By: Alexandra Arkin.
France regulates French presidential campaign spending and contributions far more stringently than the U.S. regulates its presidential campaigns. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system, but the U.S. would benefit by incorporating aspects of the French system.
Read MoreBy: Lauren Kissel.
The northeastern region of Catalonian recently declared independence from Spain, which has caused a whole host of problems for the country. This blog post explores the timeline of this independence crisis and how Spain and Catalonia can work together and use history to find a mutually beneficial solution.
Read MoreBy: Andrew Kemmer.
The Olympics are lucrative business today. The International Olympic Committee is a billion-dollar organization, and it is supposed to facilitate Olympic sports worldwide. Instead, it absolves itself of responsibility by giving away money to international federations to do with as they please. That leaves athletes to languish in poverty while IOC executives and broadcasting companies get rich off of them.
Image credit: https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-invites-olympic-winter-athletes-to-pyeongchang-2018-with-just-one-year-to-go
Read MoreBy: Kylie Cumback.
Past Olympic Cycles have been ripe with corruption and financial burdens, the IOC has dedicated itself to ensuring that the future of the Games is bright.
Read MoreBy: Angela Gamalski.
Swiss authorities have traditionally had limited abilities to hold an association or corporation organized as a Swiss legal person legally accountable for bribery or corrupt acts committed by natural persons. In 2016, the Swiss criminal code "Lex FIFA" amendments became effective. Following these new laws, Switzerland should no longer a legal safe haven for associations and other corporate entities to avoid vicarious liability for the actions of that entity’s leadership.
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_bids#/media/File:Joseph_Blatter_-_World_Cup_2014.jpg
Read MoreBy : Kathryn Bristor.
While the Olympics are a time of global celebration, for women in Saudi Arabia it is also a painful reminder of the lack of opportunities they have to compete in sports. Though the country is taking small steps towards female inclusion in sports, the movement is anything but expedited. Although a handful of women have competed on the Saudi Olympic team, the question remains whether this has furthered women’s rights back home or if their participation is merely a show to appease international human rights concerns.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wojdan_Shaherkani.jpg
Read MoreBy: Max Mittleman.
As the 2018 Olympics get underway, the relationship between North and South Korea is as much in the spotlight as are the athletes preparing for competition. What has changed in the thirty years since the last Olympics held on the Korean penninsula?
Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Korea_olympic_march_2010.jpg
Read Moreand 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
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