The UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs (JILFA) presents Volume Twenty, Issue Two. The five pieces in this Issue were written by exceptional academics and practitioners who have presented views on a wide range of topics, including the judicialization of politics in East Asia, US trade relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, applying the framework of positive international law beyond the West, international corporate criminal liability, and human-trafficking in Major League Baseball. Available at HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
Pace of Constitutional Transition Matters: The Judicialization of Politics in Indonesia and Korea, by Chien-Chih Lin. 20 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
Chien-Chih Lin explores the increasing judicialization of politics, seeking to better understand the mechanisms that lead to greater judicialization. Using Indonesia and South Korea as case studies, the author attempts to explain why the scope and depth of judicial review is more pronounced in Korea than it is in Indonesia despite institutional and political similarities. While acknowledging the conventional wisdom that political fragmentation is a large determiner in this process, Lin argues that the pace of constitutional transition also significantly contributes to a higher level of judicialization. The author advances the argument that, along with other relevant factors, a faster pace of constitutional transition will result in more intensive judicialization of politics.
Strengthening US Trade Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, by Okezie Chukwumerije. 20 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
Okezie Chukwumerije questions the premise that trade preferences alone are sufficient to bolster economic and trade relationships between the US and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by highlighting the inability of the African Growth and Opportunity Act to significantly boost trade between the two. However, the author suggests that by revising its approach, the US may still play a formative role in the region. Chukwumerije argues that a more coordinated US trade policy toward SSA is necessary-one that focuses not only on improving market access but also on assisting SSA countries tackle their trade capacity and governance constraints that have limited their export competitiveness.
Greater China Constitutes Fertile Ground for ‘Building’ and ‘Testing’ Positive International Legal Theory, by Roda Mushkat. 20 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
Roda Mushkat addresses the relative deficit of geographical and historical diversity in positive international legal theory by applying the framework to the Greater China region. The author outlines the scholarly work undertaken in this area, locating it in the behavioral segment of the international legal space, and identifies its analytical underpinnings. Additionally, Mushkat demonstrates that applying the framework to a non- Western setting holds the promise of placing the exploration of phenomena lying at the interface between international law and international relations on a firmer footing.
Natural Persons, Legal Entities, and Corporate Criminal Liability under the Rome Statute, by Mohammed Wattad. 20 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
Mohammed Wattad argues against the extension of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction beyond human beings to also include corporate criminal liability. The author contends that the concept of corporate criminal liability is not compatible with the rationales underlying the objectives of the Rome Statute. Moreover, Wattad suggests the Statute already allows for penalties that can be imposed upon individuals, such as the organs of a corporation, who have abused their corporate powers to commit criminal activity. Finally, the author proposes amendments to the Rome Statute in order to better penalize corporations once corporate organs have been found guilty of committing an international criminal act through their official capacities.
Baseball’s Cuban Missile Crisis: How the United States and Major League Baseball Can End Cuban Ballplayer Trafficking, by Drew Goorabian. 20 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
Drew Goorabian outlines how loopholes in both US immigration law and Major League Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement have, for years, subjected promising Cuban baseball players and their families to dangerous conditions in violation of various human rights norms as they are smuggled to the US. The author explains that the recent warming of relations between the two countries presents an opportunity to address these issues and sets forth several potential solutions.
Available at HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
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