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Papers by Diane Orentlicher

This casebook provides a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date analysis of international huma... more This casebook provides a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date analysis of international human rights law. It emphasizes the relationship between the international, regional, and national legal systems (with a particular focus on the United States), features an intellectual and historical development of the idea of human rights, and analyzes recent developments in areas including corporate responsibility, terrorism and human rights, the rights of refugees, international criminal law, and the role of nongovernmental organizations. The first edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to address important and hot-button issues and topics in international human rights law.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bks/1069/thumbnail.jp

Social Science Research Network, Mar 14, 2018

Twenty years after the UN Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the fo... more Twenty years after the UN Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Court remains fertile ground for contested claims about what it can achieve, the degree to which it has met specific goals and whose interests it should serve. A series of high-profile acquittals since November 2012 have stoked renewed controversy,1 dispelling prospects that some measure of consensus might emerge as the ICTY approached retirement.Animated debates about the ICTY now span several disciplines, as the books reviewed here reflect. Approaching the Tribunal from several perspectives, they illuminate what it took to secure arrests of ICTY suspects; select aspects of the Tribunal’s judicial output; and how former Yugoslav citizens perceive its work. Review of: International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance, Christopher K. Lamont (Ashgate, March 2010), 234pp. ISBN: 9780754679653 – hardcover (£55)Reclaiming Justice: The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Local Courts, Sanja Kutnjak Ivković and John Hagan (Oxford University Press, May 2011), 224pp. ISBN: 9780195340327 – hardcover (£40).The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, eds. Bert Swart, Alexander Zahar and Göran Sluiter. Oxford University Press, May 2011, 584pp. ISBN: 9780199573417 – hardcover (£106)

Social Science Research Network, 2015

Calls for human rights fact-finding to be governed by widely accepted standards are hardly new, b... more Calls for human rights fact-finding to be governed by widely accepted standards are hardly new, but have been made with growing frequency in the past decade. During the same period, the human rights field has developed increasingly sophisticated fact-finding methodologies and generated a raft of guidelines, principles, and compilations of good practice for fact-finding endeavors. The parallel trends raise the questions of whether human rights fact-finding is indeed plagued by harmful deficiencies and, if so, whether the solution lies in further standard-setting or enforcement efforts. These questions cannot usefully be addressed in general terms, as the answers turn on the type of institution undertaking fact-finding activities, the nature of its endeavor, and the uses to which its findings will be put. No one doubts, for example, that the investigative activities of a prosecutor examining human rights atrocities should be guided by well-established professional standards, such as those dealing with the chain of custody for physical evidence, protocols for conducting exhumations, and the like. Nor is there any question in principle - though, problematically, not yet in practice - that when a UN organ or official establishes a commission of inquiry (COI) to investigate serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, it should consistently follow well-established standards to ensure the commission's independence, objectivity, competence, and effectiveness. Yet just as surely, the full panoply of rules governing criminal investigations or international COIs should not constrain monitoring activities undertaken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and intergovernmental organizations with a view to capturing early warnings of potential abuses. This chapter focuses on an aspect of human rights fact-finding that has provoked particularly intense debate: whether fact-finding by NGOs should be governed by uniform methodological standards. As a foundation for this inquiry, I first consider the utility of standards governing human rights fact-finding undertaken by national commissions of inquiry (NCOIs). Clarifying why NCOIs with a human rights mandate are subject to international standards brings into sharper focus the reasons it is far less obvious that NGO fact-finding should be subject to uniform standards. As I argue in Section IV, the notion of uniform NGO standards is especially problematic when it comes to methodologies for establishing facts as opposed to standards in the form of guiding principles along the lines of "fact-finding" missions deployed by NGOs should be impartial and independent." There are, as I will elaborate, significant grounds to doubt the premises underlying some writers' calls for NGOs to develop standardized methodologies. Equally important, the promulgation of "authoritative" methodological standards could imperil the internationally protected rights to freedom of association and expression. Moreover the exercise itself carries a high risk of privileging the methodologies developed by well-resourced Northern NGOs at the expense of equally valid approaches developed by NGOs in the Global South. But if attempts to formally constrain NGOs' fact-finding activities are misguided, there is a compelling case for developing a dedicated platform for NGOs to share best practices, as well as lessons learned from poor practices, and to access a wide range of fact - finding guidelines and manuals.

... To insist that "[rjelativism is the invariable alibi of tyranny" is to sile... more ... To insist that "[rjelativism is the invariable alibi of tyranny" is to silence countless individuals who have a ... 12. Abdullahi A. An-Na'im, "Islam and Human Rights: Beyond the Universality Debate" (paper presented at Annual Meeting ... In his view, "[t]o say that a con-viction is 'religious ...

The many questions that surround movements for secession and self-determination are both practica... more The many questions that surround movements for secession and self-determination are both practically urgent and theoretically perplexing. The United States settled its secession crisis in the 1860s. But the trauma and unfinished business of those events are still with us. Around the world secession and self-determination are the key issues that cause strife and instability.This volume provides an unusually comprehensive consideration of the many challenges of law and political philosophy that accompany them, and offers theoretical insights that provide guidance for policy. Among the questions considered are: should the international community recognize a right to secede and, if so, what conditions must be satisfied before the right can be asserted? Should secession and its conditions be recognized within domestic constitutions? Secession is the most extreme form of political separation and there are modes of self-determination short of it, including indigenous peoples\u27 self-government and minority language rights. To what degree can these intrastate autonomy arrangements help ameliorate the injustices faced by indigenous groups?https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1308/thumbnail.jp

Hart Publishing eBooks, Oct 29, 2014

Oxford University Press eBooks, Apr 19, 2018

After Auschwitz, the world said Never again. Yet 50 years after the end of World War II, the worl... more After Auschwitz, the world said Never again. Yet 50 years after the end of World War II, the world is again witnessing genocide--concentration camps in Bosnia and the slaughter of millions in Rwanda. This book examines the significance of the Nuremberg trials and the undeniable political and legal influence they exert over the war crimes proceedings taking place today--the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal. Featuring transcripts from the original testimony, this work accompanies Court TV\u27s 12-hour documentary on the 50th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials. Photos. Online promo.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1311/thumbnail.jp

New York University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

Anuario de Derechos Humanos, Jun 24, 2011

Informe del Grupo de Alto Nivel [nombrado por el Secretario General de la ONU] sobre las amenazas... more Informe del Grupo de Alto Nivel [nombrado por el Secretario General de la ONU] sobre las amenazas, los desafíos y el cambio en Un mundo más seguro: la responsabilidad que compartimos (2 de diciembre de 2004), ver en

New Yorkii, 270 p.; 23 cm

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Mar 28, 2011

This casebook provides a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date analysis of international huma... more This casebook provides a comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date analysis of international human rights law. It emphasizes the relationship between the international, regional, and national legal systems (with a particular focus on the United States), features an intellectual and historical development of the idea of human rights, and analyzes recent developments in areas including corporate responsibility, terrorism and human rights, the rights of refugees, international criminal law, and the role of nongovernmental organizations. The first edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to address important and hot-button issues and topics in international human rights law.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bks/1069/thumbnail.jp

Social Science Research Network, Mar 14, 2018

Twenty years after the UN Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the fo... more Twenty years after the UN Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Court remains fertile ground for contested claims about what it can achieve, the degree to which it has met specific goals and whose interests it should serve. A series of high-profile acquittals since November 2012 have stoked renewed controversy,1 dispelling prospects that some measure of consensus might emerge as the ICTY approached retirement.Animated debates about the ICTY now span several disciplines, as the books reviewed here reflect. Approaching the Tribunal from several perspectives, they illuminate what it took to secure arrests of ICTY suspects; select aspects of the Tribunal’s judicial output; and how former Yugoslav citizens perceive its work. Review of: International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance, Christopher K. Lamont (Ashgate, March 2010), 234pp. ISBN: 9780754679653 – hardcover (£55)Reclaiming Justice: The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Local Courts, Sanja Kutnjak Ivković and John Hagan (Oxford University Press, May 2011), 224pp. ISBN: 9780195340327 – hardcover (£40).The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, eds. Bert Swart, Alexander Zahar and Göran Sluiter. Oxford University Press, May 2011, 584pp. ISBN: 9780199573417 – hardcover (£106)

Social Science Research Network, 2015

Calls for human rights fact-finding to be governed by widely accepted standards are hardly new, b... more Calls for human rights fact-finding to be governed by widely accepted standards are hardly new, but have been made with growing frequency in the past decade. During the same period, the human rights field has developed increasingly sophisticated fact-finding methodologies and generated a raft of guidelines, principles, and compilations of good practice for fact-finding endeavors. The parallel trends raise the questions of whether human rights fact-finding is indeed plagued by harmful deficiencies and, if so, whether the solution lies in further standard-setting or enforcement efforts. These questions cannot usefully be addressed in general terms, as the answers turn on the type of institution undertaking fact-finding activities, the nature of its endeavor, and the uses to which its findings will be put. No one doubts, for example, that the investigative activities of a prosecutor examining human rights atrocities should be guided by well-established professional standards, such as those dealing with the chain of custody for physical evidence, protocols for conducting exhumations, and the like. Nor is there any question in principle - though, problematically, not yet in practice - that when a UN organ or official establishes a commission of inquiry (COI) to investigate serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, it should consistently follow well-established standards to ensure the commission's independence, objectivity, competence, and effectiveness. Yet just as surely, the full panoply of rules governing criminal investigations or international COIs should not constrain monitoring activities undertaken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and intergovernmental organizations with a view to capturing early warnings of potential abuses. This chapter focuses on an aspect of human rights fact-finding that has provoked particularly intense debate: whether fact-finding by NGOs should be governed by uniform methodological standards. As a foundation for this inquiry, I first consider the utility of standards governing human rights fact-finding undertaken by national commissions of inquiry (NCOIs). Clarifying why NCOIs with a human rights mandate are subject to international standards brings into sharper focus the reasons it is far less obvious that NGO fact-finding should be subject to uniform standards. As I argue in Section IV, the notion of uniform NGO standards is especially problematic when it comes to methodologies for establishing facts as opposed to standards in the form of guiding principles along the lines of "fact-finding" missions deployed by NGOs should be impartial and independent." There are, as I will elaborate, significant grounds to doubt the premises underlying some writers' calls for NGOs to develop standardized methodologies. Equally important, the promulgation of "authoritative" methodological standards could imperil the internationally protected rights to freedom of association and expression. Moreover the exercise itself carries a high risk of privileging the methodologies developed by well-resourced Northern NGOs at the expense of equally valid approaches developed by NGOs in the Global South. But if attempts to formally constrain NGOs' fact-finding activities are misguided, there is a compelling case for developing a dedicated platform for NGOs to share best practices, as well as lessons learned from poor practices, and to access a wide range of fact - finding guidelines and manuals.

... To insist that "[rjelativism is the invariable alibi of tyranny" is to sile... more ... To insist that "[rjelativism is the invariable alibi of tyranny" is to silence countless individuals who have a ... 12. Abdullahi A. An-Na'im, "Islam and Human Rights: Beyond the Universality Debate" (paper presented at Annual Meeting ... In his view, "[t]o say that a con-viction is 'religious ...

The many questions that surround movements for secession and self-determination are both practica... more The many questions that surround movements for secession and self-determination are both practically urgent and theoretically perplexing. The United States settled its secession crisis in the 1860s. But the trauma and unfinished business of those events are still with us. Around the world secession and self-determination are the key issues that cause strife and instability.This volume provides an unusually comprehensive consideration of the many challenges of law and political philosophy that accompany them, and offers theoretical insights that provide guidance for policy. Among the questions considered are: should the international community recognize a right to secede and, if so, what conditions must be satisfied before the right can be asserted? Should secession and its conditions be recognized within domestic constitutions? Secession is the most extreme form of political separation and there are modes of self-determination short of it, including indigenous peoples\u27 self-government and minority language rights. To what degree can these intrastate autonomy arrangements help ameliorate the injustices faced by indigenous groups?https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1308/thumbnail.jp

Hart Publishing eBooks, Oct 29, 2014

Oxford University Press eBooks, Apr 19, 2018

After Auschwitz, the world said Never again. Yet 50 years after the end of World War II, the worl... more After Auschwitz, the world said Never again. Yet 50 years after the end of World War II, the world is again witnessing genocide--concentration camps in Bosnia and the slaughter of millions in Rwanda. This book examines the significance of the Nuremberg trials and the undeniable political and legal influence they exert over the war crimes proceedings taking place today--the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal. Featuring transcripts from the original testimony, this work accompanies Court TV\u27s 12-hour documentary on the 50th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials. Photos. Online promo.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1311/thumbnail.jp

New York University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

Anuario de Derechos Humanos, Jun 24, 2011

Informe del Grupo de Alto Nivel [nombrado por el Secretario General de la ONU] sobre las amenazas... more Informe del Grupo de Alto Nivel [nombrado por el Secretario General de la ONU] sobre las amenazas, los desafíos y el cambio en Un mundo más seguro: la responsabilidad que compartimos (2 de diciembre de 2004), ver en

New Yorkii, 270 p.; 23 cm

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Mar 28, 2011