Digital Commons Network^™

Nafta Title Vi Customs Modernization Act: An Importer’S Obligation To Use “Reasonable Care” Vs. Its Desire To Maximize Profits, Rosi Lehr

Rosi Lehr

No abstract provided.

The World Trade Organization Dispute Over Genetically Modified Organisms: The Precautionary Principle Meets International Trade Law, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

“Precaution” is increasingly accepted as a basis for governmental policy in the areas of public health and environment on both the domestic and international levels. A precautionary perspective counsels action to avert danger or threats in situations of scientific uncertainty or incomplete information. Precautionary approaches find expression in internationally harmonized formulations as non-binding exhortations, binding treaties, and meta-level principles. Precaution is a particular challenge to free trade agreements, whose purpose is to eliminate unjustified barriers to trade. In that context, precaution as a justification for a challenged governmental measure may appear to be nothing more than a pretext for protectionism. …

Plain Packaging And The Interpretation Of The Trips Agreement, Daniel J. Gervais, Susy Frankel

Daniel J Gervais

Plain packaging of cigarettes as a way of reducing tobacco consumption and its related health costs and effects raises a number of international trade law issues. The plain packaging measures adopted in Australia impose strict format requirements on word trademarks (such as Marlboro or Camel) and ban the use of figurative marks (colors, logos, etc.). As a result, questions have been raised as to plain packaging’s compatibility with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). WTO members can validly take measures to protect and promote public health, but in doing so they …

Are Consumer-Oriented Rules The New Frontier Of Trade Liberalization?, Sonia E. Rolland

Sonia Elise Rolland

Lead paint toys and tainted baby formula milk from China, along with other scares involving consumer goods, have focused the public’s attention on the risks of a global supply chain that no state controls. Yet, domestic instruments available to protect consumers against unsafe or undesirable foreign goods and services are limited. This article explores, from a comparative legal perspective, what shapes international trade regimes to be more or less consumer oriented, using primarily EU law as a counterpoint to the WTO, but also NAFTA and MERCOSUR. Ultimately, it suggests that the WTO’s producer-centered liberalization focus leaves consumers underserved and it …

Using Trade To Enforce International Environmental Law: Implications For United States Law, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.

Public Policy In International Investment And Trade Law: Community Expectations And Functional Decision-Making, Diane A. Desierto

Diane A Desierto

This article uses a contextual policy-oriented approach to assess how the standing debate on a State's regulatory freedom has been treated within international investment law (e.g. case-by-case interpretation of variant treaty design in each case), in contrast with how the issue of domestic regulatory autonomy in international trade law has evolved towards coordination (e.g. attempted harmonization of the same set of instruments). The article submits a different view from many primarily trade law/investment law scholars (and other systemic integrationists who idealize a seamless shift from trade law to investment law), who have postulated that this fundamental issue of State regulatory …

Creating Wto Law By Stealth: Gsp Conditionalities And The Ec – Tariff Preferences Case, Alex Ansong

Alex Ansong

The WTO is witnessing an increasing intrusion of its remit into areas that hitherto were the preserve of the state. This makes the legitimacy of its law creation process critical. The article engages in analyses of the conditionalities in developed countries’ Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) schemes, notably those of the EU. It argues that the maintenance of conditionalities in developed countries’ GSP schemes can result in extra regulatory burdens for developing countries and can have the effect of creating WTO law by stealth. The analyses centre on the Appellate Body decision in the EC – Tariff Preferences case.

Tpp – Australian Section-By-Section Analysis Of The Enforcement Provisions Of The August Leaked Draft, Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This paper analyses the leaked 30 August 2013 text of the TPP IP Chapter from an Australian perspective, focusing on the enforcement provisions only. The goal is to assess the compatibility of provisions in the current draft with Australian law and Australia’s international obligations: including TRIPS and the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA).

Reading the IP provisions of the TPP IP chapter leak dated August 2013 is a maddening, dispiriting process. The provisions are written like legislation, not treaty, suggesting a complete lack of good faith and trust on the part of the negotiating countries. There are subtle tweaks of …

Tpp –Section-By-Section Analysis Of The Copyright Provisions (August 30 2013 Leaked Text), Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This paper analyses the copyright provisions of the leaked 30 August 2013 text of the TPP IP Chapter. It is a companion to an already-published analysis of the enforcement provisions. The goal is to go through the text, section by section, and assess the effect of the provisions, their compatibility with other international instruments: including TRIPS, the WCT and WPPT, and an example US FTA (the Australia-US FTA).

The Tbt Agreement And Tobacco Control Regulations, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The article analyses reports issued by the panel and the Appellate Body in the US – Measures Affecting the Productions and Sale of Clove Cigarettes dispute and attempts to assess their broader consequences for national tobacco control policies. Both reports are particularly important because they clarify the limits existing under WTO law, in particular the TBT Agreement, in this policy space. In this context, the article investigates whether the WTO dispute settlement bodies interpreted relevant rules of the TBT Agreement in a manner that provides countries with sufficient regulatory autonomy while ensuring at the same time that their technical measures …

The Who Protocol To Eliminate Illicit Trade In Tobacco Products: A Next Step In International Control Of Tobacco Products, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This report discusses the main provisions of the recently adopted WHO Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. While recognizing the remarkable achievement of the global community in its efforts to curb illicit trade in tobacco products at the international level, the report also highlights those aspects of the Protocol that may undermine its effectiveness in the long-term perspective. In this context the enforcement capabilities of developing countries are cited as a main concern.

E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

What are the major risks perceived by those engaged in e-commerce and electronic payment systems? What development risks, if they become reality, may cause substantial increases in operating costs or threaten the very survival of the enterprise? This article utilizes the relevant annual report disclosures from eBay (parent of PayPal), along with other eBay and PayPal documents, as a potentially powerful teaching device. Most of the descriptive language to follow is excerpted directly from eBay’s regulatory filings. My additions include weaving these materials into a logical presentation and providing supplemental sources for those who desire a deeper look (usually in …

Free Trade And The Regulatory State: A Gatt's-Eye View Of The Dormant Commerce Clause, Daniel A. Farber, Robert E. Hudec

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

Resolving The Double Remedy Dispute: A Critique Of The Wto Appellate Body’S Decision In United States – Definitive Anti-Dumping And Countervailing Duties On Certain Products From China, Matthew R. Kelly Mr.

Matthew R Kelly Mr.

No abstract provided.

Integrating African Markets Into The Global Exchange Of Services: A Central African Perspective, Regis Y. Simo

Regis Y. Simo

Services liberalisation has gradually become very important for growth in developed and less-developed countries alike and can, as such, be seen as development prospects for sub-Saharan Africa where numerous economic integration attempts are stories of repeated failures. Despite the abundant literature on PTAs, however, little attention has been given to Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) as a trade bloc. This is an attempt to address that dearth

At a time when “boosting intra-African trade” is gaining currency on the continent, this article tests the compatibility of the potential CEMAC economic integration agreement (EIA) against the background of the …

Assessing Risk, Liability And Asset Management Investments Among U.S. And Foreign Banks: Bank Of America, Wells Fargo, And Wachovia, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.

Valencia T Johnson

In recent years, banks have had a positive and negative impact on assessing risk, liability and asset management from other competitors such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Wachovia. There have been many recent discussions about the U.S. and International banking management and investments. The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Exchange Commission are finding ways to evaluate the negative and positive behaviors exhibited by other financial institutions, which has an impact on the global economy, and in regards to financial management and investments. This article explains the important of assessing the risk and compliance management in financial banking and …

Asean's Liberalization Of Legal Services: The Singapore Case, Pasha L. Hsieh

Pasha L. HSIEH

No abstract provided.

Prejudgment Interest In International Arbitration, Jeffrey M. Colon, Michael S. Knoll

Jeffrey M. Colon

Tribunals in international arbitration are regularly asked by claimants to award prejudgment interest. Unless foreclosed by an agreement between the parties, there is widespread agreement prejudgment interest should put the claimant in the same position as it would have been had it not been injured by the respondent. However, there is little consensus how to calculate prejudgment interest in order to accomplish that purpose. In this Essay, we describe the proper method of calculating prejudgment interest based on sound financial principles. Using the paradigm that the respondent has forced the claimant to make an involuntary loan to the respondent, we …

Chinese Law, Trade And The New Century, Robert C. Berring

Robert Berring

China crammed a great deal of political activity into the 20th Century. In the year 1900 the Q'ing Dynasty still ruled the remnants of an ancient empire. The Q'ing conspired with rebels in the Boxer Rebellion in the hopes of expelling all foreigners from Chinese soil and returning to splendid isolation. In the year 2000 China is a superpower balancing communist theory and a capitalist market that is about to join the World Trade Organization. The intervening years saw warlords, democrats, fascists, Marxists and all stripes of communists leading the world's largest nation. As China enters the new millennium of …

An Exploratory Study Of Investment Compliance Management In The Enron Collapse, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.

Valencia T Johnson

This paper is to critique a thesis titled An Exploratory Study of Investment Compliance Management in the Enron Collapse (2013). This thesis can be found on the IBLS database, and on the Thomas Jefferson School of Law record database. This paper mentions the Enron scandal that played a major role in shaking investors’ and stakeholders’ confidence, in part because the corporation’s administrators were able to conceal its losses for nearly five years. This thesis examines the history of Enron and describes the circumstances leading up to its collapse in 2001, paying particular attention to the violation of corporate governance laws …

Insulating Domestic Policy Through International Legal Minimalism: A Re-Characterization Of The Foreign Affairs Trade Doctrine, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

African Regional Trade Agreements As Flexible Legal Regimes, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

The Under-Appreciated Jurisprudence Of African Regional Trade Judiciaries, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

Process And Substance In Wto Reform, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

How American Support For Freedom Of Commerce Legitimized King Leopold’S Territorial Ambitions In The Congo, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

Retelling Good Governance Narratives On Africa’S Economic And Political Predicaments: Continuities And Discontinuities In Legal Outcomes Between Markets And States, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

Neoliberalism, Colonialism And International Governance: Decentering The International Law Of Governmental Legitimacy, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

Corruption And Donor Reforms: Expanding The Promises And Possibilities Of The Rule Of Law As An Anti-Corruption Strategy In Kenya, James T. Gathii

James T Gathii

No abstract provided.

A Submission To The House Of Representatives Standing Committee On Social Policy And Legal Affairs On The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013 (Cth), Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

The amendments contained in the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013 (Cth) are designed to provide safeguards in relation to patent law and the public interest.In the 2012 case on plain packaging, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Robert French, emphasized that the role of intellectual property law is to promote public objectives. His Honour observed: ‘There are and always have been purposive elements reflecting public policy considerations which inform the statutory creation of intellectual property rights.’ Discussing the role of patent law, Chief Justice Robert French commented:The Patents Act 1990 (Cth) provides that a patent gives …

Global Poverty And The Right To Development In International Law, Patrick Macklem

Patrick Macklem

This Article advances an account of the right to development as a legal instrument that holds the international legal order accountable for its role in the production and reproduction of global poverty. It first distinguishes moral conceptions of human rights, as instruments that protect universal features of humanity, from legal conceptions, which tie their existence to their specification in international instruments promulgated in compliance with international legal norms governing the creation of legal rights and obligations. Despite textual ambiguities in the various instruments in which it finds expression, the right to development vests in individuals and communities who have yet …