Delgamuukw v. B.C. is a pivotal decision in the evolution of Canadian law on Aboriginal rights.Numerous meetings, round-tables, workshops and conferences have been held to discuss its potential impact on litigation and negotiation.1 Delgamuukw has also served as a vehicle for discussion of more fundamental issues such as the appropriateness of selecting the judicial forum to resolve Aboriginal title claims and the role of legal reasoning in furthering the process of colonization.2 Given the influence of British colonial law on the development of Aboriginal rights jurisprudence in former British colonies and the restrictions placed by evidentiary presumptions originating in English courts, Delgamuukw may also have persuasive precedential value outside of Canada. In particular, the Supreme Court's elaboration of the concept of Aboriginal rights and its discussion of the weight to be given to oral histories may influence other commonwealth courts which face the demanding task of accommodating the rights of colonized peoples within a contemporary political and legal rights regime.3

How far can a country go in recruiting workers from neighboring countries to do the menial labor the country’s citizens are no longer willing to do and then–when they overstay their welcome, have children, and establish families over a period of decades—continue to deny them nationality and civil rights? Can these Gastarbeiter be turned into perpetual foreigners or must they be granted citizenship? How much has international human rights law impacted international law in restricting the freedom of sovereign states in this traditionally most discretionary domain? Are questions of nationality still within the exclusive domain of domestic jurisdiction?

Despite long-running international efforts to end forced labor, including modern forms of slavery and human trafficking, it remains a prevalent occurrence throughout the world. The most recent data from the International Labor Organization (ILO) is disturbing. It discloses that at least 20.9 million people around the world are the victims of forced labor today.