This article considers the recent recognition by the United States of Morocco’s territorial sovereignty over Western Sahara. After a review of certain aspects of the history of the dispute over Western Sahara, it focuses on the interaction of arguments based on the recognition and non-recognition of territorial sovereignty with those prioritising the right of self-determination of the Sahrawi people. It concludes that, in as much as the population of Western Sahara has a right to decide its own future, US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara has undermined key principles of international law.
Christopher J. Borgen Professor of Law Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law
Professor Rosemary Salomone presented key points from her book, The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language(Oxford University Press) as part of the Centre for Global Governance Studies Global Webinar Series, “The Future of Global Governance,” at KU Leuven (Belgium) in May. The discussant was Helder De Schutter, Professor of Social and Political Philosophy at the university.
She also moderated a panel discussion in May on “Cross-National Responses to Multilingual Challenges During COVID-19” as part of a symposium on Multilingualism and COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Looking Forward hosted by the Study Group on Language and the United Nations, which brought together United Nations staff members, government officials, university scholars, and members of civil society to discuss health and education.
Her commentary, “Ravenna: Dantean Paradiso,” drawn in part from the Preface to her book, appeared in the June 9th edition of Times Higher Education (UK) in an invitational series of travel reflections by six academics from across the globe.
Excerpts from an interview with Professor Salomone on the book appeared in the June 4th issue of Io Donna, a weekly women’s magazine and Saturday supplement of the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Her essay, “The Unstoppable Spread of English in the Global University” was published in the Spring 2022 issue of International Higher Education.
Rosemary C. Salomone Kenneth Wang Professor of Law
A June 7th article headlined “Battle of the blogs: Legal experts spar over consumers’ arbitration clauses,” by Steven Harras in CQ Roll Call discusses online debates between Professor Jeff Sovern and the Ballard Spahr firm’s Alan Kaplinsky. Harras opens:
Legal heavyweights who’ve rhetorically sparred online over the actions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are at it again, this time over the clauses that limit consumers’ ability to sue their banks.
St. John’s University School of Law Professor Jeff Sovern and Alan S. Kaplinsky, a partner at the national law firm Ballard Spahr LLP — two leading figures in consumer financial law — are engaged in debate over arbitration clauses and what the CFPB should do about them.
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The two men have been debating the issue off-and-on for years.
The pair often spar on legal and consumer financial issues. Kaplinsky’s opinions and analyses appear in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Finance Monitor blog. Sovern’s Consumer Law & Policy Blog is sponsored by the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
The online exchanges between Sovern, who holds views generally favoring stronger consumer protections, and Kaplinsky, more frequently viewed as sympathetic to the financial services industry, have gained traction among private attorneys, government lawyers and financial industry observers.
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Sovern said that according to Lexis, an online legal research tool, his blog has “been cited dozens of times in law review articles, congressional hearings, and the like.”
On June 1, 2022, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Skinner v. Oklahoma, Professor John Q. Barrett participated in a panel at Georgetown University Law Center on “The Unknown History of Reproductive Rights & Eugenics: From Skinner to Roe.”
In Skinner, the Supreme Court unanimously declared unconstitutional an Oklahoma law that provided for the sterilization of some thrice-convicted “habitual criminals.” Jack Skinner, a state prison inmate, won a decision that protected his reproductive capability and autonomy. The decision became an important starting point for constitutional law doctrines that protect individuals from government regulations and penalties in the areas of contraception, abortion, private intimacy, and other fundamental rights.
Professor Barrett spoke about Justice Robert H. Jackson’s concurring opinion in the case.
The panel is available here on C-SPAN. Professor Barrett’s lecture begins at time counter reading 21:20.
The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) released its second major report on anti-Asian hate crimes last week on May 31st, the last day of AAPI American Heritage Month. Professor Elaine Chiu was one of the executive editors and led the data collection and analysis efforts. Unlike any other study, the Endless Tide report aimed to answer an important question for this time of deep hate and violence in America: “What happens after a victim reports a hate crime?” In particular, the report focused on the efforts to make arrests and prosecute hate crimes in New York City and found that 7 incidents so far out of 233 incidents have resulted in a hate crime conviction. Some convictions led to imprisonment while others imposed non-incarceratory sentences such as counseling and drug rehabilitation.
Along with Professor Chiu, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other local elected officials spoke at the press conference announcing the report. Since its release, the Endless Tide report and Professor Chiu have been featured in a variety of media outlets, including the New York Law Journal, CNN, NBC News, CBS News, Gothamist, and Law360. The report has also been covered internationally.
St. John's University Law Faculty Blog 