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The concept of “Networked multilateralism” has recently emerged, particularly within the UN framework, as a compelling vision of future global governance, calling for stronger cooperation among the numerous institutions and actors within the fragmented global governance system. This essay develops this concept against the backdrop of conventional theories of fragmentation in International Law scholarship and regime complexity in International Relations scholarship, with a focus on cooperation between IOs as pivotal global governance actors. It identifies three key challenges: the cooperation dilemma facing IOs when confronting multisectoral, cross-border problems; the need for mechanisms that foster proactive inter-IO cooperation; and the necessity of revisiting perceptions of global governance, IOs, and multilateralism. The essay argues that existing theoretical and governance frameworks inadequately address these challenges and proposes a shift towards networked multilateralism. This approach recognizes IOs as independent-yet-interdependent actors within a broader global governance network, rather than as isolated structures governing discrete sectors of international affairs. Effective networked multilateralism, therefore, requires reconceptualization and practical reforms to IOs’ mandates and operations. By expanding traditional notions of multilateralism and emphasizing inter-IO cooperation, this approach seeks to enhance the ability of international law and its institutions to deliver coordinated responses to multisectoral challenges, thus better meeting the complex demands of the 21st century.

This Comment discusses the recent and ongoing substantial expansion of the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) and evaluates the extent to which, as the scope of the FDPR expands, it is increasingly in tension with both international and domestic law. This Comment analyzes the viability of the available legal and procedural mechanisms, both international and domestic, to challenge or halt the FDPR’s expansion. Finally, this Comment cautions that the low likelihood of companies seeking and prevailing on such relief suggests that further expansion of the FDPR is particularly troubling.

I. Introduction

There exists a number of seemingly inconsistent decisions and judgments issued by courts and sports tribunals on the topic of erroneous bank transfers as a result of hacked invoices for football transfer fees delivered through hacked email addresses. The buyer is presumed to have the burden of making correct payment and consequently is found to be in breach of its obligation to the selling club for failure to pay to the seller’s bank account. The argument presented here, which is consistent with the spirit of relevant statutes, institutional rules, and the limited case law, is that there is a clear due diligence standard demanded from seller and buyer in player transfer agreements. Both must ensure, on the basis of a best-efforts approach, that their IT systems are not susceptible to external interference, and if they have any suspicion that they have indeed been interfered with, they must alert the other party immediately. The buyer, in particular, must use alternative (personal) channels of communication with the seller where the latter alters its banking details as those are registered in FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS). Where the buyer takes all appropriate due diligence measures and the seller fails to respond on time or is otherwise negligent in its IT controls, the buyer’s liability for erroneous payments is partial, if at all, since the seller is deemed to have contributed to the buyer’s breach of contract.

Terrestrial Mining historically answered global demand for minerals and metals. But, as Earth’s once-plentiful mines diminish, companies and states seek new avenues to meet the world’s ever-increasing resource demand. Instead of down, scientists are now looking up at the stars, to Space Mining, which entails resource extraction from celestial bodies. It is not yet economically feasible, but strides are slowly being made in turning this futuristic industry into a reality. Currently, Space Mining has limited regulation, creating the potential for conflict over space’s valuable resources. Therefore, the international community should begin preparing for the industry’s eventual rise by creating a regulatory and dispute resolution framework. This comment will advocate for incorporating the regulatory and dispute resolution regimes of Deep-Sea Mining in the space context. The two main modes are (1) an industrial regulator akin to the “International Seabed Authority” and (2) an International Arbitration Panel dedicated to handling Space Mining disputes like the “Seabed Disputes Chamber.” These frameworks can properly monitor potential externalities while still providing incentives to encourage discovery.

Having published in the first issue of the first volume of this journal twenty-five years ago, I am delighted to accept the invitation to comment on Professor Richard Albert’s thought-provoking new conceptualization of constitutionalism as it might relate to New Zealand. The issues are not free from controversy in New Zealand, so I tread carefully and from an orthodox constitutional perspective.  I also sound a note of warning about assumptions, grounded in realism.

Albert favors lawful and peaceful attempts by peoples to use the levers of politics and law to achieve constitutional recognition within a state. He sees this as preferable to the sort of revolutionary self‑determination pursued through violence, such as by the Dutch against the Habsburgs in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries or the Americans against the British in the eighteenth century. Few would disagree. But I caution against assuming away the underlying influence of coercive power in modern nation states. A worldwide resurgence of power politics is currently underway. Legal and political mechanisms in even well-established democratic states can be susceptible to power.

Underlying patterns and distribution of historical coercive power influence the path-dependent nature of constitutional evolution in any state. Historical coercive roots have a habit of running through the grain of a nation’s constitutional culture. They can determine the success of constitutional initiatives. For example, Indigenous peoples are a numerical minority in most states now and their political power tends to reflect that. In many cases, peaceful and lawful initiatives are the only means of constitutional recognition available to indigenous peoples. But such initiatives do not always succeed.

In this Essay, I briefly outline how Albert’s framework can characterize aspects of the constitutional evolution of New Zealand.

On February 20, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Mohamed Wa Baile’s favor on his claim that Switzerland violated his rights under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in conjunction with Article 8. Mr. Wa Baile alleged that Swiss law enforcement violated his rights when they subjected him to an identity check without offering an objective reason for doing so. The Court’s finding of a substantive violation of Article 14 with respect to racial profiling was unprecedented. The Court relied on factors such as the Administrative Court’s ruling that law enforcement had no objective reason for requesting identification from Mr. Wa Baile, statistics showing the extent of racial profiling practices in Switzerland, as well as Switzerland’s failure to implement adequate measures to remedy the issue. Similar to Switzerland, statistics show the prevalence of racial profiling in France. France also hesitates to enact laws and implement measures to prevent racial profiling. This is noted in a pending class action lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights: Seydi and others v. France. This Comment argues that the theory behind Switzerland’s liability in Wa Baile v. Switzerland gives rise to allegations of Article 14 violations in France, as law enforcement exhibits a pattern of conducting identity checks absent reasonable suspicion and objective justifications.

This Essay examines the concept of “decolonial constitutionalism,” as articulated by Professor Richard Albert, focusing on its application to Chile’s recent constitution-making processes. Albert defines decolonial constitutionalism as “the use of legal, legitimate, and non-violent means to assert sovereignty, to secure rights, or to achieve recognition for a people, nation, or state.” The Essay explores how Chile’s attempts to draft a new constitution between 2019 and 2023 reflect both the potential and challenges of decolonial constitutionalism, particularly in relation to the rights and recognition of Indigenous Peoples. The first process (2019–2022) prominently featured Indigenous demands, including the proposal to reconfigure Chile as a plurinational state, but was ultimately rejected by the public. The second process (2023), in contrast, marginalized Indigenous claims and emphasized national unity, leading to another rejection. Despite these failures, the Essay argues that the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Peoples, even in a limited form, represents a significant—albeit incomplete—step toward decolonization. The Essay concludes by suggesting that future efforts to address Indigenous rights may need to shift from constitution-making to judicial enforcement and international legal mechanisms. Through this analysis, the Essay contributes to the broader discourse on how constitutional processes can serve as tools for decolonial emancipation.

Surrogacy is a growing area of assisted reproductive technology that is used transnationally. Opinions on the practice vary widely, influencing legislation around the world. Some areas ban the practice altogether, while other areas have little regulation at all. International rights to health, including autonomy and reproductive rights, are evoked throughout the surrogacy process. Surrogacy, like wet nursing, involves women using reproductive abilities to support other families in exchange for compensation. This Comment supports regulation on surrogacy that does not ban the practice, arguing instead that international rights support the continued use of surrogacy, and that wet nursing supports the idea that surrogates should be compensated for their work.

The 2011 Arab Spring was an inflection point for the Middle East and North Africa region, representing an opportunity for democracies in countries that have only experienced authoritarianism as sovereign nations. Both Tunisia and Egypt drafted and ratified new constitutions in the wake of their revolutions. Among the chief worries that citizens and onlookers had in their drafting processes was the role that Islamists would have, particularly in human rights and minority protections. As more citizens wanted fundamental rights protected in their constitutions, the drafters had the task of incorporating them with the Islamic identity of the state. Compromises by the Tunisian Islamists and secular groups led to a more well-received constitution by minority groups, while the opposite happened in Egypt. This Comment argues, based on the comparative success of the 2014 Tunisian Constitution, that religious-based democratic states will need to include more protections for minority and historically marginalized groups to increase their acceptance and longevity.

Experts predict that millions of people will need to migrate internally and across borders due to global warming. Currently, international legal frameworks do not extend the same legal protections to climate migrants as are afforded refugees and asylum seekers. While international law recognizes the right to asylum based on political persecution, there is no international right to migrate based on climate-based harms that states are legally bound to observe. This Comment proposes a climate migration lottery (CML) that would be administered internationally to address current and future climate-based migration. Under this proposal, receiving states would agree via a treaty to admit their fair share of the total pool of climate migrants selected through the lottery. Migrants from countries with a high susceptibility to having large portions of territory rendered uninhabitable by climate change would be eligible to enter the CML. This comment argues that a CML can alleviate the strain on regions in developing states that must accommodate internally displaced persons as well as the burden on countries that are near low-lying Pacific island states that will experience significant rates of displacement due to sea level rises.

Normatively, most nations agree that holding onto artifacts belonging to other peoples is both morally and legally unconscionable, but practically, there has been no enforcement scheme under international law for artifacts to finally return home. Calabresi and Melamed’s property, liability, and inalienability rules could be justified and applied to repatriation disputes through consideration of a mixture of economic efficiency, distributive, and justice motivations. Using this framework to create a model of variable protection of international law would create a comprehensive enforcement scheme that resolves the fundamental enforcement problem that international law faces in facilitating repatriation.