Once largely the stuff of science fiction, posthumous parenthood is now a scientific reality. Volume XLIX staff editor Shayna Altschuller explores one of the legal challenges that arise when a child is conceived after a parent’s death. With growing international use of posthumous assisted reproduction, U.S. and foreign inheritance laws sometimes leave these children in legal limbo. This post examines how jurisdictions like Israel, Ukraine, and the U.S. grapple with statutory recognition of posthumously conceived children -- and why legislative clarity is urgently needed.
Read MoreIn January 2026, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and asserted control over Venezuela’s oil industry. Framed by U.S. officials as both a security and economic measure, the operation raises a fundamental question of international law: does the seizure and sale of another state’s natural resources constitute lawful asset enforcement, or an unlawful violation of state sovereignty?
Read MoreOn January 7, 2026, President Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a landmark climate treaty ratified by the Senate in 1992. The decision has reignited debate over whether a President may unilaterally withdraw from a Senate-approved treaty and what such action means for future U.S. participation in the Convention. In this post, Volume XLIX staff editor Alex Levine examines the legal uncertainty surrounding the withdrawal and the prospects for reentry.
Read MoreThe Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act contains a key carveout, the predicate exception, which has become a critical mechanism for holding gun manufacturers liable. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos had the potential to resolve many long-standing questions surrounding the scope and application of that exception. However, Volume XLIX staff editor Haley Rubin argues that the Court’s decision instead opens the door to greater uncertainty, leaving lower courts, and transnational plaintiffs, without clear guidance on when the predicate exception may be invoked.
Read MoreIn July 2025, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion recognizing binding state obligations to address climate change. While the opinion marks a significant expansion of international climate law, Volume XLIX staff editor Tori Stanford argues that persistent attribution challenges limit its ability to deliver meaningful accountability. This post examines the tension between the ICJ's legal ambition and the practical difficulties of attributing climate harm to individual states.
Read MoreThis article argues that state-sponsored use of AI-generated deepfakes to manipulate foreign elections constitutes an emerging form of unlawful intervention under customary international law, while addressing the inadequacy of existing regulatory responses. By comparing the United States’ enforcement-driven, piecemeal approach with the European Union’s preventive, risk-based framework under the AI Act and Digital Services Act, the article demonstrates how fragmented domestic regimes leave critical gaps that foreign actors can exploit. It contends that the International Court of Justice’s non-intervention doctrine provides a viable legal foundation for addressing AI-enabled election interference, but must be supplemented by coordinated international standards.
Read MoreThe United States’ withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Green Climate Fund raises questions about the legal strength of international climate commitments. In this post, Volume 49, Staff Editor Bianca L Dascal examines how this withdrawal exposes the limits of international climate law and its reliance on voluntary state participation rather than enforceable legal obligations.
Read MoreIn October 2025, the Trump Administration announced a series of common policy frameworks with Australia and Japan to secure critical minerals and rare earth resources central to global energy and defense industries. Volume XLIX staff editor Matthew L. Giannotti examines how these bilateral agreements, coupled with legal concerns pursuant to Executive Order 14285, challenge the international authority of UNCLOS and ISA’s authority. This post explores the tension between U.S. strategic ambitions to counter China’s mineral dominance and a risk of eroding established norms of international maritime law.
Read MoreSafe Third Country Agreements, a pillar of International Refugee Law, are facing significant changes. In May 2025, the European Commission proposed to eliminate the connection requirement for asylum-seeking purposes, which ensured that asylum seekers had strong ties with a country before being returned there to continue their asylum application. Volume XLIX staff editor Laura Muñiz Lupiáñez argues that this legislative shift could greatly impact migration patterns, and how States balance efficiency and their human rights obligations. This post examines the potential global consequences of this change in European legislation.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court's overruling of Chevron has left courts split on how to treat BIA interpretations of the INA when considering whether noncitizens facing removal have committed aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude. This post explores the effects different methodology might have on noncitizens and advocates for a consistent approach going forward.
Read MoreCritical undersea infrastructure forms the hidden backbone of global communication and energy networks, yet remains increasingly vulnerable to both accidental damage and intentional sabotage. Volume XLIX staff editor Anthony Trabucco argues that while the current international legal regime, rooted in the 1884 Submarine Telegraph Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, provides some enforcement mechanisms, meaningful reform is needed. This post explores how clearer jurisdictional rules and stronger enforcement mechanisms could help safeguard the vital infrastructure that connects the modern world.
Read MoreThe realization requirement, one of the most fundamental principles in U.S. tax law, has long lacked clear statutory guidance. Volume XLIX staff editor Gilad Menashe examines how the United States might look to other countries, such as Canada and Australia, for a valuable starting point in defining when a realization event has occurred for tax purposes
Read MoreFor an Olympic athlete, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is the tribunal that ultimately decides whether an athlete's violation of rules will lead to a slap on the wrist or a career ending expulsion from the federation. However, many criticize the decision-making of the CAS. Volume XLIX staff editor Derek Kim argues that the CAS should enforce more uniform standards for athletes who are in violation of anti-doping rules. This post delves into the inconsistency of the CAS and WADA's anti-doping rule and enforcement policy and possibilities for equitable treatment toward athletes.
Read MoreAs artificial intelligence continues to reshape lives and industries, regulators must ensure that innovation does not outpace oversight. After the European Medicines Agency recognized an AI-assisted pathology tool as regulatory-grade evidence, questions arise over what the US should do next. In this post, Volume XLIX staff editor David Choe examines EMA's AI Qualification Opinion and outlines potential steps the FDA can take to accelerate safe drug innovation and minimize intercontinental regulatory friction.
Read MoreThe United States' gig economy framework is falling behind international standards, leaving independent contractors in the digital platform business without legal protections. This post argues that the United States should combine the frameworks used by Canada and the European Union to address the current legal gap for independent contractors and to lessen the instability across the current state-by-state laws.
Read MoreAs digital currencies evolve, the balance between public and private money has raised questions of sovereignty for the United States, putting the State at risk of ceding monetary control and, therefore, power to both private actors and foreign states. Volume XLIX staff editor Caroline Packard analyzes how U.S. policy favoring private Stablecoins and prohibiting a retail Central Bank Digital Currency may undermine the nation’s monetary control, contrasting this approach with the European Central Bank’s efforts to safeguard Europe’s sovereignty through a retail CDBC and accompanying regulations.
Read MoreThe EU AI Act, the EU's comprehensive law focused on regulating the use of and risks inherent in AI, requires compliance with the Act even by parties whose “outputs” generated by AI are then used in EU—including parties outside of the Union. Thus, where a company employs generative AI to create an advertisement, which subsequently lands in the EU, they are subject to the Act, and must disclose to consumers that the advertisement was made with AI—which is of particular concern for social media advertisements, which traverse international borders. Volume XLIX staff editor Olivia Lilley argues that United States and countries around the world should enact legislation that mirrors the EU AI Act in order to prevent their citizens from unintentionally violating the Act and facing serious fines.
Read MoreThe European Union is attempting to exert extraterritorial regulatory powers on the domestic corporate activity of third-party nations through the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. In short, the CSDDD would attempt to impose EU law and international agreements that the US has not ratified on the domestic corporate activity of US companies if they have EU operations that meet a certain threshold. However, Volume XLVIII staff editor Antonio Videla argues that this attempt is unlikely to succeed because the US will not accept an intrusion of its sovereignty and this attempt likely runs contrary to international law.
Read MoreThe U.S. has announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, mirroring similar measures imposed in 2018 under the first Trump administration. These tariffs previously triggered global trade disputes and retaliatory duties from major economies, including China and the EU. While the WTO ruled against the U.S. tariffs in 2022, it also blocked China’s retaliatory measures. However, with the WTO’s Appellate Body currently paralyzed, appeals remain unresolved, leaving enforcement uncertain.
Volume XLVIII staff member Hsin-Hui Hsu argues that the reintroduction of these tariffs could lead to new WTO challenges, reigniting debates over the role of national security in trade policy. This blog post examines the legal implications of the new tariffs and their potential impact on the WTO system.
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