Soldiers of Semipalatinsk: Seeking a Theory and Forum for Legal Remedy

Authors

Anne Miers Kammer

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

This Comment will address the unique dilemma of individuals in Kazakhstan whose health has been compromised by the former Soviet Union's 40-year period of nuclear testing on what is now Kazakhstan soil. The principal legal analysis of this Comment will focus on the availability of remedies (in the form of monetary damages available through legal resolution) to the citizens and/or state of Kazakhstan, and potential judicial forums in which to seek those remedies. Particular attention will be paid to the comparative likelihood of successful remedial legal action if pursued by a private class of Kazakhstan citizens versus action pursued by the state of Kazakhstan in its public capacity. This Comment will propose that potential success in finding a satisfactory remedy hinges on the justice systems in which plaintiff characterization would require litigation to take place. Specifically, this comment will present four separate justice systems and then discuss their likely effect on an opportunity for a legal remedy for the citizens of Kazakhstan: the Russian Court System, the Kazakhstan judicial branch, the International Court of Justice [hereinafter ICJ], and the Federal Court System of the United States.

Recommended Citation

Anne M. Kammer, Soldiers of Semipalatinsk: Seeking a Theory and Forum for Legal Remedy, 5 San Diego Int'l L.J. 353 (2004)
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol5/iss1/10