Melissa Stewart
@melissastewart.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
Public International Law | Human Rights | Statelessness | Int’l Environmental Law
https://law.hawaii.edu/people/melissa-stewart/
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
Public International Law | Human Rights | Statelessness | Int’l Environmental Law
https://law.hawaii.edu/people/melissa-stewart/
Pinned
Birthright Citizenship, Denaturalization, and the Specter of Statelessness
Birthright citizenship is a right that has been enjoyed by nearly every person born on American soil for over 150 years. For those that dream and hope for Ameri
ssrn.com
Very pleased to announce that after trying my luck with a very off-cycle submission, my piece "Birthright Citizenship, Denaturalization, and the Specter of Statelessness" is now forthcoming in the UCLA Law Review Discourse.
Comments and feedback welcome.
ssrn.com/abstract=525...
Comments and feedback welcome.
ssrn.com/abstract=525...
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
"WHO to lose nearly a quarter of its workforce – 2,000 jobs – due to US withdrawing funding" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
WHO to lose nearly a quarter of its workforce – 2,000 jobs – due to US withdrawing funding
Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the World Health Organization in January, prompting the agency to scale back its work
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 AM
"WHO to lose nearly a quarter of its workforce – 2,000 jobs – due to US withdrawing funding" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
I can hear this post read in Tamsin's voice. If you can't, I highly recommend Called to the Bar podcast, where she and @djag2.bsky.social set the record straight on piracy and all things international law w their co-hosts @ntinatzouvala.bsky.social @drnajimagi.bsky.social @imogenmarjorie.bsky.social
It's not fucking piracy! States can't commit piracy, and calling it piracy absolves the US of responsibility and says that the individuals who conducted the strikes were mutineers. It's an atrocity crime and deeply illegal but not fucking piracy. Not everything involving boats and violence is piracy
Washington Post edit board: There’s a name for attacks on civilian ships on the high seas: Piracy. That’s also an unfortunately plausible description of the Trump administration’s bombings of vessels around South America that it says are carrying drugs. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
October 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I can hear this post read in Tamsin's voice. If you can't, I highly recommend Called to the Bar podcast, where she and @djag2.bsky.social set the record straight on piracy and all things international law w their co-hosts @ntinatzouvala.bsky.social @drnajimagi.bsky.social @imogenmarjorie.bsky.social
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
It's not fucking piracy! States can't commit piracy, and calling it piracy absolves the US of responsibility and says that the individuals who conducted the strikes were mutineers. It's an atrocity crime and deeply illegal but not fucking piracy. Not everything involving boats and violence is piracy
Washington Post edit board: There’s a name for attacks on civilian ships on the high seas: Piracy. That’s also an unfortunately plausible description of the Trump administration’s bombings of vessels around South America that it says are carrying drugs. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | The new pirates of the Caribbean
Attacks against alleged drug boats are lawless.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:59 PM
It's not fucking piracy! States can't commit piracy, and calling it piracy absolves the US of responsibility and says that the individuals who conducted the strikes were mutineers. It's an atrocity crime and deeply illegal but not fucking piracy. Not everything involving boats and violence is piracy
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
#ICYMI: Among the citizens detained by immigration agents are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.
Four children were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Four children were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
#ICYMI: Among the citizens detained by immigration agents are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.
Four children were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Four children were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
I read one short article and I give myself an additional two books, three articles, and four chapters to read. Totally realistic work flow.
October 24, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I read one short article and I give myself an additional two books, three articles, and four chapters to read. Totally realistic work flow.
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Eric Fripp @opiniojuris.bsky.social on deprivation of nationality in Kuwait #citizenshipdeprivation opiniojuris.org/2025/10/21/t...
The Resurgence of Large-scale Deprivation of Nationality: The Case of Kuwait
[Eric Fripp is a Barrister at 36 Public & Human Rights, part of the 36 Group, Gray’s Inn, London and Senior Visiting Fellow for the Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, University …
opiniojuris.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Eric Fripp @opiniojuris.bsky.social on deprivation of nationality in Kuwait #citizenshipdeprivation opiniojuris.org/2025/10/21/t...
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
the president has destroyed the east wing of the white house without so much as a word of input from anyone else to build a royal ballroom paid for with bribes
NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.
October 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
the president has destroyed the east wing of the white house without so much as a word of input from anyone else to build a royal ballroom paid for with bribes
Truly epic career achievement. Well done @drnajimagi.bsky.social 👏👏👏
Thank you to @melissastewart.bsky.social for pointing out that one of my papers is in the Jessup basic materials this year I have now peaked and will be retiring
October 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Truly epic career achievement. Well done @drnajimagi.bsky.social 👏👏👏
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
October 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
BNP Paribas shares fell up to 10% after a US jury ruled the French bank aided Sudan’s government in committing genocide by violating American sanctions, raising fears of more legal claims aje.io/40amaz
BNP Paribas shares fall after US jury’s Sudan verdict
The French bank will pay more than $20m to three plaintiffs amid allegations of human rights abuses.
aje.io
October 21, 2025 at 2:02 AM
BNP Paribas shares fell up to 10% after a US jury ruled the French bank aided Sudan’s government in committing genocide by violating American sanctions, raising fears of more legal claims aje.io/40amaz
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Un jury américain juge BNP Paribas complice d’exactions au Soudan sous le régime de Béchir
Un jury américain juge BNP Paribas complice d’exactions au Soudan sous le régime de Béchir
Trois ressortissants soudanais aux États-Unis ont obtenu 20,75 millions de dollars de dommages et intérêts suite à la condamnation vendredi de la banque française BNP Paribas par un jury populaire new-yorkais pour des transactions commerciales au Soudan sous le régime d'Omar el-Béchir.
f24.my
October 18, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Un jury américain juge BNP Paribas complice d’exactions au Soudan sous le régime de Béchir
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
US jury finds BNP Paribas liable for damages over Sudan banking role on.ft.com/42OXq6m
US jury finds BNP Paribas liable for damages over Sudan banking role
‘Bellwether’ verdict may set stage for potentially far more damages as thousands of victims assert claims
on.ft.com
October 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
US jury finds BNP Paribas liable for damages over Sudan banking role on.ft.com/42OXq6m
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Next week - #advisoryopinion by the International Court of Justice #ICJ on obligations of #Israel in relation to the #UN and other #IOs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories #OPT. (This is distinct from the contentious case by South Africa relating to the #Genocide Convention)
October 19, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Historic human rights victory for victims of the genocide in Sudan. A NY jury in a case rich with transnational litigation issues found BNP Paribas enabled Sudan's commission of gross human rights violations by facilitating access to U.S. financial markets in violation of U.S. sanctions regime.
US jury finds BNP Paribas enabled Sudanese atrocities reut.rs/4o1yDo4
US jury finds BNP Paribas enabled Sudanese atrocities
A U.S. jury on Friday returned a historic verdict against BNP Paribas , finding the French bank helped Sudan's government commit genocide by providing banking services that violated American sanctions.
reut.rs
October 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Historic human rights victory for victims of the genocide in Sudan. A NY jury in a case rich with transnational litigation issues found BNP Paribas enabled Sudan's commission of gross human rights violations by facilitating access to U.S. financial markets in violation of U.S. sanctions regime.
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
This latest "barrister meets AI" disaster is something all stage 1 law students should read. It is vital about the key skill of case reading - you mustn't use AI to substitute for the skill of being able to find cases and find key content in cases:
tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/ui-202...
tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/ui-202...
October 17, 2025 at 9:03 AM
This latest "barrister meets AI" disaster is something all stage 1 law students should read. It is vital about the key skill of case reading - you mustn't use AI to substitute for the skill of being able to find cases and find key content in cases:
tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/ui-202...
tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/ui-202...
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Law of the sea expert chiming in to say there is no lawful basis for military strikes against vessels for customs infringements on the high seas or in any other maritime zone, including the territorial sea. These are unlawful extra-judicial killings.
The U.S. military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, a U.S. official told Reuters.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
October 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Law of the sea expert chiming in to say there is no lawful basis for military strikes against vessels for customs infringements on the high seas or in any other maritime zone, including the territorial sea. These are unlawful extra-judicial killings.
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Immigration Professor's Blog is BACK. Visit our new home at immprof.com for the latest on immigration law, policy, news, court cases, books, research, and more. It's a great resource going strong for 20 years. 🥳
October 15, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Immigration Professor's Blog is BACK. Visit our new home at immprof.com for the latest on immigration law, policy, news, court cases, books, research, and more. It's a great resource going strong for 20 years. 🥳
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
El Fasher - the last city in W- #Darfur still held by #Sudan 's Army - has been surrounded & attacked by the RSF for 549 days.
c.250,000 people are 'shoehorned' into a "shrinking urban enclave": by artillery & drone attacks + a complete lack of humanitarian #aid
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
c.250,000 people are 'shoehorned' into a "shrinking urban enclave": by artillery & drone attacks + a complete lack of humanitarian #aid
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Thousands trapped in El Fasher siege on ‘edge of survival’, says report
The city – the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the west of the country – has withstood more than 500 days of attacks by paramilitary RSF
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM
El Fasher - the last city in W- #Darfur still held by #Sudan 's Army - has been surrounded & attacked by the RSF for 549 days.
c.250,000 people are 'shoehorned' into a "shrinking urban enclave": by artillery & drone attacks + a complete lack of humanitarian #aid
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
c.250,000 people are 'shoehorned' into a "shrinking urban enclave": by artillery & drone attacks + a complete lack of humanitarian #aid
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Today’s “One First” looks at how #SCOTUS and its defenders have responded to criticisms of the Court’s behavior in Trump cases either by knocking down straw men or by attacking the critics—without meaningfully defending what the Court is actually *doing*:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...
www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...
October 13, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Today’s “One First” looks at how #SCOTUS and its defenders have responded to criticisms of the Court’s behavior in Trump cases either by knocking down straw men or by attacking the critics—without meaningfully defending what the Court is actually *doing*:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...
www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
📚 New Citizenship Literature 🌍
🪪 Citizenship Renunciation without Emigration – Lior Erez
🌐 Protecting Nationals Abroad and the Reconceptualization of Sovereignty – Ioanna Pervou
🌏 Citizenship by Choice, Not Necessity – Nils Witte & Floris Peters
And many more 📖 tinyurl.com/5n7pr623
🪪 Citizenship Renunciation without Emigration – Lior Erez
🌐 Protecting Nationals Abroad and the Reconceptualization of Sovereignty – Ioanna Pervou
🌏 Citizenship by Choice, Not Necessity – Nils Witte & Floris Peters
And many more 📖 tinyurl.com/5n7pr623
Citizenship literature Archives - Globalcit
tinyurl.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:49 AM
📚 New Citizenship Literature 🌍
🪪 Citizenship Renunciation without Emigration – Lior Erez
🌐 Protecting Nationals Abroad and the Reconceptualization of Sovereignty – Ioanna Pervou
🌏 Citizenship by Choice, Not Necessity – Nils Witte & Floris Peters
And many more 📖 tinyurl.com/5n7pr623
🪪 Citizenship Renunciation without Emigration – Lior Erez
🌐 Protecting Nationals Abroad and the Reconceptualization of Sovereignty – Ioanna Pervou
🌏 Citizenship by Choice, Not Necessity – Nils Witte & Floris Peters
And many more 📖 tinyurl.com/5n7pr623
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
And we are too busy burning the planet with AI, ripping each other apart and killing each other to do anything about it.
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Planet’s first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, report says, with coral reefs facing ‘widespread dieback’
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 5:18 AM
And we are too busy burning the planet with AI, ripping each other apart and killing each other to do anything about it.
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
October 11, 2025 at 2:10 AM
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
Reposted by Melissa Stewart
It is my pleasure to announce my most recent publication, “Peremptory Norms and the Right to Self-Determination: The Case of Puerto Rico,” co-authored with my 🇵🇷 colleague, Associate Professor Sigrid Vendrell-Polanco.
commons.stmarytx.edu/thescholar/v...
commons.stmarytx.edu/thescholar/v...
October 9, 2025 at 3:30 AM
It is my pleasure to announce my most recent publication, “Peremptory Norms and the Right to Self-Determination: The Case of Puerto Rico,” co-authored with my 🇵🇷 colleague, Associate Professor Sigrid Vendrell-Polanco.
commons.stmarytx.edu/thescholar/v...
commons.stmarytx.edu/thescholar/v...