In “trophy hunting” agreements, wealthy individuals, typically from the Global North, pay locals such as guides or landowners, typically in the Global South, to assist with the planned hunt of rare — if not outright threatened or endangered — species such as lions, polar bears, black rhinoceroses, and giraffes for a fee as a private contractual arrangement. A well-known example is the kill of “Cecil the Lion” in the summer of 2015. American dentist Walter Palmer paid local Zimbabweans $55,000 for their assistance. In other cases, hunters have obtained government permits to kill and import a rare animal. Allegedly, trophy hunts contribute to local economies and can help raise money and awareness for species conservation. However, serious doubt has arisen…

The world needs a supranational-level solution to climate change within very few years. Nonetheless, much existing scholarship almost stubbornly continues to promote solutions that are still too broad to be viable within a realistic timeframe. This article breaks with these theories and posits that effective climate change action can be instigated by a much lower number of nations than what has been promoted thus far, and that this is the only realistic solution in the scientifically proved timeframe in which catastrophic climate change can still be avoided. Such minilateralism among fewer nations is a more realistic solution with greater potential for more targeted and effective results. However, a crucial question remains to be answered in this context: what is the…

This article argues that bottom-up, polycentric developments within national and international environmental and human rights law present potent alternatives to traditional top-down solutions, especially in relation to problems that require urgent legal action such as climate change. The article does not suggest that traditional solutions are no longer called for. Rather, it promotes action from both angles.  By way of background, the article briefly examines what “law” is, how law is more and more frequently developed at the local level with public participation (i.e. from the “bottom up”) as well as the pros and cons of such development. The article describes the recognized interface between severe environmental problems and human rights issues. It then presents the findings of the author’s…

Arab Spring. Occupy Wall Street. Protests against austerity measures in Europe. Around the world, people are dissatisfied with traditional top-down style governance. The call for change sounds especially loud and clear in the environmental arena where legislative and law enforcement status quo imperils the future of our natural surroundings. This article adds new value to international environmental and democratic discourse by being the first major work to examine the first ten years of case law under the UNECE Aarhus Convention, a groundbreaking multilateral environmental agreement that promotes public participation in government environmental decision-making and enforcement through procedural requirements. The objective of the article is to verify whether such requirements are mere “toothless” procedural devices or if they have the potential…

People from nations not accepting dual citizenship risk being expatriated against their will if naturalizing in another country and thus do not apply for citizenship in their new host nations. Accordingly, these migrants live and work without the ability to exercise such basic democratic rights as to vote and hold elected office, which require citizenship.  Making matters worse: the very same nations that officially do not accept dual citizenship in fact grant exceptions to as many as 40% of immigrants creating a situation of highly unequal access to dual citizenship.  Using select EU nations as examples, this article describes why modern liberal democracies should work towards allowing dual citizenship and how nations would actually gain from accepting dual citizenship instead…

In a world of global business and connectivity, the translation industry has become vital to today’s commercial players. Nonetheless, translation services are often considered fungible and thus not given much thought. This often leads to mistranslation and legal problems requiring solution by international arbitral institution and courts of law. This article examines existing translation standards in select arbitral conventions, institutional rules, and select national legislation. On that background, it analyzes typical resolutions of legal issues caused by substandard translation in both arbitral and post-arbitral proceedings. In spite of some existing rules governing translation, the outcome of quasi-legal and legal proceedings in this area is highly uncertain and divergent. Thus, the article proposes possible preventive solutions to the demonstrated problem. Published…

Across the country, courts and prosecutorial offices have begun to use dogs to assist victims of crimes who but for the demonstrated calming presence of a dog would be too emotionally distraught to give live testimony in trials against their alleged perpetrators. The use of service animals for this purpose has proven particularly useful for young children.  This article examines the budding use of this type of therapeutic jurisprudence in the criminal justice system. Recognizing that using dogs for emotional support during trial finds no clear recognition under the law yet, the article analyzes how proponents may draw analogies to the current use of comfort items such as dolls during the presentation of testimony.  The article concludes that sound legal…