Digital Commons Network^™

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

China-Australia Free Trade Agreement New Icing On An Old Cake-An Opportunity For Fair Trade?, Benedict Sheehy, Jackson N. Maogoto

ExpressO

The on-going challenge in economic development and globalization, particularly for developing countries, is the issue of development and equality in society. The issue becomes particularly problematic when confronted in matters of international trade. Often misnamed anti-globalization activists and pro-globalization activists fail to take note of the underlying assumptions that lead them to conflict—namely, the actual costs and benefits to society that result from their particular positions. In essence, both activists are searching for ways to improve the lives of people in the domestic context and to minimize the damage to their society and environment. China’s impressive economic record is threatened …

How To Sue Without Standing: The Constitutionality Of Citizen Suits In Non-Article Iii Tribunals, David Krinsky

ExpressO

In recent years, the “injury-in-fact” standing requirement of Article III has frequently impeded attempts by concerned citizens and public interest groups to challenge government actions in federal court.

This article proposes a way in which “citizen suits”—lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who wish to challenge perceived illegalities that affect the public as a whole—can be given a federal forum. It argues that, with some limitations, Congress has authority to authorize pure citizen suits in Article I tribunals, and discusses the (surmountable) obstacles that such fora pose.

After discussing the constitutionality of citizen suits in Article I tribunals, the article then turns …

Enforcing Foreign Summary/Default Judgments: The Damoclean Sword Hanging Over Pro Se Canadian Corporate Defendants? Case Comment On U.S.A. V. Shield Development, Antonin I. Pribetic

ExpressO

Following the 2003 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Beals v. Saldanha, where the “real and substantial connection” test is otherwise met (i.e. consent-based jurisdiction, presence-based jurisdiction or assumed jurisdiction) the only available defences to a domestic defendant seeking to have a Canadian court refuse enforcement of a foreign judgment are fraud, public policy and natural justice. The 2005 Ontario decision in United States of America v. Shield Development Co., presents an opportunity to critically analyze the defence of natural justice through a juxtaposition of American and Canadian procedural law. The thesis is that procedural justice mandates that “form follow …

Light From The Trees: The Story Of Minors Oposa And The Russian Forest Cases , Oliver Austin Houck

ExpressO

This article describes two lawsuits in the late twentieth century that changed their countries in ways from which there will be no return. One took place in the Philippines, emerging from the reign of Fernando Marcos, and the other in Russia, following a near century of communist rule. They have two things in common. They declared the rights of their citizens to challenge, and reverse, government decisions. And they were about the environment, more particularly, trees. What we learn is that notions of environmental protection, citizen enforcement and judicial review have traveled the world and that, in differing legal systems, …

The Social Obligation Of Property Ownership: A Comparison Of German And U.S. Law, Rebecca Lubens

ExpressO

Although both Germany and the United States have strong market-based economies characterized by rigorous protection of private property rights, the two countries have different conceptions of land ownership based on distinct notions of the individual’s place in society. Whereas property protection under the U.S. Constitution emphasizes individual freedom, German law explicitly considers the individual’s place in and relationship to the social order in defining ownership rights. The property clause in the German Grundgesetz (The Basic Law, the German constitution) contains an affirmative social obligation alongside its positive guarantee of ownership rights. The U.S. Constitution, on the other hand, does not …

British National Parks For North Americans: What We Can Learn From A More Crowded Nation Proud Of Its Countryside, Federico Cheever

ExpressO

England and Wales contain twelve national parks coverings more than 10 percent of their landscape. Although these parks are managed as national resources, the vast majority of the land within their borders is privately owned. Although they are managed to preserve their natural qualities, they contain farms, towns and roughly 300,000 people. They contain nothing North Americans would consider wilderness. Although recognized national assets, nationally funded, they are administered by boards made up largely of local representatives. Since passage of the National Parks and Access to Countryside Act of 1949, the British have managed to develop a national park system …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

A Modern Disaster: Agricultural Land, Urban Growth, And The Need For A Federally Organized Comprehensive Land Use Planning Model, Jess M. Krannich

ExpressO

No abstract provided.