Author Archives: Alison Rioux

Out on a Rim: Pacific Rim’s Venture Into CAFTA’s Denial of Benefits Clause

BY JORDAN BEHLMAN–With the rise of decolonization after the Second World War, many developed countries entered into international investment agreements, such as bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”), in order to protect themselves from uncompensated nationalization and expropriation of property from newly independent countries, due to colonialism’s long history and debilitating political, social, and economic effects on […]

Recent Important Decisions by the Brazilian Supreme Court

BY KEITH ROSENN–Brazil’s current Constitution was adopted in 1988 as a reaction to 21 years of military dictatorship in which constitutional rights were widely disrespected. The 1988 Constitution began as a complex, detailed, and programmatic charter with 245 articles and 70 transitional articles. The original version of the Constitution contained serious defects in both design […]

El Chapo Escapes Justice in America: Mexico Chooses Not to Extradite Cartel Head

BY RYAN FORREST—Mexico’s largest drug kingpin might still face justice, but it probably won’t be in the United States. Recently, the Attorney General of Mexico announced that it has no intention of extraditing Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States to face a wide array of charges across the country, including drug trafficking, money […]

A Twenty-First Century Prisoner Exchange: The Case of the Isaías Brothers

BY: CHRISTOPHER A. NOEL—Two brothers from Latin America are pitting the United States and Ecuador against each other in a battle over the freedom of the press, Edward Snowden, and campaign finance rules. During the most recent Latin American economic crisis, Ecuador’s largest bank, Filanbanco, collapsed leaving Ecuador’s domestic currency worthless and forcing the country […]