The Shortcomings of Corporate Accountability in Post-Conflict Colombia: Land, Rivers and Animals

Although the notion of sustainable peace requires acknowledging the role played by all actors, transitional processes around the world have inadequately addressed or completely ignored the direct and indirect participation of economic actors. In particular, Colombia\u27s transitional justice regime left out corporations entirely. A skillshare between Colombian lawyers and US-based human rights attorneys showed some of the gaps that let corporations continue in impunity for profiting, benefiting from, or directly financing the conflict. Other than harming and deeply fracturing communities, the shortcomings of corporate accountability in post-conflict Colombia also leave land, rivers, and animals without redress. This paper explores some ways to achieve redress, even when the law seems to be tailored to fit companies\u27 economic interests

‘New’ Families, Same Remedies: Feminism(s) v. Courts in Freezer Malfunction Cases = “Nuevas” familias, mismos remedios: feminismo(s) contra las cortes en los casos de negligencia en reproducción artificial

In Birth Rights and Wrongs (2019), Dov Fox points out that torts law is in principle capable of changing through court decision making, and that it has in the past been bold enough to measure harms that seemed unmeasurable at first glance. Fox notes that despite torts malleability, courts have been reluctant to grant sufficient relief to patients that have been harmed by practitioner’s negligence in the realm of reproductive negligence -the “freezer malfunction” cases. He notes that “conventional harms miss real and serious losses to people who end up without the child they’d give anything to have” (Fox, 23). This paper (i) examines the position of three feminist legal theories on what it would mean to claim damages for being unable to conceive due to practitioner’s negligence and (ii) analyzes the weight that courts have given to pregnancy while establishing whether compensation is due. The conclusion (iii) compares the posture of the courts with the examined theories on the matter and examines the way in which ‘new’ families are being excluded from redress. En Birth Rights and Wrongs (2019), Dov Fox señala que la ley de daños en EEUU es, en principio, capaz de mutar a través de la toma de decisiones de las cortes, y que en el pasado los jueces han sido lo suficientemente audaces como para medir daños que parecían inconmensurables a primera vista. Fox señala que, a pesar de la maleabilidad de los daños, las cortes se han mostrado reacias a otorgar un alivio suficiente a los pacientes que han sido perjudicados por la negligencia del médico en el ámbito de la negligencia reproductiva, los casos de "mal funcionamiento del congelador" –denominados así por los casos en los que el material reproductivo congelado se daña, se pierde, o se estropea. Fox señala que "los daños convencionales pasan por alto pérdidas reales y graves para las personas que terminan sin el hijo que darían cualquier cosa por tener" (Fox, 23). Este artículo (i) examina la posición de tres teorías legales feministas sobre lo que significaría reclamar daños y perjuicios por no poder concebir debido a la negligencia del médico y (ii) analiza el peso que los tribunales le han dado al embarazo al establecer si se debe indemnizar. La conclusión (iii) compara la postura de los tribunales con las teorías examinadas sobre el asunto y examina la forma en que las "nuevas" familias están siendo excluidas de la reparación

Transition in Colombia: An Opportunity to Repair Animals in Cities and Animals in War = Transición en Colombia: una oportunidad para reparar animales en ciudades y animales en guerra

If justice in Colombia has stepped toward transitional justice, a framework mainly focused on providing redress to the victims of war, why have animals been excluded from it? As a response to animal cruelty, in war and outside of it, a punitive response remains. In a transitional justice regime, moving away from strictly anthropocentric solutions could bring reconciliation that transcends the criminal/innocent, city/jungle, and human/nature artificial dichotomies. Si la justicia en Colombia ha dado un paso hacia la justicia transicional, un marco enfocado principalmente en brindar reparación a las víctimas de la guerra, ¿por qué se ha excluido a los animales? La respuesta estatal a la crueldad animal, en la guerra y fuera de ella, sigue siendo punitiva. En un régimen de justicia transicional, alejarse de soluciones estrictamente antropocéntricas podría traer una reconciliación que trascienda las dicotomías artificiales entre criminal/inocente, ciudad/jungla y humano/naturaleza. Distinción Harvard Law School Writing Prize, 2020

La garantía mínima legal y la (des)protección del consumidor: un análisis comparativo entre Estados Unidos y Colombia

Is it advisable for Colombian law to consider introducing a legal transplant from American legislation in terms of consumer protection? A first approach to this question would ensure that the warranties offered by the American legal apparatus are far more comprehensive and protective of the consumer since federal and State laws regard the matter with great specificity. Nevertheless, a closer look to United States’ and Colombian jurisprudence and legislation would lead to conclude that American distributers and producers can more easily avoid protecting the consumers.¿Es aconsejable implementar un trasplante legal de la jurisdicción norteamericana a la colombiana para proteger al consumidor? Tras una primera aproximación a las garantías que ofrecen Estados Unidos y Colombia al consumidor, el operador jurídico puede interpretar fácilmente que EE. UU. tiene un mayor alcance proteccionista, por cuanto prevé múltiples garantías en leyes codificadas, federales y estatales, mientras que Colombia enfrenta todas las problemáticas que surgen de la garantía con la ley estatutaria del consumidor y su decreto reglamentario. Sin embargo, una revisión más detenida de la legislación y la jurisprudencia estadounidenses nos permite constatar que existe una posibilidad de exoneración de responsabilidad que protege, no al consumidor, sino a los proveedores y productores

Challenges and Trends in Corporate Accountability

Moderator: John Quigley, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Presentations: The Shortcomings of Corporate Accountability in Post-Conflict Colombia: Land, Rivers and Animals (Isabella Ariza Buitrago, Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Luisa Gomez Betancur, Center for International Environmental Law) Corporate Accountability for War Crimes in Palestine-Israel Context (Emily Schaeffer Omer-Mann, Global Echo Litigation Center) Business and Human Rights Trends in Africa (Arnold Kwesiga, African Coalition for Corporate Accountability) Legal Accountability of Financial Actors and Financial Institutions (Kristin Rosella, Global Diligence

New Pathways in Transitional Justice

Transitional justice mechanisms are increasingly considered in the context of long-term historical injustices, including in relation to racial injustice in the U.S. This roundtable explores past experiences along with new approaches and the current challenges in the pursuit of accountability and coming to terms with systemic human rights violations