-a-burqa-ban-on-the-150-women-who-dare-to-wear-one/.
Read MoreBy: Kathryn Bristor.
In response to a national measles outbreak, the Italian government has enacted a mandatory vaccinations law for school-aged children as a prerequisite to school enrollment, with hefty consequences for noncompliance. While not everyone is in agreement about this law, the Italian people may not be able to afford to refuse vaccinations without putting their loved ones, and themselves, at risk.
Image credit: MaxPixel, available at http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Monument-Italy-Emanuel-Ii-The-Altar-Of-The-Homeland-422712
Read MoreBy: Kylie Cumback.
France, despite high rates of vaccine skepticism, has enacted legislation to make vaccines compulsory by 2018 in an attempt to curtail the spread of vaccine preventable diseases. Will this new law be effective in recapturing herd immunity?
Image credit: Romain D C, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Canop%C3%A9e_panorama_20160624_01.jpg
Read MoreBy: Michael T. Moran.
The U.S. presidential election was dominated by claims that then-Candidate Trump would build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico without spending U.S. taxpayer dollars. International law, specifically Article 24 of the United Nations, has been infrequently discussed in regards to this issue.
Image credit: http://www.michellehenry.fr/mexico-us-border.jpg
Read MoreBy: Jeffrey Caviston.
On September 23, New Zealanders went to the polls to vote for their next government. As a result of a shifting political landscape, party leadership changes, and the country’s proportional voting system, voters elected a coalition progressive-populist-nationalist government. In contrast to the country’s pro-globalization, anti-regulation regime of the last 30 years, the new government is expected to pursue more isolationist policies, particularly in the areas of immigration and foreign trade.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_and_Bowen_House.jpg
Read MoreBy: Morgan Lear.
Since the passage of the September 2017 referendum, the Kurds found themselves fighting Iraq to maintain previously established KRG territory. Within one month of the referendum, the Kurds have lost 40% of their territory. What other effects have the Kurds faced as a result of this move for independence?
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iraq_Kurdistan_location_map.svg
Read MoreBy: Andrew Kemmer.
Chile has vowed to become the latest country to ban the use of plastic bags in order to mitigate the negative environmental effect that they have. But the path to an effective ban is much murkier than simply banning bags and seeing an improvement overnight. What will Chile do to implement an effective ban?
Image credit: https://www.change.org/p/national-marine-help-the-endangered-green-turtles-stop-pollution
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