Law Commons^™

I Want A New (Generic) Drug: A Comparative Case For Shifting U.S. Generic Drug Policies To Increase Availability And Lower Healthcare Costs, Immer S. Chriswell

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Enacted in 1984, Hatch-Waxman was intended to increase generic drug availability and make critical healthcare more affordable for Americans. In the nearly forty years following, while it has increased availability of drugs, it has also allowed drug originators to create avenues to profit in ways not intended when the original compromise was struck, undermining its success. Moreover, given a weak antitrust standard against reverse settlement payments proscribed in Actavis, the U.S. faces a dilemma to further improve access to generic medications in the future. The E.U.’s approach to generic drugs, while presently geographically fragmented, is simpler and has a clear …

Human Rights, Trans Rights, Prisoners’ Rights: An International Comparison, Tom Butcher

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In this Note, I conduct an international comparison of the state of trans prisoners’ rights to explore how different national legal contexts impact the likelihood of achieving further liberation through appeals to human rights ideals. I examine the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Argentina, and Costa Rica and show the degree to which a human rights framework has been successful thus far in advancing trans prisoners’ rights. My analysis also indicates that the degree to which a human rights framework is likely to be successful in the future varies greatly between countries. In countries that are hesitant …

Friendly Skies, Unfriendly Terms: Class Action Waivers And Force Majeure Clauses In Airline Contracts Of Carriage, Grant Glazebrook

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The airline contract of carriage. These unassuming bits of language govern the relationship between passengers and their airlines. Over the past three years, a new term has sprouted in these agreements: the class action waiver. Before March 2020, only two of the ten largest United States-based airlines’ contracts of carriage had class action waivers. But as of April 2023, eight now have class action waivers. Why have airlines quickly adopted these copycat terms? What are the implications of this new contractual trend for flyers, airlines, and regulators? This note aims to contribute to the scholarship around these questions in three …

Foreign Antisuit Injunctions And The Settlement Effect, Connor Cohen

Northwestern University Law Review

International parallel proceedings, which are concurrent identical or similar lawsuits in multiple countries, often ask courts to balance efficiency and fairness against the speculative fear of insulting foreign nations. Some litigants abuse foreign duplicative litigation to exhaust their opponents’ resources and pressure them into settling out of court. This Note provides the first empirical evidence of such abuse of international parallel proceedings: when courts deny motions to enjoin foreign parallel litigation, the settlement rate rises significantly. Considering the results of this empirical project and its limitations, I encourage future studies on international parallel proceedings and settlement. I also argue for …

Private Equity And Venture Capital In Germany: How Europe’S Heartland Is Poised To Become The Next Bay Area, Jake Besanceney

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Abstract

This note examines the current state of private equity and venture capital activity and investment in Germany, and specifically in Berlin, in relation to the state of such activity and investment that existed in the San Francisco Bay Area prior to and following its tech explosion in the late twentieth century. Numerous factors such as political and ethnic diversity, a comparatively lower cost of living, and proximity to higher education institutes are propelling Berlin’s startup and tech scenes, and are eerily reminiscent of similar factors that fueled the Bay Area’s growth and attracted private equity and venture capital activity …

An Innovative Framework: Evaluating The New German Business Stabilization And Restructuring Law (Starug), Andreas Rauch

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This comment examines the restructuring framework, restrukturierungsgesetz (“StaRUG”), and argues that this new law represents an effective—albeit radical—departure from Germany’s previous, conservative insolvency regime. Passed in response to a 2019 EU Directive aimed at modernizing restructuring law Union-wide, and integrated into the German legal system against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, StaRUG and its ancillary reforms in other areas of German law create a restructuring proceeding that places a premium on a debtor’s continued business operations. Thus, in a striking shift from the traditional German approach to business distress, which strongly emphasized creditor rights, the new StaRUG focuses on …

Clarity About Comity: How Courts Have Attempted Greater Guidance For Chapter 15 Litigants, Sabrina Lieberman

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Abstract

This note explores the development of courts’ refusal to extend comity to foreign representatives who have filed a proceeding under chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Congress adopted chapter 15 as part of a comprehensive 2005 bankruptcy reform. It allows foreign entities to receive protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In most cases, foreign representatives who file a chapter 15 proceeding are involved with ancillary insolvency proceedings outside the United States. There is often a question of how or if a U.S. court overseeing the chapter 15 proceeding will defer to a judgment or process within the foreign …

Comparative Limitations On Abortions: The United States Supreme Court V. The European Court Of Human Rights, Sunaya Padmanabhan

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

This Note compares the balancing tests implemented by the United States Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights to determine the legal status of abortion within their jurisdictions. This Note will argue that the Supreme Court’s balancing test better protects a woman’s legal path to an abortion because it A) limits states’ restrictions to specific categories and B) regulates the extent to which states can restrict a woman’s pre-viability abortion.

This Note will also examine the ways in which each court’s abortion jurisprudence substantively restricts a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion, even where legal avenues to the …

This Must Be Our Place: Protectionism And Foreign Investment In Kazakhstan’S Farmland, Kristi Lew

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Forget Bit: The Impact Of Rta On Fdi And Economic Growth – A Comparison Of Brazil And Mexico, Rosa Meguerian-Faria

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article explores the relationship between international trade law, foreign direct investment (FDI), and economic growth of developing countries. Here, I argue that a developing state needs to capture the right combination of the different types of FDI to promote domestic growth. I apply principles of law, economics, and finance to my analysis of the importance of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), compared to Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) to FDI inflow, and how it can impact economic growth in developing countries. I show that the RTAs give a signal that the country is open to foreign investment, and therefore it promotes …

Send The Word Over There: An Offshore Solution To The Right To Be Forgotten, Jay Kaganoff

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The right to be forgotten is a subject of contention in both the United States and the European Union. In the E.U., the right to be forgotten gives one the right to demand that information—even if published legitimately—be taken down or removed from search engine results. While well-intentioned, this has led to concerns of free press restrictions. In contrast, the right to be forgotten is not recognized in the U.S., although there are scholars who would like to see such a right here. This Note takes the view that introducing a right to be forgotten would be contrary to the …

Outsourcing The Police: How Reliance On The Private Sector For Law Enforcement Threatens Privacy Legislation Around The World, Karl Colbary

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Data privacy is an increasingly important issue in the world today. People are increasingly aware of, and concerned about, their digital footprint. As a result, many jurisdictions around the world—the United States excluded—have enacted legislation with an eye towards giving their citizens greater control over their data. However, the movement to give individuals greater control over how their data is used by tech providers often overlooks the fact that the government is one of the biggest consumers of the data that tech providers collect. Therefore, data privacy regimes that allow the flow of personal information to the government do not …

Comparative Analysis Of U.S. And Saudi Arabia Investment Funds Regulations, Gabriella Tang

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The investment funds sector has always been a major player in the financial industry globally. As such, many countries with mature financial markets have enacted regulations to govern the activity and management of investment funds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enacted the Investment Company Act of 1940(the Act) as an effort to restore investor confidence in investment funds and safeguard investors from future abuses after the market crash in 1929. On the other hand, emerging financial markets started to take part in regulations in the hope to attract more investors and outside resources. The Capital Market Authority of …

Reds, Whites, And Sulfites: Examining Different Organic Wine Regulation Practices In The United States And The European Union, Ryan Puszka

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Abstract:

This note examines the history of regulation within the organic wine industry in the U.S. and the E.U. and explores the motivations behind the production of organic wine in these two regions. The variance in the historical significance of wine between these two regions is reflected in the contemporary differences between the two regions’ rules for organic wine certification. In 2012, the U.S. and the E.U. entered into a comprehensive organic equivalency agreement that covered nearly all organic agricultural products but due to significant differences in the two regions’ regulatory schemes concerning the inclusion of added sulfites in wine, …

Can Smart Contracts Enhance Firm Efficiency In Emerging Markets?, Kevin J. Fandl

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Blockchain technology has the potential to eliminate one of the most significant barriers to economic growth through private business transactions in developing countries—lack of trust. In a typical developed country, individuals and firms conduct transactions within an institutional environment that offers security through the enforcement of agreements. Transparent and effective courts, while imperfect to be sure, enable parties to feel secure in their transactions even if their level of trust in the other party is low. This security, in turn, facilitates transactions far afield from high-trust relationships (e.g., immediate relatives), generating transactions based upon economic value rather than party trust …

Crowding Out Theory: Protecting Shareholders By Balancing Executives’ Incentives In France, The United States, & China, Palden Flynn

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper explores the differences between executive compensation regimes in France, the United States, and China. It asks whether there is a link between state regulation of real options as a form of executive compensation and state regulation of shareholder protections. This paper argues that if a country regulates the use of real options as compensation, then that country is also more likely to have strong shareholder protection laws. This argument seems to be true based on a descriptive review of executive compensation law and shareholder protections in France, the United States, and China.

If it is true that countries …

Inefficiency Of Specific Performance As A Contractual Remedy In Chinese Courts: An Empirical And Normative Analysis, Lei Chen, Larry A. Dimatteo

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article investigates the values and latent policies in the area of the availability of specific performance (SP) as a contractual remedy, which have shaped the development of Chinese law. The National People’s Congress (Legislature) and Supreme People’s Court in China have addressed the remedial structure of Chinese contract law, namely, the availability of the remedy of SP as opposed to the awarding of damages only. The law is clear that the remedies of SP and damages are ordinary remedies that a claimant is free to choose between. The question that this article confronts is whether in practice the equality …

"Hash"Ing Out Inequality In The Legal Recreational Cannabis Industry, Maya Rahwanji

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

No abstract provided.

The 'Wild West' Of Medicine: An Argument For Adopting The United Kingdom's 'Hfea' Framework, To Improve The Market For Assisted Reproduction In The United States, Ellen S. Fischer

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Embracing Non-Icsid Investment Arbitration? The Chinese Perspective, Meng Chen

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article introduces and examines Chinese arbitration institutions’ recent movements to expand non-ICSID investment arbitration services, which could potentially contravene existing relevant Chinese laws and judicial practice, and it explores the prospects for non-ICSID investment arbitration in China. The article first compares ICSID and non-ICSID investment arbitration to determine the differences between them and their respective selling points for stakeholders in investment disputes. Next, the article examines the diverse mechanisms involved and highlights the different rules that govern non-ICSID arbitration, including the rules established by Chinese arbitration institutions in recent years. The article then further analyzes the obstacles in existing …

The Complexities Of Human Rights And Constitutional Reform In The United Kingdom; Brexit And A Delayed Bill Of Rights: Informing (On) The Process, Katie Boyle, Leanne Cochrane

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The United Kingdom’s politicised and contested human rights framework has come under increasing pressure during recent periods of constitutional and political instability. The UK 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, the delayed repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the proposals to enact a British Bill of Rights have all shaped the discourse at the national level around decisions to retain rights (or not) rather than progressively improve the human rights structure. The European Union and Council of Europe human rights frameworks act as important pillars of human rights and democracy under the UK constitution and each …

The Modern Treaty-Executing Power: Constitutional Complexities In Contemporary Global Governance, Carlo Felizardo

Northwestern University Law Review

Treaties have evolved significantly since the ratification of the United States Constitution, leading to uncertainty as to the constitutional limits on their domestic execution. This Note adapts existing constitutional doctrine on treaty execution to two distinct complications arising in the contemporary treaty regime. First, voluntary treaties imposing aspirational obligations on signatories raise the issue of the extent of obligations that Congress may domestically enforce by federal statute. Second, originating treaties which create international organizations and authorize them to adopt rule- and adjudication-type post-treaty pronouncements bring up a question of when, if ever, to incorporate those pronouncements into U.S. law, and …

The Politics Of The Takings Clauses, Mila Versteeg

Northwestern University Law Review

A long-standing consensus exists that the arbitrary or excessive expropriation of private property by a country hurts its economic growth. Although constitutions can play an important role in protecting private property, remarkably little is known about how they actually restrict the power of eminent domain and whether such restrictions are associated with reduced de facto expropriation risks. This Essay fills that gap by presenting original data on the procedural and substantive protections in constitutional takings clauses from 1946 to 2013. Its main finding is that no observable relationship exists between de jure constitutional restrictions on the power of eminent domain …

Strategic Globalization: International Law As An Extension Of Domestic Political Conflict, Jide Nzelibe

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judiciary Rising: Constitutional Change In The United Kingdom, Erin F. Delaney

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

British Invasion: Importing The United Kingdom's Orphan Works Solution To United States Copyright Law, Abigail Bunce

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Cryptography Regulation And The Global Information Economy, Nathan Saper

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

With the meteoric rise of the Internet and e-commerce in the 1990s came great attention to the problems and opportunities associated with cryptography. Throughout that decade, the United States and many foreign countries debated and experimented with various forms of cryptography regulation, and attempts were made at international harmonization. Since then, however, policy-making activity around cryptography has slowed, if not halted altogether, leaving individuals and companies to face a bewildering array of regulations—or, in many cases, to face regulations that are extraordinarily unclear and haphazardly applied.

This Note seeks to introduce the reader to the issue of international cryptography regulation …

International Legal Practice Involving England And New York Following Adoption Of The United Kingdom Legal Services Act Of 2007, Sydney M. Iii Cone

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article deals with the regulation of legal services in England and New York in the context of, first, multidisciplinary practice ("MDP") and, second, permitted investment in legal practice. The article summarizes both the background of and potential differences between the regulations in those two jurisdictions, and comments on the possible reconciliation of those differences. Because, chronologically, New York was the first of the two jurisdictions under consideration to adopt rules on MDP, the New York rules will be considered first, and the more recent statute, known as the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007 (hereinafter "U.K. Act"), will then …

Section 7209 Of The Intelligence Reform And Terrorism Prevention Act Of 2004: Balancing The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative With International Tourism And Homeland Security, Marc Philip Hedrich

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

A disproportionately large percentage of worldwide international tourism revenue comes from the spending of U.S. citizens abroad or by foreigners visiting the United States. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative ("WHTI"), as mandated by Section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, puts intra-North American international tourism at risk. This Comment is an analysis of the WHTI and its effects on international tourism and homeland security in the United States.

A Forensic Study Of Daewoo's Corporate Governance: Does Responsibility For The Meltdown Solely Lie With The Chaebol And Korea?, Joongi Kim

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

At the end of 1999, one of the largest conglomerates in the world, the Daewoo Group, collapsed in a spectacular fashion. During its peak, Daewoo was a sprawling enterprise with over 320,000 employees with 590 subsidiaries overseas that operated in over 110 countries. Its management received widespread praise and academic recognition for its success. Yet, when the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997, it managed to commit a deception worth 22.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion) that was termed the "biggest accounting fraud in history, surpassing WorldCom and Enron . . . ." Years later, inner-workings of the conglomerate are finally …