Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

Reconciling Cyberwarfare and Big Data Rights: Do International Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws apply?

As cyberattacks and data leaks increasingly become a part of daily news, their impact is more noticeable across every field of society. More importantly, cyberattacks with significant political and civil implications have begun affecting electoral systems—a serious threat to democracy and international human rights. Indeed, the increasing number of cyberattacks has direct implications for the rights laid out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR). For instance, the “Ghostwriter” attack of 2017 targeted elections of several European Union (EU) member states to foment distrust in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following this series of attacks, the EU formally assigned responsibility to Russian operators in September 2021, implying undue external interference on political systems had occurred. Also in September 2021, a suspected internal cyberattack to Hungarian polling systems caused nationwide election interference, hindering free participation in public affairs, freedom of expression, and voting rights. [1] Thus, as data analytics can facilitate interference with civil and political liberties as well as enable armed attacks and military strategies, data and cybersecurity rights—the rights determining how to collect, process, use, or disclose personal and private data information—should be seen as a logical extension of human rights.

Current Events | How A Forthcoming Supreme Court Decision Could Trigger A New Era of Weakened Gun Laws

This past November, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, a case challenging a strict New York state gun law. This marks the first time the Court has taken up a major Second Amendment case in more than a decade. After two hours of questioning, a majority of justices seemed poised to strike down the law, which restricts citizens from carrying concealed handguns outside the home unless they prove a heightened or unique need, known as a “proper cause,” to do so. [1] Considering the Court’s recent 6-3 conservative supermajority, the justices will likely rule the New York law unconstitutional. In turn, the New York case could have lasting ramifications, endangering current restrictions on guns in public spaces such as bars, sports stadiums, and subways, and ushering in a new era of weakened gun control laws, increased litigation, and constitutional questions regarding where and when one can carry a gun in public.

Current Events | Poland and the EU: Legal Supremacy and Fragmentation

On October 7, 2021, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issued a judgment that threatens to fragment existing frameworks of European law, challenging the legitimacy of international agreements over state sovereignty. In a 10-2 majority, its K 3/21 judgment claimed that select provisions of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) were “inconsistent” with the Polish Constitution, ultimately placing European Union primary law below the Polish Constitution in the hierarchy of legal authority in the state.

Current Events | Upholding CEDAW: The Fight for Gender Equality in Kenyan Marriage Law

Over the last decade, Kenya has implemented new legislation to ensure legal equality between men and women in marriage. However, there is still a lack of equality between spouses, particularly in reference to matrimonial property and custody. This stands in conflict with Kenya’s obligations as a ratifying party to the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which requires that member states ensure that men and women be treated equally during, after, and outside of marriage. In order to comply with the standards of international human rights law laid out in CEDAW, Kenya must revise its 2013 Matrimonial Act and the 2014 Marriage Act and amend the 2016 Legal Aid Act to guarantee women legal equality.

Current Events | Supreme Court (In)action on Texas’s S.B. 8: The Growing Vulnerability of Abortion Rights

Last month, plaintiffs in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson filed an emergency request to block Texas’s new law prohibiting nearly all abortions. [1] On September 1, the Supreme Court denied their request, allowing the nation’s most restrictive abortion law to go into effect. To fully grasp this case’s significance, it is necessary to examine the content of the Court’s decision, the dissents, and the key legal questions that the judgment leaves behind.

How International Children’s Rights Law Can Force Governments to Prioritize Tackling Climate Change

The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) guarantees youth the human right to be protected from threats. According to the convention, which was ratified by 196 UN member nations, all children are entitled to the “inherent right to life” and education, with the goal of these rights being the “development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.” Of all the threats children face, climate change is, without a doubt, proving itself to be the most formidable and existential. Today, the planet increasingly hurdles over temperature records, while extreme weather phenomena worsen in intensity and frequency each year. It has become increasingly evident that, due to climate change, children will lack an environment conducive to their development in the coming decades.

The Self-Defense Principle Re-examined: The Israel-Palestine Conflict in International Law

May 2021 clashes in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas, Gaza’s de facto government, have caused the Israel-Palestine conflict to capture international attention yet again. The conflict can be dated back to the early 20th century, when the British Empire first took control over what was then known as the Palestinian mandate after the end of the First World War. Since then, the region has seen bitter disputes between the Arab majority and the Jewish minority over the ownership of the land. The conflict intensified after the United Nations (UN) proposal to partition the territory in 1948, which culminated in the eviction of more than 700,000 Palestinians in an event known as the Nakba, as well as increasing Israeli infringement upon the delineated Palestinian lands. Since 2005, Israel has committed to a process known as “distanciation,” in which Israel reduced its direct military occupation of Palestinian territories, leaving the strip of Gaza to stand alone.

COVID-19 and Intellectual Property Rights: The Promises and Limitations of a WTO Vaccine Intellectual Property Waiver

Over the past year and a half, COVID-19 has ravaged the planet. However, in the past few months, while the developed world, spurred by high-efficacy vaccines, has enjoyed relative normalcy, the developing world has suffered the worst of the pandemic. This disparity has sparked debate around whether the World Trade Organization (WTO) should grant an Intellectual Property (IP) waiver for technology related to COVID-19 vaccine production. This waiver would protect national governments that issue a compulsory license—the right to produce a patented product—to its companies for the vaccine from legal action by other members. The resulting increase in producers would theoretically fuel a decrease in vaccine prices, making vaccines available to poorer nations.

The New Public Square of Opinions: Technocratic Giants and Public Utilities

Following a series of state-led cases against technocratic giants, Ohio attorney general David Yost attempted another path to regulation through a 2021 lawsuit demanding that Google be declared a public utility and Google Search become a public utility in the state of Ohio. Such a lawsuit, if successful, would subsequently place Google under the supervision of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Public utilities are generally defined as private and public entities that provide essential service to the public, most often in association with energy and telecommunication establishments.

Skylar WuAugust 22, 2021Technology, Public Utilities, Monopoly, Regulation, Google Search, Antitrust Law