Law Commons^™

From Patchwork To Network: Strategies For International Intellectual Property In Flux, Paul E. Geller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Laws of intellectual property define what is bought and sold on media and technology markets, notably works, trademarks, and inventions. Laws and treaties have traditionally been made and enforced by nation-states operating in a patchwork of territories. Now, the media and technology marketplace is being globalized in digital networks. The law is only beginning to respond to this change.

To analyze this process in the field of intellectual property, this Article will consider the following questions: First, how is the patchwork of national laws lagging behind new networks in this field? Second, how does the international regime of intellectual property …

Between Iraq And A Hard Place: The U.N. Compensation Commission And Its Treatment Of Gulf War Claims, Lea C. Owen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was formed in 1991 to address claims against Iraq arising out of the Gulf War. In its seven years of operation, the UNCC has received 2.6 million claims, with an asserted value of more than $244 billion. It has processed 2.4 million of these claims, for a total of $6 billion, and it has paid to victims more than $730 million. Despite these accomplishments, the UNCC has much left to do, and its efforts have been burdened by Iraq's post-war refusal to meet its treaty obligations. The UNCC now faces waning political support from …

The Vienna Convention On Consular Relations: A Study Of Rights, Wrongs, And Remedies, William J. Aceves

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article reviews U.S. compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the ability of foreign governments to seek redress for treaty violations in federal courts. The Vienna Convention requires signatory states to notify detained foreign nationals of their right to consular access. While the United States has sought to ensure that foreign governments comply with the provisions of the Vienna Convention when they detain U.S. citizens abroad, it has failed to ensure that foreign nationals are provided with comparable protection when they are detained in the United States.

The Author examines several cases in which both foreign nationals …

Secrets And Lies? Swiss Banks And International Human Rights, Anita Ramasastry

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article explores the relationship of Swiss banks and their tradition of bank secrecy to the activities of a particular group of depositors: war criminals and other human rights violators. The Article focuses on litigation brought in U.S. courts by plaintiffs seeking access to Swiss bank deposits made by the Nazis and Ferdinand Marcos. The Article examines the possibility of holding banks accountable under international law for assisting a customer who has committed a serious breach of international law. Part I introduces the role of bank secrecy in the current litigation. Part II describes the Swiss tradition of bank secrecy. …

The Doctrine Of Specialty: An Argument For A More Restrictive Rauscher Interpretation After State V. Pang, Hugh C. Thatcher

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note examines how U.S. courts have weakened the specialty doctrine in treaty-based extradition to the United States. Although courts have consistently paid lip service to its vitality, the doctrine of a specialty has often been set aside to allow prosecution for additional offenses. This Note examines the primary line of inquiry that has been used by courts to interpret the doctrine, and suggests that it is incorrect. A correct interpretation of the doctrine requires a presumption that the extradited person may not be charged with additional offenses. Part II of this Note will outline the doctrine of specialty and …

A New Miranda For Foreign Nationals?, James A. Deeken

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note will explore the conflict between federalism expressed in the U.S. Constitution and the demands that international treaties, entered into by the federal government, make on local governments. Part I will explain the current state of the issues addressed in the Note, including the Vienna Convention, and the relevant provisions relating to the arrests of foreign nationals. The Note will then examine whether, given that international treaties have been interpreted as providing rights and provisions that are only enforceable by countries, a private party, such as a foreign national, has the power to invoke the provisions in his defense …

The Human Rights To Food, Medicine And Medical Supplies, And Freedom From Arbitrary And Inhumane Detention And Controls In Sri Lanka, Jordan J. Paust

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Essay identifies the denial of adequate and available food and the denials of adequate medicine and medical supplies in Sri Lanka as serious human rights violations. Additionally, the Author cites customary international law and international agreements to support his conclusion that the government's denial of these necessities in Sri Lanka constitute war crimes. The Author discusses the human rights violations with respect to: (1) the right to adequate food; (2) the right to adequate medicine and medical supplies; and (3) the right to freedom from arbitrary and inhumane detention and controls. The Author concludes by urging that the U.S. …

More Turbulence Ahead: A Bumpy Ride During U.S.-Japanese Aviation Talks Exemplifies The Need For A Pragmatic Course In Future Aviation Negotiations, Derek Lick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes the U.S.-Japanese aviation agreement and the negotiations that led to its signing. More specifically, it examines how the parties involved--including U.S. airline carriers who disagreed as to how the United States should proceed--influenced the negotiation process. Part II of the Note focuses on the current U.S. policy of expanding open skies when negotiating bilateral aviation treaties with foreign countries. Part III looks at the U.S.-Japanese aviation market and its importance for U.S. airlines. Part IV examines how the Japanese government successfully used its strategic placement in the Asian market to avoid U.S. efforts to impose an open …

Intervention And Joinder As Of Right In International Arbitration, S. I. Strong

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For the purpose of this Article, an existing party is said to have a claim to join a third party into an arbitration as of right when (1) in the third party's absence, complete relief cannot be accorded among those already parties to the arbitration or (2) the third party asserts an interest relating to the subject of the arbitration and is so situated that the disposition of the arbitration in the third party's absence may (a) as a practical matter impair or impede the third party's ability to protect that interest or (b) leave any of the persons already …

The Future Of The World Health Organization: What Role For International Law?, David P. Fidler

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article has tried to provide a comprehensive analysis of the role of international law in WHO's future. Whether WHO realizes it, international law has had and will continue to have effects on international health policy. In the future, WHO has a choice: It can continue to act as if international law plays no role in global public health or it can build the commitment and capacity needed to integrate international law into its endeavors and into the creation of global health jurisprudence. Building such commitment and capacity will not resurrect WHO to its past glories, but they may very …